Earlier text: “THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL.”CHRIST came to bring salvation within the reach of all. Upon the cross of Calvary he paid the infinite redemption-price for a lost world. His self-denial and self-sacrifice, his unselfish labor, his humiliation, above all, the offering up of his life, testifies to the depth of his love for fallen man. It was to seek and to save the lost that he came to earth. His mission was to sinners,—sinners of every grade, of every tongue and nation. He paid the price for all, to ransom them, and bring them into union and sympathy with himself. The most erring, the most sinful, were not passed by; his labors were especially for those who most needed the salvation he came to bring. The greater their need of reform, the deeper was his interest, the greater his sympathy, and the more earnest his labors. His great heart of love was stirred to its depths for the ones whose condition was most hopeless, and who most needed his transforming grace. In the parable of the lost sheep is represented the wonderful love of Christ for the erring, wandering ones. He does not choose to remain with those who accept his salvation, bestowing all his efforts upon604 them, and receiving their gratitude and love. The true shepherd leaves the flock that love him, and goes out into the wilderness, enduring hardship and facing danger and death, to seek and save the sheep that has wandered from the fold, and that must perish if not brought back. When after diligent search the lost is found, the shepherd, though suffering from weariness, pain, and hunger, does not leave it in its weakness to follow him, he does not drive it along, but, O wondrous love! he tenderly gathers it in his arms, and placing it upon his shoulder, bears it back to the fold. Then he calls upon his neighbors to rejoice with him over the lost that is found. The parable of the prodigal son, and that of the lost piece of silver, teach the same lesson. Every soul that is especially imperiled by falling into temptation, causes pain to the heart of Christ, and calls forth his tenderest sympathy and most earnest labor. Over one sinner that repenteth his joy is greater than over the ninety and nine who need no repentance. These lessons are for our benefit. Christ has enjoined upon his disciples that they co-operate with him in his work, that they love one another as he has loved them. The agony which he endured upon the cross testifies to the estimate he places upon the human soul. All who accept this great salvation, pledge themselves to be co-workers with him. None are to consider themselves special favorites of Heaven, and center their interest and attention upon self. All who have enlisted in the service of Christ are to work as he worked, and are to love those who are in ignorance and sin, even as he loved them. But there has been among us as a people a lack of deep, earnest, soul-touching sympathy and love for the tempted and the erring. Many have manifested great coldness and sinful neglect, represented by Christ as passing by on the other side, keeping as far as possible from those who most need help. The newly converted soul often has fierce conflicts with established habits, or with some special form of temptation,605 and being overcome by some master passion or tendency, he is guilty of indiscretion or actual wrong. It is then that energy, tact, and wisdom are required of his brethren, that he may be restored to spiritual health. In such cases the instructions of God's word apply: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves." But how little of the pitying tenderness of Christ is manifested by his professed followers! When one errs, others too often feel at liberty to make the case appear as bad as possible. Those who perhaps are guilty of fully as great sins in some other direction, will treat their brother with cruel severity. Errors committed through ignorance, thoughtlessness, or weakness, are exaggerated into willful, premeditated sin. As they see souls going astray, some fold their hands, and say, "I told you so. I knew there was no dependence to be placed upon them." Thus they place themselves in the attitude of Satan, exulting in spirit that their evil surmisings have proved to be correct. We must expect to meet and bear with great imperfections in those who are young and inexperienced. Christ has bidden us seek to restore such in the spirit of meekness, and he holds us responsible for pursuing a course which will drive them to discouragement, despair, and ruin. Unless we daily cultivate the precious plant of love, we are in danger of becoming narrow, unsympathetic, bigoted, and critical, esteeming ourselves righteous when we are far from being approved of God. Some are uncourteous, abrupt, and harsh. They are like chestnut burs; they prick whenever touched. These do incalculable harm by misrepresenting our loving Saviour. We must come up to a higher standard, or we are unworthy of the Christian name. We should cultivate the spirit with which Christ labored to save the606 erring. They are as dear to him as we are. They are equally capable of being trophies of his grace, and heirs of the kingdom. But they are exposed to the snares of a wily foe, exposed to danger and defilement, and without the saving grace of Christ, to certain ruin. Did we view this matter in the right light, how would our zeal be quickened, and our earnest, self-sacrificing efforts be multiplied, that we might come close to those who need our help, our prayers, our sympathy, and our love! Let those who have been remiss in this work, consider their duty in the light of the great commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” This obligation is resting upon all. All are required to labor to diminish the ills and multiply the blessings of their fellow-creatures. If we are strong to resist temptation, we are under the greater obligation to help those who are weak and yielding. Have we knowledge, we should instruct the ignorant. Has God blessed us with this world's goods, it is our duty to succor the poor. We must work for others' good. Let all within the sphere of our influence be partakers of whatever of excellence we may possess. None should be content to feed on the bread of life without sharing it with those around them. Those only live for Christ and honor his name who are true to their Master in seeking to save that which is lost. Genuine piety will surely manifest the deep longing and earnest labor of the crucified Saviour to save those for whom he died. If our hearts are softened and subdued by the grace of Christ, and glowing with a sense of God’s goodness and love, there will be a natural outflow of love, sympathy, and tenderness to others. The truth exemplified in the life will exert its power, like the hidden leaven, upon all with whom it is brought in contact. God has ordained that in order to grow in grace and in a knowledge of Christ, men must follow his example, and work as he worked. It will often require a struggle to control our own feelings, and to refrain607 from speaking in a manner to discourage those who are laboring under temptation. A life of daily prayer and praise, a life which will shed light upon the path of others, cannot be maintained without earnest effort. But such effort will yield precious fruit, blessing not only the receiver, but the giver. The spirit of unselfish labor for others gives depth, stability, and Christlike loveliness to the character, and brings peace and happiness to its possessor. The aspirations are elevated. There is no room for sloth or selfishness. Those who exercise the Christian graces will grow. They will have spiritual sinew and muscle, and will be strong to work for God. They will have clear spiritual perceptions, a steady, increasing faith, and prevailing power in prayer. Those who are watching for souls, who devote themselves most fully to the salvation of the erring, are most surely working out their own salvation. But how has this work been neglected! If the thoughts and affections were wholly given to God, think you that souls in error, under the temptations of Satan, would be dropped as carelessly and unfeelingly as they have been? Would not greater efforts be put forth, in the love and simplicity of Christ, to save these wandering ones? All who are truly consecrated to God will engage with the greatest zeal in the work for which he has done the most, for which he has made an infinite sacrifice,—the work for the salvation of souls. This is the special work to be cherished and sustained, and never allowed to flag. God calls upon his people to arise, and come out of the chilling, frosty atmosphere in which they have been living, to shake off the impressions and ideas that have frozen up the impulses of love, and held them in selfish inactivity. He bids them come up from their low, earthly level, and breathe in the clear, sunny atmosphere of heaven. Our meetings for worship should be sacred, precious occasions. The prayer-meeting is not a place where brethren are to censure and condemn one,608 another, where there are to be unkind feelings and hard speeches. Christ will be driven from the assemblies where this spirit is manifested, and Satan will come in to take the lead. Nothing that savors of an unchristian, unloving spirit should be permitted to enter; for do we not assemble to seek mercy and forgiveness from the Lord? and the Saviour has plainly said, "With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Who can stand before God, and plead a faultless character, a blameless life? And how, then, dare any criticise and condemn their brethren? Those who themselves can hope for salvation only through the merits of Christ, who must seek forgiveness by virtue of his blood, are under the strongest obligation to exercise love, pity, and forgiveness toward their fellow-sinners. Brethren, unless you educate yourselves to respect the place of devotion, you will receive no blessing from God. You may worship him in form, but there will be no spiritual service. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name," says Jesus, "there am I in the midst of them." All should feel that they are in the divine presence, and instead of dwelling upon the faults and errors of others, they should be diligently searching their own hearts. If you have confessions to make of your own sins, do your duty, and leave others to do theirs. When you indulge your own harshness of character by manifesting a hard, unfeeling spirit, you are repulsing the very ones whom you should win. Your harshness destroys their love of assembling together, and too often results in driving them from the truth. You should realize that you yourselves are under the rebuke of God. While you condemn others, the Lord condemns you. You have a duty to do to confess your own unchristian conduct. May the Lord move upon the hearts of the individual members of the church, until his transforming grace shall be revealed in the life and the character. Then609 when you assemble together, it will not be to criticise one another, but to talk of Jesus and his love. Our meetings should be made intensely interesting. They should be pervaded with the very atmosphere of heaven. Let there be no long, dry speeches and formal prayers, merely for the sake of occupying the time. All should be ready to act their part with promptness, and when their duty is done, the meeting should be closed. Thus the interest will be kept up to the last. This is offering to God acceptable worship. His service should be made interesting and attractive, and not be allowed to degenerate into a dry form. We must live for Christ minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day; then Christ will dwell in us, and when we meet together, his love will be in our hearts, welling up like a spring in the desert, refreshing all, and making those who are ready to perish, eager to drink of the waters of life. We are not to depend upon two or three members to do the work for the whole church. We must individually have a strong, active faith, carrying forward the work God has left us to do. There must be an intense, living interest to inquire of God, "What wilt thou have me to do? How shall I do my work for time and for eternity?" We must individually bend all our powers to search for the truth, employing every means within our reach that will aid us in a diligent, prayerful investigation of the Scriptures; and then we must be sanctified through the truth, that we may save souls. An earnest effort should be made in every church to put away evil-speaking and a censorious spirit as among the sins productive of the greatest evils in the church. Severity and fault-finding must be rebuked as the workings of Satan. Mutual love and confidence must be encouraged and strengthened in the members of the church. Let all, in the fear of God and with love to their brethren, close their ears to gossip and censure. Direct the tale-bearer to the teachings of God's word. Bid him obey the Scriptures,610 and carry his complaints directly to those whom he thinks in error. This united action would bring a flood of light into the church, and close the door to a flood of evil. Thus God would be glorified, and many souls would be saved. The admonition of the True Witness to the Sardis church is: "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent." The sin especially charged against this church is that they have not strengthened the things that remain, that are ready to die. Does this warning apply to us? Let us individually examine our hearts in the light of God's word, and let our first work be to set our hearts in order by the help of Christ. God has done his part of the work for the salvation of men, and now he calls for the co-operation of the church. There are the blood of Christ, the word of truth, the Holy Spirit, on one hand, and there are the perishing souls on the other. Every follower of Christ has a part to act to bring men to accept the blessings Heaven has provided. Let us closely examine ourselves, and see if we have done this work. Let us question our motives, and every action of our lives. Are there not many unpleasant pictures hanging in memory's halls? Often have you needed the forgiveness of Jesus. You have been constantly dependent upon his compassion and love. Yet have you not failed to manifest toward others the spirit which Christ has exercised toward you? Have you felt a burden for the one whom you saw venturing into forbidden paths? Have you kindly admonished him? Have you wept for him, and prayed with him and for him? Have you shown by words of tenderness and kindly acts that you love him, and desire to save him? As you have associated with those who were faltering and staggering under the load of their611 own infirmities of disposition and faulty habits, have you left them to fight the battles alone, when you might have given them help? Have you not passed these sorely tempted ones by on the other side, while the world has stood ready to give them sympathy, and to allure them into Satan's nets? Have you not, like Cain, been ready to say, "Am I my brother's keeper?" How must the great Head of the church regard the work of your life? How does He to whom every soul is precious, as the purchase of his blood, look upon your indifference to those who stray from the right path? Are you not afraid that he will leave you just as you leave them? Be sure that He who is the true Watchman of the Lord's house has marked every neglect. Have not Christ and his love been shut out from your life, until a mechanical form has taken the place of heart service? Where is the kindling of soul you once felt at the mention of the name of Jesus? In the freshness of your early dedication, how fervent was your love for souls! how earnestly you sought to represent to them the Saviour's love! The absence of that love has made you cold, critical, exacting. Seek to win it back, and then labor to bring souls to Christ. If you refuse to do this, others who have had less light and experience and fewer opportunities, will come up and take your place, and do that which you have neglected; for the work must be done to save the tempted, the tried, the perishing. Christ offers the service to his church; who will accept it? God has not been unmindful of the good deeds, the self-denying acts, of the church in the past. All are registered on high. But these are not enough. These will not save the church when she ceases to fulfill her mission. Unless the cruel neglect and indifference manifested in the past shall cease, the church, instead of going from strength to strength, will continue to degenerate into weakness and formality. Shall we let this be? Is the dull torpor, the612 mournful deterioration in love and spiritual zeal, to be perpetuated? Is this the condition in which Christ is to find his church? Brethren, your own lamps will surely flicker and grow dim until they go out in darkness unless you make decided efforts to reform. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works." The opportunity now presented may be short. If this season of grace and repentance passes unimproved, the warning is given, "I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place." These words are uttered by the lips of the long-suffering, forbearing One. They are a solemn warning to churches and individuals that the Watcher who never slumbers is measuring their course of action. It is only by reason of his marvelous patience that they are not cut down as cumberers of the ground. But his Spirit will not always strive. His patience will wait but little longer. Your faith must be something more than it has been, or you will be weighed in the balances and found wanting. At the last day, the final decision by the Judge of all the earth will turn upon our interest in, and practical labor for, the needy, the oppressed, the tempted. You cannot always pass these by on the other side, and yourselves find entrance as redeemed sinners into the city of God. "Inasmuch," says Christ, "as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." It is not yet too late to redeem the neglects of the past. Let there be a revival of the first love, the first ardor. Search out the ones you have driven away, bind up by confession the wounds you have made. Come close to the great Heart of pitying love, and let the current of that divine compassion flow into your heart, and from you to the hearts of others. Let the tenderness and mercy that Jesus has revealed in his own precious life be an example to us of the manner in which we should treat our fellow-beings,613 especially those who are our brethren in Christ. Many have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, whom one word of kindly cheer and courage would have strengthened to overcome. Never, never become heartless, cold, unsympathetic, and censorious. Never lose an opportunity to say a word to encourage and inspire hope. We cannot tell how far-reaching may be our tender words of kindness, our Christlike efforts to lighten some burden. The erring can be restored in no other way than in the spirit of meekness, gentleness, and tender love. “Wouldst thou an erring soul redeem,
And lead a lost one back to God?
Wouldst thou a guardian angel seem
To one who long in guilt has trod?
Go kindly to him, take his hand,
With gentle words, within thine own,
And by his side a brother stand,
Till thou the demon sin dethrone.
“Scorn not the guilty then, but plead
With him in kindest, gentlest mood,
And back the lost one thou mayst lead
To God, humanity, and good.
Thou art thyself but man, and thou
Art weak, perchance to fall as he;
Then mercy to the fallen show,
That mercy may be shown to thee.”
WHERE the Spirit of the Lord is, there is meekness, patience, gentleness, and long-suffering. A true disciple of Christ will seek to imitate the Pattern. He will study to do the will of God on earth, as it is done in heaven. Those whose hearts are still defiled with sin, cannot be zealous of good works. They fail to keep the first four precepts of the decalogue, defining the duty of man to God; neither do they614 keep the last six, defining the duty of man to his fellow-men. Their hearts are filled with selfishness, and they are constantly finding fault with others who are better than themselves. They put their hands to a work which God has not given them, but leave undone the work he has left for them to do, which is to take heed to themselves, lest any root of bitterness springing up, trouble the church and defile it. They turn their eyes outward, to watch lest the character of others should not be right, when their eyes should be turned inward, to scan and criticise their own actions. When they empty the heart of self, envy, evil surmising, malice, they will not be climbing on the judgment-seat, and pronouncing sentence upon others who are in God's sight better than they. He who would reform others, must first reform himself. He must obtain the spirit of his Master, and be willing, like him, to suffer reproach, and to practice self-denial. In comparison with the worth of one soul, the whole world sinks into insignificance. A desire to exercise authority, to lord it over God's heritage, will, if indulged, result in the loss of souls. Those who really love Jesus, will seek to conform their own lives to the Pattern, and will labor in his spirit for the salvation of others. In order to secure man to himself, and insure his eternal salvation, Christ left the royal courts of heaven, and came to this earth, endured the agonies of sin and shame in man's stead, and died to make him free. In view of the infinite price paid for man's redemption, how dare any professing the name of Christ treat with indifference one of his little ones? How carefully should brethren and sisters in the church guard every word and action, lest they hurt the oil and the wine! How patiently, kindly, and affectionately should they deal with the purchase of the blood of Christ! How faithfully and earnestly should they labor to lift up the desponding and the discouraged! How tenderly should they treat those who are trying to obey the truth, and have no encouragement615 at home, who have constantly to breathe the atmosphere of unbelief and darkness! If a brother is supposed to have erred, his brethren and sisters should not whisper it among themselves and comment upon it, magnifying these supposed errors and faults. Much of this work is done, and the result is, the displeasure of God rests upon those who do it, and Satan exults that he can weaken and annoy those who might be strong in the Lord. The world sees their weakness, and judges this class and the truth they profess to love, by the fruits manifested in them. “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” Here the backbiter is excluded from abiding in the tabernacle of God, and dwelling in the holy hill of Zion. He that taketh up a reproach against his neighbor cannot receive the approval of God. How many ministers, while engaged in a good work in which souls are turning to God and to the truth, are called away to settle some church trial among brethren who were wholly wrong themselves, and who had a contentious and overbearing spirit? This work of withdrawing men from their fields of labor has been repeated again and again in the progress of this cause. It is a device of the great adversary of man to hinder the work of God. When souls that are upon the point of deciding in favor of616 the truth are thus left to unfavorable influences, they lose their interest, and it is very rarely that so powerful an impression can again be made upon them. Satan is ever seeking some device to call the minister from his field of labor at this critical point, that the result of his labors may be lost. There are in the church unconsecrated, unconverted men and women who think more of maintaining their own dignity and their own opinions than they do of the salvation of their fellow-creatures; and Satan works upon these to stir up difficulties that consume the time and labor of the minister, and many souls are lost as the result. While the members of the church are in a divided state of feeling, their hearts are hard and unimpressible. The efforts of the minister are like blows upon cold iron, and each party becomes more set in his own way than before. The minister is placed in a most unenviable position; for, though he should decide ever so wisely, his decision must displease some one, and thus the party spirit is strengthened. If the minister makes his home with some one family, others are sure to be jealous lest he shall receive impressions unfavorable to themselves. If he gives counsel, some will say, “Such a one has been talking with him,” and his words have no weight with them. Thus their souls are armed with distrust and evil surmising, and the minister is left at the mercy of their prejudices and jealousies. Too often he leaves the matter worse than he found it. Had he utterly refused to listen to the colored, one-sided statements of any, had he given words of advice in accordance with the Bible rule, and said, like Nehemiah, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down,” that church would have been in a far better condition. Ministers and lay members of the church displease God when they allow individuals to tell them the errors and faults of their brethren. They should not listen to these reports, but should inquire, "Have you strictly followed the injunctions of your Saviour?617 Have you gone to the offender, and told him his faults between you and him alone? And has he refused to hear you? Have you carefully and prayerfully taken two or three others, and labored with him in tenderness, humility, and meekness, your heart throbbing with love for his soul?" If the Captain's orders, in the rules given for the erring, have been strictly followed, then an advance step is to be taken,—tell it to the church, and let action be taken in the case according to the Scriptures. Then it is that Heaven will ratify the decision made by the church in cutting off the offending member if he does not repent. If these steps have not been taken, close the ear to complaints, and thus refuse to take up a reproach against your neighbor. If there were no brethren and sisters to do this, evil tongues would soon cease; for they would not find so favorable a field in which to work in biting and devouring one another. The apostle Paul writes to Titus: "Set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee; if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot, or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God." It would be well for all our ministers to give heed to these words, and not to hurry men into office without due consideration, and much prayer that God would designate by his Holy Spirit whom he will accept. Said the inspired apostle, "Lay hands suddenly on no man." In some of our churches the work of organizing and of ordaining elders has been premature; the Bible rule has been disregarded, and consequently grievous trouble has been brought upon the church. There should not be so great haste in electing leaders as to ordain men who are in no way fitted for the responsible work,—men who need to be converted, elevated, ennobled, and refined, before they can serve the cause of God in any capacity. The gospel net gathers both good and bad. It takes time for character to be developed; there must be time to learn what men really are. The family of the one suggested for office should be considered. Are they in subjection? Can the man rule his own house with honor? What character have his children? Will they do honor to the father's influence? If he has no tact, wisdom, or power of godliness at home, in managing his own family, it is safe to conclude that the same defects will be carried into the church, and the same unsanctified management will be seen there. It will be far better to criticise the man before he is put into office than afterward; better to pray and counsel before taking the decisive step, than to labor to correct the consequences of a wrong move. In some churches the leader has not the right qualifications to educate the members of the church to be workers. Tact and judgment have not been used to keep up a living interest in the work of God. The leader is slow and tedious; he talks too much and prays too long in public; he has not that living connection with God which would give him a fresh experience. The leaders of churches in every place should be earnest, full of zeal and unselfish interest; men of God, who can give the right mold to the work. They should make their requests to God in faith. They may devote all the time they wish to secret prayer, but in public they should make their prayers and their testimonies short and to the point. Long, dry prayers and long exhortations should be avoided. If the brethren and sisters would have something to say that will refresh and edify others, it must first be in their hearts. They must daily be connected with God, drawing their supplies from his exhaustless store-house, and bringing therefrom things new and old. If their own souls have been vivified by the Spirit of God, they will cheer, strengthen, and encourage others; but if they have not drank at the619 living fountain of salvation themselves, they will not know how to lead others there. The necessity of experimental religion must be urged upon those who accept the theory of the truth. Ministers must keep their own souls in the love of God, and then impress upon the people the necessity of an individual consecration, a personal conversion. All must obtain a living experience for themselves; they must have Christ enshrined in the heart, his Spirit controlling the affections, or their profession of faith is of no value, and their condition will be even worse than if they had never heard the truth. Such arrangements should be made for the little companies accepting the truth as shall secure the prosperity of the church. One man may be appointed to lead for a week or a month, then another for a few weeks; and thus different persons may be enlisted in the work, and after a suitable trial, some one should be selected by the voice of the church to be the acknowledged leader, never, however, to be chosen for more than one year. Then another may be selected, or the same one may be re-elected, if his service has proved a blessing to the church. The same principle should be followed in selecting men for other responsible positions, as in the offices of the Conference. Untried men should not be elected as presidents of Conferences. Many fail to exercise proper discernment in these important matters, where eternal interests are involved. We profess to be the depositaries of God's law; we claim to have greater light and to aim at a higher standard than any other people upon the earth; therefore we should show greater perfection of character and more earnest devotion. A most solemn message has been intrusted to those who have received the light of present truth. Our light should shine forth to brighten the pathway of those who are in darkness. As members of the visible church, and workers in the vineyard of the Lord, all professed Christians should do their utmost to preserve peace, harmony, and love620 in the church. Mark the prayer of Christ: "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." The unity of the church is the convincing evidence that God has sent Jesus into the world as its Redeemer. This is an argument which worldlings cannot controvert. Therefore Satan is constantly working to prevent this union and harmony, that unbelievers, by witnessing backsliding, dissension, and strife among professed Christians, may become disgusted with religion, and be confirmed in their impenitence. God is dishonored by those who profess the truth while they are at variance and enmity with one another. Satan is the great accuser of the brethren, and all who engage in this work are enlisted in his service. We profess to have more truth than other denominations; yet if this does not lead to greater consecration, to purer, holier lives, of what benefit is it to us? It would be better for us never to have seen the light of truth, than to profess to accept it, and not be sanctified through it. In order to determine how important are the interests involved in the conversion of the soul from error to truth, we must appreciate the value of immortality; we must realize how terrible are the pains of the second death; we must comprehend the honor and glory awaiting the ransomed, and understand what it is to live in the presence of Him who died that he might elevate and ennoble man, and give to the overcomer a royal diadem. The worth of a soul cannot be fully estimated by finite minds. How gratefully will the ransomed and glorified ones remember those who were instrumental in their salvation! No one will then regret his self-denying efforts and persevering labors, his patience, forbearance, and earnest heart-yearnings for souls that might have been lost had he neglected his duty or become weary in well-doing. Now these white-robed ones are gathered into the fold of the great Shepherd. The faithful worker and621 the soul saved through his labor are greeted by the Lamb in the midst of the throne, and are led to the tree of life and to the fountain of living waters. With what joy does the servant of Christ behold these redeemed ones, who are made to share the glory of the Redeemer! How much more precious is heaven to those who have been faithful in the work of saving souls! "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever."