It is objected that this is a cheerless and repulsive view of death. We confess that it is so; but to the objector we say, You are then seeking just what the serpent hypocritically offered, but God denied, namely, a consequence of sin neither cheerless nor repulsive. But this should not be the direction of our investigation. The question is, What is truth? What say the Scriptures? He who prefers a pleasing fable to unpleasant truth may turn at once from God's word to the vagaries and falsities of Spiritualism, where the "carnal mind" will find enough to please it. But we have to deal with facts, not with fancies; and where shall the truth be found? Most certainly with one of three classes:—
First, Those who teach that the soul is immortal, and that death means eternal torment. This involves the idea that part of the human race are now, and have been for thousands of years, suffering unutterable torment; that they will be caused to appear in the Judgment, and then returned to their abode of woe, to suffer on in ever-increasing tortures to all eternity. But this is not only repulsive, but the Bible does not teach it, the penalty of the law does not include it, justice does not demand it, reason does not approve it, nor is there an attribute of God or of his government, as revealed in his word, that requires it; man is not held in check by it, because it is beyond the power of his imagination to reach it. Or,
Secondly, Those who deny a future Judgment, and punishment for sin. But this virtually ignores all government, tramples on justice, tolerates vice, and directly contradicts God's word. Or,
Thirdly, Those who believe that man, in death, rests in unconscious sleep, awaiting the decision of the Judgment; that after that event the righteous will be raised to everlasting life and an inheritance in the kingdom of God; while the wicked, who have rejected the Saviour, and refused to seek for immortality, are judged unworthy of eternal life, and are destroyed by fire, which is the second death. This last view, we believe, is the truth. It accords with the account of the creation and the fall of man, with the psalmist's view of death and the cessation of thought or the powers of the mind, and with the many scriptures that teach our dependence for eternal life on Jesus and the resurrection.
Solomon, comparing the state of the living and the dead, says, "The living know that they shall die," which is the simplest knowledge, deduced from continuous observation; but, simple as it is, it is beyond the power of the dead; for "the dead know not anything." Eccl. 9:5. Hezekiah, king of Judah, praised God for the prolongation of his life, and acknowledged his opportunities to praise on this account. "For," said he, "the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee." Isa. 38:18, 19. But Spiritualism teaches that the dead find more truth than the living. David asks: "Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" Ps. 88:11, 12. Well might Isaiah ask even with astonishment, "Should not a nation seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?" when the dead know nothing, and are in the land of forgetfulness.
The word soul in the New Testament is from the Greek word psuche, which occurs 105 times. It is translated soul 58 times; life, 40 times; mind 3 times; heart, twice; us, once; you, once. The originals from which the word soul is translated in the two Testaments occur 850 times, but it is never called immortal; it is in no place intimated that it is of an undying nature; immortality is never predicated of man until the resurrection, and then only of the righteous; it is to be sought for by well-doing. Rom. 2:7.
Nor is the principle of immortality contained in the "breath of life," which was breathed into man. It was strictly and only what the words imply—the breath of life; its effect was to make the man a living man. It is from this term that the word spirit is derived. Its property of vivifying, or giving life, is recognized by the apostle James, who says the body without the spirit is dead. This term is also applied indiscriminately to all living, breathing creatures, in Gen. 7:21, 22; and Solomon expressly declares of men and beasts that "they have all one breath," or spirit. Eccl. 3:19.
Spirit is translated in the Old Testament from two Hebrew words, n'shah-mah and roo-ach. N'shah-mah occurs 24 times, and is translated spirit, twice; breath, 17 times; blast, three times; soul, once; inspiration, once. Roo-ach occurs 442 times, and is translated 16 ways; namely, spirit, 282 times; wind, 97 times; breath, 28 times; mind, 6 times; etc. This word, roo-ach, is used in Ecclesiastes 21 times, and is rendered spirit, 18 times; wind, twice; and breath, once. In the text quoted, "They have all one breath," or spirit, Eccl. 3:19, the same word is translated spirit in the 21st verse, which speaks of the spirit of man and the spirit of the beast. This teaches that "a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast," in death; for they are all of the dust, and all go to the dust, and have all one breath. The difference between men and beasts is shown in life—not in death. How highly, then, should we value the resurrection and Jesus the Life-giver! since all our hopes rest on him.
The equivalent of roo-ach of the Old Testament is pneuma in the Greek of the New Testament. It is also variously translated, as follows: ghost, 92 times; spirit, 291 times; wind, once; life, once—margin, breath; in all, 385 times. Though these words are translated so many different ways, and used with every possible shade of meaning, the idea of immortality, or a continuous conscious existence after death, is never associated with them.
The Scripture truths that we have here presented in brief will give the reader readily to understand that the common—very common phrases, immortal soul, and deathless spirit, are not Bible terms, nor is the idea that they are designed to convey sanctioned by the Bible. To use them as they are used by Spiritualists, and in the current theology of the day, is to give false ideas of fallen humanity, and to rob the gospel of Jesus, the Life-giver, of its prerogatives and glory. The following summary of the writings of Paul on this subject shows the wide difference between the modern views, and the views of the writers of the Scriptures:—
"1. The apostle Paul is the only writer in the whole Bible who makes use of the word immortal or immortality.
"2. He never applies it to sinners.
"3. He never applies it to either righteous or wicked in this world.
"4. He never applies it to men's souls at all, either before or after death.
"5. He speaks of it as an attribute of the King Eternal. 1 Tim. 1:17.
"6. He declares that He is the only possessor of it. 1 Tim. 6:16.
"7. He presents it as an object which men are to seek after by patient continuance in well-doing. Rom. 2:7.
"8. He speaks of it as revealed or brought to light (not in heathen philosophy, but) in the gospel of the Son of God. 2 Tim. 1:10.
"9. He defines the period when it shall be put on by the saints of God, and fixes it at the resurrection, when Christ who is our life, shall appear. 1 Cor. 15:52, 54; Col. 3:4.
"10. Therefore he never taught the immortality of the soul as it is now taught, and hence when he declared that sinners should be destroyed, or perish, or die, or be burned, or devoured by fire, he did so without any 'mental reservations,' or 'theological definitions.' In other words, he said what he meant, and meant what he said."—Pauline Theology.
There are those who will meet this with the cry of "materialism," rather than with argument; and with them materialism is nearly synonymous with infidelity. On this we call the reader's attention to the following extracts from Dr. Chalmers' sermon on the new heavens and earth, which, though very brief, are sufficient to disarm the candid of all prejudice on this subject:—
"The common idea of paradise is that of a lofty aerial region, where the inmates float in ether, or are mysteriously suspended upon nothing, where all the warm and sensible accompaniments which give such an expression of strength and life and coloring to our present world are attenuated into a sort of spiritual element that is meager and imperceptible, and utterly uninviting to the eye of mortals here, where every vestige of materialism is done away, and nothing left but certainly unearthly scenes that have no power of allurement, and certain unearthly ecstacies with which it is impossible to sympathize.
"The holders of this imagination forget all the while that really there is no essential connection between materialism and sin; that the world which we now inhabit had all the amplitude and solidity of its present materialism before sin entered into it; that God so far on that account from looking slightly upon it after it had received the last touch of his creating hand, reviewed the earth and all the green herbage, with the living creatures and the man whom he had raised in dominion over them, and he saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.
"They forget all the while that on the birth of materialism, when it stood out in the freshest of those glories which the great Architect of nature had impressed upon it, the 'morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.'
"They forget the appeals that are made everywhere in the Bible to this material workmanship, and how from the face of these visible heavens, and the garniture of this earth upon which we tread, the greatness and goodness of God are reflected on the view of his worshipers.
"No, the object of the administration we are under is to extirpate sin, but not to sweep away materialism; the fires of the last day may melt its solid elements until they are utterly dissolved, but out of the ruins of this second chaos another earth will arise, a new materialism in beauty and magnificence, a 'new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.'"
The unreliability of the spirits, and the certain tendency of their teachings, are further shown by the following statement, which we believe is fully justified by the Scriptures:—
THEY ARE THE SPIRITS OF DEVILS.
WE here use the term devil as it is commonly used, but would call attention to the following statement of Dr. Ramsey, of Philadelphia:—
"The word Daimon in the New Testament is usually rendered by one word, devil. But this is evidently improper, as it would lead us to believe that there are many devils, whereas there is and can be but one. . . . Daimon in the New Testament always means an evil spirit, who is under Satan's control; a demon."
Again, concerning the distinction between the demons and the devil, or Satan, we quote:—
"The word Satan means an adversary, the opposer. It is never found in the plural number, so that the sacred writers acknowledge but one being of that name. He is styled by our Lord, 'The prince of this world;' John 14:30; by the apostle, 'The prince of the power of the air;' Eph. 2:2; and by the Jews, 'The prince of the demons,' Matt. 9:34; the septuagint translates the word Satan by the word Diabolus, which means an accuser, a slanderer. He is also called in the New Testament by a variety of names, indicative of his character and conduct, as accuser, destroyer, liar, murderer, etc."
That the devil was not of human origin, as many now contend, we think is evident from the fact that he was the deceiver of our first parents. He is called, in the Scriptures, "that old serpent." Rev. 20. The apostle John says that "he that committeth sin is of the devil;" and that Cain, who slew his brother, "was of that wicked one." 1 John 3:8, 12. Thus it appears that the first transgressors, even the members of the human race, were deceived by him, and of course he was a deceiver, a liar, and, in heart, a murderer, before there was any sin in the human race. The Saviour teaches the same thing in the parable of the wheat and the tares. He says, "The tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil."
N. P. Tallmadge, in his "Reply to Count Gasparin," published in the Spiritual Telegraph, says:—
"There is, therefore, one place of refuge left to him, and that is the one now taken by some of our evangelical clergy, namely, that all these manifestations come from the devil, or from evil spirits. When ministers come to this conclusion, I think they are in a very hopeful way. I then have no difficulty with them; for they cannot long make their congregations believe that a wise and benevolent God has established a law of spiritual intercourse by which the bad alone, and not the good, can communicate."
In this, Gov. T. labors under the same fatal error that seems to enshroud all Spiritualists, namely, supposing that whatever occurs is according to God's will, and in harmony with his laws. This, Dr. Hare openly avows, and on no other hypothesis can we find a place for the above declaration of Mr. Tallmadge.
EDITOR.
(To be continued.)
A CONTENTED MIND.
By Abraham Cowley
THIS only grant me, that my means may lie
Too low for envy, for contempt too high.
Some honor I would have,
Not from great deeds, but good alone;
Th' unknown are better than ill-known.
Rumor can ope the grave:
Acquaintance I would have; but then 't depends
Not on the number, but the choice of friends.
Books should, not business, entertain the light,
And sleep, as undisturbed as death, the night.
My house a cottage, more
Than palace, and should fitting be
For all my use, no luxury.
My garden painted o'er
With Nature's hand, not Art's; and pleasures yield,
Horace might envy in his Sabine field.
Thus would I double my life's fading space,
For he that runs it well, twice runs his race,
And in this true delight,
These unbought sports, that happy state,
I would not fear nor wish my fate,
But boldly say each night,
To-morrow let my sun his beams display,
Or in clouds hide them; I have lived to-day.
—Abraham Cowley, 1650.
Drunkenness a Crime.
THE Daily Oregonian of the 18th inst. contained a lengthy paragraph under the above caption, charging its authenticity to Dr. Henry A. Pratt of Boston. Yes, that's it. After the poor diseased inebriate has been gulled by the whiskey seller and given delirium tremens in exchange for his hard earned money, then turned over to the tender mercies of the gambling sharks that infest such places, it would be very Christian like and magnanimous to assault him with the strong arm of the law, carry him off to prison and relieve those who had worked the ruin of his now obnoxious person. For the hoodlum that gets drunk from choice, who takes pride in degrading himself and boasts of his own shame, we have no pity, but there are many, with whom drunkenness has become a disease, and whose lives are a continual struggle against temptation--these deserve the kindest treatment, and every possible assistance to free them from their bondage. He who deals in dangerous articles of merchandise such as powder, dynamite, glycerine or poison is held to a strict accountability by the laws of the land, and "he that furnishes the bottle to his neighbor and maketh him drunken also" ought to be compelled to care for him until he is able to care for himself. — Oregon State Journal.
Socialist Up to a Certain Point
I was traveling in a Department of the South after the Revolution of February. I met one day a Mayor of a village, proprietor of a metairie. "Sir," said he to me, "what do they mean down there at Paris by that word 'Communism?' It is some sluggard's business is it not? So, at least, our curate says."
"It is a system of partition," replied I, "invented once on a time by a dreamer."
"What did he dream?"
"That the man who had a million francs should share it with the Commune."
His eye brightened. "Not a bad dream, either," said he.
"But further," I resumed, "that the man who has 100,000 francs should abandon the half to his neighbor."
"Well, he would still have enough with the other half."
"Then, that the man who has 50,000 francs should come down to 25,000 francs, through spirit of fraternity."
The face of the Mayor assumed a thoughtful tinge. "That may still do."
"Lastly, that the man who possesses 25,000 francs"—
"Twenty-five thousand francs," he interrupted, springing up with a bound, "that's the value of my farm; let him who would have a vine-stock belonging to it come and seek it. He will see how I will receive him, at the end of my musket."
—Les droits de l'homme.
An Odd Person.
Some young ladies were one day in the house of the Rev. B. Jacobs, talking about one of their friends. As he entered, he heard the epithets "odd," "singular," and the like, freely applied to somebody. He asked and was told the name of the young lady they were speaking of.
"Yes," he remarked very gravely, "she is a very odd lady; she is a very odd young lady; I consider her extremely singular;—she never was heard to speak ill of an absent friend." The rebuke was not forgotten by those who heard it.
Cheerful Piety in Scarcity
It is a fine illustration of cheerful piety which makes the best of everything, that in the early settlement of New England, when provisions were scarce, and the people did not know, from day to day, where they were to find food, one of them inviting his friends to dine had only clams to set before them, and at the table gave thanks to God, who “had given them to suck the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the sands!”
The Memory of Mothers
NEVER has one person forgotten his pure, right-educating mother. On the blue mountains of our dim childhood, toward which we ever turn and look, stand the mothers who marked out to us from hence our life.
God's Power to Save.
By Editor
A WRITER in the Sabbath Recorder on the parousia (coming, advent), says:—
"Millenarians and Adventists assume that the world is growing more and more wicked, and is thus ripening for destruction. Thus assuming that the gospel has proved itself insufficient to destroy sin and the works of the devil, and hence the Lord must resort to physical power or force, to regain his lost dominion or to hold his own, and is driven to the necessity of burning the world and all the wicked, the devil not excepted, in order to restore peace, and to have a heaven. To me such a view ignores the gospel as the power of God to save."
We have too much confidence in the writer to impute to him any designed irreverence for the words which the Lord hath spoken; and too much confidence in his church relation to believe he is intentionally aiding the cause of Universalism. But were it not that we know the author, and have a personal respect for him, we should hardly be able to stretch the mantle of our charity over such ideas as he has here presented.
There is no question at issue as to what God can do, or cannot do, or what the gospel might accomplish, if God so designed it. The only question with us is what he will do, and what he has declared the object of the gospel to be. One thing is undeniable, that, in the centuries past, the gospel has not destroyed sin except in individual cases. Shall we therefore declare that it has thus far been a failure? That it has not yet proved the power of God to save? It has done exactly what it was designed to do. It has made it possible for all to be saved. It has given a free invitation to all to come. And though the majority has refused, it has still accomplished what God foresaw it would; it has taken out of the nations a people for the name of God. Acts 15. But the Saviour's words have proved true, all through the ages, that few find the way to life, while many walk the way to destruction. Must this be reversed in order to prove that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation? Who so bold as to affirm that it will ever be reversed?
Prof. Finney, of Oberlin, once framed an argument on the same ground, against the idea of the advent near, and in favor of the conversion of the world. He made the full conversion of the world a matter of necessity; being based on the attributes of God. Thus: The majority of mankind has wicked in the past, and if the present dispensation should soon close, or if the majority of future generations should also be wicked, the ultimate number of the wicked would greatly overbalance the number of righteous, and so the majority of mankind would be lost. But to say that the majority will be lost is to say that God's plan of salvation is deficient in power or benevolence; for infinite power could save the majority, and infinite benevolence would save it. Hence, God's attributes are a sufficient guarantee that the majority will be saved. For we can only judge the attributes of Deity by their manifestation; and, if he should fail to save the greater number, malevolence, and not benevolence, would predominate in his character.
But this argument involves the character and government of God in the most serious consequences. For,
1. If it proves anything, it proves universal salvation. For if the benevolence of God must be measured by the proportion of the saved and the lost, there could be none lost, as his benevolence is infinite, and he has no malevolence to claim its share.
2. To say that if a majority is lost, it is proof of a deficiency in the divine plan, is to say that the number saved must be according to the number embraced in the plan; and therefore the plan could not embrace all.
3. It directly denies the free agency of man, making it necessary for God to save a majority, without regard to their choice or willingness to be saved. Or,
4. It makes the character or nature of the plan of salvation contingent on man's acceptance of it. That is, it is benevolent if a majority accepts it; if not, it is malevolent. And then, if man is free to choose, he has it in his choice to make God benevolent or malevolent, and so make the attribute of the Creator to depend on the action of the creature!
5. It denies the infinity of God's benevolence by making it a question of degrees. For, according to that argument, if the majority is saved, his benevolence would predominate; but if the majority is lost, his malevolence would predominate. And, of course, if the number of the saved and the lost were about equal, it would be impossible to determine the character of God!
And the argument actually charges the worst of these conclusions on the divine government; for the Scriptures plainly say that the number of the saved will be to that of the lost as the few to the many. But the benevolence of God, and the love of his Son, are determined, not by the number that will come, but by a provision of free salvation for all, so that whosoever will, may come, and have eternal life. The Saviour said, "Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life." So the failure to be saved is in their wills, not in the divine plan.
The writer says the Adventists "assume" that the world is growing more wicked and thus that the gospel has proved a failure, &c. In this we differ with him; we do not assume that in the last days perilous times shall come, and that evil men shall grow worse and worse; 2 Tim. 3. We do not assume that the number of the saved compared to that of the lost will be as the few to the many. To the contrary, these writers assume that the gospel must accomplish that for which there is neither promise nor prophecy. Was the preaching of Jesus a failure because the multitude rejected him? Was the mission of Noah a failure because the inhabitants of the world would not accept the warning? Was it proof of the inefficiency of divine provision for deliverance that the Lord "resorted to physical force or power" to sweep off a guilty generation?
The Saviour said that in the day when the Son of man is revealed it will be as it was in the days of Noah and of Lot. But this writer "assumes"—and the assumption is equaled only by the presumption—that at the coming of Christ it will not be as in the days of Noah and of Lot, for then the Lord did "resort to physical force or power" to subdue his enemies. He assumes that the enemies of Jesus will not be broken with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel; Ps. 2:9; that they will never be put under his feet; Heb. 10:12, 13; that he will not be revealed taking vengeance on them that know not God; 2 Thess. 1:7, 8; that he will not slay his enemies who will not have him to reign over them; Luke 19:27; that he will not gather them as bundles of tares to be burned; Matt. 13:30, 40-42. In a word that, when he comes he will bring to them all the good which he has not promised, and none of the evil which he has threatened.
When to Abraham it was promised that his seed should come in possession of that land, the fulfillment was deferred four hundred years because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. Gen. 15:13-16. So in the last days: Jesus said the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels; the Son of man, at his coming, will send forth his angels to gather his elect, and to bind his enemies to the burning. Compare Matt. 13 and 24. By the prophet Joel the Lord says, of that day:—"Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great." Joel 3:13. Therefore the wrath of God is manifested in the seven last plagues, which terminate in the battle of the great day of God. Rev. chapters 14, 15, 16, and 19. But the time would fail us to offer any considerable part of the testimony of the Scriptures to this point.
But one truth we should notice in justice to both the reader and to those who "assume" so much that is contrary to God's revealed word. The Lord has pointed out that, when his coming is near, certain ones will strive to quiet the minds of the people by denying that he is coming. Matt. 24:48-51; 2 Peter 3:3, 4. Paul says, "the Lord himself shall descend with a shout," &c., and when that day is near, certain ones will cry, "Peace and safety." They who say that the Lord will put forth his mighty power to overthrow the rebellious world, as he did in the days of Noah. But the word of God must not be hid. He says, "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. 5:3. We might quote many scriptures to the same intent, but further witness is not needed.
We would exhort those who deny the coming judgments of God when "the wrath of the Lamb" shall be manifested, to heed the admonitions given to the kings of the earth, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little." Ps. 2:12. Many live, and write, and even preach, as if the Son never would be angry; as if the day of his wrath would never come; as if the Lord Jesus never would take vengeance. But the day will come, and they who presume on his mercy will awake to a bitter disappointment.
Tract and Missionary Institute.
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
WE now have in contemplation a Tract Institute in this State. It is not fully decided where it would be best to hold it; possibly at Oakland. It would continue two full weeks. All should attend the full time. Hence they should come prepared to be at the place of the Institute over three Sabbaths. It will consist of: (1) A thorough course of instruction in book-keeping, as it relates to the tract and missionary work. (2.) The best methods of conducting V. M. societies, canvassing, and doing missionary work in its various phases. (3.) How to keep church books, both by church treasurers and clerks. (4.) General principles of conducting business meetings, parliamentary practices, common errors in holding business meetings pointed out, and such practical information as every S. D. A. should receive. There will also be theoretical instruction given in the Sabbath-school work, and a model Sabbath-school held each Sabbath morning in which all will be invited to participate. The Institute will probably be held after the middle of November. If this Institute is held we want to see at least 100 of our brethren and sisters from the California Conference present, and as many from the North Pacific Mission as can consistently attend. If held at Oakland the board at the boarding house of the Publishing Association can be had at $2.00 per week. A set of books and stationery which each student will require will not exceed one dollar. The ministers, tract officers, and every person who holds a position in the missionary work, or wishes to, should be present. In short, we design it to be a season of practical instruction in all that pertains to the duties above specified, and also a season of seeking God for his blessing. After consulting with those having in charge the Association, it is thought that room rent can be furnished free to those who bring their bedding; we think, therefore, that the entire expense of those coming will not exceed $6.00 while here, remaining over three Sabbaths, providing they bring their bedding. All are invited who wish to live on plain fare, and have plenty of hard study for two weeks that they may learn how better to do the Lord's work.
Whether the Institute will be held or not will be determined somewhat by the number that can attend. All such are requested to immediately direct a letter or postal to that effect to Signs of the Times, Oakland, Cal.
S. N. HASKELL.
New York Camp-Meeting.
By Editor
The following is from the Buffalo Express, which gives lengthy reports of the Belknap’s Park camp-meeting:—
The opening service was held Thursday, Sept. 18. Eld. White spoke from John 11:56: “What think ye, that He will not come to the feast?” The speaker dwelt at some length on the preparation necessary that Christ might be made welcome at the feast. In the afternoon Eld. Butler spoke from Luke 21:25–34, tracing down the lines of the prophecy of Daniel, chapters 2 and 7, to prove that the prophetic periods are fulfilled, and that the last days are near.
Friday morning W. C. White, vice-president of the General Sabbath-school Association, gave a brief address, containing some practical hints for Sabbath-school workers. At 10:30, A. M., Eld. White gave a clear and forcible discourse from Matt. 1:21. In the afternoon Eld. N. V. Hull, Seventh-day Baptist, editor of the Sabbath Recorder, spoke from the words, “Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
After “Blessed are they that do his commandments,” had been rendered by the choir, an intermission was given, when Mrs. White took the stand, and gave a thoroughly practical address, appealing to those professing to be Christians to avoid the danger of which they are warned in Luke 21:34–37.
Sept. 19. At nine the whole camp met in the pavilion for Sabbath-school. This was one of the principal features of the day. It had been previously classified and arranged in divisions, and teachers and conductors assigned. A large map of the Holy Land hung from the roof of the pavilion, and was freely used to illustrate the lessons. The four divisions, infant classes, children, youth and adults, had each their respective lessons suited to their needs. The lessons were those used by all the churches of this denomination. All, old and young, engaged in the exercises with enthusiasm: Fathers and mothers, young men and maidens, with faces lighted up with earnest thought, and little children, gathered301about their teachers with earnest eyes, and fresh young faces all aglow. The singing was from the Song Anchor, a new collection of Sabbath-school and other sacred music, which is largely used in connection with the other services.
Sunday the people came in from all directions, on foot and with teams; and twenty car loads arrived during a single service. The number of visitors at the park was probably not less than five thousand. The temperance work took up the attention of the meetings during most of the forenoon till the time of the preaching service. The subject of temperance takes a large place in the work of this people, and their platform is a broad one—covering not only what is usually included in the idea of temperance, but more; tobacco, opium, and kindred substances are discarded, and tea and coffee meet as a rule with little favor among them. Two discourses were given during the day, one by Eld. S. B. Whitney, and one by Eld. White, after which Mrs. White spoke upon the temperance question; the crowd beneath the pavilion sat listening intently to the close, while those outside pressed closer beneath the lifted walls to catch the speakers’ words. The large crowd dispersed as the train left, many of them returning to the evening service, when Eld. Butler addressed them upon the subject of sacrifice.
In connection with the camp-meeting was held the Pennsylvania Conference, also the annual meeting of the tract and missionary society. Nine persons were baptized, and four were ordained to the ministry.
"Beauty is Vain."
By Editor
A STRIKING illustration of this Bible truth has lately been presented in the world of gayety, fashion, and folly. A Mrs. Langtry has been astonishing London society by her remarkable beauty; all classes seemed ready and pleased to follow in her train. Her husband appeared to be as much flattered as herself by the adulations of the thoughtless crowd.
But now comes the news that the husband has instituted proceedings for a divorce, and that the Prince of Wales is cited as co-respondent in the suit. What a display for nobility and beauty! All recognize Queen Victoria as an exemplary mother,—we might say, a model mother; it must be a sore grief to her that the Prince has his name connected with such proceedings. But his surroundings have been full of danger, and his honors are not to be coveted. Better to be "little and unknown," and have our ways approved of God. Pride of beauty and noble birth will be poor stays in the day of judgment.
How many in every community are living the same "butterfly life." How many young people find their sole enjoyment in the beauty of their faces, or the decoration of their bodies, and take no thought for the day when they shall be weighed in the balances of infinite truth and justice.
What a depth of meaning as well as irony have the words of the wise man in Eccl. 11:9,—"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment."
California Tract Society.
By Stephen N. Haskell
THE church quarterly meetings are now past, but we wish to speak of the duties of the officers in view of the meetings yet to come.
We have sent to each librarian a blank report to fill out immediately and send to the district secretary. Please look carefully to your report, and fill it out where any labor has been performed. It should include the number of subscribers that were obtained by individuals at the camp-meeting.
Next Sabbath and Sunday is the time of the district quarterly meeting. Our librarians must not fail to report to the district secretary in season for this meeting. These meetings should have been appointed by each director; but owing to the fact that their appointments were not received, they were left as appointed last quarter. Doubtless the places of some of these meetings are not the best, but we did the best we could under the circumstances.
We also send this week to each district secretary a blank for him to fill out and return to the State secretary. There should be no delay here whatever.
Then comes the third Sabbath and first-day in the quarter, which will be the 18th and 19th of October, at which time the State quarterly meetings are held all over the country. But in view of the nearness of the time to the camp-meeting and the anticipation of holding a Tract Institute in this State soon, it is thought best not to have any general meeting, but each district secretary will report just the same to the State secretary, that a report may be immediately sent to Battle Creek, Mich., in season for the Supplement. If the librarians fail to report then the district secretary cannot report; and it will be missing in your State secretary's report, and the Supplement will show it.
We hope there will be prompt effort by each librarian and district secretary in the State. In some instances we have sent to some member in the church, not knowing who is the librarian.