The curious controversy that is going on in Chicago respecting Dr. Goodwin’s recent sermons on the second coming of Christ affords a striking illustration of the conception, happily rapidly growing antiquated, held in certain quarters respecting the function of the ministry. Dr. Goodwin preached four evidently thoughtful sermons on the Second Advent. At the close of these sermons one of the members of his church, a Mr. Hammond, rose and read a protest against them on the double ground that they were erroneous in their interpretation of the Scriptures and false to the traditional creed of the Congregational Church. The church evidently thought that for a member to break in on the ordinary service of the sanctuary with an unsolicited contribution of his own was not in accordance with the traditional ritual of the Congregational Church, for at a subsequent meeting they voted unanimously their disapprobation of the innovation. A resolution requesting the pastor not to press his points further was promptly tabled; and the controversy has now been removed from the arena of the church to that of the press.
The Bible gives two contrasted features of the Messiah. He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and he is also King of kings and Lord of lords; there is no beauty in him that we should desire him, and he is chief among ten thousand and altogether lovely; he is despised and rejected of men, and he is the ensign to which all the nations of the earth assemble; he is a root out of dry ground, and he is like the cedars of Lebanon for strength and beauty. In the Old Testament the kingly aspect is the prominent aspect. So true is this that when Christ came the whole Jewish nation rejected him. This son of a carpenter, this Nazarene, this fellow without a place whereon to lay his head, said they, is no King of kings, no Prince of peace, no Everlasting Father, no Master and Lord and Deliverer. The disciples themselves, they that loved him most, were as much perplexed as any by the contrast between the promise of prophecy and the alleged fulfillment. All through his life they regarded him as a king incognito, they looked constantly for an uncovering of his glory, and when he died without a sign of it they also gave up their hope and went back to their fishing. Not till by the resurrection, the repeated appearances, the ascension, and the prophetic teachings of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, did they pluck up heart and hope again. And this they did because they looked for a second coming, a new manifestation. We have seen the Man of sorrows, they said; we are yet to see the King in his beauty. We have seen the seed dropped in the ground and dying there unnoticed; we are yet to see the flower divine in its fragrance and its beauty. He was subject unto death: he will be exalted above every name. He endured the cross despising the shame, because he lived having ever in view the joy set before him. He is the Lamb slain; but it is the Lamb slain that is to be the King in his glory, before whom all the redeemed shall bow. Thus the New Testament looks both ways; backward to a Saviour crucified and suffering; forward to a King crowned and glorious and masterful, having universal dominion, known, honored, obeyed of all men.
The church has looked back long enough; it is high time to look forward. The prophecies of humiliation the Jews disregarded; the prophecies of exaltation we disregard. It is quite time that the church turned its face upward and forward, “looking,” as Paul bids Titus do, “for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”—Christian Union, Aug. 14.
SEVEN SHORT RULES FOR YOUNG CHRISTIANS.
By Brownlow North
1. Never neglect daily private prayer; and when you pray remember that God is present, and that he hears your prayers. Heb. 11:6.
2. Never neglect daily private Bible-reading; and when you read remember that God is speaking to you, and that you are to believe and act upon what he says. I believe all backsliding begins with the neglect of these two rules. John 5:39.
3. Never profess to ask God for anything you do not want. Tell him the truth about yourself, however bad it makes you; and then ask him for Christ’s sake to forgive you for what you are, and to make you what you ought to be. John 4:24.
4. Never let a day pass without trying to do something for Jesus. Every night reflect on what Jesus has done for you, and then ask yourself, What have I done to-day for him? Matt. 5:13-16.
5. If ever you are in doubt as to whether a thing is right or wrong, go to your room and kneel down and ask God’s blessing upon it. Col. 3:16. If you cannot do this it is wrong. Rom. 14:23.
6. Never take your Christianity from Christians, or argue that because such and such people do so and so, therefore you may. John 21:22. You are to ask yourself, “How would Christ act in my place?” and strive to follow him. John 10:27.
7. Never believe what you feel, if it contradicts God’s word. Ask yourself, “Can what I feel be true?” and if both cannot be true, believe God and make your own heart the liar. Rom. 3:4; 1 John 5:10, 11.
—Brownlow North.
Wise and Brave
A young lady in Cincinnati did a sensible and brave thing a few days ago. The report of the affair says that some time ago she discovered that her affianced was in the habit of drinking, but he promised never to drink again, and she forgave him. The wedding day was set, but in the morning the young man indulged his appetite. The two were standing side by side, and a moment more would have found them husband and wife, when the expectant bridegroom turned toward the lady, and his tell-tale breath spoke of whisky. When the lady was asked if she would take the man for her husband the response came faintly, “No!” and on a second repetition of the question she decisively replied, “No.” She then turned to her lover, accused him of breaking his promise, and declared that she could not trust her happiness with such a man. It is a pity all young women are not as wise as this one.—Religious Intelligencer.
Simplicity of the Bible
SIMPLICITY OF THE BIBLE.—The Bible was written for the people—the common people—the mass: and if God had not meant the word of faith to be understood in a common-sense way, he would have prepared the Bible with a dictionary, and have explained the nature of believing; but as there is no such explanation given, we infer that we are to understand it just as it is understood in ordinary language among men.
LESSONS FOR BIBLE CLASSES.
By G. H. Bell
LESSON XIV.—THE WORLDLY SANCTUARY.
QUESTIONS.
1. What prophetic words did the Lord put in the mouth of Moses as he was singing the song of deliverance after the crossing of the Red Sea? Ex. 15:2.
2. When did the Lord instruct Moses in regard to the building of the sanctuary?
3. What materials were the people requested to bring? Ex. 25:1–7.
4. Who of the people were to bring these offerings? Verse 2.
5. What command is given in the eighth verse?
6. How was Moses to know how to build the sanctuary? Verses 9, 40.
7. After what was the worldly sanctuary patterned? Heb. 9:23.
8. Where is this sanctuary described?
9. What were its dimensions?
10. Describe the walls.
11. How was it covered?
12. Describe the inner covering.
13. What was represented by the figures of cherubim?
14. Of what material was each of the other curtains made?
15. How was the sanctuary itself divided?
16. How were the apartments separated?
17. Where was the entrance to the sanctuary?
18. By what was this entrance closed?
19. What was this curtain called?
20. What terms were applied to the curtain that separated the two apartments? Heb. 9:3; Ex. 26:31.
21. What was the first apartment called?
22. What did it contain?
23. What was the second apartment called?
24. What did it contain?
25. What was deposited in the ark?
26. By what was the tabernacle surrounded?
27. What were the dimensions of the court?
28. How was the court inclosed?
29. Where was the gate of the court?
30. Describe it.
31. What stood between the gate of the court and the door of the tabernacle?
32. What was between the brazen altar and the tabernacle?
SYNOPSIS.
In the song of deliverance sung by Moses after the crossing of the Red Sea, he says of God, “I will prepare him an habitation.” Ex. 15:2.
After the children of Israel had received the law at Mount Sinai, the Lord instructed Moses in regard to building a sanctuary. In Ex. 25:1–7 he tells him what materials are to be collected by the people. In the eighth verse, he says, “And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”
In the ninth verse the Lord promises to give Moses a pattern of the tabernacle and of all the instruments thereof. In the 40th verse he gives him a special charge to make all things according to their pattern shown him in the mount. In the twenty-sixth and thirty-sixth chapters of Exodus, this sanctuary is described. Its length was thirty cubits; its breadth and height each ten cubits. Its walls were made of upright boards, or planks, overlaid with gold, and bound together with bars passing through rings of gold, and at the bottom by tenons and sockets. It was covered by four coverings of different material. The inner covering was of gold and purple and scarlet and fine-twined linen, wrought with figures of cherubim. These were to represent the heavenly host in the sanctuary above. Dan. 7:10; Rev. 5:11.
The second curtain was of cloth woven from goats’ hair; the third was made of rams’ skins, dyed red. Some eminent writers think that these skins were not colored, but taken from a kind of sheep that bear red wool, and are still found in that country.
The fourth, or outer, covering was of badgers’ skins, and is supposed to have been impervious to moisture.
The sanctuary itself was divided into two apartments, separated by a curtain of the same material as the inner covering. The entrance to the sanctuary was on the east end. It was closed by a curtain similar to the one that separated the two apartments. This is called the hanging of the door of the tabernacle, and is sometimes considered as the first veil. The curtain that separated the two apartments was called the second veil, and sometimes simply the veil.
The first apartment was called the holy place. It was twenty cubits long and contained the altar of incense, the table of show bread, and the golden candlestick.
The second apartment was called the most holy place. It was ten cubits every way, and contained the ark of the covenant in which was deposited the tables of the law,—the ten commandments written by the finger of God.
The tabernacle was surrounded by an open space called the court. This court was one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits broad. The wall that inclosed it was five cubits high, and consisted of a curtain of fine-twined linen, supported by brass pillars. On the east end of the court, for the distance of thirty cubits, the curtain was of finer material, and curiously embroidered in the most beautiful colors. This was called the gate of the court.
Between the gate of the court and the door of the tabernacle was the brazen altar, where animals were to be offered as sacrifices, and between that and the tabernacle was the laver, where the priests washed. G. H. BELL.
What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life
By James White
his soul, came running and kneeling to him to be instructed. “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” was the earnest inquiry. “Thou knowest the commandments,” was the response, “Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and thy mother.” Mark 10:17–19.
There can be no question as to what our Lord means by the word “commandments” in his answer to this young man, as he refers to five of the ten precepts of the moral code. The question of the young man relates to what he must do to inherit life eternal. The Lord does not say to him that he has nothing to do, that he has only to believe and he is saved. No; instead of supporting the modern heresy that faith without works will save men, he cites the moral code, obedience to which the Master makes a condition of obtaining eternal life. With this agree our Lord’s words in Matt. 19:17: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” We do not say by any means that obedience to the commandments of God is the only condition of eternal life; but as this is one condition, no man can gain the eternal inheritance of the saints who does not keep the commandments of God. The whole truth touching the conditions of eternal life is expressed by Paul at Miletus to the elders of the church whom he called from Ephesus, in these words:— “Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:18–22. Here are the conditions of eternal life; first, repentance toward God, because of disobedience of his holy law, which implies ceasing to do evil and learning to do well, or with godly sorrow turning from a life of sin to that of obedience; second, the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. And again the whole is summed up in the closing words of the third angel’s message: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.
The Master loved this young man, because from his youth he had observed the letter of the moral code. And yet this noble youth, like many in our day who are deceiving themselves with the thought that they are all right because they have cast in their lot with a people who observe all ten of the commandments of God, when weighed in gospel balances was found wanting. “One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, take up thy cross and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved; for he had great possessions.” Verses 21, 22.
The test upon this wealthy youth was indeed a very close one. The Lord did not require of him merely a tithe of his income, which was the Lord’s, and which is so strong a temptation to the covetous professed people of the Lord in our day that some rob God of a portion or all of it; but he says to him, “Sell whatsoever thou hast,” meaning all that he had of both real and personal property. The Lord made it necessary that he should make a clean sweep of his earthly treasures that he might have treasure in heaven. If such a test should be laid upon the people of our day, when the love of money is the ruling passion of the age, Jesus would have fewer followers in the nineteenth century than he had in the first. Did the young man go away from the Master grieved? Under the same test, some who profess to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, would be tempted to go away and hang themselves. There are many who pity this young man whom Jesus loved, but we suggest that they reserve their tears for themselves and children, as Christ said to the daughters of Israel, “Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your children.” Did great possessions keep one man from the kingdom of God in the first century? Small possessions will keep a thousand from the kingdom in the nineteenth century.
“And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God.” At this saying the disciples were astonished. “But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God.” Verses 23, 24. Here our Lord speaks of the doubtful condition of those who trust in their riches. As we stated in a previous article, no one ever trusted in his wealth to carry him to the immortal kingdom of God, therefore Jesus here speaks of those who trust in their riches for their safety and support during this mortal life.
Our Lord here illustrates the impossibility of a rich man entering the kingdom of God with his riches by the very forcible figure of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. We are not ignorant of the sophistry by which men who live on fat salaries from rich church members get their wealthy patrons into the kingdom of God. They take the needle from the illustration, and put in its place a certain gate in old Jerusalem called the needle’s eye. But in this case they also state that the burden had to be removed from the camel’s back, and he get down upon his knees before he could pass through this gate. All of this may be true of the gate and the camel passing through it, and if the figure be worth anything, it shows that rich men must dispose of their riches in the Lord’s appointed way before they can enter the kingdom. But as this would hurt them worse than drawing their teeth, they will fail to get those who trust in their riches to the kingdom of God.
But Jesus does not speak of Jerusalem or its gates in this connection. In his illustration of the impossibility of a rich man entering the kingdom he uses these words, which mean just what they say, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” When it can be shown that a camel is a mule, then it may be made to appear that “the eye of a needle” means one of the gates of Jerusalem. How forcible the figure! How impossible for those who trust in their riches to gain heaven! Would any of our rich friends who are very anxious to inherit the kingdom, and quite as anxious to hold on to their property, test this matter? Then let them take a sewing needle, a darning needle if they think a common sewing needle too small, and fasten the point in a board, and if they can lead a camel or a horse through it, then they are elected sure, with all their riches, for the kingdom of God.
The wondering disciples were astonished above measure at their Master’s figure of the camel passing through the eye of a needle, and said among themselves, “Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Verses 26, 27. It is possible for God to save a rich man if he complies with what God requires in his word. In God’s plan to save lost men, he has ordained that the gospel of his great salvation be published to the world by men. He has also ordained that those who have this world’s goods should give of their abundance for the support of the gospel, and to feed and clothe the worthy poor who need help. And the Lord has plainly spoken in his word on this subject. If rich men will listen and obey, and use their wealth in the cause of God, they will not only enter into the kingdom of God, but they will have a great reward to enjoy throughout the ceaseless rounds of eternal ages. Amen. J. W.
THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
By James White
In the good providence of God we are spared to near the close of another Conference year, and are soon to assemble at Battle Creek, at our annual feast of tabernacles. The precious fruits with which God has crowned our labors the past year in the ingathering of souls, call from us expressions of gratitude. In view of the Lord’s tender care for us and for the cause in which we labor, love to him should swell every breast. “Good is the Lord and greatly to be praised,” should be proclaimed by every voice.
In the Sacred Record of God’s providential dealings with his people, instances are given of the manifestations of his love and power. And that the people might not forget God, and turn to idolatry, but keep their gracious Deliverer and Benefactor in perpetual remembrance, they were to commemorate these mighty acts of the Lord. By these memorials they called to mind God’s goodness to them in the past, to their profit. We might here mention the Sabbath, which commemorates the Creator’s rest on the seventh day after his work of creation in six days.
The great object of the Sabbatic institution was to keep the living God in perpetual remembrance, lest the people forget the Lord and turn to idolatry. As we cease from secular labor and care on the sanctified Rest-day of the Lord, and through the works of his hands in the heavens above, in the earth and in the sea, we are93led to adore the Creator and worship before him; God would be held in perpetual remembrance. “The Sabbath was made for man.” It was instituted for the good of the race. And if the fallen sons and daughters of Adam had always observed this sacred memorial of Jehovah, there could not have been an atheist or an idolater.
The passover was observed by the Hebrews for sixteen hundred years as a memorial of God’s great love and power in their deliverance from the house of bondage. When the Lord was about to bring upon Egypt the death of the first-born, the Israelites were directed to slay a male lamb, without blemish, on the fourteenth day of the first month, and strike the blood of the lamb on the two side-posts and on the upper door-posts of their houses. The destroying angel was that night to go on his work of death, and as he should pass through Egypt to slay the first-born of both man and beast, he would see the blood of the lamb upon the doors of the Hebrews, and pass over them as he should go on his mission of slaughter. The annual celebration of the passover called to mind their wonderful deliverance, and thus kept their Deliverer in perpetual remembrance.
The same great design is seen in the seven days feast of unleavened bread. At midnight, following the fourteenth day of the month, all Egypt was in terror. The Lord by his angel smote all the first-born of the land, from the house of the king who sat upon the throne of Egypt to the family of the lowest serf, and also the first-born of cattle. Pharaoh and his servants rose up in the night, and there was a great cry in Egypt. Moses and Aaron received the imperative order, “Rise up, and get ye forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go serve the Lord, as ye have said.” The Egyptians were urgent that they should leave Egypt in haste, giving as a reason, lest “we be all dead men.”
The departure of the Hebrews was in such haste that they took their dough before it was leavened and their kneading troughs bound up with their clothes upon their shoulders, and of necessity baked heavy cakes of the unleavened dough for breakfast on the morning of the fifteenth day of the month, hence the feast of unleavened bread for sixteen hundred years commenced on the fifteenth day of the month Abib. Leaven was put out of all the houses of the Hebrews for the period of seven days in commemoration of their being thrust out of Egypt in such haste that they had no time to leaven, or raise, their dough. And as their children, who doubtless became tired of eating heavy bread one long week, should inquire the cause, the thrilling history of their deliverance from Egypt should be rehearsed to them, that they might not forget Him who had with a high hand and an outstretched arm brought them from the house of bondage.
In harmony with the history and design of the memorials of the Bible, the apostle addresses those who are waiting for the second coming of Christ, in these words: “Call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated ye endured a great fight of affliction.” Please go back with us a quarter of a century to the time when we had no church organization, no houses of worship, no tents in the field, no system of benevolence for the support of the ministry, no periodicals or publications of any kind, no Conference, no College, no houses of publication, and only four representatives of the present truth, who spoke only occasionally to small congregations, in private houses, school-houses, halls, and in the groves.
Friends of the cause could then be counted by tens, and these were generally very poor. And the men whom God first called to this work were penniless. Then the light that shone upon the track of truth for this time was not as clear as it is to-day, while at the same time prejudice and the spirit of opposition pressed more heavily.
In our poverty we were then obliged to labor at chopping wood and mowing grass to earn means to pay traveling expenses to the first two Conferences held in the interest of the Third Angel’s Message. And that our hard-earned dollars might be laid the longest way, we made long journeys in second-class cars, lower decks of steamboats and canal boats.
We commenced publishing with means earned by the hardest of labor while suffering from feeble health. Then as we traveled with limited means, we circulated our first publications without money and without price. Thus in humility this great work commenced. The unpopular truths of God’s word connected with the last message of warning to the world were searched out with many prayers and tears, until link after link appeared clear as the noon-day sun, forming the perfect chain of sanctifying truth in which twenty thousand Seventh-day Adventists this day rejoice. And, best of all, God was with the little band of self-sacrificing, trusting ones. Would God that he was with the thousands now as with the few then.
While struggling with poverty at that time, when the hand of opposition was heavy upon us, and when undisciplined novices were bringing confusion into our feeble ranks, we would cry unto the Lord in earnestness and faith, and he would bring deliverance, and bright hope would shine upon our path; fanaticism would be checked, and the opposition would be rebuked. Then we could adopt the language of the psalmist, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say; if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us; then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul; then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.” Ps. 124:1-6.
The work then was attended with difficulties and discouragements at every point and had to be urged forward by main strength and vigilance. Our opponents made work for us, but in every test the Lord gave the victory, and the truth shone clearer than before, so that Seventh-day Adventists are indebted to that candid opposition, which indeed has been scarce, as a means of driving those who have stood for the defense of the truth to study the word more closely, and arm themselves for the battle. J. W.
(To be continued.)
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE.
By James White
(Continued.)
We here give a few cases of those who have freely and liberally given of their means to support the cause when its friends were few, and the fulfillment in their cases of the text which says that those who thus scatter their means will have them increased.
We became acquainted with a farmer in Central New York as early as 1847, who, with his wife and children, then observed the Sabbath. They were then living on a rented farm. The wife was feeble and was then the mother of four small children, the eldest eleven years of age. This brother then owned a span of horses, a farm wagon and two cows, probably worth four or five hundred dollars. But at our first visit at the hired house of this dear family, the husband and father handed us of his scanty purse liberally, and with his team helped us on our way. From that day he gave liberally, amounting in all to a handsome property, and from that day also his property increased until in the time of high prices he was supposed to be worth twenty thousand dollars. They have now six living children, all in the faith. Five of them have married those who are also in the faith. A son-in-law, after filling an important position, sleeps in bright hope, while his widow holds an important position at our California Publishing House. And now after some of the children have been liberally helped and others have been educated, the parents have left, notwithstanding the depreciation of the value of real estate, a threefold competency. God grant that they may finish their course with faithfulness and joy, that as they have received a hundred-fold in this world they may in the world to come reap life everlasting.
A brother who was a blacksmith at Jackson, Michigan, embraced the Sabbath in 1849 under the labors of Elder Joseph Bates, and he at once felt that it was his duty to give of his hard earnings to support the cause. He commenced by handing a five-dollar gold piece to preachers of the present truth who enjoyed the hospitalities of his good home over night. In the morning, as they took their leave of the family, the piece of gold was sure to come from his liberal hand. And when means were raised for tents and the support of tent companies, for printing presses and material, or to send missionaries into new fields, the donations of D. R. P. have stood among the receipts always as large as those of any other, and generally the largest.
About fifteen years since we were conversing with him in his shop upon the subject of giving, and the providence of God in blessing the cheerful giver, when he invited us to take a seat with him upon the huge frame of his sling, where he shoes oxen, and talk the matter over. He remarked in substance as follows:— “I commenced to hand out of my means immediately after receiving the Sabbath. I have felt that I must have a share in every enterprise for the advancement of the cause, and it has been a pleasure to give as much as any other one, and now I am worth four times as much as when I began to keep the Sabbath. Here he broke down and wept freely, but they were tears of joy in view of the providence of God in blessing his labors, in fulfillment of the words of Christ, ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.’ Luke 6:38. This brother has given for the support of the cause, from first to last, a large property, and has retired from the hard labor of his trade moderately wealthy. May he never become weary in well-doing.”
We became acquainted with Bro. J. P. K. as early as 1855. He was then a farmer in Livingston county, Michigan. He and his good family had just embraced the Sabbath. His health was failing from hard labor on the farm, and the members of his family were generally feeble. But this brother was ardent in the cause, and it was put into his heart by the Spirit of God that he should use his means to spread the present truth. He sold his farm for six thousand dollars, and began to use it in earnest. He urged us to take sixty dollars at the time we held a Conference in his neighborhood; and as we had no immediate use for it we refused it. But on our arrival at Rochester, N. Y., we found a letter containing the sixty dollars. We gave him credit for this sum, and at a later date, when the Review Office was moved to Battle Creek, and he was much reduced in property, we handed him the sixty dollars, thanking him for the use of the money several years.
Bro. J. P. K. moved his large family to Jackson, and there gave of his means with a liberal hand to that extent that when he moved to Battle Creek a few years later, and when the subject of Systematic Benevolence was first introduced, he put his property down at fifteen hundred dollars. Then, by the advice of the writer in harmony with his own convictions of duty, he took up his former business of the manufacture of brooms. God blessed his labors to that degree that he was able to stand in the first ranks of the liberal donors in the establishment of our institutions at Battle Creek, and in a few years he put down his property on the S. B. book at ten thousand dollars. And although he now feels the infirmities of age and toil, and has reduced his property to a liberal competency, he has the satisfaction of knowing that he has sent thousands of his earthly treasure before him to be laid up in heaven, waiting for him when the Master shall come, and that he had the privilege of lifting at the great wheel of the cause when the car moved hard and slowly, and when a hundred dollars was worth more to the cause and will tell in heaven more than a thousand given now.
One case more and we dismiss this part of the subject. We know a preacher of present truth who commenced in the message with broken-down health as early as 1846. At that time he married one that was very feeble. They were penniless. After the birth of their first child, he supported his family by chopping cord wood, and had a small surplus to bear their expenses to the first Conference held in the interest of the third message. This meeting was held at Rock Hill, Conn., in the spring of 1848. In that State he earned forty dollars, which bore their expenses to Western New York, where the second Conference was held. On their return, the Lord showed sister W. that if they were faithful he would bless them in this life a hundred-fold the money earned in the hay field, and crown them with the gift of life eternal in the world to come. At that time they did not expect to ever own a home of their own, and were content with the humblest fare if they could see the cause of truth prosper.
In thirteen years from the time that promise was given, they owned the property on the north-east corner of Washington and Champion streets, Battle Creek, Michigan, worth four thousand dollars, just a hundred-fold the forty dollars earned mowing hay in the State of Connecticut. Their labors and privations have been great. Their house and their purse have ever been open to the servants of God. During each five years of their labors they have given more for the cause than they were worth at the commencement of the five years. They have each had not less than four shocks of paralysis, from which God has raised them to physical and mental power, and now while journeying on in the second half-century of life, they stand in the front ranks of the battle.
In the Rocky Mountains, in the year 1873, they gave themselves, their children, and their property to the Lord in a solemn covenant, praying that the Lord would accept them, their children, and their property, and use them and it in his cause. Since that time has been a period of their most efficient labors; their sons have filled important positions at our publishing houses at Battle Creek and Oakland, and it has been their pleasure to put fifteen thousand dollars into the several branches of the cause; and after doing their duty by their children they have fourfold a humble competency, and are anxiously watching for opportunities to put it where it will best serve the cause to which they have given their lives.
J. W.
(To be continued.)
THE RICH MAN, THE CAMEL, AND THE EYE OF A NEEDLE
FAITH AND FEAR.—NO. 3.
THE RICH MAN, THE CAMEL, AND THE EYE OF A NEEDLE.
In the two former numbers we have shown that both Christ and Paul have set forth a life of willing obedience in widest contrast with that hesitancy which is the result of fear to trust the promises of God. In this article we call attention to the declaration of the Saviour respecting those who trust in this world's riches. Jesus loved the young man who, in the earnestness of
OHIO CAMP-MEETING.
By Joseph Harvey Waggoner
This meeting we consider a good one for the cause in Ohio. We were all glad to meet Bro. Canright there. His preaching and his counsel were timely, well suited to the present wants of this State.
The location was well chosen, and the ground well prepared. The outside attendance was not nearly as large as last year; but Sunday was a rainy day. The attendance of the churches was better than last year, yet we regretted to find some churches so poorly represented.
Social meetings and family meetings in the tents were not all that we could desire. But we think they indicated a better condition than those of last year. Some of the causes of discouragement, to which I referred some time since in the REVIEW, still exist, but there appeared to be more of a hopeful feeling that these will be removed and the cause will rise.
All sympathized heartily with Bro. St. John, who was very feeble at the time of the meeting; the condition of his health is such that it is impossible for him to continue to bear any heavy responsibilities in the work. Last year it was only at the earnest solicitation of Bro. Smith and myself that he consented to act as president of the Conference; and we knew not what else to do. But it became so apparent that the burden was more than he could bear in his feebleness, that his friends desired to see him relieved. Rather than to have him taxed so heavily, they were willing to leave the office vacant for a time.
It is hardly necessary to speak of Bro. Stone’s part in such a meeting, as his gift is so generally understood. His speaking and singing are equally interesting. His selections, being always well chosen, serve to impress the truth which is presented.
Ohio is a large State, and a rich State, and the cause ought to be far in advance of what it now is. The interest manifested in the proposed mission to England, and in other parts of the work, proves that there are many here who have the truth deep in their hearts, and are willing to do all they can toward its successful proclamation. About $3,500 was readily pledged to the English mission, a tent fund, a meeting-house fund, and for the Dime Tabernacle. The Lord will certainly bless their efforts, and we expect to see the result in a revival of the work among them. They who hold back in such a time as this will suffer loss.
Quite a number attended this as their first camp-meeting among Seventh-day Adventists. Other companies would doubtless have been represented had the president been able to visit them as he contemplated.
The meeting was too brief, and the time too much taken up with business, to be of much profit to the people of Tiffin. But they were much pleased with the order of the meeting, and interested in what they heard. It has caused a great deal of talk in the city, and we hope that fruit may some day appear. Our faith has never been preached there.
The preaching was largely of a practical character. Eld. Canright gave some stirring discourses to the friends of the cause. Many indicated their desire to see the work revived by requesting prayers. Ten were baptized in the Sandusky River. Most of the doctrinal discourses related to the signs of the times, and the law and Sabbath. All were edified and comforted, and we hope the good resolutions formed may be put in practice, and the coming year be one of still greater prosperity in the work of God than that just past.