Review and Herald, Vol. 54, No. 10.
CHRISTIANS, CHRIST'S REPRESENTATIVESPage 1
Earlier text: CHRISTIANS, CHRIST'S REPRESENTATIVES[The following is a report, by the Chicago Tribune, of a sermon preached in that city by the Evangelist Maj. Whittle, Sunday, Aug. 3. As an evangelist, Mr. Whittle stands second only to Mr. Moody. And while we cannot indorse every portion of his discourse, it contains so much truth on the second appearing of Christ, the new earth as the reward of God's people, and allusions to the mortality of the soul, and life only through the resurrection, that we rejoice in its being preached in cities like Chicago, and being published in the leading papers. G. B. S.] Maj. Whittle read for his text the numerous passages in Rev. 2 and 2 Peter 3, bearing on this theme of the second coming, after which he proceeded to say that the Bible taught that the earth was the scene of God's redemptive work, while it presented very little comparatively about Heaven. As it presented the earth as the scene of the glory to come, so it presented Christ as the source of spiritual life for mankind. It had little to say about spirits, but for the most part occupied itself with facts,—something tangible. There was no apprehension of God as a spirit, but God manifest in Christ. The truth in connection with his manifestation was presented in a real, practical, tangible way. It was a mark of the early unbelief on the subject of Christ's coming that men looked for some spirituality, some spirit, some spiritualizing of the truth of a personal Jesus. Men in all generations had been ready to speculate about the immortality of the soul and a spiritual existence beyond the grave, and had tried to ingraft on the record their spiritualizing notions concerning the existence of the spirit apart from the body, denying that there had been a manifestation in the flesh. So men to-day turned away from the real truth, and taught and insisted not only that Christ's promises were not to be literally but figuratively interpreted, but that he had not come in the flesh but in the spirit. But there were remarkable fulfillments of Scripture concerning his first coming, which was surely visible and not to be spiritualized away. After his resurrection he left abundant evidences that could not be disputed concerning the reality of that resurrection. In that resurrected body he testified that he was to come again. Why, then, should we look for any other fulfillment of the Scriptures than that his second coming was to be a real, bodily, physical following of the prophecies, the same as at his first? In this connection the evangelist proceeded to enumerate the instances in which the first appearing was a literal fulfillment of prophecy, and to maintain that a harmonious interpretation would seem to compel the adoption of a literal fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the second coming. The denials of this truth, in the light of all the testimonies on it, were enough to make one sad. Stephen had seen the risen Christ in his glory, and Saul, on his way to Damascus, had caught a vision of him in his glory and power. Nowhere in the Bible was it taught that the present dispensation was the conversion of the world. In a late conversation with Dr. John Hall, that eminent divine had told the speaker that the present dispensation, in his belief, was to be the gathering of the church, and, when that had been accomplished, the Lord would come. God would have his people out of this world, the speaker continued. The restoration of the Jews and the rebuilding of the temple would, he believed, precede the conversion of the world. There was too much preaching now of a belief in death as synonymous with Christ's coming, when the testimony of the Scripture was that Christ's coming meant life, not death. When he came to Lazarus there was a resurrection of life, and glory, and power. The coming of the Lord, wherever it was referred to in the New Testament, never meant death, but always life and a glorious hereafter. Then there were those who believed that Jesus had already come at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, in the year 79 A. D., relying on the prophecy, “This generation shall not pass away until all these things shall be fulfilled.” But the proper interpretation of this passage, according to Dean Alford, was that that generation should not pass away until a beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecies should be made; and the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of Jewish people were a beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecies. The word “generation,” moreover, meant “nation,” and the sense of prophecy was clearly this: that the Jewish nation was not to be passing away until all these things should be fulfilled. Besides, writing in the year 96 A. D., seventeen years after the destruction of Jerusalem, John still spoke of the second coming as the crowning event of the future. In conclusion, Maj. Whittle warned his hearers that Christ might come at any time. The man who pretended to be able to name a day or an hour was a deceiver, for no man knew “the day nor the hour when the Son of man cometh.” The signs of the times, however, in his opinion, proclaimed Christ's speedy appearing, though neither he nor other men could predict the day or the hour of his coming. God's people were commanded to watch and pray that they might be ready when the great day came. “Behold, I come quickly,” Jesus had said, while the church was represented as responding, “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.” God grant that even such might continue to be its response, and the attitude of God's people one of watching, waiting, and praying. THE CHRISTIAN'S CLOTHING.
WHAT SHOULD BE A CHRISTIAN'S CLOTHING.
He should have the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Isa. 61 : 3. He should be clothed with the garments of salvation, and covered with the robe of righteousness. Isa. 61 : 10. He should put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Eph. 4 : 24. He should put on the whole armor of God, that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph. 6 : 11. He should have his loins girt about with truth. Eph. 6 : 14. He should have on the breastplate of righteousness. Eph. 6 : 14. He should have his feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Eph. 6 : 15. He should above all take the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph. 6 : 16, 17. He should put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him. Col. 3 : 10. He should put on as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. Col. 3 : 12. He should put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation. 1 Thess. 5 : 8. His robes should be washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Rev. 7 : 14. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Rev. 3 : 5. WHAT SHOULD NOT BE A CHRISTIAN'S CLOTHING.
He should not be clothed with filthy garments. Zech. 3 : 3. He should not wear a rough garment to deceive. Zech. 13 : 4. He should put off the body of the sins of the flesh. Col. 2 : 11. He should put off the old man with his deeds. Col. 3 : 9. He should hate even the garment spotted with the flesh. Jude 23. “I counsel thee to buy of me . . . white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.” Rev. 3 : 18. RAVAGES OF THE PLAGUE.
By Baltimore Correspondent
WHAT MANKIND SUFFERED IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
If we glance at the history of the frightful devastations that have marked the visits of the plague to the earth, mankind has reason to tremble before the dread specter whose appearance the Russians evoked on their pleasure trip to Constantinople, and which now threatens all Europe. Plague epidemics are recorded of almost every century. In the first year of the Peloponnesian war the plague raged with terrible violence in Athens, and Greece’s greatest statesman at that time, Pericles, was one of its victims. But not until the fourteenth century did it become a scourge to the entire world, traveling as it did then from the eastern boundaries of Asia through China, India, and Russia, and punishing with equal severity the inhabitants of the Pyrenean peninsula and the hardened people of Scandinavia and Iceland. And if the western hemisphere had been discovered at that time, and active communication and traffic with it had existed, there can be no doubt that the grim destroyer would have visited America also. It is, indeed, by no means certain but that the plague did reach this continent, since there are Indian legends which speak of a time of great mortality long before the advent of Europeans. It is estimated that not less than 52,000,000 persons fell victims to the black death in Asia and Europe toward the middle of the fourteenth century. Of these, 15,000,000 are supposed to have perished in Europe, 24,000,000 in Asia Minor, India, and the adjacent countries, and 13,000,000 in China. One historian writes concerning the appearance of the plague in Europe: “Terrible omens in the heavens overwhelmed the nations with dread. In 1337 a large comet appeared; in following years came immense multitudes of locusts; but in 1348 the end of the world seemed at hand. An earthquake devastated Cyprus, Greece, Italy and the Alpine valleys. Mountains caved in. In the province of Carinthia, in Austria, thirty villages and a town were utterly destroyed. The atmosphere became thick, fetid, and confusing. Wine became turbid in the barrels. Fiery meteors illuminated the sky. A pillar of flame was seen over the papal palace at Avignon. These terrors were followed by a murderous plague. It originated in China, was carried through the whole of Asia, and in Germany received the name of the “Black Death,” because it covered its victims suddenly with black pustules, and often killed them instantaneously. It spread over the whole of Europe, and it is said that it did not rage most virulently in Germany. Nevertheless 14,000 persons died in Basle, 16,000 in Strasburg, and the same number in Erfurt; and they perished in all other places in similar proportions. In Osnabrück only seven families are said to have survived. For twenty-five years the awful epidemic maintained its annihilating sway, while at the same time droughts, famines, floods, and earthquakes destroyed city and country, and vast swarms of locusts everywhere inflicted the direst ravages. Meantime the whole order of nature seemed reversed. In midwinter the severest rains were experienced, and in summer long-continued and severe frosts, and volcanoes that had been long thought extinct opened their craters anew.—Baltimore Correspondent. EXPECTATION OF CHRIST'S ADVENT AMONG THE TURKS.
We quote the following from the Springfield Republican of June 20, 1879:— “The Turks,” says a correspondent of the Observer, writing from their midst, “are believers in the second advent of Christ. It is a common remark among them now that the prophetic indications of his coming, as given in their books, are being manifested. These signs are general distress and suffering, disorder, war, rebellion, the decline of the true faith, general corruption, oppression, etc. He is to descend at Damascus, become a genuine Moslem, and during the forty years of his earthly career he is to secure great prosperity, and peace shall be so complete as to extend even to the lower orders of creation, as described in Isaiah. The advent of Christ is to be succeeded by other wonders in rapid succession, and then the end of the world is to come. “This is the belief of all orthodox Mohammedans, and, considering this belief, it is not strange that the devout among them are looking for the end of the world. During no period of their recent history have the signs above mentioned been so fully realized as at present.” “A little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts and almonds.” Gen. 43:11. —NOT he who has little, but he who covets much, is the poor man.—Seneca. —AS we must render an account of every idle word, so must we of our idle silence. —WE should all do well to take counsel from the wise, and warning from the foolish. —THE moment a man is satisfied with himself, everybody else is dissatisfied with him. —IT is common for those who are farthest from God to boast themselves most of living near the church. —NEVER indulge in what appears to be a little sin; it will harden the heart, and lead to greater sins. —WHEN a man dies, men inquire what he has left behind him; angels inquire what he has sent before him. —THE strongest argument for Christianity is the true Christian, the man filled with the spirit of Christ. —IN eternity it will amount to more to have given a cup of cold water with right motives to a humble servant of God, than to have been flattered by a whole generation. —THE sun is not the less bright for shining in a cellar, nor is it stained by so shining; and the love of a pure heart is not sullied by falling upon the heart of the wayward, the wretched, and the sinful. —MATTHEW HENRY, a little before his death, said to a friend, “You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men; this is mine—that a life spent in the service of God and communion with him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life that any one can lead in this world.” —HE that knows how to pray has the secret of safety in prosperity, and of support in trouble. He has the art of overruling every enemy, and of turning every loss into a gain. He has the power of soothing every care; of subduing every passion; of adding a relish to every enjoyment. The merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than much fine gold. Many things are good for us, but none so good as to draw nigh to God. THE NEW GERMAN PAPER.
By John Nevins Andrews
Two packages of the new German paper have come to hand, from Battle Creek. They have met with a hearty welcome, and we have taken great pleasure in examining them. They will be faithfully used in an earnest effort to obtain European subscribers. The paper presents a very neat appearance, and contains a good variety of well-written articles. Were it not for the general prevalence of infidelity among the German people, I should feel confident that a large number of subscribers could be obtained. But we will do what we can to extend its circulation, and the result may far excel our hopes. The publication of a German paper marks another advance step in our work; but a German paper in America will not fully meet the wants of the cause in Europe. We must also print such a paper here as soon as Providence shall render it practicable. We have learned within a few days that the ship Virginia, on which we came to Europe, was wrecked on her next voyage from New York to Glasgow. In a dense fog off Sable Island, the steamer missed her course and struck upon a sandbank, causing serious injury to the bottom of the vessel, so that it soon filled with water. Nine of the passengers were drowned in the effort to reach the shore. We see God's mercy toward us in that we passed this place in safety, though the fog at that time was very dense, and in fact such was the case during a large part of our voyage. My strength is slowly returning, and I hope to set out for Bâle August 11. Southampton, Eng., Aug. 6, 1879. The Great Temperance Movement.
By George I. Butler
S. D. Adventists ought to act a leading part in every true reform. Their faith demands it. A people preparing for the coming of Christ, with a mission to proclaim to the whole world, cannot consistently ignore any work of genuine reform, or be indifferent to it. Their platform, “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,” includes all the great truths of inspiration,—those generally received and those trampled down by the hoof of apostasy. Their work is to group all these truths together, calling special attention to those which are forgotten and downtrodden, and press them with earnest persistency upon the consciences of mankind. Temperance stands prominent as one of these. The Bible presents it before us as one of the fruits of the Spirit, which we must bear in order to inherit the kingdom of God,—one of the great steps we will take in the upward pathway of genuine sanctification, unless we are “blind” and “have not forsaken our old sins.” Our good Bible everywhere teaches the necessity of the denial of hurtful lusts and appetites. The ruin of our world is more plainly traceable to these than to any other cause. Lust is unlawful desire,—desire for that which is physically and morally injurious. Temperance is the opposite. In its broadest sense its principles require us to use in moderation those things which do us good, and to utterly discard those which do us injury. This places temperance on the rock bottom of true principle and genuine reform. Man has no moral right to eat, drink, or do, that which injures or debases him, mentally, morally, or physically. He may do that by using to excess those things which are really good. Hence the necessity of moderation in the use of good things. There is no principle of right which can justify any practice which is wholly injurious in its effects. We firmly believe that all habits of self-injury are a violation of the principles of true temperance; and hence, wherever they are truly understood and carried out there will be an irrepressible conflict between them and such habits; and if temperance reformers would build upon these fundamental principles and act consistently with them, they would strike a powerful blow at the root of the worst evils which affect mankind. Temperance, as commonly understood in our time, teaches merely abstinence from alcoholic beverages; and some who would wish to be thought temperance men teach that even the use of these in moderation is temperance. Such definitions are altogether too superficial. Abstinence from alcoholic drinks is excellent as far as it goes; and all true reformers should use their influence in favor of every reasonable effort to stem the alarming tide of evil resulting from the use of alcoholic beverages. We cannot be indifferent spectators of the dire results of this form of intemperance, and stand clear before God. It is startling to think that more money is expended yearly for alcoholic poison in our beloved land than for bread; and that more men are engaged in selling poison, thus making orphans and widows, than are devoting their time to preaching the gospel of the Son of God. Hundreds of millions of dollars are wasted every year in that which not only profits not, but destroys all that is noble in humanity, literally brutalizing kind and affectionate husbands, and changing happy homes into the abodes of sorrow and shame. Moderate drinking leads to these evil results, and popularizes this terrible business. Were it not for moderate drinking by respectable people there would not be such temptations to the young, and such difficulty in putting down this dreadful iniquity. Moderate drinkers do more than all other influences combined to uphold and perpetuate the death and ruin which follow in the wake of hard drinking. They make it seem respectable; and so young men and young women enter the gate they have opened, and go down the pathway to death. Can Christian men stand by and be indifferent spectators to such appalling evils, and raise no voice and make no effort for their overthrow? Talk about its being like the world to work in the temperance cause and sign a pledge to taste not and handle not. Such an excuse is unworthy a moment’s consideration. To be like the world in any objectionable sense is to follow the world as they lead away from God and truth and right. As far as the world do right we should certainly do it also; not because they do it, but because it is right. Those who are so afraid of being like the world that they will not work in the temperance cause or sign a pledge, are the very ones who are “like the world” in an objectionable sense. They are really on the side of the enemy in not warning against one of his most powerful agencies to destroy men. Hundreds of thousands of drunkards are going down to death every year, their nobility debased by alcohol, their consciences benumbed,—lost to God and humanity; and Christians who are looking for their Lord have nothing to say about it. They stand in a position of indifference, some of them perhaps indulging in an occasional glass themselves. If this is not being like the wicked world, I know not what is. We must give all men to understand that our voice and sympathies are with those who are striking against this terrible monster, intemperance, even that limited sort which they preach. But every reflecting mind must perceive that refraining from alcoholic drinks alone “heals the heart of the daughter of my people but slightly.” True temperance is broader than that. We know that many other habits create the craving appetite for strong drink, and as long as these causes are at work this appetite will exist. Thousands try to reform, and go back again to their cups. The feverish, unnatural appetite is there; certain causes have produced it. The use of strong drink is almost sure to follow. We must have a temperance which cuts up the roots of this poisonous tree. We feel thankful that Seventh-day Adventists have inaugurated the most sensible and thorough-going temperance society the world has ever known, and that they have placed themselves in the lead of the great temperance movement. They prepare to strike not only at the effects, but at the causes, of intemperance. They design to make vigorous war upon the whole fraternity of unnatural poisonous stimulants which are firing the blood and debasing our race. Not only will they fight King Alcohol and his family with as much determination as other temperance workers, but they will also deal out some good solid blows to filthy tobacco and his poisonous, odoriferous brood, not sparing bewitching tea and coffee, or any other narcotic poisons. More than five hundred millions of dollars are annually spent for tobacco. I firmly believe that as many are killed by it as by alcohol. So prevalent is this habit that one can hardly travel without being forced to breathe its nauseous fumes. Grave senators, the newspapers say, are fast going into the grave from its effects. Ministers of the pure gospel of Jesus are found in insane asylums from its influence. Whole nations, like the Turks, are besotted by its indulgence, till they are past being reached by moral appeal. It stalks abroad, boldly filling the pure air of heaven with its stifling odors. Has pure and holy Temperance nothing to say to this filthy monster’s victims, no warnings to their sons to beware of him? When Christ’s professed followers in our country are giving twenty-six million dollars for tobacco to seven millions for Christ’s cause (according to reliable data), have those preparing for his coming no warning voice to utter? We must press this battle boldly. But tea and coffee, “which exhilarate but do not intoxicate,” who shall dare to raise a voice against them? These are subtler forms of stimulation, not so deadly and terrible in their effects as the others, but nevertheless evil, and only evil. They cost our own country alone from fifty to one hundred millions of dollars per year,—quite a sum to be wasted, and worse than wasted, when there are so many good ways to use money. They do not build up the system, but they are poison stimulants. The world lived without them thousands of years, and were better off physically because of it. That coffee is poisonous, such experiments as Dr. Smith’s fully prove. The strength steeped out of a few ounces of coffee berries laid two strong men insensible. Tea colored by Prussian blue is still more injurious in its effects. Thousands go about with constant headache, caused by tea and coffee, and know not the cause. Many are as dependent on these as whisky topers are on their false support. The reasons for drinking them are precisely the same. Why do you drink tea and coffee, my friend? “Oh! I like it.” Just what the other man says. “Well, I feel so weak and gone without it.” Precisely what the dram drinker says after a spree, and what the tobacco toper says. And the weak and gone feeling, nine cases out of ten, was caused by these very poisons. The evil effects of all these miserable stimulants and false props are many and terrible. I am glad that we have at last a temperance platform broad enough to cover the whole ground. Its principles are laid in sound philosophy, common sense, and the good religion of the blessed Bible. This temperance question must be pressed home upon the consciences of all within our reach, and especially must it search out those weak-kneed S. D. Adventists, and help and bless them by bringing them up to a higher standard, and enabling them to set an example worthy the noble truths they profess. Alexandria, July 6, 1879.—I should have written before now, but the weeks roll by rapidly in the midst of multifarious duties that allow little time for taking up the pen. It is a great relief to be able to work in a field where the Bible is not prohibited, and where the people can read it and come to meeting without fear of the papal anathema. And having this privilege, we have been able for several months to turn our hall to the best account, both as a school and meeting room; by which means the present truth has been announced to some hundred persons, some of whom we trust have carried it with them to other places. Our church has just passed through a very severe crisis. It all took place about the preaching of the commandments of God. Some of the younger attendants at our meetings took umbrage at this, assumed a hostile attitude, declared that grace without law is the scriptural and only possible doctrine, and withdrew from us to fall into the midst of Babylon the fallen. I am glad they have withdrawn, as they hindered our work much; but I regret greatly the scandal they have raised before the unbelievers. I hope God may give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. I find the Arabs a very intelligent people, and willing to accept the truth; at least the Coptic portion of them, who call themselves Christians, although they know little about Christ. There is service in Arabic every Sunday at the American mission church, and it is well attended. At Cairo there is a very large Arab church. There is also here a very peculiar, independent, Arab Christian church. It was founded some five years ago by an Englishman, who, as far as I can see, must have been a member of the Plymouth Brethren. They study the Bible very deeply, are well versed in prophecy, and believe in the near advent of our Saviour; but they have adopted the popular theories with regard to the millennium and antichrist. They are fervent in Christian love, of a humble spirit, and willing to listen to others. But the great difficulty is in communicating with these worthy brethren, who speak only Arabic. We have some brethren who can speak and teach elementary truth in that language, but it is difficult to find one well versed in history and Biblical knowledge, and at the same time endowed with a humble and prayerful spirit, such as is necessary for the announcement of the present truth. I hope, however, to be able to meet the difficulty, if God gives me some spare time, when Bro. Bertola returns, whom we expect next month. Some of these brethren came to several of our meetings in a spirit of Christian fellowship, and invited me to theirs. Their service was conducted in a very peculiar manner. They recognize no pastor, minister, nor director, but are all brethren on an equal footing. They all sat facing in the same direction, and there was no reading desk nor post for a speaker, only a small table with bread and wine. They sat in perfect silence for more than half an hour, engaged in silent prayer. Then one of them, who took the lead for the occasion, uttered briefly the word ishrin, twenty, which meant that he announced the twentieth hymn in their Arabic77 hymn book. They all stood up and sung it from beginning to end, in a melancholy and rather nasal tone. Then followed another half hour of silent prayer, then another hymn announced in the same laconic manner. Then a period of meditation, after which the same brother read the 27th chapter of Matthew. Then another prayer, uttered aloud, after which they brake bread and took wine in commemoration of our Lord’s death. The meeting lasted altogether three hours. They told me that the object of it was to break bread together. I honor and respect these brethren, but think their meeting would be more animated and tend more to edification if it were conducted in the usual manner. We have brought the Sabbath question before them, and some of them are studying it seriously. Unfortunately, they cannot read any of our tracts. I earnestly hope we may be able to get out some tracts in Arabic and modern Greek. Here is a case where stereotype plates would be of great utility, if they could be employed. As soon as Bro. Bertola comes I hope to be able to give much attention to our Arab and Greek friends, but at present the Italian work takes up nearly all my time. The other Italian church, which excommunicated our brethren so unceremoniously, has died a natural death, and we are now the only Italian Evangelical church in Alexandria. I have urged the brethren here and at Naples to organize among themselves a corresponding tract society. Hitherto I have done this work myself, but as correspondence increases it is impossible for one person to attend to it all unaided. I find that correspondence and judicious tract distribution is, here as elsewhere, by far the most important part of our work. We thus preach in a circle of hundreds of miles around, and not within the limits of a small meeting room. Indeed, it has been by this means that the churches of Bari and Alexandria were formed. And from this station we hope, if God blesses us, to form other centers in Greece, and perhaps even in India, with which country there is weekly communication. I hope shortly to be able to report some fruit thus gained in Cyprus. Bro. Rupp has been to Malta, where we have been sending tracts and papers for more than a year. He reports, what indeed is well known, that that little island is one of the greatest strongholds of popery in the Mediterranean. Yet our labor has not been without fruit; one sister and one brother have taken an interest in the Sabbath question (about which the former is indeed convinced), and with regard to our Lord’s speedy coming. Bro. Rupp has undertaken to keep up correspondence with them. Our brethren at Naples remain firm in their attachment to the Sabbath; they are working actively and have gained some fruit since I left. They have elected two dear brethren to perform the duties of elder and deacon, and are earnestly desirous of opening another hall to carry on their meetings. I hope we may be able to open a small Sabbath journal in Italian, as we have friends in the Sabbath in isolated places all over Italy before whom the announcement of the truth should be kept up. We are anxiously awaiting the coming of dear Bro. Andrews, of whose safe arrival in England we have just had news, in order that with his counsel, and under God’s direction, we may decide what is best to be done for the increasing requirements of our Mediterranean mission. SPIRITUAL LIFE IN THE CHURCH.
By Ellen G. White
THE question is often asked, Why is there not more power in the church? why not more vital godliness? The reason is, the requirements of God's word are not complied with in verity and in truth; God is not loved supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves. This covers the entire ground. Upon these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Let these two requirements of God be obeyed explicitly, and there would be no discord in the church, no inharmonious notes in the family. With many the work is too superficial. Outward forms take the place of the inner work of grace. They are whited sepulchers,—beautiful without, as far as claims to piety and a profession of the truth are concerned, but within full of uncleanness. The theory of the truth has converted the head, but the soul temple has not been cleansed from its idols. When the commandment came home to the mind and heart of Paul, he says, “Sin revived and I died.” In these days of pretense there are many sham conversions. True conviction of sin, real heart sorrow because of wickedness, death to self, the daily overcoming of defects of character, and the new birth,—these, represented as old things, Paul says had passed away, and all things had become new. Such a work many know nothing of. They grafted the truth into their natural hearts, and then went on as before, manifesting the same unhappy traits of character. What is now needed is the plain testimony borne in love from lips touched with living fire. Church-members do not show that living connection with God that they must have in order to win souls from darkness to light. Make the tree good, and good fruit will be the result. The work of the Spirit of God upon the heart is essential to godliness. It must be received into the hearts of those who accept the truth, and create in them clean hearts, before one of them can keep his commandments and be doers of the word. “Marvel not,” said the great Teacher unto the astonished Nicodemus, “Marvel not that I said unto you, Ye must be born again.” The Bible is not studied as much as it should be; it is not made the rule of life. Were its precepts conscientiously followed, and made the basis of character, there would be steadfastness of purpose that no business speculations or worldly pursuits could seriously influence. A character thus formed, and supported by the word of God, will abide the day of trial, of difficulties and dangers. The conscience must be enlightened, and the life sanctified by the love of the truth received into the heart, before the influence will be saving upon the world. What is needed is men of action for the time, prompt, determined, firm as a rock to principle, and prepared to meet any emergency. Why we are so weak, why there are so many irresponsible men among us, is because they do not connect with God; they have not an indwelling Saviour, and do not feel the love of Christ ever fresh and new, calling forth deep gratitude to God, and unfeigned love for souls for whom Christ died. No earthly relationship is as strong as this love. Nothing can compare with it. It elevates, ennobles, and develops all that is great and beautiful in humanity. It is constantly elevating the human to the divine. This life should be a living representative of Jesus Christ. Bro. C. W. Stone, writing from Elmore, Vt., under date of Aug. 20, gives the following account of the work in that place, which will explain his absence from the Canada camp-meeting:— We have now been here three weeks. Our plan was to take the tent down the 18th, and ship it to Magog, P. Q., for use at the camp-meeting there, Aug. 21-26. But the interest here was so great when that time came that I did not dare to leave. Eld. A. S. Hutchins was here on Sabbath and Sunday last; and when on Sunday evening a large number voted in favor of the truth, and nine promised by rising to obey, and many seemed touched by the power of the truth, we agreed that it was duty to remain. But the possibility of removing was banished by a steady rain from Sabbath till last evening. A sister who has just embraced the truth, who lives three or four miles away, sent me a letter Monday morning, from which I take the following:— “Dearly Beloved in Christ: The hand of the God of Israel is in this. He is showing your duty by sending this rain to keep you here. Blessed be his holy name forever. He will sift the people like wheat, and bring out a people who shall be willing boldly to honor his name by confessing the truth. Oh! I cannot tell you how I have been blessed in the stand I have taken. My faith is strong in God this morning. In my chamber at early dawn, I am writing this. Dear brother and sister, pray for me that I may be a humble instrument in the hands of God of bringing many to righteousness. ‘Here am I, Lord, use me for thy glory.’ Don’t leave us now. Sinners are convicted. Satan is rallying his forces to put down this truth; but the truth must prevail. Remember, ‘one can chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.’ Hold on, dear brother and sister, the Lord is on our side.” Others have besought us to stay, and it seems clearly to be duty so to do. We are sorry to disappoint our brethren at Magog camp-meeting. May the Lord bless in that meeting, and may they feel that we have acted in the counsel of God. We are happy to learn that the tent enterprise among the S. D. Baptists is meeting with encouraging success. From a report by H. D. Clarke, in the Sabbath Recorder of Aug. 21, we quote the following:— Well, the people flock to our tent feeling a freedom that is really cheering. Sunday afternoon we had a large audience. In the evening about sundown, they began flocking in until every seat was occupied, and then the neighbors began to bring their own chairs, and we tore up half of our platform and made seats with the plank. All were filled, and the remainder of the platform around the organ and speaker, the number of persons reaching four hundred. The streets about the tent were occupied by groups, and in the road were carriages filled with families, eagerly catching the words of the speaker and singer. And then, after service, to see them crowd around us for tracts, was indeed a sight which every Seventh-day Baptist ought to have witnessed. This is no fancy sketch. Dear brethren, the masses are now looking to you for light on this subject. Whether they will live up to the light they receive or not, one thing is certain, they want to hear and read. Will you supply this demand? Be faithless no longer, but go forward, leaving the results with God. Do you stop to ask, “How many of them will keep the Sabbath? Are there enough of them to make it an object?” Go forward, is God’s command. With the mountains on either side, the Red Sea in front, and a pursuing enemy behind, hear the Commander’s voice, “Go forward.” The sea will open. May the blessings of the Infinite One be upon those who take hold of this great reform.