We are permitted to make the following extract from a letter from Bro. J. Philbrick, of Sunapee, N. H., to a Bro. in this place :
"I am alone here in Sunapee, eighteen miles from any Sabbath meetings, and have not had the privilege of meeting with the brethren on the holy Sabbath but twice for one year; and I have had many lonely hours; but my heart has been often cheered by the weekly visits of the Review, through which I hear of the prosperity of the cause of truth.
"One week ago to-day an aged pilgrim from East Westmoreland, Vt., while on a visit to his sister or his wife's sister in this town, heard that I kept the Sabbath, and hastened to see me. It so happened through a kind providence, that Bro. Mead from Washington was with me, and we had a good time. This way-worn pilgrim said he had kept the Sabbath two years, and we were the only ones he had seen; that he had read nothing on the subject of the Sabbath but the Bible. He believed the 2300 days ended in 1844, that we were under the word 'then.' He has not been to an Advent meeting, nor seen an Advent paper, or tract, since 1844. We explained to him the heavenly Sanctuary and its cleansing, and the Third Angel's Message. He saw the light, which was all new to him, and said he would search out the truth for himself; for that was what he wanted.
"I feel that my heart is united with God's people, and I am resolved to go through to the end. I strongly desire that my mind, and whole being be elevated above this world, and my life hid with Christ in God. I choose to suffer affliction with the people of God, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of earth. I confess myself a stranger and pilgrim on earth, a fellow-citizen with the saints, traveling to a heavenly country."
The Forbearance of Love.
THE Apostle speaks of "forbearing one another in love." In this sinful world, forbearance is necessary. If some did not practice forbearance, there would be little else than unmitigated strife. The great source of forbearance is love. Prudence, self-interest may prompt to it in some degree, but only love can furnish an adequate motive.
Love prompts us to forbear despising the weakness of others. The intelligent mind is prone to be impatient with the dull mind. The slow apprehension, the defective discrimination, the feeble will, provoke the contempt of him who is rapid, clear-sighted, and decisive in his mental operations. Scorn of intellectual weakness is one of the natural tendencies of the unrenewed heart. Who does not perceive its unkindness, injustice, and evil tendency? And yet, love alone can correct that tendency, and cause us to feel a sincere respect for our brothers of low degree.
Love enables us to forbear to speak evil of any, except when fidelity to Christ requires it. Probably no uninspired writer ever had an adequate conception of the evils of an unbridled tongue. Those who wholly avoid sins of the tongue are happy indeed. But this is a very rare attainment. It may not be difficult to avoid the sin of slander and falsehood. It may not be difficult to preserve habits of exact truth in all that we say. We may say much that is evil of others, and yet speak nothing but truth. But we should not speak of their faults, except when required by manifest duty.
Love will enable us to observe this rule. We do not blazon the faults of those we love. We do not make known the short-comings of our children. Love prompts us to be silent, or to administer, in secret, affectionate reproof. As Christians, we are bound to love all men, especially the household of faith. If we always practice towards their faults the forbearance of love, a great source of evil would be dried up. Love will enable us to forbear to assert our just rights when the cause of peace can be promoted by silence. It is often the duty of Christians to suffer wrong, and to commit their cause to Him who judgeth righteously. But by nature we are exceedingly sensitive to our rights. He who wrongs us in our reputation or our property, is deemed a just object for punishment. We are apt to demand "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." We have a great regard for justice when our rights are invaded.
It is true that we were made to love justice, and it is also true that we have forfeited all claim to whatever rights we may have been endowed with. Sinners condemned by the justice of God, whose execution is demanded by justice, should not be loud in their claims for justice from their fellow-sinners.
Love alone can enable us to relinquish our supposed rights, and "take joyfully the spoiling of our goods," or the blackening of our name. A sense of duty is not sufficient love—the love of Christ shed abroad in the heart, love purified by the influences of the Holy Spirit, can alone enable us to forbear threatenings and demands for redress, when the injustice of man touches us to the quick.
Cheerful Views of Divine Things
TRY to take cheerful views of divine things. Dwell on your mercies. Look at the bright as well as the dark side. Do not cherish gloomy thoughts. Melancholy is no friend to devotion. It greatly hinders the usefulness of many. "It falls upon contented life like a drop of ink on white paper, which is not the less a stain because it carries no meaning with it." Let your soul rove through the truths of Scripture as the happy herds through the green pastures.
THE RIVER EUPHRATES
By Editor
"An English company has been incorporated, with a capital of $5,000,000, to construct a railroad between the Mediterranean and the river Euphrates. A 'concession' has been granted by the Porte, and the company are already taking measures to commence vigorous operations. So we shall soon have a railroad down the Euphrates. Only think of a railroad conductor crying out, 'Nineveh, a quarter of an hour for dinner! Babylon, twenty minutes for supper!'"—Leslie's Illustrated Paper.
We do not know the route of the proposed railroad; but if it is to be confined to the Euphrates, it would be strange, indeed, to hear a conductor crying out, "Nineveh," which is situated on the river Tigris, some eighty miles to the east. Probably the writer of the above did not consult his geography.
But our object in introducing the above is to show that on the banks of the Euphrates there is to be a great commercial highway of nations. How then, can we think that when the time comes for the nations to be gathered to the battle of the great day, there will be no means of crossing that river, but that a special plague must be poured out to dry it up, before the kings of the East, that their way may be prepared. Rev. xvi, 12. The more one thinks upon this subject, the more, it seems, must he become convinced that the drying up of the Euphrates is the consumption of the Ottoman empire.
Statistics
STATISTICS.—"The number of seamen of all nations is estimated at nearly two millions. The commercial marine throughout the world was stated in the year 1855 to embrace about 15,000,000 tons. Of this amount Great Britain had 5,000,000, the United States 5,200,000, and other nations of the earth—in Asia and Europe—had the residue."
From this it appears that the United States has 200,000 more tons of marine than Great Britain, and 400,000 more than all the rest of the world, England excepted.
Again: "From 1850 to 1853, the United States increased the amount of her commercial transactions (that is, her exports and imports,) from $315,000,000, to $584,000,000. In the former year she ranked as third; in the latter, as the second commercial power on the globe; France, which in 1850 had precedence of the Union, falling far behind her in 1854."
In these items alone we have an index of our nation's greatness and its rapid rise. It would be singular indeed if prophecy had taken no note of it.
Forgive us our Debts as we Forgive our Debtors.
By Roswell F. Cottrell
Thus Jesus taught his disciples to pray; and certainly every Christian ought to pray this prayer. We should pray to be forgiven as we forgive. Prayer should be offered in faith; and there need be no lack of faith in offering this prayer, for we shall surely be forgiven just as we forgive others. If we do not forgive, we shall not be forgiven. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses."
Lord, I desire forgiveness. I want all my sins blotted out now in this day of atonement. I trust in thy mercy; for I forgive from the heart all that have trespassed against me. R. F. C.
Tent Meeting in Jackson, Ohio.
By Merritt E. Cornell; George W. Holt
This meeting held over Sabbath and First-day, June 27th and 28th. The congregations were rather thin in consequence of the rainy weather, yet seven discourses were preached, and a few were interested and took books, and three gave their names for the paper. A young preacher of the United Brethren society, together with his mother, became interested and gave good evidence that they were earnestly searching for truth. They took along some books to their home, about fifty miles distant, and if they go on with an independent investigation of the subject, we shall confidently expect that they will keep the Bible Sabbath. Our prayer is that the Lord will bring them into the truth, and make them instrumental in spreading the light in the community where they live.
We found that the religious views of many in the vicinity of this meeting were as thoroughly stereotyped as the Catholics. One man said that we "might preach our views to him seventy years and his mind would not be changed at all;" and as we were about leaving the place, he took it upon him (being a professed teacher) to criticise our manner of preaching. Said he, "Why don't you take a text and preach from it as other folks do?" As near as we could judge from the man's talk, he wanted us to follow the style described by a certain boy who, when just returned from hearing the new minister, being asked by his father how the minister divided his subject, replied, "First, he took his text; secondly, he departed from it; and thirdly, he never got back to it again." This would be preaching from the text in good earnest.
O how much we find in the world now-a-days to remind us of the circumstance of Paul's being considered "beside himself and mad" by the ruler that knew not the Scriptures.
On account of ill health, and the bustle and excitement of celebrating American Slavery, alias Independence and Liberty, we concluded to lay by the Tent over one Sabbath until the Conference at Green Spring.
M. E. CORNELL. G. W. HOLT.
Report from Bro. Frisbie.
By John B. Frisbie
Bro. Smith: Our little conference at Vergennes was attended by our brethren and sisters from Ionia, Grand Rapids, and Bowne. Brother and sister Flower were with us. Our meetings were quite spirited. Of late some five or six have commenced to keep the Sabbath in that vicinity.
We went from this meeting in company with Bro. Lyman Carr to Caledonia, Kent Co., Mich. where there had been an interest awakened by some tracts which he left there last February. Ten had commenced keeping the Sabbath after reading the tract, which was "The Sabbath by P. Miller, jr." Among these were two or three preachers. I will here suggest that it would be well to take more pains in scattering our tracts free in new places.
We commenced lecturing on the 11th of June, and followed Paul's manner in this case, of tarrying over three Sabbath-days, preaching the Word. The Word was spoken also, most every day between, at 5 P. M., and each First-day three times, in the district school-house.
The congregations increased in numbers and interest from the beginning to the close of the meeting. The result is that over thirty have commenced to keep the Lord's Sabbath. Seven were baptized about a week before the close of the meetings, and there are others that stand ready to go forward the first opportunity, which we trust will be soon, as we intend to return there and follow up the interest in adjoining places.
We are happy to know that the Third Angel's Message has converted sinners in this place, as it has in other places before, who never knew before the power of converting grace in the heart. Many old professors confess that they feel like new converts after keeping the Sabbath of the Lord, and have been made to know by blessed experience that as the Sabbath is the seal of the living God, that the Holy Spirit is the sealer. Eze. xx, 12; Eph. iv, 30; Isa. lvi, 2. We do know that God is in this truth, by his loving, melting Spirit, in giving freedom to his word, when appropriately chosen, which moves those who hear to tears. I never was made more sensible that it is God that gives the increase, than at this meeting. 1 Cor. iii, 6. To God be all the glory.
Yours in the love of the present truth.
J. B. Frisbie.
Battle Creek, July 8th, 1857.
Meeting at Dodgeville
Bro. E. Everts writes from Dodgeville, Wis., June 27th, 1857: "We commenced our meeting here Sabbath evening. There were about 300 out; and the best interest was manifested for the commencement that there has been in any place yet in Wisconsin. Our Tent is pitched on the common in the heart of the village—a beautiful site—and the novelty of a Tent, and the pleasure of the shade from the beating rays of the sun, and the cool breezes gently floating through to fan the listening congregation, all seem inviting. How good the Lord is to suffer us such smiles of his approbation. The Adversary is stirring up here the most ungovernable brood of children from six to twelve years of age, precocious in impudence, screams, profanity and disobedience, to the disgust of all older ones. We cry out, Are they orphans? No, they show that they all have one Father, and his works they will do."
Predictions of Spiritualism.
"A YOUTH is now living upon earth unknown to man, and to those spirits who at this time are most generally in communication with us. He is the type of a perfect man. He is a sample, to which the race shall ultimately attain. He is under the guardianship of celestials, and is in process of developing his physical nature by due and appropriate exercises. He has a brain with new organs, affording a broader forehead and a higher reverence. He is supposed to be at this time about ten years of age. At twelve years he will give token of remarkable mental endowments.
He is in the United States. He will possess powers of which men now have no conception. The wonders wrought by Jesus will be thrown into the shade by the more wonderful which shall be witnessed from this person, and his twelve principal mediums, who are also in process of preparation for the work assigned them. These twelve are also as yet in obscurity. The youth will be prepared to act at the time of the greatest need. He will restore order from the confusion which shall arise in our country. The process of purification must first be here endured, and when the paroxysm shall have passed, then will restoratives be judiciously administered by this person and his associates. Thus our country is the kingdom which the Lord of heaven shall set up, which shall break in pieces all other kingdoms. Here is the nursery of mediums which shall effect the purposes assigned, from aforetime, by the supreme designer. Here is the New Jerusalem, from whence shall issue the law. Many thousands of lesser mediums are also at this time under spirit tutors, being prepared for service, who have no thoughts that they are being thus disciplined. When wars and revolutions shall have prepared the way, they will go forth to heal the nations, to establish political and religious freedom, and to bring into unity all people; to humble all that are exalted, and to bring down those who are lifted up."—Chris. Spir.
NEW WORK.
By Editor
The Two-Horned Beast of Revelation xiii, a symbol of The United States.
This work is now completed. All orders will be promptly filled. Price, including postage when sent by mail, 10 cts.
Business Items.
By Editor
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A. G. Hart:—What is E. Robinson's P. O. Address?
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By Editor
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To Correspondents.
By Editor
F. Gould:—The mark of the beast you admit to be Sunday-keeping, and correctly enough too, we think. How then can the seal of God be simply manifesting the principles of the gospel? This to be sure is our imperative duty, but this is nowhere, if we rightly understand, shown to be the seal of the living God. If the mark of the beast is the keeping of a counterfeit Sabbath, analogy would suggest that the seal of God which is held forth as the opposite of that mark, would be the observance of a true Sabbath; and analogy, reason and revelation, all teach us that this is the case.
Answers to Correspondents
By Editor
Those Correspondents who have addressed us notes of inquiry upon various subjects, will try and have patience. We will give them attention as soon as possible.
The Outward Appearance
By R. F. C.
Will the brethren and sisters carefully read, and profit by, the selection from the pen of Wm. Law, in No. 6? Will you remember, dear brethren, that "the outward appearance is an index of the heart?" R. F. C.