It is no easy thing to keep the heart right. The downward tendencies of our fallen nature make it hard for us to rise in spiritual being—to run and not be weary—to walk and not faint. This difficulty is greatly increased when we mistake the source of our strength, or the way in which the fire of spiritual feeling is kindled up in the soul. We may attempt to draw water from a cistern that has none in it, or we may try, like Newton, to light our candle with an extinguisher on it. Christ is the life of the soul, animating and moving it in all the ways of godliness. But how does he do this? How does he work this life in us? We are not left to guesses or surmises here. He sanctifies his people through his truth. It is by this that he lifts them up, and pours light into the understanding, and strength into the heart. It is by
this that he deepens their humility, and increases their faith, and raises them up above the surface of a mere profession, cold and unproductive, and enables them to live, not like the trees in winter, stripped of their foliage, and with their life hidden in the earth, but to live in the ways of God—“in beauty clad, and with health in every vein,”—living to him in all they do.
We have something to do, therefore, in the attainment of this strength. We must act rightly if we would have this spiritual life. We must regard the laws of mind in this matter. Pious feeling is awakened in the soul, only, by the contemplation of that which is suited to awaken such feelings. The heart is affected through the intellect—through its action. “While I was musing,” says the Psalmist, “the fire burned.” “Mine eye,” exclaims the weeping prophet of Israel, “Mine eye affecteth mine heart.” This indirect control is all that we have over the world of feeling. The man who cannot produce a quicker circulation of the blood by simply willing it, can determine to take a medicine which will produce that effect. So the man who wishes to excite or to allay any particular feeling, while he cannot bid it exist or cease to be, can fix his mind upon considerations which bring about the desired result. Here, then, we have a fundamental principle in mental philosophy. Feeling of any kind is awakened, only, by the contemplation of that which is calculated to excite it. This is a law of man’s moral nature. It is just as uniform, and as far beyond the reach of an exception, as any law in the material world. We may, therefore, just as reasonably expect that the law of gravitation will cease, and that the stones of the street will fly upward, as to imagine that feeling will exist in the soul without its thinking upon that which is suited to produce it. Without this musing, the fire will not burn. Without this thinking, we cannot mount upward. We only dream of flying, and forget, as Coleridge remarks, that those who dream of flying, fly only in their dreams.
This great principle of our intellectual and moral nature may be easily tested. A man wishes to have deep spiritual feeling. He desires, for example, to feel deeply penitent—to sink down into the dust before God. Well, this feeling will not kindle up in his soul at his bidding. Nor will its fires burn within, as the consequence of his musing upon any or every theme of meditation. The pages of a romance, the columns of a newspaper, detailing the state of trade or the condition of the money market, will not excite it—Dwelling on the pleasure of sense—on scenes of earthly delight, will not call it forth, and for the plain reason that these things are not suited to produce it. They have no tendances to awaken such feeling. They turn the mind away from those considerations through which God is wont to work repentance in the soul, namely, its action in reference to God. To have this feeling he must take a very different course. He must fix his mind upon himself—upon his true condition. He must look at God’s character in contrast with his own—at his goodness to him, and at his own action in return—at the law of God, which is holy, just, and good, and at the long, dark catalogue of his transgressions of that law. These are the considerations which are suited to affect the heart, and these are the munitions through which God is wont to work in us that repentance which is unto life, and that brokenness of heart which is the acceptable sacrifice. It is through such meditation and prayer that we reach the dust before God, for it is through such action on our part that he works in us the feeling of penitence.
Again, a man wishes to feel more love to Christ—to have his bosom swell with holy fervor—with emotions of a higher gratitude, and a warmer zeal in his service. Well, sighing for this will not produce it. Simply praying for it will not cause it to exist in the soul. No, not at all. The mind must be fixed upon that which is suited to awaken such feeling. He must fix his thoughts upon the cross of Christ—upon the High and Infinite One, suffering, dying, for him. He must muse upon Gethsemane and Calvary; must judge, with Paul, “that, if one died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they which live should not live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them.” It is in such thinking that the love of Christ constraineth. In such musing is it that,
“The heart grows warm with the holy fire,
And kindles with a pure desire.”
Yes, it is when his “dear cross” is brought before the mind that the “eyes are melted to tears.” Looking, then, to Jesus; beholding the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, is the way to have the heart burn within us with love and devotion to him. We respect the laws of the physical world in our action for physical results. We do not attempt to warm the body by sighing for it, or to recruit its wasted energies by simply willing it. We do not say to the body, “Be thou clothed, and be thou strong.”
So we must act in spiritual things. We must seek to call forth and sustain pious feelings in the soul, by keeping before the mind that which is calculated to produce such feeling. We must muse on the things which are above, if the life and the power which are from above are to be ours. The thoughts must be on heaven, if the heart is to be there.—Christian Intelligencer.152
“Wars and Rumors of Wars.”
By Dr. John Cumming
The next predicted precursor will be “wars and rumors of wars.” The first rumor of war that recently startled us was with America; it died away, and we are thankful that these two powerful nationalities are at perfect peace. The next rumor was war with France; and the powerful Emperor who sways its sceptre with such energy, and wisdom, and success, was expected not as the ally and the guest of our Queen, but the avenger of Waterloo and all its antecedents. That rumor has died away upon the breeze, and a brighter result has come round than we were led to anticipate. Next the tide of war rolled across the plains of Italy; dashed its waves against the walls of the “mistress of the world;” and the round shot of the eldest daughter of the Church pierced the roof, and were bounding on the consecrated floor of St. Peter. At this moment all Italy is a volcano, repressed, not quenched; the quiet of France depends upon the life of one powerful ruler exposed; Austria deprecates war, and yet dares not be at peace; Prussia is in the agony of irresolution; Hungary, long depressed in heart, begins to feel her hopes beat high; and Poland, the memorial of European sin, threatens to start to her feet and be Poland once more; and there is not one of these nations at this moment that does not stand literally with its hand upon its sword-hilt, not knowing where or from whom the flames of war may break forth. Lastly, the Russian autocrat, thinking that France had more upon its hands than it could manage; calculating that England and France had traditional hostilities that never could be quenched; ever longing to possess Constantinople, and the fair and sunny lands of Eastern Christendom; believed that the hour was come when she might hurl her gigantic avalanches upon Western Europe, and possess the prey, and take the spoil, and plant her victorious eagles on the mosques of Constantinople, and be the representative of a formidable power, to which Western Christendom would be able henceforth to offer, in all probability, no successful resistance. Have we ever had a decade disastrous as the last ten years?
Wars, rumors of wars, spreading as flames in the prairies of America; and the prospects of peace that the death of the mighty autocrat induced us to indulge in for a little, crushed apparently for ever; and the doom of the cannon around Sebastopol breaking out only more terrible from the momentary lull and respite that has been given. *
Amid all this, we read of “men’s hearts failing them for fear.” Feel, if you can, the steadiest and noblest pulse that beats at the bravest wrist in the land, and you will learn what that means, “Men’s hearts failing them for fear.” There is in the minds of statesmen a presentiment of coming woe, a foreboding of approaching doom; cabinets are at their wit’s end, their policy confounded, their blunders by-words. Italy at this moment is a volcano, and Austria knows it. The vast population of France is encamped, not domesticated. Only a people enlightened by Scriptural education can be a great nation. If that fine people, not the least noble in Europe, had only our privileges, our Bibles, our sanctuaries, our sermons, they would be as noble a race as the sun shines on. But France at this moment is encamped, not domesticated; experiencing a bivouac, not enjoying a home. Russia, all the time that we have been vainly trying to persuade her into peace, has been gathering like a gigantic northern avalanche, ready to burst upon the nations of Christian Europe.—Dr. Cumming, of Eng.
Communication from Bro. Daniels.
By Dexter Daniels
BRO. SMITH:—Thinking some of my friends might be glad to hear from me, and know what I am doing, I would say a few words for their encouragement. I am trying to obey all ten of God's Commandments and the Faith of Jesus. I hunger and thirst for full salvation. I have of late sought for more holiness and a closer walk with God. I want to walk with God fully. I love his holy law. I know also that I must not only keep it outwardly, but I must have its principles within. Do we love that holy law as we should? Do we love its principles? If we have them written in our hearts, we shall love to keep them. If there was no law against doing wrong, a good heart would love to do good, without thinking of the penalty. Those that have to compel themselves to be good, are not good at heart.
I have been trying to search my heart of late to see if I have the true principles of righteousness within. Search me, O, God, and try my ways, and see if there is any wicked way in me. I know that those who bear the vessels of the Lord, must be holy and clean. Only such will enter the Holy City.
I have been trying to proclaim the Third Angel's Message in this vicinity. I think I have done my duty in this place. One year since I held six meetings in the school-house near my home. Only one embraced the truth, and he gave it up in a month or two. He was a backslidden Adventist. I held one meeting at my home. Some came out to hear, mostly young people: they were all convicted of the truth and acknowledged it, and said they should keep the Sabbath if they ever were converted. I tried to show them that nothing could convert them only God's holy Commandments. But conviction soon wore off and I am alone in this place. Last Fall I went to Norfolk near sister Beekly's, by her request and held several meetings in the school-house. I found ears to hear, and after one or two lectures, five came out and decided to keep the Sabbath under the Third Angel's Message. They seem to be fully decided. Two more acknowledged the truth: a man and his son who is a school teacher. He said that he would keep the Sabbath if his father did. His father said that he would keep it if it was not for his wife and neighbors. He acknowledged the truth, and said it was even so. I pray that he may come out and be decided to follow the whole truth.
There is an ear to hear the reasons of our hope in other places. But who is sufficient for these things. I feel that I must be holy and pure, and walk with God daily if I do any good. God must do it, or it will be good for nothing. The Third Angel's Message is plain, and the mark of the beast is also plain. God in speaking of his Commandments says, Thou shalt bind them for a sign (mark) upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes;—in the forehead and in the hand.
We must be holy in life, and all manner of conversation. We must not engage in foolish and unholy conversation with the worldling. We must watch and be sober, or we shall come short at last. Shall I be one of that holy number that shall be without fault before the throne of God? How frail I am, but I will look again towards his holy temple, My prayer is, Cleanse me from unholy thoughts and unholy desires, and from all my sins, that I may be found at last among the holy ones.
Your unworthy brother,
New Boston, Mass. Dexter Daniels.
Individual Obedience to Truth
By Editor
NOTE.—The case of the young man and his father above mentioned, is such as we frequently hear of. How long will people suffer the ties of earth to bind them down! How long will they fail to realize that the work for salvation is an individual work! We are to be judged not by the standard of those around us, or what they would suffer us to do, but by our personal obedience to the requirements of God. We are not to look to what our neighbors do, or our relations do, or what they require; but to what God alone requires of us, and having ascertained this, to obey it with fear and trembling.
It is often urged against the reception of the truth, that it will disturb society, it will cause division in families, it will alienate friends. We are surprised at this objection. What says the Saviour? "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you nay; but rather division." Luke xii, 51. And again, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Luke xiv, 26.
The truth must be obeyed at all hazards. What if a father, or a wife, or neighbors will not come with you and obey the light of truth; must you go down to perdition on that account? What if it does stir up the carnal mind in some of your friends to see you worshiping God by keeping his Commandments? Has God any the less requirements of you for all that? That obedience will never find acceptance which says, Lord, I will worship thee, as far as I can and not disturb my friends! Are friends of more importance than God? and to please them more important than to obey his requirements?
What then shall we do? Shall we sacrifice the truth for the sake of keeping peace! Shall we peril our own salvation for the sake of keeping peace! What has brought down persecution from the wicked upon the people of God from the earliest times? Has it been their efforts to keep peace with them? And what will stir up the dragon to his last emotions of wrath against us Commandment-keepers! Will it be our efforts to keep peace? We desire no peace but that which is found within the pale of truth. There is eternal war between the kingdoms of light and darkness; between truth and error. It must necessarily be so; and our Saviour notified us of it, when he said, I came not to send peace, but division. The moment a person enlists under the banner of pure and living religion, that moment he declares war with the world, the flesh, and the Devil; and from them he can expect no more peace, unless by compromise or treachery he unites with them again.
He who acknowledges the truth, and yet refuses to obey it, assumes a fearful position. He virtually says that he can be saved without obedience to God and his truth, or that he cares more for the world than he does to be saved. He therefore walks knowingly and deliberately the downward road; for who can expect to be saved, who refuses to obey what from conviction, he acknowledges to be essential truth.
God forbid that any should compromise their eternal interests through a desire to please any mortal, or to keep peace in any neighborhood. Break every tie. Burst every such fetter asunder; nor be afraid to let the world know that you as an independent and accountable being, are seeking eternal life. May the Giver and Guardian of all truth, beget in every heart, an earnest and holy purpose, to obey it, proclaim it, and live it out, regardless of friend or foe.—Ed.
Poverty of Spirit
By Thornton
Poverty of Spirit.—A man must be emptied of himself, in order that he may be filled with the blessing of the gospel. He must become poor in spirit, in order that he may become rich in faith, and a partaker of the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed, therefore, is the man who thinks meanly of himself, and highly of his Maker and Redeemer. Blessed is the man who walks humbly with his God, and is also humble towards his fellow-creatures. Blessed is the man who both feels and manifests this poverty of spirit. This temper may not exalt him in the eye of the world, but it is the temper befitting his condition—it is a temper honorable to God, and truly beneficial to his fellow-creatures. It is the temper which Christ has pronounced to be characteristic of the Christian.—Thornton.
Conformity to God’s Will
By Fletcher
Our business is to seek a perfect conformity to the will of God, and then leave him to give us such comfort as he sees good.—Fletcher.
The Review for the Poor
By Editor
MANY of those whose papers were marked have reported themselves as the poor of the flock. In some instances they have been prevented by severe misfortune from doing anything for the support of the cause; but they say the REVIEW is a help and comfort to them, and they know not how to do without it. Such need have no fears that they will be deprived of it, because they are unable to pay. Wherever it is loved and read with interest, there we will cheerfully send it. Let none who feel that the REVIEW is a blessing to them, stop it on account of their inability to pay. Only report to us your circumstances that we may know that our labor is not in vain, and your paper will be readily continued.
Spiritualism and Babylon’s Fall
Spiritualism is the angel that John saw "come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory."—Spir. Telegraph
We admit that the angel spoken of in Rev. xviii, 1, 2, has something to do with Spiritualism; for it is only when great spiritual Babylon, the confused sects of the day, becomes the "hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird," that that angel descends and cries mightily, "Babylon is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils." Then will be heard that other voice, which says, "Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
There is an agency which is to work with "all power, and signs, and lying wonders," [2 Thess. ii, 9; Rev. xiii, 13, 14,] but it comes from anywhere but heaven.
The Vital Importance of Prayer
By Editor
We insert again this week the remarks of Bro. John Byington on prayer, on account of the vital importance of this subject to all those who would enjoy a living religion. Secret prayer is the life of the christian.
The Death of a Prayer Meeting
Died—in Laodicea, the Prayer Meeting, aged one year. The health of this meeting was poor, most of the year, and its life was despaired of. But anxious friends kept it alive, and sometimes it would so revive as to encourage them. Discouragement, however, at last prevailed, and the prayer meeting is dead. It died from neglect. Not a Christian was present when it died. Over forty were living within a mile of it, and not one was there. Had two only been there, its life might have been saved, for where two are agreed as touching anything they shall ask, it shall be done unto them. Two-thirds of the forty might have been there, had they been so disposed. But they were not, and the prayer meeting died.—Gen. Evangelist.
We doubt very seriously whether there were any Christians within a mile of that prayer meeting: if there had been, it would not have died. Prayer meetings never die with Christians within a mile of them. The Christians die first, and then the prayer meeting dies as a matter of necessity.
There are not many Christians in Laodicea; and unless they buy gold tried in the fire, that they may be rich, and white raiment that they may be clothed, the Lord will spue them out of his mouth. Rev. iii, 14-18.
New Manifestation.
I have also about my house, two black slaves, a man named "Goff," and his wife. On the evening when happened the circumstance which I am about to relate, Goff, after his day's work was done, took it into his head to exercise himself as a writing medium. While thus occupied, my wife, her sister, and her niece, happened to go into the kitchen. Seeing him make but a poor hand at writing, my wife took the pen. She wrote the word "John," when her hand and arm became extremely agitated—so much so that she could not hold her arm still; but soon a sight most wonderful to behold, appeared to the ladies and the two black persons. By the side of my wife's hand appeared a black hand, just like a negro's hand! The contrast between the black and white hand, side by side, looked wonderfully singular. The ladies screamed and ran.
At length, Goff's indifference induced the ladies to return. My wife again took up the pen, when the same agitation of the arm and hand again returned, and soon, behold, returned the black hand along side of the white one!—Spir. Telegraph.
Business.
By Editor
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