Earlier text: General ArticlesON the nature of the resurrection we are willing to submit the foregoing to every candid, reverent reader of the pages of divine inspiration. On the importance of the resurrection we must give a few testimonies. When Jesus was instructing his disciples concerning their duty to the poor, he said: "For they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke 14:14. Let it be remembered that the resurrection takes place when the Lord Jesus comes the second time; it cannot take place before, and if he should never come there would then be no resurrection of the dead. And, therefore, any text which introduces the resurrection of the just, of necessity introduces also the coming of Christ. And, in like manner, any text which speaks of the coming of Christ, introduces to our minds the resurrection of the just, as they are inseparably connected. See the following decisive proof: "For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4:16-18. Notice the points introduced in connection:— 1. The Lord himself shall come; it will be a personal, actual coming. 2. The voice of the archangel—the Son of God, compare John 5:27-29,—and the trump of God will be heard. 3. The dead in Christ shall rise. 4. The living saints will be caught up with them, translated, to meet the Lord. 5. So—in this manner—shall we ever be with the Lord. 6. These are words of comfort to the saints. In Luke 14:14 are the words of Jesus that we shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. In this last text we learn in what manner, and under what circumstances, the reward will be given. Closely related to this, in its several circumstances, is the instruction given in 1 Cor. 15. The whole chapter is an argument on the resurrection, but especially verses 42-54, which speak directly of the resurrection of the righteous. 1. They shall be raised in glory. 2. We shall not all sleep; some will be translated. 3. The trumpet shall sound; the last trump. 4. We shall put on immortality, or, death will be swallowed up in victory. The coming of Jesus is not spoken of but it is well understood, for not one of these events can transpire before he comes. And so the following: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. 3:4. We shall appear with him in glory at that time, because the saints are "raised in glory," immortalized, at that time. Another apostle testifies to the same thing. "We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2. "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Peter 5:4. This is a parallel text, and one of great clearness and force. And yet several times more we find the Son of God pointing to the advent and, of course, to the resurrection of the just, as the time of conferring the reward. "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." Matt. 16:27. "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. See also Matt. 25:31-34. The infinite importance of this subject to the saints, as the time and means when and whereby they shall be glorified, fully justifies the apostle Paul in calling it "the blessed hope." "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:13. More literally: "And appearing of the glory of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Compare Matt. 16:27, quoted above. We cannot forbear quoting a few words from the comments of Dr. Clarke on 1 Cor. 15. On verse 32 he says:— "What the apostle says here, is a regular and legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection; for if there be no resurrection, then there can be no judgment; no future state of rewards and punishments; why, therefore, should we bear crosses, and keep ourselves under continual discipline! Let us eat and drink, take all the pleasure we can, for to-morrow we die; and there is an end of us forever." Very few theological writers of the present time, recognized as eminent and orthodox, would use the language here used by Dr. Adam Clarke. A great change has come over the minds of the Christian world, on this subject. Dr. Clarke said that, in his day, early in the present century, the faith and preaching of the church differed much, on this subject, from that of the apostles and the early church. And in no part of the Christian era has the popular sentiment, concerning the nature and importance of the resurrection, changed as fast as from Dr. Clarke's time to the present. The following are his words:— "One remark I cannot help making; the doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been thought of much more consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is this? The apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers of God to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness, through it. And their successors in the present day seldom mention it! So apostles preached; and so primitive Christians believed; so we preach, and so our hearers believe. There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is treated with more neglect!" The doctor inquires, "How is this?" It is not difficult to give the reason: the church has accepted a substitute for the coming of Christ and the resurrection. The Bible says that immortality is brought to light by Christ in the gospel. The schools of Christian theology teach that it was most forcibly brought to light by Plato—shown to be inherent in the nature of man. The Bible says we are to seek for immortality. "What a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" Why seek for that which we already possess? The Bible says we shall put on immortality at the resurrection. Theology teaches that, if there is any bar to the fullness of our immortality, it is removed by death! by means of which we are ushered into a state of immortal joy. The Bible says we shall appear in glory when Christ, our Life, appears. But theology teaches that we are glorified by death, which opens the pearly gates to the soul set free from the clogs of our physical natures. The contrast may be carried much farther, but none who read the Bible can fail to see it. And to show that our presentation of the contrast is strictly just, we quote the following paragraph from one of the most influential religious papers in the United States. It was part of a comment on 1 Thess. 4:13-18, which teaches us to comfort one another with the facts that the Lord is coming, the dead in Christ will be raised, and the living saints will be translated. Thus it speaks:— "For all practical purposes of comfort the doctrine of the blessed immortality of the righteous, the immortality of the soul, takes the place for us of any doubtful doctrine of the Lord's second coming. At our death the Lord comes for us. That is what we are to wait and watch for. The dead are already passed into glory. They do not wait for the trump for their judgment and blessedness." How can the church highly appreciate the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead, while holding to such views? The inquiry may be raised. If the immortality of the soul and glorification at death "takes the place for us" of the advent and the resurrection, why did it not take their place for Paul and his brethren? Has "that blessed hope" really been displaced for another in the gospel plan, or is the church proving recreant to the truths of divine inspiration? This is a matter of the highest importance; it concerns our loyalty to the truth of the Most High, and the honor of our Saviour, whose plans and appointments are being disparaged before the world. Life is the greatest gift that can be conferred upon a creature. All enjoyments, all hopes, all possibilities, are centered in life. The loss of life is the aggregate, the sum total, of all losses. Man may lose many things in life; when life is lost, he has no more to lose. Death is the extreme penalty of law. It is the penalty of the transgression of God's law. This penalty—this loss of all—man incurred by disobedience to his Maker. Jesus, the Son of God, came to seek and to save that which is lost; he came to open a way whereby man might escape death and have everlasting life. He is the great Restorer to life; he is "our Life." Col. 3:4. "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." 1 John 5:11. Death is an enemy, which Jesus came to overcome and to destroy. 1 Cor 15:26; 2 Tim. 1:10. The race of man is literally a dying race; without Jesus there is no hope. The earth has become a vast charnel house, marked with its graves from one end to the other. Death severs the dearest ties of earth; it bereaves hearts, and brings the keenest anguish to loving ones. Its conquests are well-nigh universal; it holds in its gloomy prison-house the untold millions of our ill-fated race. But, as an enemy to the saints of God, death itself is doomed. The rapacious grave shall be robbed of its spoil. "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren," said an inspired apostle, "concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." He then proceeds to remove all occasion of ignorance, and give them the ground of gospel hope concerning their loved ones sleeping in death. He bases all on the fact "that Jesus died and rose again." And then rehearses in order the future facts in which the hope of the Christian may rest. 1. The Lord, "the Lord himself, shall descend," and the trumpet shall sound. 2. The sleeping ones, "the dead in Christ shall rise." 3. We that are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, and so ever be with the Lord. His conclusion is: "Comfort one another with these words." And this, said the apostle, "we say unto you by the word of the Lord." Here is no conjecture; faith rests here without a doubt. Let the mourning, bereaved ones look up, redemption draws near. Oh, the glory of that day when Jesus shall come to gather his ransomed ones home. The voice of the archangel shall open the graves of the righteous ones, who once felt the sting of death. In the bloom of immortal youth they rise to meet their Lord. Remembering the pains of death which they once endured, and conscious that, for them all pains and tears have forever passed away, they shout in triumph, "O death, where is thy sting?" Looking down upon those dusty beds where they have long slumbered,229 they exultingly ask: "O grave, where is thy victory?" And the translated ones join with them in one rapturous song: "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Well might the lamented Bliss anticipate the triumph of that day when he sung:— "All joy his loved ones bringing,
When Jesus comes:
All praise through Heaven ringing
When Jesus comes.
All beauty bright and vernal,
When Jesus comes;
All glory, grand, eternal,
When Jesus comes." "When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality," and God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of his people; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, then we shall realize, as we cannot now, the value of the blood of Jesus and the glory of his Atonement. Then, and not till then, can the church sing her song of complete victory, then, for the saints, love's redeeming work will indeed be done. EDITOR. Truth and Righteousness.
By R. F. Cottrell
IN the fortieth psalm is a prophecy of Christ which Paul applies to his first coming into the world. Heb. 10:5-9. In this is foretold how he would regard the law of God, which is the truth, and also the fact that he would preach it. “Then said I, Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation. . . . I have not concealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” Ps. 40:7-10. Righteousness is right doing; and the commandments are righteousness as well as truth. Ps. 119:172. Now let us see how Christ fulfilled the prediction by preaching truth and righteousness in the great congregation in his sermon on the mount, in other words, how he testified of the law which was in his heart. Said he, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” Matt. 5:17-20. Our Lord said to Pilate, “For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” And he did so by deeds as well as by words; for he could truly say, “I have kept my Father's commandments.” And we too may bear testimony in the same way. If we labor on “the six working days,” and rest on the seventh, the day on which the Creator rested, we say by our actions that God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. And that is the truth. But if we rest on the first day and not on the seventh, are we not like the boy that told a lie with his finger by pointing the wrong road to the inquirer? The result of that lie was the death of the child which the surgeon might have saved had he not been delayed by being directed out of his way. And who knows how many souls will go to perdition by the false testimony concerning the day of God's rest, which he requires all men to celebrate. Those who will read Paul's testimony in Rom. 2:17-22, will find him in harmony with other scriptures concerning the law of truth. He says to those who “are instructed out of the law,” that they have “the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” What law? That law that forbids theft and adultery. “Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?” The apostle teaches obedience to this law of truth as a condition of receiving eternal life. Says he, “To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath.” Since “all unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17), and “sin is the transgression of the law” (chap. 3:4), it follows that to “obey unrighteousness” is to transgress the law, and that “well-doing,” or obedience to the truth, is obedience to the law. The apostle teaches in harmony with his Master, who said, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Peter is another witness to the truth. Says he, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth.” 1 Pet. 1:22. It may be objected that he speaks of obeying the gospel. Admitted; but the first precept of the gospel is to repent of sin, which is the transgression of the law; and no repentance is genuine but that which turns from transgression to obedience. If the witnesses already cited are orthodox, so also is the apostle John. Listen to his testimony: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” This is plain testimony; but all can bear it who consider that it comes from the disciple whom Jesus loved, and who leaned upon his breast at the last supper. The testimony concerning the truth is harmonious throughout. R. F. COTTRELL. “MAN’S inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn,” is a truth known to every one. Painful evidences of it may be seen every day and in every community in various and multiform ways. Where is the antidote, the substitute? It is found in what is denominated the golden rule, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Mat. 7:12. Let us suppose that this scripture were adopted generally as the rule of action. What a transformation there would be. There would be less evil-speaking and less bearing of false witness, and hate would give place to love. There would be less fraud in the manufacture and sale of goods; fewer faulty pieces of workmanship and articles would prove to be as represented. There would be less oppression of the widow and orphan, and it would not take the whole of an estate to pay for settling it up. There would be less contracting of debts without the probability or disposition to pay; the injunction, “Pay what thou owest,” would be observed. There would be fewer men to engage in deadly conflict, and the manufacture and sale of death-dealing instruments would be materially diminished. In short, man would love his neighbor as himself, and instead of injuring him in person or estate, he would strive to do him all the good in his power. —Sel. Affliction and Earthly Hopes
WHEN comfort surrounds us, and health and prosperity is our portion, we are apt to paint bright pictures of the future of our lives here below. Our earthly plans absorb our thought and we are in danger. Our loving God sees our peril, and instead of letting us be destroyed, he destroys our hope. Like a rude stone, through our design for future earthly comfort, comes an affliction, a sickness, a loss, a disappointment—something which God knows to be best fitted for the purpose. The Worship of the Virgin.
By E. Wentworth
The wise men of the East fell down and worshiped the infant Jesus. How happened it that they did not worship the Virgin Mary? This singular omission must be a standing wonder to all good Catholics. If Pius IX., or any member of the late Ecumenical Council, had been in the train of the Magi, St. Matthew would have been spared the egregious blunder of giving the infant Saviour a monopoly of the worship. Mary would have come in for her share of the adoration, and even St Joseph would not have been passed by in total silence by the owner of any breviary published this side of the Council of Trent. The wise men of the East knew nothing of the "glories of Mary," "the Queen of mercy," "the Mother of all mankind," "Our life, Protectress, Refuge, Help," "the Propitiator of the whole world," "the Queen of Heaven and hell," "the Co-operator in our justification," "the Omnipotent," "the Way of Salvation," "the Mediator," "Intercessor," "Redeemer," "Saviour," "the sinless Daughter of Joachim and Anna," "the immaculate Mother of God." Century by century, the Church of Rome has steadily added to the ever-cumulative mountains of tradition, and that the nineteenth might not be outdone by any of its predecessors, or the reign of the present pope be deficient in any glory that fell to the share of any other, Pius IX. has engineered the dogmatic publication of two of the sheerest fabrications ever drawn from the simple records of inspiration, or palmed upon the superstition of open-mouthed masses of followers. A worthy companion to the dogma of his own personal infallibility was that of the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin, an event unknown to the evangelists and the Magi, and of which the fathers of the Church remained in shocking ignorance for some centuries. The nineteenth century has reason to congratulate itself that in both these wonderfully important points the darkness of the Bible and the early centuries is cleared away, and the true light now shineth. It does not say much for the power or patronage of the Holy Virgin that she seems to have left the Holy City when the French troops left it; that the Holy Father's mercenaries have been replaced by the troops of Victor Emanuel; that Pio Nono is a sullen and sulky prisoner in the Vatican; that his law—harmless now—so terrible in the middle ages, lies in the churches of Rome; that the Jews have been released from the horrible Ghetto; that Protestants are allowed to worship God while they live, and not condemned to a dog's burial when they die. As the Minerva of Homer is, ever at the elbow of Achilles or Ulysses, stimulating to brave words and daring deeds, so we suppose the Queen of the Romish Pantheon is now on earth stirring up the arch-hierarchs of Britain and America to get up monster processions and mammoth gatherings, and fiery speeches, and fiery resolutions, in order to frighten Victor Emanuel into the surrender of a sort of District of Columbia, ten miles square of the earth, of which "God's vicegerent" claims to be sole proprietor, as a temporal throne for the head of the church, where he may have his janizaries, and janitors, and Jesuits, and inquisitions, his swarms of beggars, and priests, and monks, and nuns; from which the hated Bible, and common school, and newspaper, and free speech, shall be expelled; and where the ballot—saving that of the Cardinal Consistor—shall be unknown; which shall be a Utah in its espionage, its perfidy; its absoluteness—a Sahara to the Protestant, and a hell to the Jew.—E. Wentworth. D. D. The love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.—Paul. The Sabbath-School.
By W. N. Glenn
LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST.—APRIL 26. ACTS, CHAPTERS 19:21—20:6. Paul's Idea of Spreading the Gospel.
THE manner in which the apostle had been led into Europe, on his second missionary tour, and his successes there, although amidst great persecution, did much to enlarge his views concerning the work of the Lord. After the signal victory achieved at Ephesus, when "many of them who used curious arts brought their books together and burned them" (Acts 19:19), it is said that "Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome." Verse 21. A short time afterward, during his three months' stay in Greece (chap. 20:2, 3), he wrote his epistle to the Romans. In the fifteenth chapter of that letter he gives his reason for desiring a new field. In verse 19, he states that "from Jerusalem, and round about from Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." And in the next verse he declares his purpose to preach where Christ had not been named, lest he should "build upon another man's foundation." He had in mind the fulfillment of Isa. 52:15: "That which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider." When he turned from the Jews to the Gentiles at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:47), he had also claimed to be fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy of the mission of the gospel of Christ, "I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." PAUL, more than any other of the apostles, seemed to comprehend the great commission of the Lord, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." He raised up many flourishing churches, but in none of them did he settle down to enjoy the comforts of life, realizing luxuriant support as the reward of his labors. In Rom. 15:23 we get an idea of how thoroughly the apostle had done his work: "But now having no more place in these parts," &c. Now the majority of modern preachers find "no more place" where there is not a church already raised up for them to step into and get a support; but Paul felt compelled to leave a region that was thoroughly cultivated and full of churches of his own building, in order to find labor where the word had not been preached. But Rome was not the end of his purposed journey in that direction. He merely intended to stop there when he should take his journey into Spain, and have them bring him on his way thitherward. Rom. 15:24. Here we see that his plan contemplated the "end of the earth," as Isaiah's prophecy, above quoted, had foretold. Spain then included Portugal, extending to the Atlantic, and being the end of the earth as then supposed. Whether he ever visited Spain or not, we have no information, but he did go to Rome, something over two years afterward, as a prisoner, after a two years' imprisonment at Cesarea for the truth's sake. As Paul never had been at Rome, and there was a church there (see Rom. 16), it might be queried whether he would not there find another man's foundation. But it appears evident that the church at Rome was largely the fruit of his own labor. The church was at the house of Aquila and Priscilla, Paul's converts, who had returned to Rome, their former home. In his letter, he salutes twenty-six persons by name, besides families, all of whom seem to have been acquaintances and fellow-laborers. Two, Andronicus and Junia, his kinsmen, were "of note among the apostles" and in Christ before him. When Paul first went to Antioch there were many Jews there who had been banished from Rome by a general decree; but, at the date of this letter, several years later, many of them had returned. They had become Christians while in Achaia, or in Asia. Epenetus is here mentioned as "the first-fruits of Achaia unto Christ." THIS lesson is largely devoted to the trouble caused by Demetrius, a silver-smith, whose business was making miniature images of Diana. The complaint of this man is a testimony to the extent and influence of the work that had been done in behalf of the gospel: "Not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people." If unbelievers like Demetrius were the only persons whose concern for their business hindered the work of the Lord, the cause would always be prosperous. But it has ever been a fact that selfishness has been a marked characteristic with many in the ranks of professors; and hundreds are to-day standing aloof from the Sabbath of the Lord, in the face of their convictions, on account of the business sacrifice in view, or the dread of not being able to make a living. THE characteristic mob confusion soon swayed the populace, "and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together." But Gaius and Aristarchus had been arrested, being Paul's companions, and Jews. It may be remarked that in all those heathen localities the Jews were liable to be identified with the Christians, as both worshiped the same God, and opposed idolatry; and Paul (as also his most prominent assistants) was a Jew. At Philippi the charge against Paul and Silas was, "These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans." Chap. 16:20, 21. The unbelieving Jews, therefore, always imagined it necessary for them to assert their opposition to Christianity, in order to defend themselves against the dreaded charge of trying to set up a new king (see chap. 17:7.), and generally they led out in the persecution of the new teachers. On this occasion, however, they seem to have acted more especially on the defensive. They were probably in danger in the confusion, as it is said "some cried one thing and some another," and there was no doubt a strong feeling against the Jews. Therefore they put forward a man named Alexander, who endeavored to make a defense; but the excited mob would not listen to him, and set up a cry of "Great is Diana of the Ephesians," which was continued about two hours. The deluded people, in their desperate zeal, supposed that this would establish Diana's greatness, just as the Ecumenical Council of Rome imagined that their vote would confirm the pope's infallibility. IT is worthy of mention that "certain of the chief of Asia," although not of the faith; were Paul's friends. This gives us an idea of the apostle's character. It is asserted by commentators that these were persons who presided over sacred things and over the public games. They were chosen annually, to see that the proper services of religion were observed, and that proper honor was rendered to the emperor. Their friendship for the apostle shows that his manner of conducting himself and his work was such as to command the respect of the authorities. It is evident then that he did not abruptly assail idolatry, or unnecessarily provoke opposition. We know that he never compromised with error, and therefore the respect of these dignitaries must have been gained by a gentlemanly, Christian course. The same idea is gathered from the speech of the "town clerk," after he had quieted the mob, in reference to the companions of Paul who had been dragged into the theater. He said they were neither robbers of churches [temples] nor blasphemers of the goddess. He laid the blame of the tumult upon Demetrius and the craftsmen, expressing no fear of trouble from the Christians. It is a good point for Christian representatives to give no other occasion of offense than the respectful presentation of the truth. We can only rejoice at the evil that is said against us, when it is said falsely. Matt. 5:11. Paul Goes again to Macedonia.
THE first six verses of chapter 20 is all the historical account we have of this journey from Ephesus into Macedonia, and return to Troas en route to Jerusalem, covering a period of several months. The date of this visit is generally fixed at A. D. 58 or 59. The apostle took an affectionate farewell of the disciples at Ephesus, immediately after the tumult described in the previous chapter, and never again returned. On his return to Jerusalem, he sailed by Ephesus, but, stopping at Miletus, a sea-port, he sent for the elders of Ephesus to come down there for a short interview. Here he told them that they should see his face no more. Verse 16 and onward. PAUL'S movements on this journey were largely governed by his concern for the church at Corinth, whither he had sent Titus with what is called the first epistle to that church. He says he was minded to go that way to Macedonia, and return by the same route; but to spare them he "came not as yet unto Corinth." 2 Cor. 1:16, 23. He did not wish to visit them again until he heard how they had received his letter, and acted upon his suggestions in regard to disciplining unworthy members. In the 2d chapter of 2 Cor. we have his experience at Troas, where he stopped on his way to Macedonia to wait for Titus. He had previously sent Timothy and Erastus in advance to Philippi. Acts 19:22. At Troas, although a door was opened unto him to preach Christ, he had no rest because Titus did not come, and went on to Macedonia. Of the visit in Macedonia, it is only said that he gave them "much exhortation," all of which was in view of the fact that he did not expect to see the churches in that region again. But we learn from his second letter to the Corinthians that it was here that he finally met Titus, and being much pleased with the result of his mission, wrote that epistle. This epistle was also forwarded by Titus, and was addressed not only to the Corinthians, but "to all Christ's people throughout the whole province of Achaia." On this Conybeare and Howson remark: "The twofold character of this epistle is easily explained by the existence of the majority and minority in the Corinthian church. Towards the former the epistle overflows with love; towards the latter, it abounds with warning and menace. The purpose of the apostle was to encourage and tranquilize the great body of the church, but at the same time he was constrained to maintain his authority against those who persisted in despising the commands of Christ delivered by his mouth. It was needful, also, that he should notice their false accusations, and that (undeferred by the charge of vanity which they brought) he should vindicate his apostolic character by a statement of facts, and a threat of punishment to be inflicted on the contumacious." A MERE mention is made of continuing this journey into Greece, and remaining there three months, although, as before shown, the epistle to the Romans was written during this time. As he attempted to go to Syria from here, his231 plans were again frustrated by the attempt of the Jews to take his life, and he was obliged to return through Macedonia and Troas. Few men have had their own plans, as ministers, so often hindered as Paul—sometimes by the enemy, and sometimes by the Spirit of God. Yet we find, many times, individuals of far less ability almost ready to give up the work, and even turn against it, because they cannot be permitted to carry out their own ideas. On the other hand, some think they are approved of God because their erroneous course is not peremptorily checked by Providence. Some of Paul's dearest designs were hindered by years of imprisonment, yet he "fought the good fight" to the end. His was an example of "patient continuance in well-doing," whether he could have his own way or not. W. N. GLENN. "It deadens the sensibilities and dulls the conscience," said my father, as I came into the room where some of the boys were. "I don't know as to that; it smokes in my room, and I opened the windows as I came away, with smarting eyes and awakened sensibilities. I don't know about the conscience; that ought to belong to the man that built the chimney." "Note the difference, my son, between 'it smokes' and 'he smokes.' It is of the last I was speaking." I knew my father was aroused on a subject on which he felt much, and, the point once started, he went on a little further. He had become fully convinced, from study and from professional observation, that the use of tobacco was working infinite mischief; that, though it did not kill at sight, it was always insidiously undermining; that the constant and habitual use of a nervous stimulant, to a young boy especially, was a poison, hindering his growth and development. Books on the subject abound, if men would only read and believe. They do neither. He had seen the appetite, in many cases, lead to other and stronger vices,—the insatiable thirst to a craving for something stronger than water. "It is not mere accident, boys," he said, "that smoking and drinking go so naturally together." He had seen so much of the strength of the habit, and of its mischiefs, that he began with us early. He knew the temptation, how manly a cigar looked, how calm and soothing and pleasant the indulgence; but he told us the other side. Then he never forbade our smoking; he knew too well the danger of the temptation to secret disobedience; but he took a favorable moment, and gained a promise from time to time, from one or another, that he would not touch tobacco for so long,—a month, three months, a year. Thus the temptation for the time was avoided, for a pledge helps one wonderfully; and so the strong temptation and the habit never came, till by and by we were beyond the reach of the mischief. We used to call tobacco "the Indian's curse," from the old story, perhaps mythical, certainly prophetic. "I go," said the Indian, "and leave to the white man the graves and the hunting-grounds of my fathers." But he pointed to the broad lands growing luxuriantly at his feet, and added, "These two curses shall cling to him and destroy his race; the fever that shall burn him to the bone, and the tobacco that shall beguile away his life." My father thought the habit was demoralizing; and it was a case in point which had come up just before I entered the room, which led to his remarks upon the properties and effects of smoke. The case was this: Two young men had gone by invitation to visit a gentleman at his country-house. They had been received with all hospitality and kindness, and at evening, perhaps observing tokens of restlessness on the part of his friends, he had remarked, in the course of some conversation as to the beauties and advantages of the place. "There is one peculiarity: we do not allow any smoking on the premises. Mrs. Blank and I both dislike tobacco, and are opposed to it from principle, and we make this an invariable rule." One of the young men told the story himself, afterward, which made it worse. Said he, "We wanted to smoke; so, after we had gone to our room, Mr. X. said, 'Let's have a smoke in spite of them.' So we closed the doors and windows, and had a good smoke; then we opened the windows very quietly, and aired the room well; but what should we do with the ends of our cigars? We dared not leave them in the room, so we concluded to throw them as far off as we could into the shrubbery. The end was, that in the darkness we did not see that they fell precisely into a graveled path, where Mrs. Blank saw them the next morning as she was walking toward the garden." Mr. Blank made some slight allusion to it the next morning, saying, "Mrs. B. thought she perceived smoke the night before, but was not sure." He was too polite to say more to his guests, for they called themselves Christian men and gentlemen. Alas that the two terms should ever be other than synonymous! We did not follow out the story, though our fancy was that the young men would wait long before they would receive another invitation to visit the same house. And it was apropos to this glaring violation of the rules of courtesy and hospitality, that my father made his first remark as to the effect of smoke on the heart and conscience. You think "it is a small matter to make a fuss about," do you, my friend? That is just what I said. Your moral sense is besmoked, your fine, keen sense of right, as well as of Christian courtesy. Times have changed. Time was when he who invited another to his house conferred a favor on him; now, the visitor, forsooth, confers a favor on his entertainer if he will only go to him, and his host is bound to conform to his wishes and indulge his fancies, even to his own inconvenience. In other words, your friend's house is your inn! I trow not. These are not the laws of hospitality nor of good breeding. It is said of the freed slaves at the South, it is said of women in heathen countries, that they are so depressed and bowed down, so utterly sunken and degraded, they do not know that they can rise; you cannot raise them; all ambition, all hope, is crushed out of them; nor do they know ever, what they have lost. Even a perception of those blessings is denied them. This is very much the effect of all slavery, and quite as much as any of the pernicious habit of smoking.—Sel.