On the night of the last day of February, I left home for the State of Minnesota. We had a prosperous journey, though as we were passing through Wisconsin as the shades of night were drawing on, the passengers were all suddenly aroused by the three coaches of the train being thrown from the track, caused by a broken rail. No one was hurt, and the cars were damaged but little. I felt thankful to God for this. On arriving at Rochester, Minn., I found Bro. Gibson at the depot who took me to his home at Greenwood Prairie.
We were fortunate in appointing our first meeting in this State at this place; for it was the time of their quarterly meeting, and there was a good attendance. Quite a number came to the meeting who knew nothing of our appointment. I had the privilege of seeing two of the Conference committee, and other leading brethren, at the meeting. We had a free and happy time. We had seven meetings, and the Lord gave us his blessing in them all. The hearts of others that came to our meeting were touched, and I have learned that two made up their minds to go with us and keep all the commandments of God. The brethren and sisters were much encouraged and they now feel like persevering in the work.
We went from this place to Pine Island where we also had a good meeting. This church is very much scattered, some living forty miles from the place of meeting. Only a small part of the church were present. Some of the brethren and sisters from Greenwood Prairie were with us, and we also had evidence that the Lord favored us with his blessing. We had some rain which made the roads quite muddy, and the water rose in the streams so that it was difficult getting about. Quite a number from without came to our meeting, and a few became much interested. We were able to learn the wants of the cause here, and new courage was given to the brethren and sisters.
Thursday, the 9th, we traveled eighteen miles through the mud to Rochester, where we took the cars for Medford. The Deerfield church came together at this place, and in our meetings through the Sabbath and first-day, we had freedom in speaking the truth. The Lord gave us his blessing in this place also. Hearts were touched by his Spirit, and tears flowed freely. We all found that it was good to wait upon the Lord. Some who had been on the background came forward and took a new start for the kingdom. Some in the neighborhood of our meeting came out to hear, and a few became interested. I think a door was opened for the truth in this place. May the Lord keep their hearts till they have the privilege of hearing the truth.
Monday, the 13th, by the aid of brethren, by the cars, and by walking a few miles, I reached the place of meeting in Rieeland. I received a hearty welcome by the brethren and sisters of this Danish church. I found that they had been passed by and disappointed so much in the past that they felt quite discouraged about having help. I feel to thank God that I had the privilege of meeting with them. When I related to them the action of the General Conference in their behalf as a people, they could but express their feelings of gratitude in tears. This people love the truth. I held five meetings with them, and had freedom in speaking the truth to them. Courage has been given them, and good has been done. Praise the Lord! Amen.
I. D. VAN HORN
Rieeland, Minn.
GEO. I. BUTLER
By George I. Butler
Iowa.
It has been over two months since my last report. During this time I have been busy laboring in different places for the cause, but with no great apparent results.
I held meetings near Fayette some three weeks in a school-house. We could obtain no suitable place in town without paying an exorbitant rent.
I hoped to strengthen the few there who were keeping the Sabbath, and possibly reach some others. I was unexpectedly called away to the General Conference, but hope a few more will go forward in obedience to God’s commandments. I spent three weeks at the General Conference, profitably, I hope, to myself. I labored also at Waukon on my return, I trust with profit to the church. During the last few months the church has passed through discouragements. The typhoid fever has greatly prevailed. Some valuable members have been called away, and quite a number have removed. These things left a depressing influence on those who remained. But we had some spiritual meetings, and nearly all felt refreshed. I held meetings also in Laporte City on my way south, which I trust were profitable. The church here are united, and in the best condition spiritually, I think, they have ever been since my acquaintance with them. A marked improvement is manifest within the last four years, and yet there is room for improvement. They are quite anxious for the Northern Iowa camp-meeting to be held there. A tolerably fair grove was selected on Bro. King’s farm, about three miles from the village. This was the best we could do. The friends have long been anxious for a general meeting, and the presence of Bro. and sister White to remove some of the bitter prejudice against them. They think if the meeting could be followed up by lectures, good could be accomplished. They are scattering tracts and seem to be in earnest to do their part to make the meeting a success. Perhaps there is no place in the State where the presence of Bro. and sister White would do more good.
Last Sabbath and Sunday met with the friends at Lisbon. The going was awful, and the attendance from the other churches small. But our meetings were spiritual and encouraging. My courage in the good cause is increasing more and more. I mean to labor on and do what I can.
GEO. I. BUTLER
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, March 20, 1871.
D. T. BOURDEAU
By D. T. Bourdeau
Vermont.
Since my return to Bristol, I have held twelve meetings at Bristol Flatts, six at New Haven Mills, and twenty-four at North Middlebury. Three more have been added to the organization, and and three have embraced the truth within the past week. A week ago last Sunday at the close of a discourse on conversion, my brother called for all who believed we had the truth on the Sabbath question to arise, and all the congregation but two or three were on their feet at once. Then an expression was requested from those who believed the first day was the Sabbath, and not one arose.
We leave a church of 18 members in New Haven and Bristol. The Sabbath meetings are now held at North Middlebury, where several meet with us. We leave Bro. Yaw with them. God has blessed him with a good constitution, and has given him some success. If he puts his whole soul in the work, and labors especially on new ground, God will encourage him by blessing his labors.
In no place have we felt more sensibly that God was helping us, and in no place have the friends of the cause stood more faithfully by us in our labors. We will call on them again in due time.
At our recent lectures a young man came twenty miles to bid his friends good-bye, intending to study for the ministry. In one week he was a firm Sabbath-keeper. A brother brought one of his friends on foot eight miles to our Sunday meetings. He returned home with the intention of keeping the Sabbath, and last Sabbath he stated his determination to keep all God's commandments.
Brethren and sisters, let us go to work according to our solemn profession, and not get discouraged till we have given Vermont a fair trial.
D. T. BOURDEAU
New Haven Mills, Vt., March 20, 1871.
Missouri Meetings and Converts at Seneca
By H. C. Blanchard
Missouri.
Since my last report I have held some twenty meetings in Seneca, Newton Co., Mo., with some success. Twenty have signed a covenant to keep all God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus. I am now at home, not having been able to preach for some time in consequence of a cough. I am getting better, and think I shall be able to go out again soon. I will, Providence permitting, visit Seneca some time this spring, and hold some more meetings. I still desire the prayers of the brethren. H. C. Blanchard.
Chicago, Ill.
By John Matteson
WE still continue meetings among the Norwegians in Chicago. The attendance is not large, yet some progress is made. Souls are enlightened and made to rejoice in the truth. Twelve have commenced to keep the Sabbath of the Lord. Seven willing candidates were yesterday buried with Christ in baptism, and arose to walk in newness of life. Still others are being convinced, and we expect soon to see them follow the footsteps of the Master. Pray for us, that the Lord may bless us much. JOHN MATTESON.
100 So. Sangamon St., Chicago, Ill.
Interest Increasing.
By M. M. Dodge
My mother has taken the REVIEW ever since I can remember. Out of curiosity, I took it up when it was enlarged, and soon found myself interested in it; and this interest has increased to that degree that I would now part with almost anything rather than the paper. Cannot some minister come and labor in this place? I am trying to live out the commandments.
M. M. DODGE.
Winnebago Co., Wis.
A Word from Branch Co., Mich.
By W. S. Ernst
I REJOICE in the Lord for what he has done for me and mine. We were all feeling rather backslidden in heart when Bro. Lane came here, a few weeks since, but thanks be to God for his goodness in hearing prayer and sending his servant to help us. Truly he gave us meat in due season, and we trust we shall all be better prepared to withstand the wiles of the enemy.
We would be glad to have all the scattered brethren in Branch county meet us as often as possible, that we may gain strength to battle against the enemy of all righteousness and truth, and that others may be brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
W. S. ERNST.
North-western Michigan.
By J. G. Sterling
SINCE Conference, I have brought my labors to a close in Hesperia. There was a decided influence against the truth in this place. Only two decided to obey.
Thence I went to the north part of the town of Denver. Held sixteen meetings, there are six keeping the Sabbath here, but some have not entirely overcome their idols. Can report, I think, some progress in this direction among them.
From here I went to Beaver. Held several meetings at the house of Bro. Bragg. Found some interest to hear. There are six in this place keeping the Sabbath. I intend to visit these places again soon. I am now holding meetings at the house of Bro. L. D. Smith in Dayton. Roads very bad, mud deep, weather rainy. Still there is some interest to hear. I am hoping and praying for good results. J. G. STERLING.
That Which Satisfies.
By Maylord J. Pierce
The holy Scriptures alone can satisfy the honest, inquiring mind. I am sorry I have not read and studied them more. It has not been a year since I commenced to serve the Lord and keep all his commandments. The enemy strove hard to keep me from obeying the truth. He arrayed the pleasures of the world before me. He told me that if I tried to be a Christian, I should have to leave my young associates, cease going to parties, and become gloomy. But, as I read my Bible, I found precious promises which the world could not afford. I can truly say, I thank God that he has inclined my heart to serve him. I mean to strive each day to draw near my dear Saviour, and please him in all I say and do. We should not let one moment pass unoccupied; for there is a great work to be done before we shall be prepared to meet our soon-coming Lord. Oh! let us be faithful, and not be afraid to let the world know that we are striving to keep all the commandments of God, that we may have a right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city. How blessed the thought that then we shall be free from sin, then we shall not have to mourn the loss of our dear friends, for there will be no death there. This life is but a day; can we not then be faithful for a short time? May God help us to put forth every effort to so live out his truths that we may be examples to the world, and show to them that our interest is not upon earth and earthly things. We have friends who have not yet given their hearts to God. Let us try to win them to the truth, for soon it will be too late. The end is near at hand.
Maylord J. Pierce.
A Sin to Be Ignorant.
By H. F. Phelps
THERE is an old proverb, or new it may be, it matters not which, that says, “To be ignorant is bliss.” This may be true of certain things, as, “when a tale-bearer goeth up and down,” revealing pretended secrets. To be ignorant of his or her secrets, will save a soul from much trouble. Also, to be ignorant of the future of one’s life, that is, the trials, &c., which may be before us, may be bliss. But in these days of knowledge, when the land is full of opportunities to cultivate one’s own mind, and to obtain wisdom, it seems to me to be a sin to be ignorant, especially concerning the common branches of education. Who need be so ignorant as not to be able to tell how much a certain number of pounds of any commodity bought or sold at a given rate will amount to? or ignorant of the common rules of language, writing, and punctuation, especially so much so as to use a small i in speaking of the first person, one’s own self? There may be some who, thinking that time is so short there is no necessity of learning these things, or even of having their children learn them; but at the same time are very willing to learn Bible, or pretend to be at least. If there are any so very unfortunate, I would invite their attention to a few passages of Scripture found in Proverbs. This book was no doubt written by a wise man, and the writer is ever and anon urging upon the reader to get wisdom and understanding, and represents it as being more precious than gold or silver; for these may take wings and fly away; but wisdom, when once gotten, will never depart. True, some may make a wrong use of it; but this does not hurt the article itself any more than by one’s putting a gold dollar to a wrong use would soil or injure the coin.
But, says one, these all mean Bible wisdom; for it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” True; but many a man is so very ignorant as to be entirely unable to discern what the Bible does teach. Then why scorn the learning of the world, since it all comes from God. It will not, of course, do alone, for some of it is very imperfect; but taken in connection with heavenly wisdom, how good it is. We will not pass idly by these mercies lent us from the Lord, but occupy till he come.
H. F. Phelps.
Conversation as the Daughter of Reasoning
CONVERSATION is the daughter of reasoning, the mother of knowledge, the breath of the soul, the commerce of hearts, the bond of friendship, the nourishment of content, and the occupation of men of wit.
The Joy of Beneficence
There is no use of money equal to that of beneficence; there the enjoyment grows on reflection, and our money is most truly ours when it ceases to be in our possession.
Obituary Notices.
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.
DIED, in Odessa, Ionia Co., Mich., March 4, 1871, Lorenzo Franklin, infant son of John and Lucinda Lunger. A. CLARK.
DIED, at Zanesville, Ohio, Jan. 31, 1871, my sister, Maria Mitchell, in the 65th of her age. She has been a Seventh-day Adventist for some years. She suffered long from asthma, and chronic bronchitis; but her end was peace. G. W. MITCHELL.
“Whoso Loveth and Maketh a Lie.”
By C. Green
THESE words we find in Rev. 22:15. They apply to a certain class found outside the city of God.
Two classes of individuals are brought to view in this text; one that makes the lie, another that loves it. The former might tire or get ashamed of his proceedings if the one who loved his falsehoods should reform and say, “We have no more use for your wares; they are unreliable and unsafe for our use.” It is the lover of lies that encourages and prospers the manufacturer of them. The church and neighborhood scandals would never go far, if there were not ready ears to listen to them.
So defective are our moral natures, that we are more ready and willing to hear evil of our neighbor, than to listen to comments favorable to his virtues. In this we certainly do not do by him as we would he should do by us. Poor human nature has but little of virtue to spare; yet how many there are ready, thoughtlessly, may be, to rob another even of that little good, by listening to, or circulating some false, or at least unwarrantable, scandal pertaining to that one. Hear what you may, the bad side of a person is more frequently commented on than his or her good qualities.
This should not be; especially among those who profess to be followers of Christ, and who have from him the instruction to love others as we love ourselves.
There is another class of liars, who prosper from the false and idle stories they tell. Their name is legion; and they flourish and grow in fatness, by feeding the diseased imaginations of a great multitude of novel readers. The one loves the lie, while the other rehearses it. It is hard to tell which of the two is the most to blame. The avidity of the former to consume what the latter furnishes, only encourages the work of demoralization, and renders both unfit for a residence in that holy city.
The Bible abounds in admonitions and instruction on this point, and while it counsels us to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking guile, and warns us from taking up a reproach against our neighbor, it also places him that loveth a lie, with him who maketh one, outside of the heavenly Jerusalem. C. GREEN.
Baptism and the Sabbath.
I FIND the following on baptism in a Baptist paper:
VIEWS ON BAPTISM.
(Translated from the Spanish, by Rev. S. F. Smith, D. D.)
[The following article is the concluding portion of a little work on baptism, prepared by Prof. Knapp, for circulation in Spain. It is interesting, as it presents a comprehensive, searching, and scriptural view of baptism, and especially as it gives fundamental information as to the character of the instruction imparted by our new missionary to our new brethren and friends in the kingdom of Spain.]
A. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7.
3. Q. Can baptism save us?
A. “By grace ye are saved, through faith.” Eph. 2:8.
4. Q. Can baptism in the absence of faith please God?
A. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Rom. 14:23. “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” Heb. 11:6.
5. Q. Ought those who have been baptized to be faithful to their profession?
A. “They continued in the apostles’ doctrine.” Acts 2:42.
6. Q. Is it lawful to decline baptism, or to change it?
A. “What thing soever I command you, observe to do; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” Deut. 12:32.
“See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed thee in the mount.” Heb. 8:5.
“And at that time He blessed them, saying, In thee shall Israel be blessed. And it shall be said, God make thee like Ephraim and like Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.” Gen. 48:20. Jesus Christ says, “He that believeth and is baptized”—putting faith before baptism. Men say, It is of no importance, either as to the mode or the order, or rather we ought to do just the opposite.
“Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments of mine and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.” Matt. 5:19.
“Teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world.” Matt. 28:20.
7. Q. Is not then the baptism of infants sufficient?
11. Q. Did they not baptize infants when they baptized entire households?
A. In every example of household baptism the “instruction” they received, the “faith” they exercised, and the “consolation” of those in the house who were baptized, are spoken of. Consequently, if there were infants who received baptism, they were able to understand and to believe in Jesus Christ.
12. Q. Then is not the baptism of infants in opposition to the word of God?
A. There is no command for the baptism of any but believers.
Infants cannot be taught; they cannot repent; they cannot believe; they cannot use their reason; they cannot confess their sins; they cannot be baptized voluntarily; they cannot obey; they cannot walk in newness of life: they cannot understand the meaning of baptism. But those who were baptized by the apostles could do all these things. Consequently, the baptism of infants is not the baptism which the Scripture commands. Children who die in infancy, before they are able to understand, are saved through the death of Christ.
Do not say it is of little importance which one practices—the immersion of believers, or the sprinkling of infants; for every ordinance of Jesus is of importance, and ought to be observed in the manner which he has indicated. To “break one of these least commandments” of Christ, whether through ignorance or for any other cause, cannot but be wicked. I entreat you to observe the ordinance as it is commanded, otherwise you may possibly have cause to cry, “The Lord our God hath made a breach upon us, because we sought him not after the due order.” 1 Chron. 15:13. Indeed we have been disobedient in practicing baptism “otherwise than it was written.” 2 Chron. 30:18.
Christian reader, the very words of God himself teach you his will respecting baptism. Follow neither custom, nor the multitude, nor the tradition of men, saying “I will conform to what my fathers did,” but follow Christ. Take the Bible as your only guide, and rest upon it as upon a rock.
Be fully persuaded in your own mind (Rom. 14:5), for he who doubts whether infant baptism is right is condemned if he practices it. Rom. 14:23. Either infant baptism, or the baptism of believers—one of the two—is contrary to the Scripture. Eph. 4:5. Think of this. Let us pray one for another; and may God in his infinite grace guide us to the true knowledge of his will, and to obedience to it, that you and I may both have “one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.”
REMARKS SUGGESTED BY THE FOREGOING.
By F. A. Buzzell
Baptists, why not reason in the above style in regard to the observance of the Sabbath?
Rev. H. F. Lane in a paper before the New York Pastoral Conference (Baptist) read, “We deem our isolation our glory; for of all the denominations of Christendom, we alone stand upon the impregnable platform, The Bible alone the rule of faith and practice.”
Our purpose in commenting upon the foregoing article on Baptism is to attempt to show to Baptists who may read this, that if they were consistent they would try other points besides baptism, by a course of reasoning similar to the above.
By accepting the fact that the seventh day is the Sabbath forever, the same mode of reasoning, many of the same texts, the same logical conclusions, and the final appeal given in the preceding article will apply; and a Baptist who loves truth and earnestly seeks for it, need not remain in a “papal error,” while he attempts to discover to his orthodox brethren or Spanish converts that they are while holding to infant baptism. Let us look at the questions and answers of “Views on Baptism,” and see if what we affirm is true.
Commencing with question 6, we substitute, Is it lawful to change the Sabbath?
Is not the answer as embraced in Deut. 12:32, and Matt. 5:19, intensely to the point, especially when the idea is entertained that the apostles or early Christians changed the Sabbath? Who gave the apostles, much less the early Christians, authority to change God’s holy law? But supposing we answer further in the language of Matt. 5:17, 18. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Ratify or establish. “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Has one jot (letter) or one tittle (part of a letter) been erased from God’s law? How does it read in Exodus 20? The seventh day, doesn’t it? Who keeps the first day and assumes that it is holy time, let Rev. H. F. Lane answer by the rule he claims to have faith in and practice by.
Have heaven and earth passed away? Are the prophecies all fulfilled?
Then why has the jot and tittle passed away from the law?
Question 8. “Is there no command for it?”
Answer. “No.”
Q. 9. “Is there not one example for it?”
A. NOT ONE.
Q. 10. (Substituting.) Did the apostles never observe the first day as holy time?
A. “No mention is made of it.”
In every example of the apostles in reference to holy time, they observed the seventh day. They spoke of the seventh day as the Sabbath.
Q. 12. (Substituting.) Then is not the observance of the first day of the week in opposition to the word of God?
A. If God has said in his word that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, and has sanctified and hallowed the seventh day, and has said that man should labor on the first day, then why should we not obey? In the entire absence of any proof that it is God’s will that any other day should be commemorated or kept as holy, or that any change has been made, why not keep the same day that our Saviour kept if he is “our example”? Pray tell us, Baptists, you who claim to wrap all your doctrinal points in Bible sheets.
Rev. Mr. Gardner, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, said in a sermon not long since, upon the “Christian Sabbath,” that it was the “Gibraltar of our religion.” If so, it should have a good, solid foundation, a Bible foundation. We think Sunday-keeping is only a “Gibraltar” of sand. Sabbath-keeping is founded upon a rock, beautifully engraved with the finger of God. Sunday-keeping can boast no higher origin than pagan and papal hands.
“We entreat you observe the Sabbath as commanded, otherwise you may possibly have cause to cry, ‘The Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.’ 1 Chron. 15:13. Indeed we have been disobedient in practicing Sabbath observance, otherwise than it was written.”
And, oh! that the following words were before your eyes every sixth day when the setting sun ushers in the eve of God’s holy Sabbath, that they were in your dreams by night—and meet your waking eyes clothed with the brightness and glory of the rising sun, that these words might be heeded by you as the words of an angel of mercy and truth:—
“The very words of God himself teach you his will respecting the observance of the Sabbath. Follow neither custom, nor the multitude, nor the traditions of men, saying, I will conform to what my fathers did; but follow Christ. Yes, follow him, our divine example. Take the Bible as your only guide, and rest upon it as upon a rock.”
“He who doubts whether the observance of the first day is right, is condemned if he observe it. Either the observance of the seventh day, or of the first—one of the two is wrong.”
“No man can serve two masters.”
“Whom will ye serve?” God, or pagan and pope? “Think of this. Let us pray one for another; and may God in his infinite grace guide us to the true knowledge of his will, and to obedience to it, that we may have one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.”
F. A. BUZZELL.
What Shall We Read?
By E. H. Whitney
It is no uncommon thing, on taking up any of the newspapers of the day, either religious or secular, to find this question answered in some form; but it is a matter about which too much cannot be said in those days when literature of all kinds is flooding the country.
The preacher’s words, “Of making many books there is no end,” were never more applicable than now; and surely the “much study” (margin reading) that is spread before us would be “a weariness of the flesh,” should we undertake it. Some of us have already found it so; and remembering the precipice so near to which our feet have strayed would warn those who are still lingering there, or are approaching, of their danger.
In speaking of dangerous reading, we do not refer to what is called yellow-covered literature, and the love and murder stories which fill the columns of the weekly story papers. Their character is too well known to need any comment. Especially would it seem unnecessary to warn those who profess the truths of the third angel’s message against such. But there is what is considered, and to all appearance is, a better class of literature, but which, in its effects upon the mind, is, after all, like an insidious, slow-working poison. Its tendency is only, though indirectly, evil (if evil can be so spoken of), as all direct upholding of immorality is avoided. It is not always easy for the young reader to detect the tendency toward sensuality, and the weakening effects of such works upon the moral character. They are simply pleasant stories in which the vice of tobacco-using, fashionable dress, and amusements are shown under so fair a cloak that gradually the fine sensitiveness of conscience concerning such things in which we may happily have been educated, and which familiarity with the Bible would increase, becomes blunted, and we at last not only tolerate, but smile approvingly at, what once would have shocked us.
One who habituates himself to light reading, can scarcely fail to form a taste for it, which grows rapidly upon what nourishes it. A preference is thus acquired for a style of reading which is not only useless but injurious. Another thing, too important to be overlooked, is, that by reading for amusement things which are generally not worth remembering, one is apt to acquire a habit of reading carelessly. The memory becomes treacherous, the imagination too active, and the poor victim of what might be termed a mental pollution, finds himself after a time unable to concentrate his mind upon anything which is really worth careful reading or study. I do not think this a rare state of things.
The most evenly-balanced, active, and thorough minds among young men and women whom I have known, were those whose intellects during childhood and early youth were not fed upon works of imagination. Such a course may not always quench the light of a naturally brilliant intellect, but it is almost sure to warp it and make it unreliable; and if, at some time, the unfortunate individual sees his condition, he will find it no easy task to overcome the effects of his previous intellectual habits. Parents, who have children fond of reading, be careful what they read. Cultivate in them habits of practical thought rather than development of imagination. Teach them that reading should not be simply a pastime, but a source of real instruction and profit. Know what they read. I have heard of a mother who never allowed her child to read a book till she had herself first judged of its merits, and was satisfied that the influence would be good. I honor that mother. Children thus trained will arrive at years of discretion with pure tastes and good habits of thought. Above all, teach them, by precept and example, familiarity with the Bible. It will be a most fitting preparation for the battle of life in these last days when Satan has so many snares set for youthful feet.
And to those who are unhappily sufferers from injudicious habits of reading, let me say, Break off from them at once. We have no time to waste over idle tales or useless reading of any sort. We need every moment and every effort to fit us for the Lord’s service. Our help is needed on every side. Our reading should be of a nature to assist us in training ourselves to be more efficient workers in the family, in the church, in any place where the Master may call us. We should read closely, carefully, thoughtfully, prayerfully. When we take up an article or a book, let it be, not with the thought, “What can I find to amuse me?” but, “What can I find to help me to a better and more useful life?” We cannot afford to lose what we thus gain, and if memory, sieve-like, refuses to retain it, read it again and again till the victory over mental weakness is gained, and the item added to the store of treasured thought. “I speak that I do know, and testify that I have seen,” for I write from an experience painful both in my own case and in that of others.
E. H. WHITNEY.
Malone, N. Y.
Christ's Promise to the Thief.
By J. R. Whitham
WITH those who hold that death is a separation of soul and body, that the soul is immortal, and that the righteous are rewarded immediately after death, Luke 23: 42, 43, seems to afford proof at once the most satisfactory and unanswerable. So long as the passage referred to remains as it is without explanation, so long will the minds of those who advocate the popular view remain unchanged. It is in vain that you direct their attention to the many passages in the Bible, that represent death as a sleep, and to the fact that the rewards of both the righteous and the wicked are almost invariably spoken of in connection with the resurrection, or the coming of Christ, and that Christ had not yet ascended to his Father even on the day upon which he arose. This passage alone is deemed sufficient to overbalance all other passages, however conflicting.
The explanation commonly given by those who hold the opposite view, in order to make the passage harmonize with other portions of Scriptures, is to make the word to-day qualify the preceding part of the sentence. This is done by changing the punctuation—by placing the comma, which precedes, after to-day; although the harmony sought may in this way be gained, yet the explanation does not afford entire satisfaction, even to all who reject the popular view. To some, at least, the explanation seems rather forced, especially when viewed in the light of the original Greek.
The prayer of the thief was this, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” He did not ask to be remembered the very day upon which they hung on the cross; neither is there any evidence for the belief that the thief or any one else supposed that Christ would come in his kingdom that day. The very language of the thief shows the contrary belief in his case. According to the original, he wished to be remembered when the Saviour would come not into his kingdom, but in his kingdom in power. As it was, he was stripped at that time, of power, and was about to sink under the dominion of death. The time when he should come clothed in power, instead of being at that very time, was doubtless understood to be away along in the future.
Now let us notice the Saviour's answer, “Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.” I use the expression this day instead of to-day because the word here rendered to-day can with equal propriety be rendered this day and is often thus rendered. But to what day does the Saviour allude? Doubtless the day or time when he should come in his kingdom. His kingdom was in the future, and he makes use of the future tense.
But again, the word translated to-day will admit of another rendering. The original word is semeron which is equivalent to temeron, and the latter is to hemera. Now every Greek scholar knows that the connection sometimes requires that the Greek article should be rendered, “that.” The expression te hemera, which is a noun with the article prefixed, might therefore be rendered that day. Its equivalent might also with equal propriety be rendered that day.
If we turn to 1 Thess. 5: 4, we will find that hemera preceded by the article is rendered that day. The day of the Lord is spoken of in verse 2, and in verse 4 there is reference to the same day. Taking the two verses together they will read thus: “For yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. But ye, brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” We thus see the propriety, as well as beauty, of rendering the article in this connection, that.
Now if we turn back to the passage referred to in the first part of this article, and substitute that day for to-day, we will at once see the propriety of this rendering, the passage would thus read: “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”