Earlier text: EVIL EFFECTS OF THE PLATONIC PHILOSOPHYFINISHED WORK.
By Vesta J. Olsen
How few, comparatively, of professed Christians, when called to lay down the armor and rest from the toilsome journey of life, can say, “My work is finished.” Very few can say like Paul, “I have fought a good fight.” Looking at the character of Paul, we are constrained to admire the energy, zeal, and devotion which characterized his work for his Master. When the time came for the last act in the drama of his life, which was to seal his testimony with his blood, he was ready with thankfulness to say, “I have finished my course.” It is our privilege in this age of the world, like the apostle to live such a blameless life that our course may be finished with joy. The great trouble with professed Christians now-a-days is, they fight no real warfare and obtain no real victory. Sometimes, perhaps, they have a slight skirmish, which generally ends in a defeat; for as Satan is a skillful general, he manages the battle his own way. But of real, genuine fighting against sin and Satan they have little or no knowledge. They know little of the transforming influence Paul speaks of, or of being crucified to sin and self. When such professors give up the world with its affections and lusts, then there will be fewer complaints of crooked paths, unperformed duties, and bitter failures. Thank God, all are not so. Even in this day some are coming to their end like a shock of corn fully ripe. Some of our godly parents are thus called to rest from their toils, soon to wear the crown laid up for them at the appearing of Jesus. They have entered into the joy of their Lord in gathering souls for the heavenly garner, and soon they will enter into the rest which has been purchased for them by his blood. By looking to God in humble confidence, we may, in a large degree, avoid failures and defeats; and when called to give up our account, or to behold the coming of the King of kings, we shall be able to say with a thankful heart, “Through Christ Jesus my Lord, my work is finished.” “Oh, that each in the day
Of his coming may say,
I have fought my way through;
I have finished the work thou didst give me to do.
“Oh, that each from his Lord
May receive the glad word,
Well and faithfully done;
Enter into my joy, and sit down on my throne.”
VESTA J. OLSEN. HYMN OF THE PILGRIM SOUL.
By Gerald Massey
Slow, step by step, day after day,
I journey on my homeward way,
And darkly dream the land of light
Is drawing near, night after night,
Where I shall reach my rest at last,
And smile at all my perils past. Sometimes I sing, sometimes I sigh,
Sometimes I lift the longing eye,
Sometimes my heart laughs 'neath its load
To think of that august abode,
Where I shall reach my rest at last,
And smile at all the perils past. This poor mortality of mine
Shall soon put on its dress divine,
To meet Him with the blest above
Who gave his life to gain our love;
And rich will be my rest at last,
When all the poverty is past! He will be near, my life, my hope,
When at the gloomy gate I grope,
And take my hand, and reach for me
The fruit of immortality;
And I shall know my rest at last,
And triumph in the trials past. “From faith to faith.” Rom. 1:17. That is, as each day and hour, and each trial of life, calls for a new development of faith, God’s righteousness, or goodness, is thus revealed to the just (good) man, who lives by his faith, or by the exercise of his faith. In this way there is a continual renewal of faith by constant growth; and as new trials bring renewed acts of faith, new joys accompany them, and thus there is no sameness or monotony, but an ever-increasing variety in the Christian’s experience of the goodness of God, all tending to one great and good result,—a conscience void of offense toward God and man. This produces peace of mind, and brings the Christian where he can adopt the language of Paul in Rom. 8. “Be not faithless, but believing.” John. 20 : 27. It is no honor to doubt a well-proven fact. The Bible, and the moral responsibilities growing out of its principles, are all too well proven for any but a heathen to doubt. Thomas doubted; doubtless he considered it a mark of mind; but we hear little of Thomas after this cruel summons for evidence. It was unreasonable to ask it. Bunyan’s famous book, “The Holy War,” describes a class of Diabolians who were not to be seen when Emmanuel and his army were in the city; but as soon as his army was withdrawn, then might be seen, skulking about in the lanes and dark corners of the city, these Diabolian doubters; until, finally, they became so bold as to walk in the open streets of the city, and even to converse with the leading men of Mansoul. After the class has learned that 2x2=4, it would be foolish to question this simple fact. So with morals; until we learn and prove, we may question, but not after a fact is well proven. “THERE is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” There is an aged lady, a member of one of our churches, whose charitable example should be read and pondered by a great many Sabbath-keepers. This lady, sixty-eight years of age and in feeble health, has, during the past year, worked in a farmer's kitchen for the small sum of $5.50 a week; and of this sum $2.50 has gone into the treasury of the Lord. She also takes the REVIEW, and sends another copy to her sister. Five whole weeks she has labored diligently for the Lord. How many can make as good a record? She has no earthly home, and is entirely dependent on her own exertions for her support. When told, on paying her last installment, that she had better keep it, trembling with emotion she replied, “No; I will pay my dues. The Lord has been good to me.” While enjoying her quiet presence and looking upon her placid face, one can almost imagine he hears the rustle of angels' wings. There are other members in the same church, stalwart men, who wished their names taken from the S. B. book, considering themselves unable to pay anything. Some of them can count their losses by hundreds of dollars. Their foundation was laid on sliding sand, and their possessions were swept away. “For he that hath, to him shall be given; and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.” “And he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it in a bag with holes.” P. GRACE is glory in the bud, and glory is grace in the blossom. To have all, and to die saying, “Is this all?” is the epitaph of many a rich and wasted life. To be separated from God is to foretaste the misery of hell; to be united to God by a living, love-producing faith, is to foretaste the joy of Heaven.—Zion's Herald. THE worst slander often has in it some truth from which we may learn a lesson that may make us wiser, and, if we will, better, when the first smart of it is over. The Ordinary Employment of Artifice
THE ordinary employment of artifice is the mark of a petty mind; and it always happens that he who uses it to cover himself in one place uncovers himself in another. The Wisdom of Knowing What We Know
REAL power, real excellence, does not seek for a foil in imperfections, nor fear contamination from coming in contact with that which is coarse and homely. It reposes on itself, and is equally free from spleen and affectation. A SENSIBLE brother who had just united with the church, on being asked to explain some points of the doctrine, replied, “I will explain as far as I understand it, but for the rest you must wait till I learn more.” That was certainly a sensible conclusion. Never explain things farther than you know them, and for the rest wait till you learn it. Children should learn to walk before they attempt to run.—Brethren at Work. Looking Down the Chimney.—
It is said that a man who looked down his neighbor’s chimney to see what he was cooking for supper, not only did not find out, but was nearly blinded by the smoke. When you hear men say, “I’ve watched those who profess so much religion, and don’t see that they are any better than those who do not make such a high profession,” depend upon it they have got some smoke in their eyes, and those whose eyes are full of smoke cannot see very clearly. Denominational smoke is about the most blinding smoke we know of, and prevents the gospel from taking hold of the masses more than any other agency. Were we to sit down by our neighbor’s fire occasionally, instead of looking down the chimney, we should see many good points in his character that smoke will surely obscure. Men must be taught self-reliance. They must also be taught to look to God for help, and to rely on his helping them. Both should go together. We think we have discovered a tendency in the prevailing teaching at reform-club meetings to altogether ignore the gospel of self-reliance, manhood, and courageous self-preservation, while properly exalting the gospel of hope in Christ and reliance on God. No person is in the way of overcoming any evil habit or sinful practice, so long as he is made to feel that he is wholly given over to the care of another party. In his thought, the other party at once becomes responsible for his conduct. If he fails, it is his misfortune, but the other party's blame. Teaching men that they are weak, only confirms them in weakness. Teach them that they may be strong through the grace of God and the exercise of the faculties that he has given them, and they have already passed the Red Sea walls and are advancing toward the promised land of redemption. —Morning Star. Live Not for Selfish Aims
LIVE not for selfish aims. Live to shed joy on others. Thus best shall your own happiness be secured; for no joy is ever given freely forth, that does not have free echo in the giver's heart. There probably never has been any good enterprise carried forward in this world which did not have among its professed friends a greater or less number of persons who did not believe in the measures adopted for its advancement. The cause of Seventh-day Adventism has, perhaps, had as few of this class as any cause; yet they have all along been present to make themselves known by their words, not by their deeds, for they don’t believe in doing anything except to furnish their quota to the ranks of the tribe of Meroz. Under the experience through which we have passed, this class should have become extinct among us long before this; but a remnant still remains, and the topic of their discourse is now the new tabernacle—“We don’t believe in building great big meeting-houses!” What have been their texts in times past?—They have been these: “We don’t believe in organization;” “we don’t believe in systematic benevolence;” “we don’t believe in large publishing houses with power presses;” “we don’t believe in camp-meetings;” “we don’t believe in establishing a Health Institute;” “we don’t believe in founding a college;” “we don’t believe in tract and missionary operations;” and now, “we don’t believe in building tabernacles,” and if we do, “we don’t believe in Christmas trees to raise means to pay for them;” and if ever these dear “don’t-believes” get through to the kingdom, we expect to hear them say, as the great multitudes come up from land and sea, “We don’t believe in such a great big crowd;” “we don’t believe in making such a stir to establish the kingdom of God.” Where would the cause have been now, if the views and feelings of these persons had prevailed? There would have been no organization, no system of raising funds, no efficient printing office of our own, no Health Institute, no college, no T. and M. work, and no need of any very large houses of worship. Our forces would have consisted of only a few chaotic fragments wandering through the land, and the cause would not yet have been an inch and a half from its place of beginning. And now, after time has demonstrated the wisdom of the moves that have been made, and vindicated the views of the faithful many against the non-believing few, and the battles have been successfully fought on the points in our previous history above named, it is strange that this spirit of hesitation about advance moves should still linger in any heart. The General Conference Committee thoroughly canvassed the subject, and decided what was needed here as a house of worship. Have you any confidence in these men? What would our friends have us do? Here was a weekly congregation of about eight hundred, to be convened in a house which would not conveniently seat six hundred. Should we turn away a part of those already here, and erect an effectual barrier against all future increase? Perhaps you say, Build a new house, but confine it in size to present wants. This we have already done three times in Battle Creek, and the reality in a few years outstripped our faith. To commit the same error a fourth time would be unpardonable stupidity; for unless our institutions shall prove a failure, there must still be a large increase in numbers here before the work shall close. “Well, then, do not build so expensively.” Do these persons know how expensive a building is erected? How much have they an idea that a building should cost which will accommodate over three thousand persons? The building committee are just as much opposed as any one can be to any extravagant outlay, or expense for mere show; but they believe there is some regard to be paid to propriety, and we do not think our friends anywhere would have had us erect a mere barn in which to worship the Lord. What may have been said abroad in regard to it, we do not know, perhaps not all that may have been said here; but no one has made any complaint to us, who has seen the building. Some have entertained unfavorable views before coming here, but have become entirely satisfied after seeing it. So we believe it will be with all. We are at any rate willing to venture the assertion that the most conservative would not be willing that changes should be made from its present construction by which a saving of even two hundred dollars might have been effected on the whole building. And if this is so, no great dissatisfaction or misgivings ought to exist. The tabernacle is satisfactory. The committee will be able to make a satisfactory showing as to its cost and construction. It is just what is needed. We believe in it as an advance step in the onward progress of this cause, due at this time. We believe in this cause, in its growing prosperity and final and speedy triumph. We believe, by-and-by, in a Scott or Bullock press in this office, which will turn off thirty thousand impressions per hour, instead of the ten to fifteen hundred which our best presses are now able to do. We believe in the speedy coming of the time when the whole earth shall be lightened with the glory of this message. We believe in a great multitude at the resurrection of the just, at the inauguration of the King of kings, at the marriage supper of the Lamb; and we mean, like a drop in the ocean, to help swell the happy throng. But we don’t believe in the “Don’t-Believes.” A SERMON preached by David Swing in Chicago, March 23, 1879, thus alludes to Adventists: “One of the cardinal ideas of that wing of the ministerial army called the Adventists is, that the present labors of preacher and layman and church and school are all in vain as to any result in the public good; that under all these influences the world is growing worse instead of better; and that the better day will begin only when Christ shall come with divine power and push aside the childish efforts of man. It would hardly be possible for the pulpit to advance a doctrine more in conflict with the actual history of our earth, or more in conflict with the Bible command that man should be a patient and hard laborer in the vineyard of this life. The Adventist cannot stand a moment in the presence of history; for all that we enjoy of language, and science, and art, and industry, and improved politics, and improved homes, and improved religion, and reformed character is nothing else than the good works of the past worthies all rolled up into one large volume.” This language puts Adventists in a wrong light. They do not say that “the present labors of preacher and layman and church and school are all in vain as to any result in the public good,” nor that like labors in the past have been in vain. These efforts are all that have saved the world in the past; they are all that save it now. But this is a very different thing from saying that these labors will accomplish what is expected of them according to popular teaching; namely, that they will regenerate the world, and bring in a golden age of universal righteousness and peace. What Adventists do believe and teach is this: That while the agents of good are doing a grand and noble work, the agents of evil are doing more; that the latter, both in numbers and in work, are increasing in a more rapid ratio than the former; that there is therefore a growing preponderance on the side of evil; that in this sense the world is growing worse, and will continue to do so till the Lord shall come. No other view is in accordance with the Scriptures; for Paul, in language which cannot be mistaken, says that “in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false-accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5. If even professors of religion bear such a character as is here described, what may be expected of those who make no profession? Again, Paul says that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,” 2 Tim. 3:13; and our Lord plainly intimates that true religion will almost have disappeared at the time of his coming; for he asks this question: “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. It will be a time in which Satan will work with all power, 2 Thess. 2:8, so much so, that none except those who are firmly established in the truths of the word of God will be able to withstand his deception. What then? Because all the world cannot be brought to Christ, shall we therefore not try to bring any one to Christ? Because all cannot be saved, is this a reason why we should not try to save any? By no means; but rather we should work the more diligently and earnestly, to counteract, as far as possible, the work of the powers of darkness, and save as many as it is in our power to save before the end shall come. So Adventists believe and teach; and so far from paralyzing their disposition to work, it stimulates them to greater exertion. The result is that no people, in proportion to their numbers and strength, possess more of a missionary spirit than they, or manifest greater interest to labor for the salvation of souls at home and abroad. In Chicago.— The Alliance of March 29, 1879, has this paragraph:— “Will the pastors of this city never awaken to the need of Sabbath reform? If there is to be an enforcement of the laws against Sabbath-breaking, there must be a stronger public opinion behind it than there is at present, and the pastors alone can create that public opinion. Have you no interest in the matter, city pastor, that you remain supine? Here is practical work and hard work too, and no one moves about it. No body of ministers, zealous of the public good, have the energy to start, the uniform endeavor to create, a public sentiment which shall say that the American Sabbath shall not be a day of public amusement or a carnival. It is not cowardice that delays the work. We almost wish it were. It is inertia; and inertia that one man, if he will, can overcome. Will not Dr. Goodwin, or whoever may be the senior pastor of the city, call a meeting of the clergy to consider the matter?” In Philadelphia.— An exchange contains the following notice of recent action on the Sunday question in that city:— “At the meeting of the Ministerial Union on last Monday, in view of the recent action of Mayor Stokley looking toward the prevention of the desecration of the Sabbath, the following resolution was adopted and a committee appointed to communicate it to our chief municipal officer:— “‘Resolved, That we heartily approve and would cordially sustain the course of the Mayor in his efforts to carry out the laws of the city and State with regard to the observance of the Sabbath and the suppression of immorality connected with its violation.’ “When the committee waited on the Mayor, he expressed his determination to enforce all existing laws for the peace and order of the city. This looks like business, and we earnestly trust that the good work which has been commenced will be continued until it is thoroughly accomplished. Why have laws, if they are not to be executed? And who will execute them, if not the officers appointed for this purpose? Let all good citizens stand by the Mayor as he makes the law a terror to evil-doers.” The Philadelphia Sabbath Alliance is also active in the same work. A correspondent of the Sabbath Recorder states that Hon. H. G. Jones is before the Pennsylvania legislature with a bill for the relief of persons keeping the seventh day. The same article says:— “A large number of papers, conducted with eminent ability, in the interest of exclusive Sunday-keeping, are widely circulated in the State, besides many secular ones favoring the same policy. As a specimen of the spirit and aims of these sincere but mistaken men, we extract from a sermon by Rev. Mr. Coxe, published in the Christian Statesman last week, the following, viz.: ‘A vigorous enforcement of Sunday laws is needed. If a Jewish key opens a store, a policeman’s baton should close it. If a papist procession blares defiance on God’s day, the leaders should learn penitence behind bars. Law-breakers should have enforced leisure to “study to be quiet.” Corporations have pockets, if not souls. Depletion of the pocket will quicken the conscience.’ In the same spirit the Cincinnati Gazette says, as quoted by the Statesman, ‘Go to the bottom, and enact a law absolutely prohibiting labor on Sundays. It is useless to talk about excepting this class or that class; any law that will make exceptions will prove a failure.’” In Massachusetts.— The Evangelical Ministers’ Association of Boston, recently transacted some important business touching the Sunday question. The report of a committee of twelve appointed to arrange for a State convention on this question, was adopted. In accordance with this report, two conventions are appointed to be held, one in Springfield, Mass., May 6 and 7, the other in Tremont temple, Boston, May 13 and 14. The programme will be substantially the same in both cities, and for the benefit of our readers we give the full list of exercises, as follows:— “After a Bible reading conducted by Dr. Steele, the opening address will be delivered by Dr. Alexander McKenzie, of Cambridge. The ‘Religious Sabbath’ will then be considered under the following heads:— “‘The Sabbath and the Word of God,’ under which papers will be read as follows: ‘The Sabbath of the Old Testament,’ Rev. Dr. Armitage; ‘Christ’s Connection with the Sabbath,’ Rev. Henry W. Warren; ‘St. Paul and the Sabbath,’ Rev. Dr. John Hall; ‘The Perpetuity and Obligation of One Rest-day in Seven, so that the Seventh Day is Obligatory if the First is not,’ Rev. L. T. Townsend. “‘Under the second head, ‘The Sabbath in Nature,’ papers will be read as follows: ‘The a priori Argument,’ Rev. Dr. W. W. Atterbury; ‘Physical, Intellectual and Economic Advantages of the Sabbath,’ Rev. Joseph Cook; ‘The Sabbath a Requisite to all Forms of Social Regeneration,’ Bishop Foster; ‘The Sabbath and the Family,’ Rev. Dr. Henry M. King; ‘The Religious Character of the Sabbath,’ Rev. William M. Taylor. “‘Under “The Sabbath in History,” papers will be read as follows: ‘The Pre-Mosaic and the Jewish Sabbath,’ Rev. J. O. Peck; ‘The Change to the Lord’s Day,’ Prof. Egbert Smyth; ‘Constantine and the Sabbath,’ Rev. Dr. George C. Lorimer; ‘The European Sabbath before and since the Reformation,’ Rev. Dr. William Rice; ‘The American Sabbath,’ Rev. W. W. Atterbury. “‘On the second day, ‘The Civil Sabbath’ will be considered, and papers will be presented as follows: ‘The Civil as Distinguished from the Religious Sabbath—What is to be Expected from Civil Law,’ Judge Strong of the United States Supreme Court; ‘The Sabbath a Free Institution,’ ex-President Mark Hopkins of Williams College and Rev. Dr. Robinson of Brown University; ‘Sunday Laws and Sunday Liberty,’ Rev. W. W. Atterbury; ‘The Law of Rest of Each Necessary for the Liberty of Rest of All,’ Rev. L. W. Bacon; ‘The Sabbath and the Workingmen—Seven Days’ Work for Six Days’ Wages—Pay-day and the Sabbath,’ Rev. Dr. Henson of Philadelphia; ‘Our Foreign Population and the Sabbath,’ Rev. Dr. Schaff; ‘Corporations and the Sabbath,’ Rev. Dr. Stephen H. Tyng, Jr.; ‘Railroads and Steamboats,’ W. E. Dodge of New York; ‘Merchants and the Sabbath,’ E. S. Tobey; ‘The Sabbath the Poor Man’s Benefactor,’ Rev. Phillips Brooks. “‘The evening will be devoted to discussions by distinguished men.” J. N. A
By John Nevins Andrews
I send the accompanying letter from Dr. Ribton, thinking that a part of it at least may be of interest to the readers of the Review. It shows that God is blessing the labors of Bro. Ribton in Egypt, and that there is reason to hope that a good work will be accomplished in that country; but it contains the sad news that his daughter Nina, his only child, is dangerously sick with pulmonary consumption. No one can sympathize with Bro. Ribton in this more deeply than myself. I ask that special prayer may be offered in her behalf. I baptized her near Puteoli in August, 1877. “VERY DEAR BRO. ANDREWS: I was very anxious about you, not having heard from you for so long a time; and when I believed that you were in Europe, and hoped you were on your way to Naples, I received a letter from Sister Huntley saying you were still in America. I could not describe the desire with which the109 brethren await your arrival at Naples and here; and here we greatly need your presence. With what pleasure you would visit this place! Here we can preach freely without hindrance or opposition, and the blessing of God is with us. Our number has doubled since I came. Our school is increasing, but we are obliged to keep it back until we can get a master and mistress. I have written to Bâle, asking them to send a sister to aid us if possible; for I have now the whole school on my shoulders in addition to the other work, and it is nearly impossible to carry on so much without aid. “And now, in a moment fraught with so much encouragement and so much anxiety, I have received a crushing blow. Since I left, sickness has raged in my house; and now I have learned by the last letters from Naples that my poor child is sick with pulmonary consumption. The doctor has said that nothing can save her but getting her here. Too well I know the rapid and deadly course that the malady pursues in the elevated air of Arevalla, and indeed anywhere at Naples. The stroke prostrated me for a few days, but I am now better, and was able to preach yesterday to a full room. But my distress of mind is intense. I pray earnestly to God not to allow me to break down while I have such responsible work in my hands. The hope of soon seeing the child here, alone keeps me up. I have written to my wife to try to borrow money to come, or at least to send me Nina. I know not how she will be able to do it, but my faith in God is strong, and I believe he will give her the means to do so. “From the course that events are taking, I think all the means we can get will be best employed upon the great work that is now opening up here, of which I have already written some account. The Spirit of the Lord is strongly with the few dear brethren who form our church at Naples; but, as my wife says, the Spirit is not in Naples. Atheism is making giant progress there. One brother has been added to our number there since I left, and one dear family. I write to these brethren and exhort them; they are strong in the commandments. But I do not think at present it is best to take a hall there, while there are such very pressing claims here for our school and other things, and moreover if our numbers increase as they have done, we may see the day when our hall will be too little to contain those who come. “A visit from you to the brethren in Naples would greatly comfort them; but your presence here is indispensable necessary for many things, as soon as you can possibly come. “We have now some Greeks coming to our meeting. I shall be very glad indeed if we can get that element among us; for there is a very numerous colony of them here. I heard from Bro. Bertola last week. There is no fruit to be obtained at Constantinople, and he is prevented from going into Russia on account of the plague. But he is going to Athens next month, and there is a hope that he may be able to accomplish some good there. I translate an extract from his letter, which is dated Constantinople, Feb. 6:— “‘Along with this letter I send a Greek evangelical journal printed at Athens, where an important missionary work has been opened, with schools and a printing house. They have printed copies of the Bible in Greek, and are about to print it also in Italian. The director of the mission is an American. On reading the history of the Popess Joan, verified by the production of many documents, in a work written by Sig. Rosidis of Athens, I find that in the ninth century the Sabbath used to be observed in Greece. I wrote to Sig. Rosidis, asking him to give me some information on the subject, but he has not yet replied. I am well acquainted with him personally, and hope, God willing, to go to Athens next month, on purpose to speak with him on the subject, and make the acquaintance also of the American missionary.’” “I have much hope that Bro. Bertola, whose whole heart is now given to our work, will be able to open up the Sabbath question there also. He expects next September to be able to retire from commercial business and give himself exclusively to the service of the Lord. “So, then, my joy would be full were it not for the barbed arrow that Satan has now struck into my heart. Pray for me, dear brother, as I pray for you. The ways of God are inscrutable. Why does he permit Satan to hinder, when we are seeking to devote our lives to his work? Dear brother, forget the past; think only of the coming glory. I sometimes think it is very near at hand. “I can scarcely get a moment for writing. Since I wrote the above, I have been called away to be introduced to another Greek here; There are quite a number of them coming to us now. I have lent out a great many tracts among some English people, who are reading them attentively. Their ministers, however, are doing all they can to prejudice them against me. Christian love from all here. Your brother in the Lord,
H. P. RIBTON. The Death of Sister Canright.
This sad though not unexpected event occurred at the close of the Sabbath, March 29. Sister C., the worthy daughter of her godly parents, Samuel T. and Jane Cranson, was born in Lansing, Mich., Aug. 18, 1847, and was aged at her decease, 31 years, 7 months, and 11 days. She was baptized by Bro. White, with other young people in Battle Creek, at the early age of 11 years, in 1858. Uniting in marriage with Eld. D. M. Canright, April 11, 1867, she traveled with him almost constantly to the time of her last sickness, and she thus formed numerous personal acquaintances from Maine to California. About a year and a half ago, at the tent-meeting at Danvers, Mass., an attack of hemorrhage of the lungs gave indications that pulmonary consumption had marked her for its victim. The disease from that time made steady progress, till death closed the scene. Sabbath, March 15, at her request a few special friends met in her room and united in the celebration of the Lord’s supper, as she desired once more to partake of the emblems of the broken body and shed blood of her dying Lord. This was a very precious season to her and to all engaged in it. Sustained by the Christian’s blessed hope, she bore her sufferings with fortitude and patience, calmly made arrangements for the close, and longed for the hour of release. The funeral was held in the tabernacle, March 31, at 3 p. m., a large congregation attending. Brief remarks were made from 1 Cor. 13 : 10. Bro. Canright, with his two little ones, will have the sympathy of his many friends, in this bereavement. The following appropriate lines were composed by Sister Mary Martin, a few moments after Sister C. had fallen peacefully asleep in Christ:— Sweet be thy sleep, child of patient endurance;
Blessed the rest that so nobly is earned.
Bright is the home that awaiteth thy coming,
Beside the “still waters,” for which thou hast yearned.
Pain ne’er can enter the country immortal;
Happiness never be mixed with alloy;
No wave-beat of grief can break over that portal;
Cometh at last the rich “fullness of joy.” EVIL; NOT FOREVER.
By R. F. Cotterill
“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord.”
The text is found in so many places that it is needless to select any one in particular, and too great a task to count the number. And the significance is sad and woeful; and but for the fact that there is a brighter, more hopeful side of the subject, it would be truly disheartening. What a blind and rebellious people were the children of Israel! After God had shown them mighty signs and wonders in Egypt, and had so evidently come for their deliverance from bondage, as he had promised to Abraham, shielding them from evil while he plagued their enemies, the Egyptians, instead of trusting in God in the time of apparent danger, they were ready to reproach the servant of God through whom their wondrous deliverance had been wrought, with the question, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?” Nevertheless God opened a passage for them through the sea. They sang his praise, but soon forgot his works. The next thing we hear from them, they are murmuring against Moses and Aaron, and wishing they had died in Egypt “by the hand of the Lord,” as if he was their enemy, and seeking to take away their life; but their kind and long-suffering God mercifully provides for their wants, giving them manna, a wholesome and nutritious food, and also sends them flesh food for their lust, and to cure them of their longing for the flesh-pots they had left in Egypt. Thus he taught them a good lesson, which they ought to have remembered. How long do they remember it? In a very short time they are chiding with Moses, accusing him of bringing them out into the wilderness to die of thirst. God gives them another evidence of his power and love, by giving them a fountain of water from a desert rock. And when he had brought them to Sinai, and they had made a solemn covenant with the Lord to obey his voice, and had heard that voice from the mount proclaiming the commandments of the moral law, and after pledging themselves again to keep these commandments, in a few days they are saying, “Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” And they make the similitude of an ox, that eateth grass, and worship that which their own fingers have made! But we will not trace them in their marches and countermarches in the desert and through the land of Gilead and Bashan, on the east side of Jordan, but come to their history after they are settled in their promised inheritance. God had specially warned them against mingling with the nations of Canaan and worshiping their gods, denouncing curses against them should they do so. But said he, “Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree; and ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.” Did they heed these instructions? They did not. At various times good beginnings were made. Judges and rulers would arise that were reformers, and would work in the right direction, but they would fail to make a clean breast of it. The fashions of heathen neighbors would prevail; and they are found worshiping Baal, Ashtoreth, Milcom or Chemosh, or the golden calves, or some other abomination; and the groves are re-planted and the images set up, and the high places are thronged by a mongrel host of worshipers. This is the general character of the progress of that highly favored people. Were God’s chosen people the worst of any on earth?—No; they were the best. But their picture is the picture of fallen humanity. How much better we would have done in their circumstances! Would we? Where are the people who are doing better, in view of their circumstances and surroundings? You admit that their portrait fits to the wicked world in our days. Is it not the picture of the churches? Are not they conformed to, and following the fashions of the world? Not only other churches, but our church too. Reader, you and I are of this sinful, backsliding race. But there are those now, as anciently, that are reformers. They lead out in some good work of reform. Hope is indulged. There are favorable indications; but soon it is found that their reform is going stern foremost toward perdition. This is the case every time. There are no exceptions. There is no confidence to be placed in human nature. The fashions of an ungodly world carry the people now, as much as in the days of Israel. It is as true now that “the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord,” as it was then. People now would have their groves and high places and images, if it were only the fashion. This is evident from the following of the foolish and disgusting fashions which prevail. Well, what is the use of working for reform? Some will be gathered out and saved. Some will hold on to reform, while others slide back. Some of Israel were saved by God’s merciful dealing with them. Some will be now. The faithful and enduring have gone safely through. So it will be. There is the same motive to labor in behalf of humanity that induced the Son of God to come into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. Let all who have the good of humanity at heart labor on. Your labor will not be in vain in the Lord. Soon the fruit of all this toil will be seen in the immortal kingdom of God. Then it will not be necessary to say that the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. The time hastens on; and while we desire its coming, let us still labor that others, as well as ourselves, may have a part in that inheritance that will never be defiled by sin.