Earlier text: Paul's Desire to Depart and Be with ChristCamp-meeting at Newton, Iowa.
By George I. Butler
Our camp-meeting closed to-day. It has been much the largest gathering of this kind ever held in the State of Iowa. Thirty-three church and family tents were up besides the large sixty-foot preachers’ tent. Prominent brethren called it the best camp-meeting ever held in Iowa. The weather was very unfavorable. It rained every day of the meeting, and some days so hard that the ground was covered with water. The weather was so bad that it would have nearly ruined any other meeting I ever attended. But it did not seem to discourage anybody very much, and I feel safe in saying that I never saw the brethren leave a camp-meeting in better feeling than this. Cheerfulness, hope, and courage, generally prevailed. They feel that the cause is onward, and they are determined to have a part in it. The people made sacrifices in attending this meeting, coming long distances with teams, some from the extreme north-eastern part of the State, some from the south-eastern part, and some from Nebraska. The camp-ground was more central than any we ever had in the State before. But there were not many Sabbath-keepers near. The preaching was practical and searching, designed to impress upon the people the importance of illustrating their faith by works and taking that broad view of the work which the Bible gives it, viz., a world-wide message of warning of the great day of wrath. Is our message a true one? Then it is the most important the world has ever heard. Probation is soon to close. The righteous are to be gathered home, and all the wicked of the earth are to be slain. How important, then, that we bestir ourselves as a people. These things were dwelt upon largely, and the people seemed to feel the importance of the work as I have never seen them before. They showed this by their works; for when an appeal was made for means to sustain the new printing enterprise on the Pacific Coast, now being established by Bro. White, upward of three thousand dollars were subscribed. Upward of two thousand five hundred were also subscribed in shares and donations for the Health Institute at Battle Creek, and about five hundred for the purchase of a new tent for the Iowa and Nebraska Conference, so that probably they will have four tents running the coming season. We confess surprise at the readiness with which the friends of the cause subscribed for the various enterprises. More than this six thousand dollars could have been obtained, as the people had a heart to give. Monday night, we were glad to greet sister White, who came east to attend camp-meetings, while Bro. White remains in California to attend to the important work of establishing the printing work on that coast. Tuesday morning, as she spoke of the good work going on there and of the importance of taking broad views of the work, the hearts of the people were touched, tears flowed freely, and all hearts beat in unison with this forward movement of the Lord’s servants. We are sure our people will feel thus all through the land. After these remarks, the people desired to subscribe more for this good object than they had previously, and about eight hundred dollars additional were pledged, making up the sum above mentioned. Bro. White need have no fears but that our people will rally to his support and raise all the means he needs to put this enterprise on a solid basis. The business proceedings of the Conference were of much interest. Nine new churches were admitted, making a total membership of 850, with S. S. amounting to $287.60. When we consider all the past workings of the cause in the State, and the absence of some of the older laborers, the growth of the Conference is exceedingly encouraging. The brethren and sisters are heartily united. Not a jar of dissension exists among them concerning the great principles of the present truth. The tract and missionary work is moving right forward, largely increasing each quarter, as the reader will see by the reports of its proceedings. Some of the young men begin to feel the burden of the work, and are moving out to labor for God. This is encouraging. Bro. C. A. Washburn and Charles L. Boyd were set apart to the ministry by the laying on of hands. The Spirit of the Lord came down with great power, as if witnessing to the work. Oh, how anxious we are to see those whom God can use move out in the cause. The Spirit of the Lord is moving upon hearts here and there to work for him, and we are glad to see some respond. While there will probably be four tents running in the State the coming season, most of those laboring with them will be young in experience. It now seems probable that Bro. R. M. Kilgore will be called away from the State to labor in New England, where two tents are lying idle. Iowa means to show her gratitude for the help she has received in days of adversity, though she could afford employment for hundreds of laborers, and regrets to part with any who can bring souls to the truth. Our religious meetings were good. Quite a number made a start for the first time. Some twenty-five were baptized. The Lord be praised for our good camp-meeting. Its influence will be most encouraging upon the cause in the State. We expect the work to move forward with greater power in the State than ever before. When the friends feel that interest which they have manifested, how can we but hope for the cause to move onward. May God still prosper the Iowa Conference. GEO. I. BUTLER. Meetings in Michigan.
By P. Strong
The sickness and death of my companion kept me from labor most of the time during the past year. Jan. 10, I commenced meetings in Ravenna, Muskegon Co. Bro. Burrill had labored here some, and some were keeping the Sabbath. I remained with them till Feb. 15, holding meetings in two districts. Baptized eight, and organized a church of nineteen members. Eleven others are asking for the watchcare of the church, making a band of thirty, and still there are nearly twenty others who keep the Sabbath and meet with them. I hope that they will soon see a necessity of a reformation of life that they may all unite together in this work. Organized Systematic Benevolence amounting to $139.28. Being near the church of Wright, it was thought best for the present that they stand as a branch of that church, holding their separate meetings, and joining with them in their monthly meetings. Held two meetings with the friends in Wright, Feb. 15, 16. Feb. 21 and 22, attended quarterly meeting in Orleans; and, by advice of the committee, Feb. 27, I joined Bro. St. John in Hillsdale Co., and labored with him a few days. He soon went to Ohio, while I remained to carry on the work. I remained in that county laboring in different districts till April 22. Baptized four, and six united with the Ransom church. I reviewed three discourses against the Sabbath and messages; and if strong assertions and character blackening are to be taken as proof and argument, my opponent had the case. It was encouraging to us that two of his brethren, who have known and heard him for twenty years, united with us on the truth and in church fellowship. I spent two Sabbaths with the friends in Quincy. Much interest was manifested to hear. A lot has been purchased, and labor commenced on a meeting-house. May 8 and 9, held two meetings at Kendall. The Lord has wrought a good work here through Bro. Kenyon, and my heart was made to rejoice over the testimony of my sister, who has just commenced keeping the Sabbath. Thus in a few short months I have been called to weep over the death of my companion and one sister, and to rejoice over the conversion of another sister. May 13 and 14, held two meetings with the church of Leighton. Since I was here three years ago, some have been added. May 16 and 17, again met with the friends in Ravenna; had three very interesting meetings. The cause is onward here; others wished to take advance steps with us. May 23, spent with the friends in Bushnell. Here, as in other places, some have set their faces toward Egypt. Egypt, in Rev. 11:8, is represented as a place, spiritually, where our Lord was crucified. And if our brethren, in joining the secret lodges of the day, for the love of money and a brotherhood with the world, are not facing toward Egypt, where, then, are they going? Michigan is fast organizing into lodges. And at present in the country, it is impossible to hold a full congregation on lodge nights, and some of our brethren prefer the lodge. There are many objections to, and reasons why, Seventh-day Adventists should not join them. May 30, attended the quarterly meeting at Vergennes. There was quite a large gathering. Some very encouraging reports were given at the T. & M. meeting. P. STRONG. Wisconsin Church Visits and Meetings at Fremont and Loyal
By L. Sanborn
Pursuant to appointment, I held meetings with the church at Poy Sippi. I found them united and firm in the present truth. I visited this church about ten years ago. I found they had made considerable improvement since that time. They have built a comfortable house of worship since then, in which they hold two meetings each Sabbath—the Americans in the forenoon, and the Danes in the afternoon. We tried in the strength of God to encourage them to continue on in the good work. I also preached three times at Auroraville, six miles south of Poy Sippi, which I trust brought some to seek God’s pardoning love. May 1, I commenced meetings at Fremont, in Waupacca Co., where Bro. Olds labored the past winter. I found, as the result of his labor, about twenty-five Sabbath-keepers. I preached twice on the Sabbath. On first-day fourteen were baptized, and a church was organized of fifteen members. I left Bro. Olds to organize Systematic Benevolence and Sabbath-school. They are calculating to build a meeting-house this summer. If they do, and are faithful, God will add many to their number. There are many good openings in this county for labor, especially tent labor the coming season. On the 8th of May, after a tiresome journey by railroad and on foot, I arrived at Loyal. As I met Bro. Decker and many warm friends of the truth of God, like Paul I thanked God and took courage. We had good meetings. On first-day twelve were baptized, and a church was organized of sixteen members. Systematic Benevolence amounted to $80 a year. There are a good many who will yet unite with the church who could not be present on account of the muddy traveling. They also organized a Sabbath-school. There are twenty-eight in the vicinity of Loyal who are keeping the Sabbath. They have commenced to build a meeting-house. We pray especially for God’s blessing upon that church. From Loyal we went to Maple Works. Through Bro. Decker’s efforts the past winter, thirteen commenced keeping the Sabbath, which, with those that were already there, make seventeen earnest Sabbath-keepers. On the 17th, I baptized seventeen, and organized a church of sixteen members. Systematic Benevolence amounted to $111.84, a year. A Sabbath-school was organized also. We believe if this company are only faithful in all things God will add to their numbers such as shall be saved. We earnestly pray that they may. May 22, I commenced meetings at Modena, in Buffalo County. This is Bro. Downer’s field of labor. A church of twenty-one members was organized, and Systematic Benevolence amounting to about $100.00 a year. A Sabbath-school was also organized. May 31 and 32, I preached at Burnside. On Sabbath, Bro. Downer baptized sixteen, and a church was organized of twenty-one members. Systematic Benevolence amounted to about $86.00 with the prospect of considerable more coming in. And there are quite a number who will yet unite with the last-named churches if those already in them will only live humbly and faithfully. There is a good interest in both places among those who are without. We also organized a Sabbath-school at Burnside. Since I left Fremont, I learn that Bro. Olds has baptized eleven more there, so that the church now numbers twenty-six, with a good prospect for many more when they shall have the privilege of hearing more of the truth preached, and shall see it lived out by those who profess it. I do not know of a more promising field of labor in this Conference than those three counties. And I pray that the Lord may still encourage the hearts of his servants who have labored in those fields that they may labor on and continue to raise up new churches, and establish those already there. I found the brethren and sisters in all those five new churches humble and teachable with great love for the truth. And I do praise the Lord for what he has done for them, and pray that he may continue the good work. I reached home last evening after an absence of six weeks. I found my wife some better of her dreadful suffering from rheumatic difficulty, under which she has been suffering for several months. Her cancer is entirely cured, and since last August she has had no trouble with that. And now if she can recover from her rheumatism I think she will have good health again. She has not walked any for about ten months, and much of that time she has been nearly helpless. My love for the truth and cause of God has not abated in the least, but affliction has hindered me from laboring more than I have. Hope God will soon deliver and give freedom again. Annual Report of the Maternal Association.
[CONNECTED with the church in Battle Creek, there is a Maternal Association, the object and workings of which are set forth in the following annual report for the year ending in May last, which was presented before the church a few weeks since.] We feel thankful, at the close of another year, that our unassuming Society is still in existence; and although it may not have accomplished all we had hoped or desired, it has been conducted with a good degree of efficiency, and we feel we have great cause for gratitude to God that he has condescended many times to meet with us, to gladden our hearts, encourage our hopes, and answer our prayers. The meetings have been regularly held, the attendance tolerably good, a slight increase over the past year, but not what we feel it ought to have been in a place like this, where mothers are so numerous and so enlightened as to the great and awful responsibilities resting upon them, fearfully augmented by the conviction that the coming of the Lord is nigh at hand, and what is done for the salvation of our loved ones must be done quickly. We cannot reasonably hope, as some may have done in years that are past, that with the growth of the intellect and maturity of judgment would come decision of character and a yielding to the claims of religion; for our little ones may never become adults, and yet they are in an unsafe, unsaved condition. It will not do to linger. Oh! what a flocking together there ought to be to besiege the throne of grace in their, and our own, behalf, that in their young and tender years they may become the recipients of divine grace, and so be guided safely through the perils of these last days and prepared for a home in God's glorious kingdom at last. We feel that during the past year God in his providence has greatly increased our duties and responsibilities by bringing into our midst, and into several of our families, many young persons to attend our school. We can well understand the parental solicitude, and anxious, prayerful interest that follows them to this place. Most cordially do we open our hearts and our homes to receive them and at our weekly gatherings unite in earnest supplication to God that the fondest wishes of these praying parents may be realized, and with heartfelt gratitude do we acknowledge that prayer has in some instances been answered, and a great and good work commenced in some souls. Sixteen have been added to our number the past year. We have now on our books the names of seventy-five mothers with their two hundred and sixty-two children. Some of these7 have removed to a distance, yet still have a warm place in our hearts. Three or four sweet little ones have been taken from the evil to come. Three dear sisters have been torn from our midst by the cruel hand of death. One was in the decline of life, the other two were young mothers. With these bereaved families, we deeply sympathize, and earnestly pray that those upon whom devolve the care and responsibility of training the motherless little ones may be graciously sustained and guided, and their labor of love be abundantly rewarded by the filial affection, cheerful obedience, and consistent, godly lives (if spared) of these dear children. Some of our number have, during the year, been visited with deep affliction, trouble, and anguish of mind. Sickness and bereavement have entered their dwellings, and we have felt indeed that there was truth in those words of Paul, “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” Often have earnest, agonizing petitions arisen in their behalf; and as we have witnessed the return of courage, good feeling, health, and resignation, correspondingly great has been our gratitude and joy. We desire to correct any false impression that may be resting on some minds with regard to this Society. Because this is called the Maternal Association, and we meet alone, some may think we are desirous of carrying out our own views and plans irrespective of the wishes and feelings of the other parents. Most assuredly this is not the case; for we feel that God has, by connecting both in the penalty of the neglect, shown that the duties and responsibilities are equally divided, and that each alike will have to give an account at the great tribunal of the way in which they have been discharged. And on no subject do we feel it to be more important that there should be unity of purpose and concert of action. Dear brethren, we feel that we need your countenance and co-operation in this most important work, and gladly would we listen to any words of counsel, admonition, or encouragement, you may feel disposed to offer. At this very time we are perplexed, and would gratefully receive any suggestion you may make with regard to providing good and proper reading for our children. And what should be our course of action on the great Temperance Movement as it is being advocated at the present time? To such as may still be unacquainted with the object of our Association, we would say, Its principal aim is to bring together persons of different ages and temperaments to pray with and for each other. We think there are few among us, whatever our age, privileges, or piety, but would be better for uniting in earnest prayer, reading the productions of others, and free conversation from our own personal experience and observation, so that our views of the maternal character, its influences, duties, and responsibilities, may be corrected and enlarged, and our souls awakened to a more deep and earnest solicitude, with corresponding effort for the present and everlasting well-being of those committed to our care. We would cordially invite any who have not yet become members to unite with us, and fervently do we hope that ere long every church connected with our people will have a flourishing society of its own. Battle Creek, Mich., May 6, 1874. As 'mid the rocks and sands of earth,
The costly diamonds lie;
As gold is sprinkled through the depths,
Unseen by human eye;
As pearls lie gleamless in their caves
Beneath the restless sea;
As earth's deep vaults of wealth are hid
For ages yet to be—
So sleep the jewels of God's grace,
The diamonds of his love,
Amid earth's darkness and its gloom,
Till raised to joy above. They dazzle not in crowded streets,
Nor gleam in gilded halls;
They do not give their brightest rays
Within high palace walls;
We do not see on beauty's brow
Their mystic flash always,
Nor do they wake in hearts of men
Their words of earnest praise;
But oft in lowly homes they shine
With softest brilliancy,
Where God's own Spirit deigns to dwell,
And guards them lovingly. What though they gleam unseen below,
Or lie in slumbering worth?
An Eye unseen beholds them all,
And loves his gems of earth.
Not always, 'mid the wreck of time,
Shall God's own jewels lie;
His own right hand shall gather them,
To grace his throne on high.
There, where the Godhead's brightest rays
Fall with effulgent beam,
They shall the radiance evermore
Reflect with loveliest gleam. Ah! yes; these toils, these prayers, these tears,
These conflicts of the soul,
These stern and angry storms of life,
That o'er the spirit roll,
Shall but refine and polish well
Each fond and lovely gem,
And mold and fashion it aright,
For Christ's own diadem.
And he shall tell his holy ones
How, in earth's gloomy night,—
He hastened to its awful wreck,
And seized his jewels bright. H. M. KENYON
By H. M. Kenyon
May 16 and 17, was with the friends at Quincy, Branch Co. Our meetings were encouraging. A spirit of union exists among them. Six were baptized. it was thought best to postpone organization until some future time. They have purchased a lot in the central part of the village, and have the stone on the ground for the foundation to a house of worship. The house will be built of brick, 28 by 40. May 23 and 24, at Napoleon, Jackson Co. Here I found five keeping the Sabbath as the result of my meetings three miles north of Napoleon in April last. Three were baptized. Organized a church of fifteen members. May 30, I was with the friends at Kendall, Van Buren Co. All that embraced the truth here the past winter are still holding on. Had two meetings with them. I had the privilege of burying twenty willing souls with their Lord by baptism, in a beautiful lake near the place of meeting. They have a lot already secured in a pleasant part of the village of Kendall, and several hundred dollars subscribed toward the building of a house of worship. I see no reason why the cause may not be permanently established here, if those who have received the truth press together, and walk in the light as the Lord in his mercy may let it shine upon them. We now have the tent pitched at St. Johns, Clinton Co. Have had four meetings. Our meetings have commenced under unfavorable circumstances, it having rained much of the time since we came here, and is still raining. Some interest is manifested to hear. We feel like humbling ourselves before the Lord that his blessing may attend our efforts at this place. Bro. M. B. Miller is with me. Atonement: Two Holy Places in the Heavenly Sanctuary
By J. H. Waggoner
THIS point being settled, another question arises: Are there two holy places in the heavenly sanctuary? and if so, did not Christ enter the most holy when he ascended on high? The answer to this is as follows:— 1. When Moses was about to make the tabernacle, he was admonished to make all things according to the pattern shown him in the mount. Heb. 8: 5; Ex. 25: 40. 2. This tabernacle and its officers served “unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Heb. 8: 5. 3. The two holy places in the earthly sanctuary are termed “figures of the true” [holy places]; and patterns of things in the Heavens. And they could not be patterns of the heavenly, and be made in “all things according to the pattern” shown to Moses, unless the heavenly had also two holy places. 4. That there are two holy places in the heavenly temple is shown by the book of Revelation, in which prophecy has unfolded various events in this dispensation immediately concerning the position and work of our High Priest. When the living creature (one of the cherubim) called him up in the Spirit to Heaven, he said he saw a throne set, and described its appearance, and Him that sat thereon; and said there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. Rev. 4: 2-5. The order given to Moses, in erecting the earthly sanctuary, was to set the candlestick with its seven lamps on the south side of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, which was the holy place. Ex. 29: 33-35; 40: 24. As this was a shadow and example of heavenly things, we learn by this text in the book of Revelation that John's vision of the throne of God was in the holy place of the heavenly temple, where were the seven lamps of fire or golden candlestick. Therein the Lord said he would manifest his presence; Ex. 29: 42, 43; and there was our Saviour at the time of John's vision, officiating as priest. In this, a continual or daily offering was made, that judgment might be stayed, and the sinner spared, until the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, or making atonement, which was the blotting out and entire removal of sin from the sanctuary of God. According to the type, this work of propitiation or intercession the Saviour had first to fulfill, in order to give man an opportunity to be reconciled to God, or converted, that his sins might be blotted out in the appointed time. But we look down the stream of time still further; when the dispensation is drawing to a close, and the seventh trumpet is sounded. Keith, on the prophecies, quoted largely from Gibbon, to show that the first four trumpets noted events connected with the downfall of Western Rome. Mr. J. J. Litch, late editor of the Advent Herald, Boston, Mass., following Keith, traced the history of the next two, showing their connection with Eastern Rome. In this he gave conclusive evidence that the sixth trumpet ceased to sound in 1840. We think the seventh trumpet or third woe commenced in 1844, at the termination of the 2300 days. A small work of great value is published at the Office of the REVIEW AND HERALD, entitled, Sounding of the Seven Trumpets. The seventh trumpet announces the third woe upon the earth, and great voices are heard saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ; the elders before the throne of God announce that “the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and them that fear thy name, small and great.” Rev. 11: 15-17. Here is a series of events, the connection and location of which cannot be mistaken, showing that this dispensation closes up under this trumpet. Our Saviour says, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his works shall be.” Rev. 22: 12. Paul says the saints shall have rest when the Lord Jesus is revealed, taking vengeance on the wicked. 2 Thess. 1: 6-10. And Jesus told his disciples they should be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14: 14. Thus it is shown that the judgment of the dead, the coming of the Lord, and the resurrection of the just, are events transpiring under this trumpet. The prevailing ideas of the Judgment are vague and indefinite. Probably a majority, certainly many, look upon it in this light: that the Lord shall appear in the clouds of heaven; that all the dead will be raised, and the judgment will then sit upon the whole human race. Another view is that each one is judged immediately after death. The first of the above views is contradicted by the scripture which says the saints shall judge the world; 1 Cor. 6: 2; and the other by the declaration that God reserves the unjust to the day of Judgment to be punished, 2 Peter 2: 9, and by many other texts which say that the judgment takes place at an appointed day. It is not reasonable to suppose that the saints will judge the world in their present state, or previous to the time when themselves are judged. The following from Bliss' Review of Prof. Bush on the Resurrection is more reasonable and scriptural than the views generally entertained:— “We are inclined to the opinion that the judgment is after death, and before the resurrection; and that before that event the acts of all men will be adjudicated; so that the resurrection of the righteous is their full acquittal and redemption—their sins being blotted out when the times of refreshing shall have come; Acts 3: 19; while the fact that the wicked are not raised proves that they were previously condemned.”
That the judgment of the saints is fully accomplished while the Saviour is in the sanctuary in Heaven, before his coming, and therefore before the resurrection, is evident; for (1.) their judgment must be closed while Jesus is their advocate, that he may procure their acquittal. And (2.) they are raised immortal, which is the evidence of their acquittal. The judgment of the world or of the unjust, in which the saints take part, must be subsequent to the resurrection or redemption of the just, but before the second resurrection. And thus it appears that the wicked are rejected in that judgment which takes place while Christ is a priest, while the degree of their guilt and their punishment is determined in that judgment in which the saints take part. This is the only view that will harmonize all the Scriptures. As the resurrection of the righteous to immortality and eternal life is the announcement of the decision of the judgment to them, so the wicked are raised to condemnation and the second death, which is the execution of the judgment before determined in regard to them. It was on the day of atonement only that the High Priest went into the most holy place wherein was the ark; that place was opened only on that day. In the scripture which we have had under consideration—Rev. 11—and under the sounding of the seventh trumpet it is said, “The temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” This is conclusive proof that the atonement is made under the seventh trumpet, and that it is at the close of this dispensation. It has already been noticed that in Rev. 4, before any of the trumpets sounded, John was shown a door opened in Heaven, a throne set, and seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. The seven lamps (seven golden candlesticks) were in the holy, and the ark of the testament in the most holy. From this we learn that our Saviour's work of intercession in the holy place in the heavenly sanctuary continued from the commencement of his ministry in A. D. 31 to the sounding of the seventh trumpet in A. D. 1844, when the antitypical day of atonement commenced. The difference between the work in the holy, and that in the most holy, is clearly marked in the Scriptures. The intercession in the holy is general, for the whole world; and herein is shown the benefit that the whole world receives from the death of Christ. Every sin deserves its punishment, which is death; and without a mediator this would be the unavoidable and universal consequence. But through the pleading of the Saviour, sentence against the evil work is not speedily executed; Eccl. 8: 11; the sinner is granted an opportunity to repent; a time of probation is given in which he may return to God through Christ. In this sense Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He has prepared a covering beneath which all may find refuge. By virtue of his death for sin, wherein mercy is exalted and justice honored, the transgressor is spared and invited to accept the blood of Jesus as his substitute, and be reconciled to God. The benefits of probation which all enjoy, are by his blood and intercession. And surely these are no slight benefits. Though the sinner may pass them by unheeding; may scorn the warning voice, and despise the precious blood; the countless multitude of the redeemed who are all reconciled by these very means, forever attest the value and fullness of those means so blindly disregarded by the impenitent. On the other hand, the atonement is specific and limited. By this it is not to be understood that repentance and reconciliation are not given in the day of atonement, as some have inferred. To sustain such a view it would be necessary to show that the penitent would not have been received, according to the type, on the day in which Aaron or his son made atonement; but that cannot be shown. All received the benefit of that act who “afflicted their souls,” as the Lord commanded. But this we learn, that such as did not “afflict their souls”—who did not repent, and were not reconciled to God, were “cut off from among the people;” their sins were not blotted out; no atonement was made for them. This work extends only to those who are reconciled to God; who, by confessing and forsaking their sins are entitled to mercy in the Judgment; or in other words, to those who are converted, whose sins “may be blotted out.” Acts 3: 19. It is very evident that Peter did not think their sins would be blotted out when they were converted, but at some future time; and the Scriptures clearly show that that time is when the sanctuary is cleansed and the atonement made. Though a doctrine should be maintained or admitted on the strength or correctness of its principles, yet in the mind of the inquirer its strength is more readily appreciated by a discovery of the weakness of, or defects in, an opposite view. The common view, that the death of Christ is equivalent to the atonement, is attended with difficulties which are insurmountable. Losing sight of the truth, men have rushed to the extremes of error in opposite directions, and spent their time in useless labor to maintain a fruitless warfare. We read that Christ died for all. Some who take the view that the death of Christ is the atonement, readily conclude that the sins of all have been atoned for, and argue hence that no condemnation can remain to any. The argument is reasonable, but the premise is defective. A regard for the distinction I have noticed, would remove this prop of Universalism. Others, assured from the Scriptures that all will not be saved, that some do now and will finally rest under condemnation, are shut up to the conclusion that the atonement is not made for all. They also regard the death of Christ and the atonement as the same thing, and therefore are necessarily precipitated to the opposite extreme, that Christ did not die for all, but only for a chosen part of mankind. Did they regard the distinction here noticed, they might accept the plain declaration of Scripture that Christ died for all, and yet find abundant proof that there will be some who will have no forgiveness because they will not come to Christ that they might have life. The whole truth embraced would unite these parties and end their controversy. But, assuming that the atonement was made on Calvary, one of the above positions must necessarily be admitted. Either the death of Christ was for a limited number (as the atonement is), or else the sins of all have been atoned for, and all must be saved. If the atonement is already made, if the sanctuary is already cleansed, and sins blotted out by an act long passed, it is not possible that the destiny of man can be affected by the proclamation and belief of the truth. For if our sin was removed or blotted out long before we were born, it is hard to see how the fact could be more a fact, or made more certain by our belief of it; or if our sins were not so blotted out, our unbelief could not affect the remission. But “Christ died for all;” and the impenitent will be “punished with everlasting destruction.” It is a matter of wonder that Bible readers have ever for a moment recognized as true the idea that death makes an atonement, when the atonement is always represented as the work of the priest, performed in the sanctuary, with the blood of the offering. SPURGEON sententiously expresses a number of thoughts “worth remembering,” in the following appropriate sentences, which he publishes as advice gratis:— Nothing is more like an honest man than a thorough rogue. When you see a man with a great deal of religion displayed in his shop window, you may depend upon it, he keeps but a small stock within. Do not choose your friend by his looks; handsome shoes often pinch the feet. Do not be fond of compliments; remember “thank you pussy, and thank you pussy,” killed the cat. Don’t believe those who talk the most, for mewing cats are seldom good mousers. By no means, put yourself in another person’s power; if you put your thumb between two grinders, they are very apt to bite. Drink nothing without seeing it; sign nothing without reading it; and make sure that it means no more than it says. Don’t go to law unless you have nothing to lose; lawyers’ houses are built on fool’s heads. Put no dependence on the label of a bag, and count money after your own kind. In any business, never wade into water where you can’t see the bottom. See the bag opened before you buy what is in it, for he who trades in the dark asks to be cheated. Thousands of men breathe, move, and live, pass off the stage of life and are thought of no more. Why? They did not a particle of good in the world, and none were blessed by them; none could point to them as the means of their redemption; not a line they wrote, not a word they spoke, could be recalled, and so they perished; their light went out in darkness, and they were not remembered more than the insects of yesterday. Will you thus live and die? O man, live for something! Do good, and leave behind you a monument of virtue, that the storms of time can never destroy. Write your name of kindness, love, and mercy, on the hearts of thousands with whom you come in contact year by year, and you will never be forgotten. No; your name, your deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the star on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as brightly on earth as the stars in heaven. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.” Died, in Syracuse, N. Y., April 7, 1874, at the residence of her son-in-law, after an illness of several weeks, my step-mother, Elvira R. Luddington, aged 59 years. She embraced the Advent faith three years ago, at the Kirkville Camp-meeting, and was there baptized, renouncing her former Universalist faith, and continued firm in the truth to the end. Her last sickness was marked with great patience and sweet submission to the will of God. Funeral at the Baptist church, and services by the pastor of the same. S. L. RHODES. Died, in Potterville, Eaton Co., Mich., May 7, 1874, of peritonitis, sister Isabella Rumsey, wife of Sylvester Rumsey, aged 26 years, 8 months, and 24 days. Sister Rumsey embraced the truths of the third angel’s message some two years since, under the labors of Eld. E. B. Lane. She lived a consistent Christian life, and gave evidence at its close of resignation to the will of God. She calmly and sweetly sleeps in Jesus to awake in the morning of the resurrection. Comforting words were spoken on the occasion by Bro. M. B. Miller, from John 11:35. ROBERT SAWYER.