Earlier text: THE JEWISH RABBI AND HIS SCHOLARIllustrating the Doctrine.
By Editor
Depraved human nature is the same in every age, and will, if the circumstances are the same, manifest itself in the same way. If the doctrine that no faith should be kept with heretics—that they are destroyers of the souls of men, and are more worthy of death than murderers of the body, because the soul is of more value than the body—kindled the fires of Smithfield and unsheathed the sword on St. Bartholomew’s day, it will bear the same fruits still, unless there are other surroundings to restrain and make it impolitic. We have just noticed two illustrations of this fact in the public prints within a few days. A mob attacked Rev. Mr. White, a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, in Illinois, because he dared to lecture on Romanism. This is no uncommon thing; probably Mr. White has been mobbed twenty times while engaged in the work of showing the false claims of Romanism. But the most notable case which has occurred of late is that at Antigonish, 10th of July last. Antigonish is a small town in Nova Scotia, about a hundred miles north-east of Halifax, where Rev. Mr. Chiniquy endeavored to lecture in the Presbyterian church. The Roman Catholics broke up the assembly by ringing the bell of the church, calling out, “Fire!” and making other noises. Even so-called Catholic ladies, usually gentle, clamored for the preacher’s blood. One blew a whistle in the church, and cried, “At him, boys!” and others declared that “if the country Catholics were in town, every Protestant in Antigonish would be dead before morning.” We are glad to see that the Presbytery to which the church belongs calls on the authorities to vindicate the laws by the prosecution of the rioters. The pastor of the church, Mr. Chiniquy, and several others were more or less hurt by stones thrown by the rioters. What better illustration could we have of the doctrine that all that is needed is power, to make the Roman Catholic church in this country as much a persecutor as she ever was in Italy or Spain?—Christian Press. O spirit of charity, so precious, so rare,
In this world of strife, tribulation, and care,
If thou wouldst gently touch the hearts of the strong
With that pure, tender love which suffereth long,
Which willeth to brother or foeman no wrong,
This beautiful earth might be happy and fair. If our hearts were but warmed with thy soft'ning glow,
How quickly the tear of compassion would flow;
And true, noble souls would think it no stain
To seek for the outcast, wandering in shame,
Whose errings need more of our pity than blame,
With their blasted lives of such darkness and woe. Sweet spirit of charity, be this our prayer,
Help us each with the other's failings to bear;
Help us each with a humble feeling to trace
The fate which has fallen on one in disgrace,
Not knowing what we would have been in his place,
With the same temptations and trials to share.
—Sel. Few are so lost to a regard for the opinion of others, to respect for themselves, and obedience to their Maker, as to speak that which is not true. But many who would scorn to speak a falsehood will, when tempted, act one, and wherever, on the highway of life, man meets his fellow-man, he encounters such temptations. The man of business feels their influence, and society fosters their growth. False acts are out of the groove of nature, and they must be rectified by nature’s God. Every dollar made by a betrayal of our fellow-men, every good opinion won by false seeming, carries with it an inevitable curse, since “do right” is the only safe rule of conduct, and every departure from it will receive due punishment. And yet how few of us, even the best and wisest, believe in truth, and are willing to trust it altogether. In our anxiety to appear well before man, we forget that the angels see us. The world needs true men and women. Society owes to them whatever moral stamina it possesses. We cannot live to self alone. We cannot evade the obligations we are under as members of society. The human race is to us a brother and a friend, and, though we may regard it lightly, we are all the time casting thoughts, words, and deeds, into the broad field of human thought and action, and, sometime, they will reappear, either as a poisonous weed or herb medicinal. E. J. BURNHAM. Reproving Friends Privately and Commending Them Publicly
REPROVE your friend privately; commend him publicly. “Lord, Save Me.”
By Mary F. Welch
THESE words were spoken by the bold and impetuous Peter when he was about to sink, while walking upon the water to meet Jesus. And why did he begin to sink? When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; his mind was caught away from his divine Lord who had bid him come, and whom he loved, and in whose society he most desired to be. The angry, tempestuous billows were threatening to engulf him; but with what earnestness and confidence he cried, “Lord, save me.” This is one of the many remarkable incidents that illustrate the character of Peter, and not only does it serve as an illustration of Peter’s character, but it may teach us a most useful lesson. Perhaps with much zeal and confidence we commence the warfare for eternal life, contending against the world, the flesh, and the enemy of our souls. Trials may come, the high-heaving billows and foam-crested waves may seem ready to sweep over our heads. We begin to look at our seeming perilous condition: the wind is boisterous; we are afraid; we begin to sink. We forget that there is One who rules the storm, and who has said, “Come.” Oh! how important that we have hope and courage. There never was any object gained, nor any victories won, without hope, courage, and perseverance, nor will there ever be. Take from the most audacious warrior his courage, and I ask, What will he do? In his first conflict, he will surely be overcome; he will sink. We are contending in a warfare, where the contest is unequal. But frail man is not left alone to guide his own fragile bark over the stormy sea of time. Our Captain is a conqueror. He has won victories; he has never been overcome, never. The same Jesus who stretched forth his hand and caught the sinking Peter is now pleading for us. We can hear the same compassionate Saviour saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” “I REMEMBER,” says the Rev. George Butler, “a woman whose house was on fire. She was very active in removing her goods, but forgot her child was sleeping quietly in the cradle. At length she remembered her babe, and ran with earnest desire to save it. But alas! it was too late; the suffocating smoke and roaring flames forced her back, and in agony which none but a bereaved mother knows, she exclaimed, Oh, my child! I have saved my goods, but lost my child!” So it will be with many a one at the last, who, “careful and troubled about many things,” has forgotten his soul. I got a good trade, will one say, but I lost my soul; I got office, will another say, but—lost my soul; I got the world, I am now in hell, too poor, too helpless to obtain a drop of water to cool my parched tongue! The loss of the soul is a loss irreparable. Other losses may be repaired, but there is no second soul for him that has lost one. Reader, take care of thy soul first, other matters afterward; for, though you die here, you may live forever, and now, if ever, eternal life must be secured. “Now is,” emphatically, “the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” Giving for Jesus.
By Spurgeon
Certain Moravian missionaries, in the old times of slavery, went to one of the West India Islands to preach, and they found they could not be permitted to teach there unless they themselves became slaves; and they did so—they sold themselves into bondage, never to return, that they might save slaves’ souls. We have heard of another pair of holy men who actually submitted to be confined in a lazar-house, that they might save the souls of lepers, knowing as they did that they would never be permitted to come out again. They went there to take the leprosy, and to die if by so doing they might save souls. I have read of one, Thome de Jesu, who went to Barbary amongst the Christian captives, and there lived and died in banishment and bondage, that he might cheer his brethren and preach Jesus to them. Brethren, we have never reached to such devotion; we fall far short of what Jesus deserves. We give him little, we give him what we are ashamed not to give him. Often we give him our zeal for a day or two, and then grow cool; we wake up on a sudden, and then sleep all the more soundly. We seem to-day as if we would set the world on fire, and to-morrow we scarce keep our own lamp trimmed. We vow at one time that we will push the church before us and drag the world after us, and by-and-by we ourselves are like Pharaoh’s chariots with the wheels taken off, and drag along right heavily. Oh! for a spark of the love of Christ in the soul! Oh! for a living flame from off Calvary’s altar, to set our whole nature blazing with divine enthusiasm for the Christ who gave himself for us that we might live! Henceforth, take upon yourselves in the solemn intent of your soul this deep resolve: “I will unloose the latchets of his shoes; I will seek out the little things, the mean things, the humble things, and I will do them as unto the Lord, and not unto men, and may he accept me even as he has saved me through his precious blood.”—Spurgeon. An aged Indian, half naked and famished, wandered into one of our western settlements, begging for food to keep him from starving. While eagerly devouring the bread bestowed by the hand of charity, a bright-colored ribbon, from which was suspended a small, dirty pouch, was seen around his neck. On being questioned, he said it was a charm, given him in his younger days; and, opening it, displayed a faded, greasy paper, which he handed to the interrogator for inspection. It proved to be a regular discharge from the Federal army, entitling him to a pension for life, and signed by General Washington himself. Now there was a name which would be honored almost anywhere, and which, if presented in the right place, would have insured him support and plenty for the remainder of his days; and yet he wandered about hungry, helpless, and forlorn, begging, of the charitable, bread to keep him from famishing. What a picture of men, with all the promises of Jesus in their hands—and of Christians too, with the charter of their inheritance in full possession—yet starving in the wilderness! Preventing Quarrels Before They Begin
It is more wise to prevent a quarrel beforehand than to revenge it afterward. “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord,”
By Uriah Smith
During the good meetings that have been in progress in Battle Creek, the past week, the prophetic declaration that stands at the head of these lines has been much in mind. In a subordinate sense, this injunction seems to be binding upon the people of God at the present time. The period in our history we believe has fully come to prepare the way for the Lord to work in the advancement of the third angel’s message, as never before. The way has not heretofore been prepared on the part of some as it should have been. Among a people who profess to be keeping the faith of Jesus, that unity mentioned by the apostle in 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2, and other places, which is certainly a part of that faith, should by all means exist. And without this, how could God’s Spirit have free course, and the work move forward in its full tide of strength? But there has been on this point a deplorable lack. Not that there has been open dissension and division in our ranks to any great extent. Probably no denomination in the land has been more free from this. All the public deliberations and actions of this people have been to a marked degree harmonious and unanimous. But that true blending of spirit and union of heart, contemplated in the texts above referred to, is what has been wanting. And this, though hidden from all eyes, must impede that free working of God’s Spirit which is essential to the full success of this work, as effectually as Achan’s golden wedge, though taken to the privacy of his own tent, and then buried deep in the earth, withered the strength of the armies of Israel. In the teachings of the Lord with which we, as a people, are favored, this point is not passed by unnoticed; and we are given plainly to understand that not one-twentieth is being done in this cause, of what might and would be accomplished if all who have a part to act were prepared to take hold together with that true spirit of co-operation which the Lord designs that his people should maintain. This may not be the time or place to enter into particulars as to the causes, manner, or extent, of the failures that have in this respect been made. Suffice it to say that these are in a measure, at least, seen and felt. And there is seen also the necessity of immediately taking hold to remedy the evil, and there is no lack of determination to do it. And the progress that has been made in this direction is one of the encouraging features of our recent meetings. The work is being done, not as a transient ebullition of feeling which is soon to subside, not as a mere matter of a little pleasant talk, which is to vanish with the sound, but on the basis of new principles, or principles newly seen, which will enable all to act understandingly, and which, therefore, gives cheering promise that it will be real and permanent. We believe the time has come for a great work to be done in the cause of truth; the time for the nineteenth-twentieths of lack to be made up, and for the work to go with twenty-fold more power than at any time in the past. Whittier, in one of his poems, uses the following language:— “If we have whispered truth,
Whisper no longer;
Speak as the tempest does,
Sterner and stronger.”
Can we not make this language applicable to our own case? As the result of the Conference, we are beginning to conceive it to be a possible thing that all that has thus far been done in this work, compared with what is speedily to be, is but as a whisper compared with the roar of the tempest. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Take up the stumbling-blocks from the King’s highway. Close up the ranks. Throw away self-righteousness. Let our hearts break before the Lord, and become plastic under the molding hands of the Lord of the message, and let him fashion us into his own image. And when we all come into the right position, be assured he will not delay a work, which he has long waited, and is still waiting, to accomplish for his truth and his people. U. S. The Conference and the Work at Battle Creek.
By George I. Butler
Others have written in regard to these, but I wish to say a word also. Our Conference, owing to the shortness of the notice, was quite small, and some might have thought it would be a failure for that reason. But I regard it as one of the most important meetings ever held among S. D. Adventists. The importance of any meeting does not necessarily arise from the numbers of those present, or the amount of discussion and speech-making connected with it, but, rather, upon the weighty matters decided upon, and the spirit of union and love prevailing among those in attendance. The meeting at Jerusalem after the ascension of our Lord was not a large one, yet the consequences growing out of it to the church and the world were mighty. The consultations of the few who considered the declaration of Independence previous to its promulgation on the fourth of July, 1776, might have been considered a small affair at the time by the enemies of American freedom, but probably they changed their minds afterward. We would not be understood as comparing our recent Conference with these events, yet, if we are not much mistaken, results will grow out of our deliberations of no small consequence to the world. If we have the special message of warning to the world we believe we have, designed to prepare a people for Christ’s coming, and to test men on God’s law and the faith of Jesus, it is not a small matter. Its importance is not second to any movement the world has seen for ages. These truths are weighty. The consequences of rejecting them are also weighty. The day which is hasting is none other than the great day of God’s wrath, foretold by all the prophets, and the grand theme of all who have loved and feared God for six thousand years. We reason, therefore, that every event which tends toward greater union among those who have faith in this work, is of no small importance in the world. In union there is strength. It is not astonishing that differences of opinion should arise in such a world as ours and such a work as ours. Any one can see, however, with the peculiar nature of our work, that union is indispensable to us. Other denominations do not aim particularly for it. Some even claim that it is better to disagree. Not so with us. We believe, as Christ our Lord taught, that we ought to be one even as the Father and the Son are one. We are to be sanctified through God’s truth, and truth is always harmonious. It never contradicts itself. God’s Spirit never leads people in opposite directions, but always to unity. These are general truths which seem to be lost sight of by our Protestant sects; but they are in the book of God. But now that we have reached the last days, when a people is to be prepared for Christ’s coming, who will be translated to glory without tasting death, should we not expect they would be a united people? As their work is one, a movement emanating from one central point, foretold by prophecy as one work, will not there be a close union in all its parts? We should certainly think so. God’s Spirit will lead that work which the same Spirit foretold would come in its proper time. We believe it is leading it. Never were there plainer evidences to show this than at our recent Conference. Never were there such clear evidences that God’s Spirit was cementing hearts which have been more or less divided. Never were the principles so plainly seen before, upon which true union must be founded. These things cause our hearts to rejoice. And we have no hesitation in saying they will cause a thrill of joy in the hearts of the true friends of the cause from Maine to California. We expect the time is not far distant when all true believers will stand shoulder to shoulder in union and harmony. Then let all expect to see a great work accomplished. The many important questions considered by the Conference were also a great source of encouragement. The prosperity of our tract and missionary work, our publishing interests, and the prospect of soon having works to distribute in other languages as well as our own, were issues of great importance. Our organization is being perfected so that it must be effective. With union and love prevailing, and the Spirit of God to impart strength, and an effective organization through which to work, we may expect to see a great work accomplished, because the truth of God is mighty and must accomplish that for which it is sent. We are happy to state further to the friends of the cause everywhere, that we never before saw so many omens of good for the cause in Battle Creek. Things which have long caused great perplexity and discouragement seem now to be passing away. Our meeting yesterday, in which there was a large movement of the people, so large that the whole center of the house was filled with those who had determined to seek the Lord, was solemn and encouraging. But this is not the main thing that encourages us. There seems to be a clearer understanding of the causes of past difficulty than ever before, and a determination to avoid them for the future. When the causes of trouble are fully seen, then there is a reasonable hope of escaping it in future. We have hopes that a better state of things will be seen here, around our institutions, than has existed in the past. The visit of Bro. and Sister White among us has been productive of great good to the cause. Never was a visit more opportune than this. Indeed it seemed to be a special providence of God. In conclusion, I wish to express the profound gratitude of my heart for the goodness of God to us, and for the clear evidence which has been given that the Guiding Hand is leading in this work. We have no cause for discouragement while this is seen in our midst. The work is onward. Let us close up the ranks, take our position on the Lord’s side, and move on in our work till victory crowns our efforts. Who Will Receive the Refreshing?
By R. F. COTTRELL
This is a question of the deepest interest to each individual. The refreshing will come. It is promised in the word of God. The Holy Spirit will be given in greater measure than hitherto. But who will be the glad recipients? 1. It will be those who have faith in God—faith in his word and faith in his work. In other words, it will be believers in present truth; those who believe the prophecies which relate to the present time, and believe their fulfillment as they see them fulfilled. They will believe the special message now being given, feeling the assurance that it is the work of God. The doubting and wavering, the fearful and unbelieving, have no claim to the promise. 2. It will be the courageous, the hopeful, that will receive the blessing. Those who trust in God are the heirs of the promises.189 3. It will be the overcomers; those who are victorious over sin, and arise to that state of love required in the word of God. They will love God; and if they love God, they will love their neighbor also. They will ardently desire the salvation of their fellowmen. They will have the missionary spirit. Hence, 4. They will be laborers in the cause and work of God. Their faith and hope and love will lead them to labor for the spread of the truth and the salvation of men, and this in any humble sphere to which God may call them. Their consecration to God and his work will be so perfect and entire that God can accept it, and supply by his Spirit all their need. 5. The refreshing will be given in answer to earnest, agonizing prayer. Those who receive it will pray and labor, labor and pray. God will hear the earnest prayer of those who do what he says. “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?” Those who heed the light on all points already given will have more. Those who open the door will receive the heavenly Guest; He will come in and sup with them. R. F. COTTRELL. The General Conference.
By John Nevins Andrews
Our Conference which has just closed has been a very precious and blessed season. From the commencement to the close, it was specially attended with the blessing of God. The preaching has been of a very solemn and heart-searching character. The devotional meetings have been seasons of earnest seeking after God. First-day morning, Bro. Butler preached a very pointed and instructive discourse from Isa. 58. He set forth our sins as a people, and showed the nature of that repentance which God will accept. The afternoon was devoted to Conference business. The subject of establishing a school as a special auxiliary in our work was very fully considered, but not definitely acted upon. In the evening, Bro. Haskell preached a close, practical discourse concerning the deceitfulness of the human heart. Second-day was mainly devoted to the business of the Publishing Association. The old board, with some changes, was re-elected. The business proceedings were marked with great unanimity of feeling. The assets, as shown by the auditor’s report, are $82,000 against $68,000 last year. Religious services were held during a part of the day, which were of the deepest interest; and these have been continued each afternoon and evening till to-day (Nov. 20) with increasing interest and solemnity, and the most cheering results. These are most precious days in the history of the church in Battle Creek. Business proceedings have been confined to the forenoon of each day, and have continued thus till concluded at noon to-day. The remainder of the time has been devoted to the business of seeking God. We have never had a more precious Conference; in some respects we have never had its equal. The hearts of the servants of God are more closely united in the bonds of Christian love, and probably there has never been a time when such perfect unanimity of feeling and of judgment has existed as at the present time. It does seem that in an eminent sense the set time to favor Zion has come. We believe that God is about to bless the preaching of his truth as never before; and we solemnly purpose to give ourselves to his work in an unreserved consecration of all to God. We were disappointed in the non-arrival of Bro. Rogers, the delegate from the S. D. Baptists. Seeking the Whole Christian Character
THERE is not a grace that can adorn the Christian character, but you will have need to appear in at some time or other; therefore seek the whole, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Blessings Acknowledged.
By J. H. W.
I WISH to add my cheerful testimony to that of others in regard to the blessed and heart-cheering meetings which have been held in Battle Creek. From the first, it was evident that the Lord had been preparing his people to take a more decided stand for union of heart and action in this sacred work. The return of Brother and Sister White from the West was hailed with unusual joy, and these tried servants of the cause of God brought with them a cheering and encouraging testimony. With all the laborers in the cause there appeared a growing confidence that the Lord is preparing us for a more vigorous, united, and successful prosecution of the work. The business meetings of the Conference were alternated with those more purely devotional, and all were profitable. The utmost harmony prevailed throughout. Those who had doubted were confirmed in the faith, and the distrustful became confident. The preaching was practical and stirring, and the social meetings were marked with deep feeling. Last Sabbath morning, after a social meeting of nearly one hour and a half, Sister White gave an unusually instructive and impressive discourse on the temptation of Christ, its nature, and its object as related to man in his probation. The Saviour, as a present and efficient help, was brought near to the consciousness and affection of the hearers. In the afternoon, Bro. White made some close, practical remarks, after which a large number came forward for prayer. It was a time of searching of heart, in which, we have reason to believe, many made a new start for the kingdom. Individually, I am happy to state that my confidence in the leading hand of God in the third angel’s message was never so strong as at present. And as I “call to remembrance the former days,” I can see only evidences of his goodness and mercy all through our past experience. Goodness too often unappreciated, and mercy ever ready to help in time of need. And in no one feature of the work is God’s care for, and presence in, this work more manifest than in the selection of his own instruments to carry it on, and by guiding them in judgment, and protecting them in trials and dangers. These things are being realized now where there has been only an assent to them in the past. And the sweet Spirit of God witnesses to the acknowledging of his own order and appointment, and is uniting hearts as they were never before united in our experience. And we are sure that the real lovers of this cause will hail with great joy this indication of a revival of pure religion in the increase of brotherly love. But while new hope and new courage are ours to enjoy, and new resolutions have been formed, there has been no spirit of exultation—no “shout in the camp.” We realize that the faithful and True Witness testifies of us that we are far from being complete in the sight of God. We have not already attained, but we are reaching forward. The blessings which God has graciously vouchsafed to us during the past few weeks are not so much the evidences of victory gained, as the armor by which we hope to gain victories in the future. When we enjoy the salvation of God; when he lets the hallowed influence of his Spirit rest upon us, and shuts us in with himself, it is not that we may boast of our standing or rejoice in our graces, but that we may serve him to greater acceptance; that we may teach transgressors his way, and bring glory to his holy name. J. H. W. Our Influence.
By Jos. Clarke
The mixed multitude that came up out of Egypt with the Israelite host were those of the Egyptians who were so affected by the terror of the plagues that they, in the excitement of the hour, were compelled to acknowledge the power of God; and they, without due care and deliberation, and without any adequate idea of the character of God, and the purity and strictness of his law, cast in their lot with the people of God. And it was not till they had crossed the Red Sea, and encamped on the barren desert, that they discovered their mistake; but it was too late to return. The die was cast. Without any spiritual discernment, and reckless of the future, their minds reverted to the past. The fertile valley of the Nile arose before their minds in strong contrast with the arid waste before them, and now they keenly felt the apparent loss. A terrible homesickness seized them, and there, in their tents, away on the barren desert, they bewailed their sad lot. This disease, like the plague, spread among the people until nearly all the elect host, which had so recently praised God for his wonderful goodness in defending them from the Egyptian plagues, and in leading them through the Red Sea, joined in the sad wail of sorrow. Satan and his wicked host were abroad in those tents, and they stirred up the minds of the disaffected, while they were suffering the pangs of homesickness, to complain against their leaders, and they, with one voice, deprecated life itself, and said, Would to God we had died in Egypt. Destitute of faith in God, who had proved his goodness and love and power and wisdom, they saw nothing but ruin before them. How could such a host exist upon the desert? Where were the supplies to come from?—not a day's provision in store, no water for man or beast, how could the millions, encamped upon that barren, rocky desert, pursue their march to the goodly land? Surely, they would perish, and their bones would bleach upon the moving sand, and the winds would howl a lonely requiem upon their desert grave. In the sad reminiscences of the past, Satan, with his host, came in, and strongly urged return to the gardens of the Nile, and mutiny and rebellion against the noble man God had chosen and appointed leader. Hunger and thirst and direful forebodings now are felt by almost all; and still the influence spreads, until many of the best and purest feel its power. Moses, full of faith, withstands the roar of the storm of popular fury and complaint. His eye surveys the whole scene with calmness. Above the mad, senseless tempest of passion, he views the hand of the Almighty, who can still the tumults of the people. He who could part the restless and treacherous waters of the sea, and hold them up in mountain walls while his chosen pass through, can surely feed them and quench their feverish thirst. Serenely he looks to God, who has never failed him. The mixed multitude are finally quieted for a time. Manna from Heaven, and water from the rock, satisfy the sterner demands of nature, but the carnal heart is yet unsubdued. No deep, thorough, soul-converting power has passed through that mixed throng. They, with carnal eyes, have viewed the miracles performed in their behalf; and everything by them is weighed in the scale of human probabilities. No soul-transforming influence has passed upon the mixed multitude. Often, as new trials arise, the same scene is re-enacted, and Moses is grieved, and God is insulted, until at last Moses becomes impatient, and sins against God; and Aaron, in his weakness and weariness, goes to great lengths in his desire to please the people, and enters into their idolatrous worship. Oh! that good men could always withstand the evil influence of the mixed multitude, that has ever hung upon the rear of God's army. Everywhere and in all ages, the church on earth has had to contend with the baleful, poisonous influence of unconverted members, who, with unconverted, corrupt hearts—having crept into the church, or having been deceived in regard to themselves, have honestly joined the people of God—have settled down in carnal security, and see no necessity for further progress or for a reconstructing, regenerating power in their cases. They see no particular defect in their title to the heavenly inheritance, nor do they see or care to see the sandy foundation upon which they build; and present cares, employments, and pleasures, so engross their minds that they ignore deep heart work, and sleep when they should watch and pray. Such are the mixed multitude which has ever cursed the church of God upon the earth. The papal church is but a sample of the kind of work such an influence as we have described would naturally create; and the present condition of Protestant churches on this continent, and throughout the enlightened world, is an example of the same kind, clearly showing the influence of worldly professors, who finally drag to perdition their brethren and their ministry. A pure church, in order to remain pure, must not allow itself to be burdened by a mixed multitude, nor must it invite a promiscuous throng; and an impure church must not only reconstruct its creed, but its membership. If such a noble man as Moses is thrown off his balance by the influence of a mixed multitude, who is safe from such an influence? Truly, we live in a world of dangers, and as humanity has degenerated since Moses' time, and sin has accumulated strength, dangers increase; and the people of God have need of greater vigilance and care. Entire separation from the world is the condition of eternal life. A whole, a voluntary, offering, a pure, a clean, heart God requires; and surely, no one is hurt by this principle. On the contrary, it is the only hope of man. Were God less pure, his government would be insecure, and his promises uncertain. No sane man would wish to enter Heaven unprepared, or with a character spotted in the least. No greater kindness can be shown to mankind than for the church to free itself from the mixed multitude by marching steadily on and leaving the murmurers behind. Our Obligations.
By R. F. Cottrell
How dark is the human mind naturally to the demands of duty! And how slow to learn and feel the obligations we are under, even when we have determined to obey. We set out to serve God, because we know that we must in order to be saved. Selfishness may be the main motive to action; but it is well to see our danger, and wise to make an effort to escape. But how little is realized of what it is to follow Christ; to labor and suffer for other's good; and to serve God because of our great obligation for his love and goodness, and a deep desire to please him. It takes a life-time to learn our duties to God and our fellow-men; because we are so slow to learn. Those who begin early in life can hardly learn the lesson. Yet many put off the beginning, as though they thought that but little time was necessary to learn the way, and to secure the priceless boon of eternal life. So they selfishly hope to be pardoned on a death-bed, perhaps, feeling no obligation to God to spend their lives in his service, not knowing that the goodness of God has a demand upon them, leading them to repentance. “Is this the kind return?
Are these the thanks we owe?
Thus to abuse eternal love,
Whence all our blessings flow?”
Could we but realize our obligation as we should, we should feel that we have no time to waste. And we should feel that to devote all to God is emphatically our “reasonable service.” Oh! that I may understand my obligation to God; and not only so, but be able by the aid of the Holy Spirit to fulfill my duties. When I am striving to draw near in the night seasons, I get some glimpse of it, sufficient to fill me with wonder that these obligations are not appreciated more. I would have a clear sense of them, and live to glorify God, and save souls for whom Christ died. I want a place with the saved; and besides this, I wish to know at last that I have not lived in vain and merely for self; so that the master may be able to say, Well done. Trial Volume of Review.
By S. N. Haskell
THERE has been forwarded, within the last few days, to the various Directors, and also to others, a circular designing especially to call the attention of our people to sending to their friends the REVIEW AND HERALD on the trial trip of six months, commencing with the new volume, Dec. 16. An active co-operation is expected by all the friends of the cause. Every person receiving the circular should see that each individual member within his vicinity, who is interested in the present truth, has the privilege of sending the paper to at least one. Its cost is but a trifle, only fifty cents. Then there should be a hundred individuals in each Conference who will give five dollars to send the REVIEW to ten, and some should give ten dollars and send it to twenty, and some, twenty-five dollars, and some, fifty. Think up your friends, and enter upon this at once, for we have no time to lose. The names and the money may be handed to the various Tract and Missionary Society Directors, and they will send the names to the Office; but retain the money until their next general quarterly meeting, when a report will be given, and then the money will be sent to the Office. Then, at the Office, the T. and M. Society will be charged with the money, and proper credit be given. When the names are received at the Office, a statement will be forwarded to the Secretary of the T. and M. Society. A copy of the names should also be forwarded by the Director to the Secretary of the State Tract Society; or, the names may be forwarded at once to the Secretary, and he forward the same to the Office. This will save any money risks, and the trouble of obtaining Post-Office orders or checks; and should any mistake occur, it could at once be detected and remedied. Money, no doubt, is a power, but a power of well-defined and narrow limits; it will furnish your table with luxuries, but not you with an appetite to enjoy them; it will surround your sick bed with physicians, but not restore health to your sickly frame; it will encompass you with a crowd of flatterers, but never procure you one true friend; it will bribe into silence the tongues of accusing men, but not the voice of an accusing conscience; it will pay some of your debts, but not the least one of all your debts to the law of God; it will relieve many fears, but not those of guilt—the terrors that crown the brows of death. The Influence of Unseen Greatness
THE greatest men live unseen to view while thousands are not qualified to express their influence.