THE general aspect of the cause throughout the wide field, at the present time, is good. Our western camp-meetings were all excellent. The advancement of the cause in Iowa has been greater the past year than at any previous year. The Illinois Conference, though small, has done well. Wisconsin is improving. May God greatly bless Brn. Sanborn and Downer in their labors in that State. And our brethren in Minnesota, at their late camp-meeting, took fresh courage. That was one of our best western meetings. We feel a deep interest in the cause in Minnesota.
And our people in the other States are calling for camp-meetings. This is as it should be. An especial blessing attends these meetings, making them a means of very much good to our people and their children, and affording a favorable opportunity of impressing the crowd with the power of divine truth. Every family should have a tent on the ground, if possible, of sufficient size for themselves, and their friends. This work should be entered upon liberally, and not with a stingy spirit. Brethren and sisters should invite their relations and candid neighbors and friends to spend a week with them in camp-meeting.
We are also cheered with the prompt action of the brethren in California. The cause is still onward in that distant State. The brethren there may well regard themselves favored to enjoy the efficient labors of Brn. Loughborough and Cornell.
And what we might notice of good omens in the progress of matters and things, last, but not least, is the fact that the no-Sabbath men seem to be stirred to oppose. This is especially the case with the World's Crisis. This is always a sign of progress.
But their manner of warfare should be noticed. They seldom undertake to disprove the Sabbath by Scripture arguments. Such men as the editor of the Crisis will use the best arguments they have. Not being able to meet the question fairly with the word of God, they resort to misrepresentation in order to create prejudice. Statements in the Crisis for July 5, 1871, are a remarkable instance of this smut and blacking warfare. But God lives and reigns, and he can turn the wrath of man to his praise and the advancement of his cause.
The Venerable Dead.
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints,” at whatever age they may fall, is true of all the righteous dead. We bury such in hope, and their graves are dear to us; but when the pious aged die, and the long journey of the good and the truly great terminates, and we lay them down to rest from their long and faithful toils, the places of their repose are doubly sacred. As we stand about the graves of those godly men and women who are cut down in the strength of manhood and womanhood, feelings of regret may steal over us, that they did not live to fill the measure of their days with well-doing, and longer bless humanity with their usefulness. But when the aged die, who have adorned a long life with good works, and have nobly fought the fight of faith, until they are full of days, and long to lay their weary limbs down to rest, we acquiesce in the decisions of Providence which release them from suffering, and give them repose.
Within six months past we have buried both of our venerable parents. Mother died in January last, in her eighty-third year, and father has recently fallen in his eighty-seventh year. We have laid them down to rest, side by side, in Oak Hill Cemetery, in hope of a glorious resurrection to immortal life, at the second appearing of Jesus Christ.
Dea. John White was born in old Bloomfield, now Skowhegan, Maine, April 12, 1785, and died July 5, 1871, having lived eighty-six years, two months, and twenty-two days. He descended from one of the Pilgrims who came to America in the ship May Flower, and landed upon Plymouth Rock, December, 1620. On board that ship was John White, the father of Peregrine White, who wore a pair of silver knee-buckles, such as may be seen in the picture of the venerable signers of the Declaration of Independence. The knee-buckles worn by this man were afterward given to his son, John Peregrine White, who was born on the passage to this country, to be handed down in this line of the White family to the eldest son of each successive generation, whose name should be called John. Dea. John White had those buckles thirty years, when he gave them to his son John, now of Columbus, Ohio, who has passed them down to his son John. Both the son and the grandson were at the funeral.
Our father possessed from his youth great physical strength and activity of body and mind. With his own hands he cleared the heavy timber from his land in Palmyra, Maine. He toiled on the same farm for more than half a century, until at the age of seventy-four years he left it, and sought rest in the more congenial climate of the West.
His religious experience of sixty-five years has been marked with firmness and zeal, and yet with freedom from that bigotry which prevents investigation and advancement. At the age of twenty-one he was converted, and joined the Congregational Church. Several years later he was immersed and became a Baptist deacon. Still later he embraced the views held by the Christian denomination, which were more liberal than those of the Calvinistic Baptists of those days. He then joined the Christian church, and served them as deacon forty years. During this entire period he was present at every conference meeting held by the church, excepting one, which, according to their custom, was held on Saturday afternoon of every fourth week.
As early as 1842 our father read with deep interest the lectures of William Miller upon the second coming of Christ, and he has ever since that time cherished faith in the leading points of the Advent doctrine. In 1860, with our good mother, he embraced the Sabbath, and to the period of his decease often dwelt upon the evidences of the Bible Sabbath with clearness and much pleasure.
One year since, in consequence of mother's failing health, our parents left their old home, and it has been our pleasure to tenderly care for them in life, and to bury them in death. Mother was one of the sweetest and best women that lived, always right, and ready to die. Father had ever been a man of sterling integrity and godly life, with an earnest temperament and decided turn of mind. During his last year the Spirit of God seemed searching, softening, refining, and fitting, him for Heaven. And in that entire year no one heard him speak an impatient word. He often related facts in his early experience of deep interest to our family and visiting friends, and after joining in family devotion would frequently give expression to the joys of the Holy Spirit which rested upon him in great measure. And near the very close of his life, when sight had almost failed, he preserved his dignity, and stepped down into the valley of death like a man of God. To the very last he gave frequent expression to his feelings of gratitude to attending friends, and for the slightest favor, would return those golden words of courtesy, “Thank you.”
Throughout the entire period of his manhood, Dea. John White has been a candid reformer. He was among the very first in Maine to superintend a Sunday-school, and was from the first an ardent supporter of temperance movements. He has ever been an advocate of civil and religious liberty. He loved his country, and in his age his loyal feelings were stirred as he witnessed her bloody struggle for freedom; and it was his joy to live to see the slave power crushed.
His long and useful life has now closed. But “he being dead, yet speaketh.” His name, with the good actions which have crowded his life, is embalmed in the memory of numerous relatives and friends who survive. God grant that we may all be impressed with this illustration, in a good degree at least, of the sacred injunction, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.”
Thoughts on the Book of Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
CHAPTER XII (CONCLUDED).
VERSE 8. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
How forcibly are we reminded, by Daniel’s solicitude to understand fully all that had been shown him, of Peter’s words where he speaks of the prophet’s inquiring and searching diligently to understand the predictions concerning the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow; and also of the fact that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister. How little were some of the prophets permitted to understand of what they wrote. But they did not therefore refuse to write. If God required it, they knew that in due time he would see that his people derived from their writings all the benefit that he intended. So the language here used to Daniel, was the same as telling him that when the right time should come, the wise would understand the meaning of what he had written, and be profited thereby. The time of the end was the time in which the Spirit of God was to break the seal from off this book; and consequently this was the time during which the wise should understand, while the wicked, lost to all sense of the value of eternal truth, with hearts callous and hardened in sin, grow continually more wicked and more blind. None of the wicked understand. The efforts of the wise to understand, they call folly and presumption, and ask in sneering mockery, Where is the promise of his coming? And should the question be raised, Of what time and what generation speaketh the prophet this? the solemn answer would be, Of the present time, and of the generation now before us. This language of the prophet is now receiving a most striking fulfillment.
The phraseology of verse 10 seems at first sight to be rather peculiar: “Many shall be purified and made white and tried.” How, it may be asked, can they be made white, and then tried (as the language would seem to imply), when it is by being tried that they are purified and made white? Answer. The language doubtless describes a process which is many times repeated in the experience of those who, during this time, are being made ready for the coming and kingdom of the Lord. They are purified and made white to a certain degree, and in comparison with their former condition. Then they are tried. Greater tests are brought to bear upon them. If they endure these, the work of purification is thus carried on to a still deeper degree, the process of being made white is made to reach a still higher stage. And having reached this state, they are tried again, resulting in their being still further purified and made white; and thus the process goes on till characters are developed which will stand the test of the great day, and a place is reached beyond which there is no need of further trial.
VERSE 11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Here have a new prophetic period introduced, namely, 1290 prophetic days, which would denote the same number of literal years. From the reading of the text some have inferred (though the inference is not a necessary one) that this period begins with the setting up of the abomination of desolation, or the papal power, in 538, and consequently extends to 1828. But while we find nothing in that year to mark their termination, we do find evidence in the margin that they begin before the setting up of the papal abomination. The margin reads, “To set up the abomination, &c.” With this reading the text would stand thus: And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, to set up [or, in order to set up] the abomination that maketh desolate, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. The daily has already been shown to be, not the daily sacrifice of the Jews, but the daily or continual abomination, that is, paganism. See on chap. 8:13. This had to be taken away to prepare the way for the papacy. For the historical events showing how this was accomplished in 508, see on chap. 11:31. We are not told directly to what event these 1290 days reach; but inasmuch as their commencement is marked by a work which takes place to prepare the way for the setting up of the papacy, it would be most natural to conclude that their end would be marked by the cessation of papal supremacy. Counting back, then, 1290 years from 1798, we have the year 508, where it has been shown that paganism was taken away thirty years before the setting up of the papacy. This period is doubtless given to show the date of the taking away of the daily, and it is the only one which does this. The two periods, therefore, of 1290 and 1260 days, terminate together in 1798; the one beginning in 538, and the other in 508, thirty years previous.
VERSE 12. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13. But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Still another prophetic period is here introduced, denoting 1335 years. The testimony concerning this period, like that which pertains to the 1290 years, is very meager. Can we tell when they begin and end? The only clue we have to the solution of this question, is the fact that they are spoken of in immediate connection with the 1290 years, which commenced, as shown above, in 508. From that point there shall be, says the prophet, 1290 days. And the very next sentence reads, Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days. From what point? From the same, undoubtedly, as that from which the 1290 date, namely, 508. Unless they are to be reckoned from this point, it is impossible to locate them, and they must be excepted from the prophecy of Daniel, when we apply to it the words of Christ, “Whoso readeth, let him understand.” Matt. 24:15. From this point they would extend to 1843, for 1335 added to 508, make 1843. Commencing in the spring of the former year, they end in the spring of the latter.
But how can it be that they have ended, it may be asked, since at the end of these days Daniel stands in his lot, which is his resurrection from the dead? This question is founded on a misapprehension in two respects; First, that the days at the end of which Daniel stands in his lot, are the 1335 days; which we think is a mistake; secondly, that the standing of Daniel in his lot, is his resurrection; which also cannot be shown. The only thing promised at the end of the 1335 days, is a blessing upon those who wait and come to it; that is, those who are living at that time. What is this blessing? Looking at the year 1843, when these years expired, what do we behold? We see a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy in the great proclamation of the second coming of Christ. Forty-five years before this, the time of the end commenced, the book was unsealed, and light began to increase. About the year 1843, there was a grand culmination of37all the light that had been shed on prophetic subjects up to that time. The proclamation went forth in power. The new and stirring doctrine of the setting up of the kingdom of God, shook the world. New life was imparted to the true disciples of Christ. The unbelieving were condemned, the churches were tested, and a spirit of revival was awakened which has no parallel in modern times.
Was this the blessing? Listen to the Saviour’s words: “Blessed are your eyes,” said he to his disciples, “for they see; and your ears, for they hear.” Matt. 13:16. And again he told his followers that prophets and kings had desired to see the things which they saw, and had not seen them. But “blessed,” said he to them, “are the eyes which see the things ye see.” Luke 10:23, 24. If a new and glorious truth was a blessing in the days of Christ to those who received it, why not equally so in A. D. 1843?
It may be objected that those who engaged in this movement were disappointed in their expectations; so were the disciples of Christ at his first advent, in a tenfold degree. They shouted before him as he rode into Jerusalem, expecting that he would then take the kingdom; but the only throne to which he then went was the cross, and his royal palace Joseph’s new sepulcher. Nevertheless they were blessed in receiving the truths they had heard.
It may be objected further that this was not a sufficient blessing to be marked by a prophetic period. Why not, since the period in which it was to occur, namely, the time of the end, is introduced by a prophetic period, since our Lord in verse 14 of his great prophecy of Matt. 24, makes a special announcement of this movement, and since it is still further set forth in Rev. 14:6, 7, under the symbol of an angel flying through mid heaven with a special announcement of the everlasting gospel to the inhabitants of earth? Surely the Bible gives great prominence to this movement. We do not half realize its blessedness and importance.
Two more questions remain to be briefly noticed: 1. What days are referred to in verse 13? 2. What is meant by Daniel’s standing in his lot? Those who claim that the days are the 1335, are led to that application by looking back no further than to the preceding verse, where the 1335 days are mentioned; whereas in making an application of these days so indefinitely introduced, we think the whole scope of the prophecy should be taken in from chap. 8. Chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12, are clearly a continuation and explanation of the vision of chapter 8; so that we may say that in the vision of chapter 8, as carried out and explained, there are four prophetic periods; namely, the 2300, 1260, 1290, and 1335 days. The first is the principal and longest period; the others are but intermediate parts and subdivisions of this. Now when the angel tells Daniel, at the conclusion of his instructions, that he shall stand in his lot at the end of the days, without specifying which period was meant, would not Daniel’s mind naturally turn to the principal and longest period, the 2300 days, rather than to any of its subdivisions? If this is so, the 2300 are the days intended. The reading of the Septuagint seems to look very plainly in this direction: “But go thy way and rest; for there are yet days and seasons to the full accomplishment [of these things]; and thou shalt stand at thy lot at the end of the days.” This certainly carries the mind back to the long period contained in the first vision in relation to which these subsequent instructions were given.
The 2300 days, as has been already shown, terminated in 1844, and brought us to the cleansing of the sanctuary. How did Daniel at that time stand in his lot? Answer. In the person of his Advocate, our great High Priest, as he presents the cases of the righteous for acceptance to his Father. The word here translated lot, does not mean a piece of real estate, a lot of land, but the decisions of chance, or the determinations of Providence. At the end of the days, the lot so to speak, was to be cast. In other words, a determination was to be made in reference to those who should be accounted worthy of a possession in the heavenly inheritance. And when Daniel’s case comes up for examination, he is found righteous, he stands, a place is assigned him in the heavenly Canaan. Does not the language of the psalmist have reference to this time, when he says, Ps. 1:5, “The ungodly shall not stand in the Judgment”?
When Israel were about to enter into the promised land, the lot was cast, and the possession of each tribe was thus assigned it. Each tribe thus stood in its lot, long before it entered upon the actual possession of the land. The time of the cleansing of the sanctuary corresponds to this period in Israel’s history. We now stand upon the borders of the heavenly Canaan, and decisions are being made, assigning to some a place in the eternal kingdom, and barring others forever therefrom. In the decision of his case, Daniel’s portion in the celestial inheritance will be made sure to him. And with him all the faithful will also stand. And when this devoted servant of God, who filled up a long life with the noblest deeds of service to his Maker, though cumbered with the weightiest cares of this life, shall enter upon his reward for well-doing, we too may enter with him into rest, behold his rapture, and share his joy.
After many interruptions and delays, which have been unpleasant to the writer, and have doubtless detracted from the interest which any may have felt in these articles, we at length draw the Thoughts on Daniel to a close. With no small degree of satisfaction have we spent what time and study we have on this wonderful prophecy, and in contemplating the character of this most beloved of men and most illustrious of prophets. God is no respecter of persons; and a reproduction of Daniel’s character will equally secure the favor of God. Let us emulate his virtues that we, like him, may have the approbation of God while here, and dwell amid the creations of his infinite glory in the long hereafter. U. S.
At Home.
We reached our home at Battle Creek late in the evening of July 6, and learned that our aged father peacefully fell asleep in Jesus just twenty-four hours before our arrival. We have the satisfaction of knowing that in our absence, to the very last, he had all that care and attention that human aid could afford; yet, had it been the will of God, it would have been our choice to have been with him in his last hours. The funeral was to be on Sabbath, the 8th.
In the afternoon of the 7th we were very happy to see at our door our oldest brother, J. W. White, of Columbus, Ohio, presiding elder of the M. E. Church, and his son, Prof. John White, of Willoughby College. These had come to join us in burying our father. In a time of bereavement like this, when the tenderest and finest feelings of the human soul are moved, the presence and sympathy of a generous and faithful brother are highly prized. We enjoyed very much the good visit of our brother and nephew, and parted with them, they to go to their posts of duty in Ohio, the 10th.
We are happy to find on our return that prosperity attends the work at the publishing house, and at the Health Institute. And, by the grace of God, we can report improvement in health and spirits. Mrs. W. is in excellent spirits, and designs to complete her second volume of the Spirit of Prophecy before the eastern camp-meetings. This she will do in Battle Creek, if friends will not interrupt her with their personal matters. If they do, she will go to Greenville where she can be retired. We design to attend the eastern camp-meetings, if the way is opened for us. In order for this, two things will be necessary: first, that contributors to our periodicals give our papers especial attention; and, second, that we be not overburdened with matters and things which are no part of our work, and which others can do quite as well.
It is in our hearts to accept the kind invitation of brethren in California to visit them this autumn, and spend the winter with them. This we can do, after attending camp-meetings in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, if the brethren will not load us down with cares and labors which do not belong to us. But if fellow-laborers dodge responsibilities, neglect our periodicals, and leave work for us to do which they should do themselves, we shall submit to remain in Battle Creek, and do the best we can. Brethren, we are at your service. But remember, while you urge responsibilities upon us at Battle Creek, our first work is here.
Practical Thoughts.
By John Nevins Andrews
THE CREATION OF OUR EARTH.
The infinite power of God is manifested in the creation of the earth and of its inhabitants, as in no event that has since been witnessed in all his providential dealings with our race. This great work gave existence to everything that we behold. When we contemplate this wonderful work of God, our minds are called to the origin of all things, and to the commencement of the existence of our race. The work of the Almighty is worthy of our most profound reverence and of our lasting remembrance. Here our God in his infinite greatness is seen.
And what has he given to mankind to enable them to keep all this in grateful remembrance? He made his works to be remembered. Ps. 3: 2. And that they might be thus had in remembrance, he hallowed his rest day that all mankind might acknowledge God as their Creator. The weekly recurrence of the Sabbath is a constant testimony to mankind, bidding them stop and consider and raise their minds to God. It is a memorial to keep God in everlasting remembrance. So long as the world endures must this memorial of the Creator continue to exist. All men in all ages are under sacred obligation to observe it as a sign of his infinite power. The Sabbath commemorates the creation of our earth, and the creation of mankind upon it. We shall never be done with this divine institution so long as it remains our duty to remember our Creator.
THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
We read with deepest interest the record of wonderful providences which is given us in the Scriptures. Perhaps no one of these seems more worthy of our admiration than the story of Mordecai and Haman, contained in the book of Esther. The hand of God was directly concerned in the advancement of Esther to the throne of Persia. And by this remarkable event he saved the Jews from general massacre. No one can doubt that the providence of God made Esther queen for this very purpose. But there is one fact, that shows how high above human agency God is exalted. The question ever arises, Suppose the agent to whom Providence commits a certain work should be unfaithful to that trust? Even suppose Esther had proved untrue to her high responsibilities?
The words of Mordecai meet this very point. Esther 4: 14: “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed; and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Here we have a most impressive truth revealed. The providence of God is prepared for any emergency. It can never be taken by surprise. If Esther were to forget God and to fail in her duty, deliverance would arise from another place. If she in her exaltation left her work undone, God would employ perhaps one of the most lowly. His work would not fail. Let us remember this. We may ruin ourselves by our failure, but we shall find that God is never dependent on us.
“IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS.”
To this blessed precept the apostle appends this reason: “For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thess. 5: 18. This one rule of life would, if obeyed, put an end to murmuring against God, or repining and fault-finding toward our fellow-men. How much better to have the high praises of God in our mouths than to have them filled with complaints and murmurings. Before we begin to repine at our lot, if we would first thank God that it is no worse, we should have no occasion to utter afterward one word of fault-finding or complaint at any of God’s dealings toward us. Sinful men that still have time and opportunity for repentance should feel such gratitude to God for this infinite mercy that nothing but praise and thanksgiving should ever escape their lips.
And how can Christians ever find occasion for murmuring words? They would not if they did not forget the infinite debt of gratitude they owe to God, and if they did not forget how deserving of God’s just displeasure they are.
One text, if remembered and believed, would cause constant thanksgiving to God. Here it is: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” Rom. 8: 28. That is enough. If God sends affliction, it is because we need it. He will bring good out of it to us. He never afflicts willingly, nor does he ever afflict us as much as we deserve. He chastens us for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Let us gratefully accept of whatever our God shall send us. J. N. A.
Men and Things.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE.
Who has not erred, and deeply regretted it afterwards? Who has not sinned, and then felt remorse, and, may be, despair, for it? Who has not been betrayed into acts, the very thought of which brings the hot blood mantling to the cheeks, blushing with shame? We cry out in agony over our infirmities, our downfalls, and misfortunes. Why must we suffer so? To me, the following thoughts seem sweet and comforting:
“This world is a school, not for the education of a faculty, but of a man; and though life to most of us seems rather a series of make-shifts to meet unexpected emergencies than the deliberate putting forth of well-directed powers, fate is kinder to us than we know, and constantly turns our blunders to account.
“The superficial observer is always ready to despair of humanity, and in view of the fact that most characters are so fractional that every human being seems rather a bundle of antagonisms than co-ordinated forces, that nothing can be predicated of most persons with any degree of certainty, there is some excuse for his want of faith.
“We find everywhere strength and weakness, deformity and beauty, magnanimity and meanness, built into the same life, and the higher the peaks of attainment on one side, the lower the unreclaimed wastes on the other.
“But human nature, however defective, is the best we have to confront eternity with; and in our journey through life we are compelled to learn many lessons that we never proposed to ourselves, and so arrive at the end better educated than could have been expected.
“Repeated disappointment tells a man by-and-by that he is in the wrong place. All work, no pay, is a hint to work elsewhere—a hint which the most obtuse comes finally to apprehend. Men must dig in wrong places to learn where the gold is not, and so little by little narrow effort into the right direction. Every man must have a certain amount of imprisonment to teach him limitation and fit him for freedom, and most persons must waste a good deal of life before they learn how to live. A scientific writer describes walking as ‘perpetual falling arrested and turned into progress’; and life might be defined a series of failures resulting in success.”—Christian Union.
BE CHEERFUL AND COURAGEOUS.
Here are some most wholesome words for discouraged, downcast, gloomy souls. Read them, lay them to heart, and, in the name and strength of God, cheer up and meet life's battle manfully.
“It is impossible to resist the infection of cheerfulness. Let a bright face beam on the darkness of defeat, shine on the abode of poverty, illumine the chamber of sickness, and how everything changes under its benign influence. Victory becomes possible, competence promises a golden future, health is wooed back again. In the lives of all of us there are hours of anxiety, disappointment, pain, and vexation; seasons of trial that are to be met only with stubborn patience. Greatness of soul is tested by the serenity with which these inevitable ills are borne and finally overcome. The little mind will fret and chafe and fume over little things, even as the petty stream over its narrow, pebbly bed, while the deep, strong, mighty river moves swiftly and silently over the boulders that lie at its bottom. The desponding eye seldom sees clearly through an intricate path; the doubting heart cannot rely even on that which is trustworthy. In the lives of all whom the world calls great we find that difficulties, hardships, dangers, antagonisms, abounded, and not till all these were overpast and overcome were they crowned with the bay wreath. Fretting because the floor is of punchcons will not cover it with a carpet, but a jolly soul will make one forget both punchcons and carpet. Wishes that calico were silk, and homespun, broadcloth, will not transform those cheap fabrics into the costlier, but calicoes and homespun may cover happier hearts than dwell in palaces, and be worn with a grace that princes could envy. But when one's heart sinks and sinks, when the sky is leaden and the earth is bare, when no bird sings on the leafless bough, and not even a cricket chirps at the fireside, how shall one then keep heart and courage up? If nothing can be done to lighten the lowering aspect, look away from it to fortunes darker than your own, or to a brighter world where all the inequalities of life are made even, and bear the present with mute, stubborn patience. Is this hard to do? It is harder not to do so. The bird that beats against the iron bars of its cage suffers more than the patient captive. If we cannot break the fetters that bind us, we can sing amid the chains, and with spirits fearless and hearts strong to endure, defy the ‘stings and arrows of outrageous fortune.’”
HOW AND WHAT TO CONFESS.
How common it is to hear some people always confessing their sins in social meeting. But it has no effect on any one; it amounts to nothing. What is the matter? They don't confess right. Mr. Beecher says some good things on this subject. Hear him:—
“If instead of generic, and too often unfelt convictions of sin, if instead of talking of sinfulness you would satisfy your own self more of the special sins to which you are addicted; if you would ascertain the direction in which you are sinning, in the first place, it would give you a clearer view of the truth; in the second place, it would better indicate to you what you should do every day; in the third place, it would humble you more in your own estimation; in the fourth place, it would make you feel more effectively the divine patience and grace; and in the fifth place, it would make you a great deal more silent about your sins than you are generally.
“It is very hard for a man to confess his particular sins; but it is very easy for him to confess sinfulness in general. That comes glib from the tongue. I hear persons say, ‘I feel as though I were a great sinner before God.’ Well, do you feel as though you were a great sinner before men? Do you think you have ever gone through the various points of your character, and taken them one by one, and examined them, so that you had as distinct an idea of the directions in which you were breaking out into actual transgression, from day to day, as you have of the infirmities of your body? If you had a crippled ankle, and at the same time a rheumatic shoulder, if your right eye were defective, and if you could not hear with your left ear, and anybody asked you what the matter was, you could put your finger on every finger point of ailment, and say, ‘There is where my body is crippled.’”
D. M. CANRIGHT.
Who Will Follow the Light?
By R. F. Cottrell
God has sent the last message to warn mankind and prepare a people for himself. To those who have heeded the warning, and have taken their position to keep his commandments, he has spoken by his Spirit, warning of the dangers that are in their way, and teaching the necessary course to pursue in order to be overcomers. In tender mercy the Lord has given line upon line; precept upon precept. We have been solemnly and faithfully warned of our danger of coming to the Judgment unprepared. If we heed the light, we need not fail. But will we heed it? God can do no more to make the way clear. Will we walk in it? We have professed faith in the message as a message from God. Our faith will be tested. The proof of faith is corresponding works. Those who walk in the light will meet the approval of God and overcome.
Are you walking in all the light? or do you think that you will be excused from heeding it? When God speaks, we should hear, and hearing, obey.
We have been warned against worldliness and covetousness. Have we heeded? Where are our affections and our treasure? Have we given up our hold on the world? Is all that we have upon the altar? Are we doing all that we can to save men from impending ruin? Are we faithful stewards—making a proper use of our Lord’s money? Are we spending our physical strength to glorify God and save souls? or do the things which perish absorb all our energies and leave nothing for God?
Are we casting out our idols and purifying the temple of God? or are we disregarding the divine instructions which have been given? Are we taking a course to secure health of body, and as a consequence, health of mind? Are we forming our appetites to temperance—to be satisfied with plain and wholesome food, discarding all stimulants—and thus preparing ourselves to endure?
Do we hate our sins and love the law of God? Are we commandment-keepers in deed and in truth, in letter, and in spirit? And are we earnest in prayer and supplications, agonizing and pleading for the light of the Holy Spirit to help our infirmities and bless our efforts to do good and to obtain the needed strength to stand in the hour of temptation? The wrestling souls that feel their own weakness and seek God for help will prevail. The latter rain will be given, and they will receive it, while those who disregard the admonitions given will be left in darkness.
O my soul! heed thou the timely admonitions. Hate sin. Love purity and holiness. Purify the temple and let in the heavenly guest. Awake to watchfulness and prayer; and awake to labor while it is called to-day, to save dying men. Oh, for entire submission to the will and service of God! Oh, for the energy of the divine Spirit in the work of the Lord! O God! help my infirmities, that the remnant of my time may tell in the cause of human salvation.