Earlier text: DISCUSSION ON THE SABBATH QUESTIONHISTORY AND EXPOSITION
By N. V. Hull
Of the general Doctrines of Sabbath-Keepers of America. An Essay read by Eld. N. V. Hull at the S. D. Baptist General Conference, West Hallock, Ill., Sept. 12, 1872. In a general way of stating the theme, it may be said that the doctrines of the Seventh-day Baptist denomination are those ordinarily held by Protestants. The denomination did not come into existence through the influence of any new doctrine or philosophy, nor by the discovery of any new principle of interpretation. There could be nothing more simple than the influence that originated it, as it was but the application, to the fourth commandment of the decalogue, of the principle of Scripture interpretation everywhere accepted by Protestants. The prevailing sects had, in the interpretation of the fourth commandment, violated, in the openest manner, their own principles. Instead of seeking to bring out the plain teaching of the text, comparing scripture with scripture, they gave themselves to the work of justifying their universal practice of violating it! They started, seemingly, with the full conviction that the language of the fourth commandment could not mean as everywhere else the same words did mean. To admit that the seventh day was the Sabbath, as the language plainly declared, was to condemn themselves and the whole Christian world, and this they had not the grace to do. In interpreting the general doctrines of Scripture, no serious practical difficulties were encountered, and therefore the discussions upon points of difference were largely confined to a critical analysis of language, and an earnest seeking after the truth, but it was different with the fourth commandment. This imposed a test, and demanded a change in life, so broad, so deep, so revolutionary, and so self-sacrificing, that only here and there could be found a person whose faith was sufficient to bear him through the trying ordeal. In this, lies the difficulty of the reform we have undertaken. It is too costly for men of weak faith! The times, however, in which the Seventh-day Baptist denomination in America had its advent, were favorable to such a result, because the spirit of the reformation was still active, and men's consciences were aroused. Everywhere, voices were heard in the interest of truth. “The Bible, without note or comment,” rang out from hill-top and valley; and from every Protestant press and pulpit was re-echoed, “The Bible, and the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants.” Not only from these more popular sources of public opinion, did these voices come, but from those less pretentious but not less effective; the platform, the places of quiet resort, the prayer-meeting, and the family fireside, from these reverberated in earnest tones these Protestant pass-words, until, so to speak, the world was filled with them. In the settlement of every question of dispute, whether of doctrine or duty, the appeal was “to the law and to the testimony,” and it was a cardinal belief of the times, that the common people, with the Bible in their hands, were able for themselves to settle any question of duty. These appeals to the Bible, with the declaration that its teachings were not hidden and mysterious in regard to duty, but simple and plain; that it said what it meant and meant what it said, necessarily brought before the public mind the broad contradiction that existed between their professions and their practice, in regard to the fourth commandment. That enjoined, as plainly as words could utter it, the observance of the seventh day, and they were keeping the first. Nor were they unaware of the contradiction; for in their extremity, when urged to defend themselves, some said one thing and others another, until every conceivable ground was occupied, no matter how antagonistic the one to another. It was a perfect Babel of thought. A chapter, showing in a clear style the diverse and contradictory reasons offered for refusing obedience to the fourth commandment and for the observance of the first day, would be one of the greatest literary curiosities of the age. But the times in which the Seventh-day Baptist church of America took its rise were no more favorable to that event than were the circumstances of its immediate surroundings. It was an out-growth of Baptist teachings and sentiment. Of all the Protestant sects, the Baptists came nearest to living up to the principles taught in the Reformation. When they came to the New Testament ordinances, they met the question fairly and stood by the truth manfully, although at the cost of a very great price. The Christian world has not yet rendered to the Baptist people the honor due them for their faithful adherence to Bible teachings, in the matter of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. I say the Lord's Supper, for in this their views have, upon the whole, been scriptural, and their practice consistent with their principles. It was this earnest pleading for a “Thus saith the Lord,” that brought home to the hearts of our forefathers this question of the Sabbath, and they could not do otherwise than see that the teachings and the practice of the church were at variance with the Scriptures on this subject. The persons who first espoused this doctrine in America were not fanatics, nor were they dim lights in the church. They were among the foremost of its members, the very pillars of the church! Nor were they schismatics. It was not pride of opinion that caused them to break with their brethren, for they were humble and of teachable disposition. They did not, through anger, nor for personal offense, break their cherished connections with those with whom they had made solemn covenant. Under the most profound conviction of duty, after fasting and prayer, after many tears, and by the pressure of long continued conscientious investigation, they submitted to the inevitable, and cast themselves upon the arm of the Lord! Nor were they ignorant of the character of their venture, as they knew they were actually thrusting themselves, with their little ones, and all they held dear, out into the dark world. They were literally landing upon a wild forest coast, and then burning their ships behind them; and were it not that they were moved by faith, their hearts had been in their bosoms as lead. One word further concerning these, our ancestors in the faith, and that is, that no taint rests upon their memory as to their Christian character. Not only were uprightness of motives credited to them, but also purity of life. Their neighbors loved them, and in every way testified their tender regard for them. Brethren, how are we honored in having such an ancestry! Brethren beloved! let us never, by apostasy from the faith, by divisions among ourselves, by scandalous acts, or by wrong doing of any kind, bring reproach upon their hallowed memories; but, actuated by the wealth of their good name, by their faith and spirit of consecration, let us meekly and joyfully bear the burdens of our calling, going on from one degree to another, until we are perfected in Christ Jesus our Lord and Leader. But let us not leave this question here, for if there is a people who should be ready to give a reason for the faith that is in them, we are that people. We are not a bundle of negatives. We have a positive faith, one that we are ready to announce to the world. 1. We believe in the Bible as the inspired word of God. This belief is unqualified as to anything clearly belonging to the original. We do not affirm inspiration of collation, nor translation, but of the true original we affirm inspiration, and therefore, perfection. 2. Believing thus in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, we accept the doctrines taught and the duties enjoined in them, and therefore we believe— 3. In God, the absolute, perfect, and infinite One; self-existent, and the source of all being, perfect in knowledge, justice and goodness, and infinite in power and dominion. 4. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the Saviour of men. That, through the impulse of a matchless love, he came from the Father into this world, to instruct men in the way of life, to become, by his own sufferings and death, the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, so that of every nation, they, who being truly penitent for their sins, exercise faith in him, may receive forgiveness and become the inheritors of eternal life. 5. We believe in the Holy Spirit as the inspirer of the prophets and apostles, which dwelt without measure in Jesus Christ, and which, through the instrumentality of truth, regenerates, sanctifies, and saves the elect. 6. We believe that man was created holy and upright, in the image of God, and was therefore a moral being, capable of knowing good and evil. That by sin he fell from this state of holiness and acceptance with God, into condemnation, and that his moral powers are so weakened and perverted by sin, that nothing short of the power of God can deliver him. 7. That, in order to this deliverance, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, came into this world, being born of the virgin Mary; that by his holy life he set us an example of righteousness, that by his teachings he illustrated the way of life, and that by his death he purchased eternal redemption for us. 8. We believe that the New Testament gives us a full account of the doctrines and teachings of Jesus and his inspired apostles, and that, upon the subject of this great salvation, no added instruction need be sought, or can be obtained. That the central thought of this treatise is the deliverance of men's souls from the dominion of spiritual death and the power and habits of sin, and, in the resurrection, to give them, in the place of these corruptible, animal bodies, spiritual and immortal bodies. 9. We believe that the New Testament offers of salvation are free to all, and that it is the good pleasure of God that all accept them and be saved. 10. That the ordinances of the New Testament are Baptism and the Lord's Supper; that they do not possess the power to save, but that they are the symbols of death, burial, resurrection to life, and the continuance of that life. 11. Therefore, the proper subjects of baptism are those who confess their death-deserving state on account of sin, and who, penitent for their sins, come to Jesus Christ as their atoning High Priest and Saviour; by a true and living faith, commit their souls to him. 12. We believe that those who are prepared by the grace of repentance and faith to receive gospel baptism, are also, when baptized, prepared to receive the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, and that the one follows the other in the order here described. 13. We believe that at the end of the gospel dispensation, the dead, both the just and the unjust, will be raised to life; and that the wicked will be condemned to everlasting punishment, and that the righteous will be received into everlasting life. It is a sad thing for a man to mistake his calling, and waste his life in endeavoring to do what he is unfitted for, and it is yet more pitiful to see men who are called of God to work in his vineyard ruining their prospects and destroying their usefulness by errors, follies, and indiscretions: Said Dr. Howard Crosby, in a sermon delivered before the students of Union Seminary in New York:— “I know some men that started out in life with me, who, so far as usefulness goes, are ready wrecks. I do not mean that they are not good men, for they are earnest and sincere Christians. Now it is important to know why they have failed. In one man a single thing has been the cause; he could not keep his tongue; he spoke out everything that he knew; and set everybody by the ears. This habit will always destroy, not only comfort, which is a secondary consideration, but usefulness and influence. In another man, his manner of going to church and sitting there have ruined him; it is about what one would expect of a rowdy entering a bar-room. He would shie his hat under the desk, and in prayer would turn around and start for his seat before he had said the Amen. Another good man has lost his influence because he loves and drives fast horses. Another, of truly fine character and of a strong mind, is powerless, and cannot get a church simply because he will not make the acquaintance of soap and water. After all, common sense is what is most needed. Adapt yourselves to all circumstances. Do not be governed by pre-conceived theories, but let them bend to the actual wants of the occasion. Thus you can make yourselves acceptable to others.” “Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.” It would be hard to tell more truth in so few words. How careful, then, we ought to be to form right habits. Indeed, life and character are made up of habits. These are being formed every day. How careful, then, ought young people to be of even their smallest actions. My experience in church affairs teaches me that the following illustration is very much to the point; and I call especial attention of the class here illustrated to the truth it teaches— “A very hard-hearted clapper in an old church tower professed the intensest distress because its bell was hopelessly cracked. Many people thought it a pitiable position, and wished the sad-hearted clapper a better bell. But just then the ghost of ancient Diogenes, the sage, floated in through the window, and whistled most angrily: ‘Master Clapper; cease your noise, and remember, in the first place, you cracked the bell; and, secondly, nobody would have known it had you not told them.’ I have observed often that those who bemoan divisions in a church are they who make them; and I also observed sometimes that they who make them are most ready to publish the fact; I have observed another fact, viz., that all clappers are not of as good metal as the bells they crack.—Baptist Weekly.” Now you grumbling, faultfinding brother or sister in the church, the probabilities are, nine out of ten, that you are the very one that has made all the trouble and division in the church of which you are lamenting so much. After having divided and broken up the church, then you very piously go around and complain of it to everybody. LIQUOR TRAFFIC IN ENGLAND.
It is a sad fact which comes to us across the water, that, notwithstanding all the efforts of temperance societies, the power of Christianity, and the laws of the land, intemperance and liquor drinking are on the increase in England; and, what is worst of all, Christian families, professedly, church members, and even ministers, are engaged in this. Only this week I was talking with an Englishman who had just arrived from England, who had been for twenty-five years clerk to a minister; and hence had a good opportunity to know what the ministers were doing. Being a member of that church, he of course did not make the thing worse than it was. He says it is no uncommon thing to see ministers drunk, and that he hardly knows one in whose piety he has any confidence. The following from the Christian Union Aug. 28, 1872, contains some startling figures:— TEMPERANCE MEETINGS IN LONDON.
“There have been two great temperance meetings in London. One, of the Wesleyan Methodists in Mr. Spurgeon’s Tabernacle, which he offered to the conference for the occasion. In this meeting, rousing addresses were made to a crowded assembly. The chairman, Mr. N. B. Dowling, gave the following astonishing statistics, as to the sale and use of spirituous liquors in England:— “‘In a report furnished to Mr. Bass by professor Levi, he found the following figures: Invested in the liquor traffic, in the production, &c., of intoxicating drinks, £117,100,000 sterling ($585,500,000); 1,500,000 persons employed in, and dependent upon, the trade; duty paid to government, £24,820,623. That was the statement. If other great branches of industry were compared with the liquor traffic, the following would be the result—invested in the liquor traffic £117,100,000, invested in the cotton trade £85,500,000, invested in the woolen manufacture £20,290,000, and in iron only £25,500,000. The dimensions of the liquor traffic were colossal, and its influence for good or evil must be proportionately large. Was it an influence for good? (Cries of “No.”) No, no; a thousand times, no.’ “‘In reply to those who called it an industry, he said:
“‘An industry? It might be a trade or a traffic, but not an industry in the highest sense of the word. Important in its power, wealth, influence, capacity, but not important in value. Its product was poison; its certain results colossal fortunes to a few; misery, ruin, sin, degradation, woe, destitution, to the multitude. It paid to the government its £25,000,000 a year, but that £25,000,000 represented national industry stopped, national prosperity sapped, national resources wasted. Hence they said, No; a thousand times no; it was not an influence for good. (Cheers.) These figures represent a great fact which the Christian church and the nation must speedily lay to heart. They represented117 accumulating prison and poor rates, lunatic asylum rates, women houseless, blasted reputation, ruined homes, destroyed virtue, commercial disasters, and the loss, too often, of commercial integrity. If they doubted his statements, he would summon before them the hundred thousand paupers, occupying our workhouses last year, eighty per cent. of whom found their way there through drink.’” “From these extracts, the spirit of the meeting can be inferred. The general drift and final issue of the meeting was to confirm the doctrine of total abstinence, as the true and radical remedy. “The other temperance meeting was held in the Crystal Palace, at the fete of the National Temperance League, and was composed of representatives of almost every county in the kingdom. It is stated that upwards of 62,000 persons were present. Rev. Theodore Cuyler addressed them as ‘two acres of Englishmen,’ all pledged to the doctrine of total abstinence. He appealed to the working people, as ‘forty leagues ahead of the aristocracy on this matter.’ He said, ‘the shame of England is this, that right in the face of nineteen centuries of civilization and Christianity looms up this horrid and unendurable monster, alcohol.’ ‘Ah! that is a horrible sight I have seen; four-fifths of all the tables at which I have been treated with old-fashioned British hospitality, have been darkened and, in my honest judgment, cursed by the wine decanter.’ He called on them to meet and agitate till total abstinence should be the law of Christian society, and regulate the laws of the State.” THE SPREAD OF INFIDELITY.
While ministers are boasting of the conquest of the church, and assuring their readers that the world is fast being converted, and that the millennium is at hand, every fact in the case shows that the world is rapidly drifting into skepticism and infidelity; nay, even worse, even into atheism. Listen to the following from Mr. Beecher:— “One of the most significant traits of a good deal of the speculative thought of our day is its endeavor to get along without God. Elaborate schemes of life and knowledge are presented on every side, of which the characteristic feature, and it would almost seem the transcendent recommendation also, is that they are schemes which dispense with God. There seems in many of them an impatience of the very idea of a present supernatural element in affairs. Any attempt to recognize a moral intent in nature, or signs of an actual spiritual government in the world, is declared to be idle. Origins and purposes are forbidden problems. God is a being or a name with which philosophy and science have nothing to do. Their province is to catalogue and compare the facts and sequences of the physical and intellectual worlds. Divine intents, spiritual uses, ultimate moral designs, are resultless questions and may better be forgotten.” “That this is the position taken by many leaders of modern thought, requires no proof. The view is a popular one, and advocated by not a few.” These are terrible facts. And here is another one from church and State to the same point. It shows that even ministers are drifting in the same direction. God is being left out in almost everything. “We have been reading the commencement notices, and at a few of the graduating exercises we have been present; we have read a great many alumni and society addresses, and the question that continually rises in our mind is, Is this a Christian country? are these Christian institutions? Is there any such thing as Christian manhood? If so, why is it never recognized? Graduates, alumni, ministers, and all, seem to shun religious topics as they would a pestilence. We heard one prayer before a graduating class, in which the only thing which seemed needful to the minister was muscle. He prayed for muscle again and again; he gesticulated as if to prove that so far as he was concerned, the prayer was answered; of Christian character, Christian faith, Christian breadth and purpose, we did not hear a word. . . . We are by no means intolerant of Mr. Darwin and Herbert Spencer, on such occasions; but cannot we be spared one little corner for Christianity? Of all the thousand graduates and hundred alumni speakers, is there not one who is willing to stand forth and say a word in defense of Christian faith and manhood, things which should lie at the foundation of every noble character? We do not ask these young men and women to imitate a speaker in a prayer meeting, telling his experience. We do not wish what is usually called ‘a pious speech,’ but we do wish an honest and manly recognition of the services of Christianity, of the new and noble type of character it has given to its work of its elevating influences, of its marvelous adaptation to the needs of human nature. We wish to have evidence that the rising generation are neither superstitiously and unthinkingly to accept the revelation of Christianity, nor superficially to ignore it, but that they are to welcome, examine, and test it with intellect and heart, as they do revelations in science and art, so that whether they accept or reject it, they may do it with intelligence.” D. M. CANRIGHT. The S. D. Baptist Anniversaries.
The General Conference of the S. D. Baptists convened for its fifty-eighth annual session, with the church of Southampton, at West Hallock, Ill., Sept. 11, 1872. At the last General Conference of S. D. Adventists, at Battle Creek, Mich., Dec. 29, 1871, Eld. James White was chosen delegate to this meeting of the S. D. Baptists, with Eld. J. H. Waggoner, alternate. But as the time drew near, it was evident that Bro. White, now recruiting his worn energies among the mountains of Colorado, could not attend; and Bro. Waggoner would be obliged to give up an important tent meeting in Ohio, should he act as appointed. Under these circumstances, the General Conference Committee requested the resident editor of this paper to become non-resident long enough to act as delegate for the S. D. Adventists at this meeting. The present was an occasion of more than ordinary interest, it being not only the annual session of their General Conference, and other important organizations among them, but the bicentennial celebration of their existence as a denomination in America. Commencing two centuries ago in Newport, R. I., with a little church of seven, five of whom came out from the regular Baptist church of that place, they have persevered in their adherence to the Sabbath of the Lord, and defended it against the attacks of its enemies, to the present day. And now the original seven have increased to more than as many thousand; and this increase (a sign to which they can point with hope) is much of it of comparatively recent date. As was appropriate on such an occasion, a number of essays were read touching the history of the rise and progress of the Sabbath-keeping churches of America, the history of Sabbath-schools in the denomination, the history of their educational interests, and the history and exposition of the general doctrines of Sabbath-keepers of America. These papers, prepared by some of their ablest men, by appointment of the Conference in 1871, showed extensive research, and were replete with interesting information. They are to be collected in permanent form and published as a memorial volume in honor of this interesting epoch in their history. In connection with the General Conference, the Missionary Society, the Educational Society, and the Tract Society, each held its annual session. To transact the business connected with all these organizations, required a vast amount of labor. And those who had these matters in charge showed themselves practiced and efficient hands in this branch of the work. It is the wish of some to simplify their organization by merging all these into the General Conference, letting these enterprises stand as arms to one central efficient organization. This will doubtless be an improvement on their present methods of operation. Missionary work among them is chiefly confined to the home field on our western frontiers. Sixteen missionaries are now in the field. These report a very gratifying measure of success the past year. This is giving new life to the work of Sabbath reform in their hands, and is, judging from our own experience, the most efficient policy to adopt for the spread of the truth. Error is not going to come voluntarily to where truth may, so to speak, have hermetized itself, there to lay down its darkness, and receive light instead. But truth must be aggressive; and men whose hearts have been touched by the living flame, must attack the strongholds of error, their motto being to “move upon its works immediately,” wherever they find them, and the only terms they have to offer being “unconditional surrender.” The mission in China, so long maintained by them is not abandoned, and there is some intimation that Bro. and sister Carpenter, who formerly labored in that field, will at no distant day, resume that work. Full reports were made to the Educational Society of the institutions of learning now in operation in the denomination. If in any one thing we, as S. D. Adventists, have almost reason to envy our S. D. Baptist brethren, it is in the facilities they enjoy for education among themselves. Probably no denomination, in proportion to their numbers, has taken greater interest in this important branch, and established a greater number of schools. More perhaps have been started than can be maintained. The tendency now is to reduce the number and make those that remain more efficient. The institutions destined to be permanent, and become complete in all their appointments are probably these: 1. Albion Academy, Albion Wis., A. R. Cornwall, A. M. Principal; an institution in which a greater amount of capital is invested, and which can present greater facilities, than some institutions which in this western country sport the name of college; which has itself, as we understand, a college charter, but declines to use it, till that name comes to have a higher significance, than in many sections now attaches to it. 2. Milton College, Milton, Wis. W. C. Whitford, President. 3. Alfred University, Alfred, N. Y. J. Allen, President. The Tract enterprise has been going forward of late years, with more activity than formerly, under those who have had it in charge, and who see the importance of this work as a means of spreading abroad the truth. Books and tracts to have a wide circulation must be furnished at a low price. To furnish them thus, requires capital that a cash business may be done in purchase of stock and payment of labor; and then large editions must be issued. But to warrant the issue of large editions, missionaries or evangelists must make it a point to secure their circulation as widely as possible among the people, and all the friends of the truth must become self-constituted colporters, to furnish conscientiously, not only themselves, but their friends, with the reading matter offered. There are those who are laboring to secure this degree of co-operation among the S. D. Baptist people; and when this can be done, new life will visit their publishing interests. Interspersed with the business proceedings came the reading of the essays before mentioned, these being made the special order at certain points in the meetings. This relieved the meetings from the monotony of parliamentary forms, created an interest in the minds of those present, and secured a promiscuous and large attendance throughout. They are making an effort to celebrate this their two hundredth anniversary, by raising a fund of one hundred thousand dollars to place their educational institutions on a firm basis, and forward the general interests of their cause. Forty thousand of this have already been raised, some parties generously subscribing to the amount of ten thousand dollars, and promising under certain conditions to go as high as fifteen. The agents who have thus far had this matter in hand, reported some noble instances of generosity and self-sacrifice well worthy of so good a cause. Three sermons delivered on Sabbath and first-day deserve special notice. First, the missionary sermon, Sabbath forenoon, by Eld. G. B. Utter, from 2 Cor. 5: 14, 15: “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” The argument on the declaration, “If one died for all, then were all dead,” was exceedingly well put and convincing, completely demolishing the false hopes of Heaven which some build on the foundation of what is generally considered a good moral life. Outside of a direct and personal interest in Christ, all are lost; for “all are dead.” Secondly, a sermon, Sabbath afternoon by Eld. L. Crandall, from Matt. 6: 19, 20: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven;” in which he startled his hearers by announcing that selfishness is all right; that it is our duty to be selfish; and that God himself is selfish. This was then explained to mean that God must conserve himself for the good of his universe, and that men should seek for the true riches, the Heavenly possessions, with more earnestness than men, selfishly, in the bad sense, seek for earthly treasures. Men cannot be too solicitous to obtain wealth, if it is of the right kind, nor be too ambitious, if they direct their aim to the right object, nor be too careful and solicitous for their own interests, if the end be to make sure of an interest for themselves in the Heavenly world, that Christ may not have died for them in vain. Thirdly, a sermon by Eld. J. Bailey, first-day forenoon, in which he treated the Sabbath question in a somewhat fresh and novel manner, by taking, as it were, a flying trip from paradise lost to paradise regained, lighting here and there upon the Sabbath, in both sacred and profane history, as upon oases all along our journey through the desert of time. Some among this people sympathize with the reform which holds so high a place in our regards, namely, the discontinuance of the hurtful habit of tobacco-using. This was evident when Eld. N. Wardner reported his visit as delegate to our last General Conference. For when he related that we, as a body, have so far freed ourselves from this habit that not even the smell of the foul poison can be detected in our assemblies, a good brother manifested his appreciation of that fact by fervently ejaculating, “Praise the Lord!” And again, another cast into the treasury five dollars as a thank-offering for having overcome the baneful habit of tobacco-using. This is excellent, so far; but we think he could have very appropriately gone a little further, and made his offering equal to the amount formerly expended for the seductive weed. And we would suggest that the same practice and the same principle might properly be extended to other things. For instance we know of a denomination to which a sister belongs who casts into the treasury this year fifty dollars which she calls tea and coffee money—money saved by the disuse of those, to say the least, unnecessary articles. The questions of close, or rather open, communion, and secret societies, are agitating the S. D. Baptist church to some extent. We have happily thus far kept ourselves free from trouble on these points, by not admitting it to be a debatable question whether a commandment-keeper can commune with a law-breaker, though the latter follows his practice in ignorance and unbelief; for there can be no stronger outward sign of Christian fellowship, than partaking of the cup and symbolic body of the Lord: and in relation to secret societies, by not admitting it to be a supposable case that a person could let his heart remain under the godless bonds of an unsanctified alliance in secret societies, after having professed to transfer all his affections to his Saviour, and to be governed alone by the bonds of his love. The majority of S. D. Baptists, we judge, take this view of the matter; but some think and act differently. The subject of the best means of raising funds, is also engaging their attention. Some are in favor of a plan embodying substantially the principle involved in our Systematic Benevolence, which has this potent argument in its favor, that after several years’ practical operation, its simplicity and efficiency are more than ever apparent. This is an important subject. It lies at the very foundation of denominational prosperity. And it struck us that their action on this subject was rather slow, as they have only appointed a committee to examine the subject and report at their next session in September, 1873; and thus the matter rests another year. Eld. Stephen Burdick, of Leonardsville, N. Y., is appointed delegate to attend the next General Conference of S. D. Adventists. We are confirmed in the impression that the most direct road to a better understanding between these two bodies of Sabbath-keepers, and a better knowledge of each other’s positions, is a more free and extended personal intercourse between them. This will tend to correct any misapprehensions that may exist, and reduce to their minimum all our differences. And whatever differences shall be found permanently to remain, the better they are defined and understood on both sides, the less likely will they be to disturb the cordial relations which should exist between those who occupy common ground touching the law of our God. Some unfortunate movements in the past, when matters among us were not in a condition to be controlled, but every man was in certain directions a law unto himself, are past, and will not be repeated. And we believe there is a disposition on the part of those aggrieved to drop and forget them. Certain it is that the two denominations which have nailed to their mast-head the colors, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” the great sign by which we are, in common, especially distinguished from all other religious bodies, and by which the religious world will, to a certain extent, consider us identical, should have no guns to point at each other, but should direct our efforts against the common enemy who seeks to pervert or destroy the law of Jehovah. “Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”—Luke 18:8. The Son of man shall come! This is one of the special burdens of this parable. This is one of our special messages, whether speaking to the church or to the world; whether exhorting the saint, or warning the wicked. “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” The scoffer may mock, and say, “Where is the promise of his coming?” but he shall come. The faithless servant may say, “My Lord delayeth his coming;” but he shall come. Whether men are ready or unready, he shall come. “Behold, he cometh with clouds.” “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints.” But when he comes, what shall he find? and what shall he not find? 1. What shall he find? Many things which will offend; few that will please. (1) An afflicted people. Our Lord’s parable here specially announces this. His church is likened to an injured widow, crying for redress. She is a little flock, a lily among thorns, an election, a band of pilgrims passing through a hostile territory to the kingdom. (2) A luxurious world. The days of Noah and of Lot are types of the days before the advent. Then all was luxury, lasciviousness, riot, ungodliness, flesh-pleasing. They were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. The flesh was indulging itself to the full. God was forgotten. The world to come was disbelieved. Even so in the last days perilous times shall come. (3) A defying Antichrist. For antichrists fill up the whole space between his first and second coming. (4) A groaning creation. For during all the time of his absence will creation groan; its groans will grow louder and sadder as the advent draws nigh. He comes in pity, to bring it deliverance; for nothing but his coming can hush its groans, or end the curse. (5) A raging devil. For Satan walketh about, like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And he is in great wrath in the last days, because he knows that he has but a short time. All these evils, and many connected with them, he is to find when he comes again; for man cannot deliver himself or his world. He has tried it in vain. 2. What shall he not find. This is expressed in the question of our text. “Shall he find faith on the earth?” A question this, which intimates how low faith shall be; how powerful and widespread unbelief; unbelief in his coming; unbelief in God. The cry will then be at its loudest, “We will not have this man to reign over us;” and also, “There is no God.” And as faith shall then be low, so shall love have waxed cold; and, “Lovest thou me?” shall meet with but faint response, even among those who call themselves by his name. Instead of a world full of faith and love, he shall find earth one great region of enmity and defiance; and even his own church neither looking out for, nor desiring, his arrival. Let us, then, watch and pray. He may be nearer than we think. Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. There are many kinds of unbelief which shall then be developed; some more daring than others. We see the seeds of these vanities in the present day. There is the bold unbelief of atheism, or the more specious unbelief of pantheism, or the unbelief in the Christ of God, accompanied with professed faith in God himself; unbelief in the Spirit of God; unbelief in the word of God; unbelief in prayer; unbelief in the cross, and in the gospel of the grace of God; unbelief of many shades and forms. There shall be special unbelief in the prophetic word; disregard of light that shineth in a dark place; contempt for the church’s blessed hope. There shall be faith in man, but not in God; faith in human power and wisdom; faith in intellect and science; faith in nature;—but all this faith set in opposition to God, and setting aside his power and wisdom, his personal interference with the affairs of man. There shall be faith in the miracles of science, but none in the miracles of the Son of God. There shall be faith in the regenerative powers of literature and liberal government, but none in the regenerative power of the Spirit or the energy of Him whose scepter is that by which alone earth is to be governed and renewed.—Christian Treasury.