Earlier text: NOT DESIRED"THE LORD SAW IT, AND IT DISPLEASED HIM."
By J.
In the three preceding numbers of the Signs we have referred to the fact and to the means of the defeat of justice that now prevails so extensively throughout the land. It is the estimate of one of the leading criminal lawyers of the country, that not over one-fifth of the criminals at the present day are ever punished. The other four-fifths either escape arrest, or else escape conviction through the devious course by which Justice is now compelled to thread her way, and which we have in a measure pointed out. But whether it be through the complaisance of judges, the incompetence of jurors, or the chicanery of criminal lawyers, that the criminals are allowed to escape the penalties justly due their crimes, not the least of the fault for it all lies with society itself. There is pervading the whole body of society an undercurrent of sympathy with crime and for criminals, and this undercurrent is constantly coming nearer the surface, and is fast becoming so much more than an undercurrent that it may fairly be counted as a part of the main current itself of human affairs. Crime is looked upon rather as a disease than as turpitude, as a misfortune rather than a fault; and the criminal unfortunate rather than guilty, and so "ought to be pitied rather than punished." The greater and more horrible the crime, so much the more sympathy is aroused for the criminal. A cold-blooded and deliberate murder may be committed, yet instead of showing horror at the dreadful crime, women will pet and pamper the bloody villain, fill his cell with flowers, and decorate it with costly bouquets; reporters will fill columns of the papers with the full report of his life, and the smallest details of his crime. If by chance he is at last convicted, all these attentions are increased; petitions are industriously circulated imploring executive clemency, and perhaps pardon, and if all this proves unavailing, he is sent out of the world in a halo of glory. If it happens to be a crime against the very existence of society itself—as that of the Chicago Anarchists—then the sickly sentimentalism culminates in the marriage of the marriageable criminal, and the effort at conviction is successfully opposed by throwing the whole subject into politics, and making the legislative machinery work the perversion of the judicial. These are facts, and they are worth the serious consideration of all who have any regard for the pure principles of justice and social order; for society and such things as these cannot long exist together. For these things continue long, violence and anarchy will inevitably usurp full sway. Another, and most palpable proof of the prevailing sympathy with crime is the fact, and the necessity too, of the organization of "Law and Order Leagues" in many of the States and large cities. Not that these leagues are themselves in sympathy with crime—far from it—but the very fact that their existence is necessary proves that in the body of society sympathy or condolence with crime does prevail; for the regularly and legally established machinery of the State is the power of society. And when this power has become so impotent that extra-legal and irresponsible bodies are made necessary to the proper administration of the law, this of itself demonstrates that in the great body of society sympathy and tacit agreement with crime prevail more than does opposition to it. Says the Providence (R. I.) Journal:— 'There is something rotten in the State of Denmark when an ultra-legal, self-constituted, irresponsible body of men is necessary to the enforcement of law, which, being the voice of the State, is theoretically upheld, sustained, and maintained by the machinery of the State. The State is sovereign. It declares the law; it provides courts, police, jails. It undertakes to carry out its own proclaimed will. It can, in the last resort, summon every one of its citizens to enforce its law. Is not this enough? Theoretically, yes. But not enough in regard to certain laws, because the officers of the law will not enforce the law; and because the apathy, or the opposition of the people to the law, permits this infidelity to authority to be open and efficient. The fact of the existence of a Law and Order League is a reproach either to the legislators or to the people. No law should be passed which is not sensible and just. No law should be violated with impunity. And here again we strike deeper than law or league. It all comes back at last, as in the matter of education, to the judgment and conscience of the community. Unless these are sound, nothing will much avail.' The Journal is right; it does indeed all come back at last to the judgment and conscience of the community. And when we reach this point we strike the tap-root, in more senses of the word than one, of the whole difficulty which we in these articles have been discussing. Upon what basis, by what standard, and by what means are the judgment and conscience of the community formed or regulated? There can be but one answer to the question as to the basis, and the standard upon which, and by which, the judgment and the conscience of the community ought to be formed. That answer is, The law of God. That is the basis of all judgment, and the standard of every conscience. Every judgment that does not conform to the law of God is a wrong judgment, and any conscience that will not yield to the dictates of that law is an evil conscience. But although there is but this one answer to the question as to the basis upon which the judgment and conscience of the community ought to be formed, it is certain that the law of God is not the basis upon which they are formed. While murder, and theft, and adultery, and lying, are rife on every hand, an assembly of Methodist ministers gravely discuss the exceedingly grave and important question as to where Cain got his wife! The Congregationalists discuss the question as to whether there is or is not a probation after death for those who in this life "have not had a fair chance;" and those of other denominations discuss questions of equally living and instant importance with these. But take the whole year of 1886—undoubtedly a year of more violence and iniquity than any other in the history of the country, except perhaps in time of war—and in all that year, in all the leading pulpits of all the leading denominations in the land, how many sermons were heard from the text, "Thou shalt not kill"? how many from the text, "Thou shalt not commit adultery"? or from the text, "Thou shalt not steal"? or "Thou shalt not bear false witness"? In short, from all these pulpits, how many sermons were delivered in which the law of God in its majesty and integrity was pressed upon the judgment, and urged upon the conscience of the community? We are satisfied that each of our readers can readily tell how many such he heard in that year, and by his own experience he can judge of the experience of other people in this direction. The truth is that the law of God is not dealt with in any such way in those places. But when by others there is an endeavor to bring up the judgment and conscience of the community strictly to the standard of that law, the popular pulpit most generally makes use of its conspicuous position to oppose the law of God, and to satisfy the judgment, and ease the conscience of the community, with the idea that the law is abolished. And as "they that forsake the law praise the wicked" (Prov. 28:4), the inevitable result is that wickedness is increased, the conscience is dulled, the judgment is darkened, justice is not discerned, the truth is forsaken, and crime walks abroad. And yet there is a pretense of preaching the gospel. But when the law of God is forsaken, or opposed in the preaching, the gospel is robbed of its power. The gospel is God's effort to save sinners, but it is only by the law that sin is made known, "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20); the gospel "is the power of God unto salvation." Rom. 1:16. Said Adam Clarke, "They that preach only the gospel to sinners, heal 'the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly.'" John Wesley said that those who leave out the law, and preach only the gospel; those who leave out the condemnation that is upon men because of the transgression of the law of God, and preach only the love of Jesus, will find that soon even that will lose its effect upon men. That is the truth, and if John Wesley could travel through our land in this year of the nineteenth137 century, he would see the very result which he described. Men will stand in opposition to the law of God, and preach directly that it is abolished, and then go about to get up a revival of religion! And many of the most successful revivalists are the most decidedly opposed to the law of God. Of course they have revivals, but what do the revivals amount to? Some of these revivalists may, like the most popular one just now, succeed in getting the people ashamed of their meanness. But to be ashamed of a piece of meanness is not that godly sorrow for sin, which leads to repentance. In all the revivals of the present day, where is that deep contrition and sorrow before God, because of sin against him, that attended the preaching of Wesley and Whitfield and Edwards and Asbury and Finney? It is not found there, and it never will be found there, till the law of God is given the place that belongs to it in all such work; till by it men are shown their utterly ruined and lost condition, with no hope but the cross of Christ. Then men will delight in the law of God, as well as to rejoice in the love of Christ; and they will glory in the cross of Christ because that by the sacrifice of the cross they are redeemed from the curse of the law. But instead of this, the gospel that is most prevalently preached nowadays, is fast becoming, if it has not already become, hardly anything more or less than a gospel of religious sentimentalism. It creates a Christianity of sentimentalism, instead of building up a Christianity of vigorous, stalwart righteousness before God and men. The great standard of justice and righteousness is not held before men as a mirror that they may see themselves as they really are. It is all love and mercy, without the justice of God, that is preached. We would not that the love and mercy of God should be preached less, but his law and justice more. The gospel of Christ was given to the world that God might be just, and justify the transgressor of his law, who will believe in Jesus. God's justice is guarded as well as manifested in the gospel of Christ, and whenever a gospel is preached which does not contemplate the justice of God, then it is not the gospel of Christ. Thus by forsaking the law of God, and accepting the gospel of sentimentalism, the judgment and conscience of society are lowered to that degree that of a truth "judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. . . . And he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey; and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him." But although the Lord is displeased at it, where are the chances or the prospects of a reform? J. Mr. Hume and Future Probation
By Editor
The Prudential Committee of the American Board has decided to return Mr. Hume, the missionary, to his foreign field. After several interviews and much correspondence it appears that Mr. Hume is not fully committed to the hypothesis of a future probation, but only regards it as not forbidden by the Scriptures. ANDREWS' HISTORY OF THE SABBATH.
By Editor
This highly valuable book, after passing through two editions, has been revised, and enlarged by the addition of another chapter, and now appears for the third time, not in its former small type and plain black binding, but printed in large, clear type and bound in handsome and substantial style. As many of our readers are aware, this work, by the late Elder J. N. Andrews, is the most complete history of the Bible Sabbath, and also of the first day of the week, ever written. And as it gives a multitude of facts not published elsewhere in the English language nor in any one book, and not attainable by any except those who have access to the largest libraries in this and other countries, no one can be said to be thoroughly intelligent upon the Sabbath question till he has read this work. As a writer, Elder Andrews had few equals and no superiors in his chosen field; and his "History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week" bears evidence upon every page, not only of his ability to present in a thoroughly readable and interesting manner a subject often considered dry, but also of his ripe scholarship and of his great historical accuracy. Every statement made is supported either by plain and appropriate texts of Scripture, or by the most reliable historical references. Containing as it does a complete history of the Sabbath for 6,000 years, and of the first day of the week from the earliest periods, the book is one of rare value, and it should be in the hands of the people everywhere. The work contains 548 pages, a table of contents, a perfect index of subjects, an index of authors quoted and also one of Scripture texts used, besides a fine steel engraving of the author. The size of the page is 5 1/4 by 8 1/2 inches, and the general style and appearance of the book entitle it to a place in the finest libraries; while its literary merits cannot but favorably impress all who read it. If the friends of the Bible Sabbath do their duty, hundreds of copies of this book will be sold in the future where scores have been in the past. This work is now in a shape that it can be handled as a subscription book; and in the hands of those whose hearts are in the work, it will no doubt sell as well as any religious publication. The Sabbath question is now being discussed all over the land as never before, and now is the time to sell the "History of the Sabbath." The book is bound in three styles: cloth, with sprinkled edges, price $2.00; library, marbled edges, $2.75; half Morocco, gilt, $3.75. For terms to agents, write to Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal., general agents for all territory west of the Rocky Mountains, or to Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich. LETTERS TO AN ANTINOMIAN.—2.
By James White
DEAR SIR: At the close of my first letter I promised next to notice your strongest argument. It comes next in order in your tract. It is not only your strongest argument, but it is the strongest that can possibly be framed, because it is based on or drawn from the divine perfections. To prove the unity of the law, you say:— "God is a unit; his law being founded upon his own immutable character, is a unit also." Before I notice the inconclusiveness of your reasoning, I will give attention to the principle involved. Its importance shall be my excuse for examining it at some length. This method of argument is not new with you. As you well know I constructed an argument on the law, based on the character of the Lawgiver, more than thirty years ago. I quote from a small book published in 1854. With this work you were very familiar. Beginning on page 39, I quote: "The apostle Peter, exhorting to obedience and holiness (1 Pet. 1:15, 16), says: 'But as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.' See Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:26. Is not the requirement for holiness the same in both Testaments? We are required to be holy, for God is holy, and we are to be like him. So the Saviour said: 'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect.' Matt. 5:48. And this is not an unreasonable requirement; it is only equivalent to that of loving God with all the heart. . . . A being possessed of creative power, in other words, being supreme, must have the right to command the worship of his creatures; and if so, to prescribe the form of worship—without which the command would be a nullity—his own character being an index to the form of worship prescribed. The character of God is declared in the passages referred to; he is holy; also in 1 John 4:8: 'God is love.' These declarations of the character of God are a sufficient guarantee that a system or form of worship, or rule of action, marked out by him, would be perfect, holy, like his own character, the embodiment of love." "That God designed that his creatures should be holy and happy, none can deny; and that obedience to his law is the appointed means to secure this very desirable state, is equally evident, from the reasons and scriptures offered above, and from other scriptures which declare that righteousness consists in keeping the law. Deut. 6:25. His law is the transcript of his divine mind, the revelation of his holy will. . . . How can anyone worship him and not keep his commandments? These contain his own prescribed rule or standard of holiness. But if that law was the rule whereby man might become like God, holy, in the former dispensation, can any138 other rule be followed in this dispensation, and the agent still develop a holy character? Or, in other words, has God's holiness changed in its nature, or is it the same that it was in time past? Thus we see that there is a material point at issue. . . . A change of the moral law of God involves a change of the divine perfections. 'We hazard nothing in saying that it is as impossible for God to create two different complete rules of moral action, as to create a duplicate of himself.'" The argument imperfectly outlined above, is one in which I have great confidence, and I have never known an opposer to undertake to overthrow it. And you enjoy the unenviable distinction of having tried to make the attributes of God prove that his rule of holiness, his own appointed means whereby his creatures might become like himself, has been abolished! That which is the transcript of his own mind, the outgrowth of his perfections, is righteousness itself. And thus it is written: "All thy commandments are righteousness." Ps. 119:172. They are righteous; but that does not express the whole truth; they are righteousness. And the Lord, speaking to them "that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law," says: "My righteousness shall not be abolished." Isa. 51:1-8. This language should put to silence all those who argue the abolition of the law of Jehovah's righteousness. Now I will notice the fallacy of your argument; and I wish, for charity's sake, that I could believe you were so ignorant of logic as not to be able to perceive that your reasoning is better calculated to mislead than to instruct your readers. With your premises I find no fault; and I accept your conclusion as far as it goes. But it stops just far enough short of the whole truth to serve your purpose, and to obscure the truth. I will repeat your statement: "God is a unit; his law, being founded upon his own immutable character, is a unit also." Here you introduce two statements concerning the character of God, and draw an affirmative conclusion from the one, and argue the negative of the other! Your statement of the argument amounts to this:— God is a unit.
God is immutable.
His law is founded upon his nature or character;
Therefore, his law is a unit. Is there a reader of your tract who cannot see that your conclusion is lame? It should read thus:— Therefore, his law is a unit, and it is immutable. The immutability of God is as fixed, as certain, as necessary, as his unity. Why not, then, let the conclusion embrace both? It certainly must. How a man of your ability can frame an argument on the law of God, and found it on the character of God, and then deny its immutability, is quite beyond my comprehension. It is certainly not creditable to your logical acumen. You may ask if I believe that all that God commanded through Moses was immutable. By no means. All of God's original constitution, all the moral laws, is founded upon his attributes. That law is a unit; it is holy; it is perfect; it is immutable; it is a transcript of the divine mind; a revelation of the divine will and perfections; a rule of perfection, righteousness, or holiness to his creatures in forming moral characters. But the ceremonial law was not the outgrowth of the attributes of God; it originated, or was made necessary, by the sinful action of man. Sacrifices and offerings are only appropriate to a sinful state; and therefore they can be no part of God's constitution, or original law. Why should man present sacrifices and sin-offerings? Because he has sinned. But sin is the transgression of the law. Therefore the law first existed; it was transgressed; and offerings for sin followed. If no sin had existed, if man had obeyed and never transgressed the law, no offerings for sin would have been required, no remedial system would have been instituted. Surely the man who cannot see any distinction of laws, of moral and ceremonial, is obtuse indeed. I will now call your attention to the bearing that this argument from the attributes of God has on the declarations of Paul to the Romans. There can be no question that that law which grew out of, or was founded on, the attributes of God, existed as early as man's moral relations existed, that is, from his creation. That must be the law by which is the knowledge of sin—which condemns iniquity. To the violators of that law sin must be imputed; not to impute sin to its transgressors would be to uphold iniquity, and to reproach the divine character upon which the law is founded. It must be the law for the transgression of which the Son of God died, and in behalf of which he is now acting as Mediator. See Heb. 9:15. There can be but one such law. The law of ten commandments—the law which Jehovah spoke with his own voice, and wrote with his own finger on the tables of stone—meets all the requirements of such a law. It covers every relation of moral agents towards God and man. It is declared in the word of God to be perfect, holy, just, good, spiritual, to embrace the whole duty of man, with power to justify the doer. It is founded upon love to God and man (Matt. 22:35-40), and it is the embodiment of love, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." 1 John 5:3. I can readily adopt the words of Mr. Dobney, the English author, when he spoke of the ten precepts: "Thanks be to God for such a law." And such is the law against which you have brought all your God-given powers! Such is the law which you are depreciating, and teaching your fellow-mortals to disregard, and even to despise! In my next I shall consider your denial of the distinction of moral and ceremonial law, and show your inconsistencies on that subject. The Missionary.
By E. J. Burnham
AFTER the close of his second series of meetings in Adelaide, Elder Corliss returned to Melbourne, where he spent about a month. During this time he spent one Sabbath with the church in Ballarat, and preached on two Sabbaths for the Melbourne church. Elders Corliss and Israel both attended our excellent quarterly meeting on the 1st of January. The fourth quarterly meeting of the Melbourne Tract Society was held January 2. Elder Israel presided, and, after the opening prayer by Elder Corliss, spoke of the prosperity that had attended the society since its small beginning a year ago. The report of labor was quite encouraging. Of the 45 members, 40 had reported, showing the number of missionary visits made during the quarter to be 100; letters written, 55; subscribers obtained for our periodicals, 29; pages of reading matter loaned and given away, 20,472; periodicals distributed, 23,089. The children had been engaged in the missionary work during the quarter, and had distributed more than a thousand periodicals. Some of these young workers have been very successful, and have taken a great interest in the work. Members of the society are furnishing the Echo to 52 different libraries. The ship missionary visited 175 ships during the quarter, and placed on board 3,150 papers. Among the interesting incidents of his work was the case of an infidel, who, through Bible-readings, became interested in the Bible, and was led to acknowledge its divine origin. The quarterly meeting of the Ballarat society was held the next Sunday, January 9. Elder Israel was present, and conducted the exercises. It is only a few months since this society was organized, and this was the first quarterly meeting. Though young and inexperienced, the Ballarat Tract Society has not been idle, as is shown by the fact that 50 copies of the Echo were used in the missionary work during the past quarter, 6,570 pages of reading matter disposed of, 30 Bible-readings held, and two distributers kept where they would do good service. For the present quarter the Echo club has been increased to 75, and the number of distributers doubled; and the interest of the members in the truth and work of God is increasing. On the evening of the 9th Elder Corliss commenced a series of tent-meetings in Geelong. This is a city of ten thousand inhabitants, about forty-five miles from Melbourne. One man and his wife have lately commenced to keep the Sabbath there, and have united with the Melbourne church till one shall be organized at Geelong. The interest is fair, and we hope to see a good church raised up there. Elder Israel is holding a tent-meeting at Daylesford, a small town about seventy-five miles from Melbourne. The meetings in Daylesford commenced January 16. So far, the interest and attendance have been very good, several men walking three and a half miles every evening to attend the meetings. The town has two papers, which are published on alternate days, giving them a paper every day. The columns of these papers have been freely opened to reports of the meetings and articles on present truth. In this way much truth has been brought before the people. One of these papers, in its issue of January 22, contained, beside a synopsis of Elder Israel's lecture given a few evenings before, a long article by a reporter who had just interviewed Elder Israel as to the history, views, and work of the Seventh-day Adventists. There are now three churches in Australia, and two tents, and a number of canvassers in the field. One of these canvassers recently took fourteen orders for "Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation" in a single day, and thirty-seven orders in four and one-half days. The tract societies are distributing our publications in various places, and many are reading our papers, books, and tracts, some of whom are interested. We are sure that the work is onward in this good field, and that, with the blessing of God, we may look for a rich harvest of souls. E. J. BURNHAM.
Melbourne, January 25. NEW ZEALAND.
By A. G. Daniells
At the time of our last report, we had just got our tent up and held a few services; but it was not yet known how the people would look upon tent-meetings, or whether they would attend. As soon as the excitement of the holidays subsided, we began advertising through the daily papers. The attendance began to increase at once, and at the second Sunday evening service, the tent which holds three hundred was crowded, and at least one hundred stood around the out side. Since then, the tent has been well filled with interested hearers, and there have been from four to five hundred in attendance each Sunday night. The Sabbath question caused quite a stir, and of course some left us; but others have taken their places. The people here do not seem so fearful of new points of faith as some communities do in America. On the other hand, they have a spirit of inquiry. As an illustration of this I will relate an interesting incident, which occurred soon after I came here. When we came from Kaeo there were about twenty Maoris on the steamer. At 7 P. M. they all assembled for religious service. Brother Hare and I attended, and were requested to do some singing for them. This gathered the majority of the white people around us, who, as soon as they learned that I was a minister of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, requested me to preach a sermon on the Sabbath question. Of course I consented, and we all repaired at once to the social hall. The audience consisted of the captain of the vessel, two ministers of the Church of England, one of whom was an archdeacon, three school teachers, the private secretary of the Bishop of the Church of England, several traveling salesmen, the Maoris, and other passengers. After speaking about an hour, setting forth some of the reasons why we keep the seventh day, I had, according to a custom of this country, to allow the audience to ask any questions, relating to the subject, they saw fit. As might be expected, the ministers turned their batteries on me with considerable energy. However, a kindly feeling prevailed, and after nearly an hour's discussion, we separated. This is a sample of the spirit of inquiry manifested by the majority whom I have met. And because of this spirit a new subject is sure to call out a good audience. But a wrong impression might obtain, should I fail to add that the people do not believe all they hear, nor are they in any hurry to practically accept new views if they involve cross-bearing. In this they are as considerate as other people. As an evidence of their willingness to investigate our views, I refer to the fact that during the month just passed, we have sold from our book stand in the tent over $60 worth of books, pamphlets, and tracts. We have reason to believe that these works are quite carefully examined. To us this is encouraging. The people are much pleased with our method of holding Bible readings in families. This is entirely new to the majority of the people here. My wife has many more openings for readings than she can fill. It seems evident, that a city mission must be established here as soon as possible. Sister Judith Hare is with us, learning the work, and we expect her sister will join with us ere long. Our great anxiety now is that God will help us to establish a good church in this place. To this end we desire the prayers of the people of God. A. G. DANIELLS. Auckland, Jan. 31, 1887. CALISTOGA, CALIFORNIA.
By H. A. St. John
Since my last report, the work has gone forward slowly in Calistoga and vicinity. We have baptized three, and seven have been added to the church, making the present membership twenty-seven. The recent stormy weather has prevented labor to some extent. Brother Kent is now able to work, and is doing something by way of visiting, holding Bible readings, etc. A more commodious place has been secured for Sabbath meetings, and we are not without hope that others will be added to the number. God is light, God is righteous, God is love. There is in all nature no more expressive symbol than light. Think what light is; where it goes; what it does; what the world would be without it; how it makes visible what would otherwise be to us as if it did not exist; how it shows us the way, and makes the orderly activities of life possible; besides, all its subtle power in awakening life and producing the growth of life; and its exclusiveness, having "no fellowship with darkness." It is thus the fittest possible symbol, and that in a single word, of the divine intelligence, holiness, gentleness, purity, perfect moral goodness, blessedness and power to surround and pervade and fill others with its own blessedness and glory. The sun may have its spots, but in God is "no darkness at all," no ignorance, no evil, no error, no weakness, no decay; "no speck in that perfect orb."—Selected. NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.
"THUS saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace." "All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." JACOB'S night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau, represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble. Because of the deception practiced to secure his father's blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother's deadly threats. After remaining for many years an exile, he had set out, at God's command, to return with his wives and children, his flocks and herds, to his native country. On reaching the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the tidings of Esau's approach at the head of a band of warriors, doubtless bent upon revenge. Jacob's company, unarmed and defenseless, seemed about to fall helpless victims of violence and slaughter. And to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the crushing weight of self-reproach; for it was his own sin that had brought this danger. His only hope was in the mercy of God; his only defense must be prayer. Yet he leaves nothing undone on his own part to atone for the wrong to his brother, and to avert the threatened danger. So should the followers of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger which threatens liberty of conscience. HAVING sent his family away, that they may not witness his distress, Jacob remains alone to intercede with God. He confesses his sin and gratefully acknowledges the mercy of God toward him, while with deep humiliation he pleads the covenant made with his fathers, and the promises to himself in the night vision at Bethel and in the land of his exile. The crisis in his life has come; everything is at stake. In the darkness and solitude he continues praying and humbling himself before God. Suddenly a hand is laid upon his shoulder. He thinks that an enemy is seeking his life, and with all the energy of despair he wrestles with his assailant. As the day begins to break, the stranger puts forth his superhuman power; at his touch the strong man seems paralyzed, and he falls, a helpless, weeping suppliant, upon the neck of his mysterious antagonist. Jacob knows now that it is the Angel of the covenant with whom he has been in conflict. Though disabled, and suffering the keenest pain, he does not relinquish his purpose. Long has he endured perplexity, remorse, and trouble for his sin; now he must have the assurance that it is pardoned. The divine visitant seems about to depart; but Jacob clings to him, pleading for a blessing. The Angel urges, "Let me go; for the day breaketh;" but the patriarch exclaims, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me." What confidence, what firmness and perseverance, are here displayed! Had this been a boastful, presumptuous claim, Jacob would have been instantly destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who confesses his weakness and unworthiness, yet trusts the mercy of a covenant-keeping God. "He had power over the Angel, and prevailed." Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of Heaven. He had fastened his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite Love could not turn away the sinner's plea. As an evidence of his triumph, and an encouragement to others to imitate his example, his name was changed from one which was a reminder of his sin, to one that commemorated his victory. And the fact that Jacob had prevailed with God was an assurance that he would prevail with men. He no longer feared to encounter his brother's anger; for the Lord was his defense. SATAN leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in the minor affairs of life; but the Lord shows in his dealings with Jacob that he will in no wise sanction or tolerate evil. All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain upon the books of Heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan. The more exalted their profession, and the more honorable the position which they hold, the more grievous is their course in the sight of God, and the more sure the triumph of their great adversary. Those who delay a preparation for the day of God cannot obtain it in the time of trouble or at any subsequent time. The case of all such is hopeless. Those professed Christians who come up to that last fearful conflict unprepared, will, in their despair, confess their sins in words of burning anguish, while the wicked exult over their distress. YET Jacob's history is an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to destroy this class, God will send his angels to comfort and protect them in the time of peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord's eye is upon his people, and his ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God's love for his children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace fire; their earthliness must be removed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected. The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger—a faith that will not faint, though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time. Jacob prevailed because he was persevering and determined. His victory is an evidence of the power of importunate prayer. All who will lay hold of God's promises as he did, and be as earnest and persevering as he was, will succeed as he succeeded. Those who are unwilling to deny self, to agonize before God, to pray long and earnestly for his blessing, will not obtain it. Wrestling with God—how few know what it is! How few have ever had their souls drawn out after God with intensity of desire until every power is on the stretch. When waves of despair which no language can express sweep over the suppliant, how few cling with unyielding faith to the promises of God.—Mrs. E. G. White, in Great Controversy, Vol. IV. "GIVE us help from trouble; for vain is the help of man." Ps. 108:12.