Your ShelfYour Projects

Signs of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 6.

General Articles
Earlier text: THE TRUE MISSIONARY

CHRIST'S WORK.

By John Norton Loughborough

THE apostles of Christ were true missionaries in every sense of the word. In them we have the most striking illustration of devoted workers in the cause of truth. That which, by precept, they have taught to others respecting advancing the work of Christ, they exemplified in their own life and ministry. They gave force to their teachings by an appeal to the course pursued by their Master.
Paul, in writing to the Philippian brethren says, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 3: 4-8.
The above injunction was not made simply to ministers, but to the whole Philippian church, and through them to all believers in Christ. The manner they were to look upon the things of others was to be the same, and for the same purpose that Christ laid aside for the time being, the glory and happiness of Heaven. It was that he might unselfishly devote himself to the work of saving men. If we arm ourselves with the same mind we shall be led out to do all we can to rescue souls from death, and direct them to the way of truth, and life, and Heaven.
That this is the import of the apostles' statement above is evident from his further injunction, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain." Verses 14-16.
The above statement presents the fact that every one who receives the gospel of Christ is obligated thereby, not only to exemplify its truths in their lives, but to do all in their power, with the ability God has given them, to bring the truths of the gospel before the minds of others. Thus the apostles of Christ, and the primitive church did. With them it was not merely to be honorary members of the church, but to be all earnest workers.
To those thus laboring, Paul said, "We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end; that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Heb. 6: 11, 15. These are the same persons he had told in the previous chapter, "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principle of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat." Heb. 5: 12. Of course such a position as that described above is attained by inattention, and by failing to post themselves in the truth.
Peter's admonition to the whole church comes in with special force here: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts." That is, dedicate your life and energies to the cause of God, seeking to know and to do his will, and making the advancement of his truth of more consequence than everything else. Seeking "first the kingdom." "And be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." 1 Pet. 3: 15. If in response to the injunction "be ready to give an answer," you say you cannot talk upon the truth; we say, you can fill your pockets with choice tracts and papers treating upon all points of this precious truth. Place these in the hands of the people. If you cannot talk, these carefully written tracts and papers will unexcitedly, patiently, and perseveringly tell their message, and in due time it moves hearts.
If you cannot frame language to advocate the truth properly yourself, you can at least act as a carrier of the truth to others in tract and periodical distribution. You can follow the truth thus distributed with your prayers, God will water it as read by the receiver, so that it may prove indeed to be seed sown upon good ground that shall spring up and bear fruit unto eternal life.
One of Paul's admonitions to the Galatians was in these words: "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Gal. 6: 10. While I would not claim that the above text has exclusive reference to disseminating God's truth by precept, none will deny that it embraces that duty, as that is one of the means of doing good. Our duty in disseminating the truth is in the same ratio of our opportunities to disseminate the truth. The greatest danger is that we shall be so taken up by, and overcharged with, our worldly cares that we shall not see golden opportunities to do good until they are passed, and it is too late to do the good.
What Paul commended in the faithful workers of his time was that they would "naturally care" for the advancement of the truth. He commended Timothy in the following language: "I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's." Phil. 2: 20, 21.
Here is where the hindrances come in to the faithful performance of missionary duties. The cares of life, pressure of business, and hurry of the world leads the mind away from that watchful, earnest, devoted position of Christ's apostles which placed them where they would gladly "spend and be spent" (2 Cor. 12: 15) in the cause of Christ. What is demanded, and what we wish to see in this time, is that same earnest, unselfish consecration to God's work. When such efforts are made, they are sure to be followed with God's blessing, and will produce the same results the apostles witnessed.
Who will thus take hold of the work now, who will watch for the opportunities to do good, and take hold for a share in the great harvest of souls? The T. and M. system gives a chance for all to work. There is enough for all to do. Will we do with our might what our hands find to do? Will we? J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

EXPENSES AND OTHER MATTERS.

By Stephen N. Haskell

IN every State society there will be more or less general expense, such as freights, postage, placing books in libraries, and periodicals in reading-rooms, etc., etc., which it does not properly belong to any one district or church to pay. The State officers should once a year apportion this expense to the several districts, according to their financial ability. To do this, (1) Ascertain the number of members in each district and their circumstances with respect to means; (2) Ascertain the relative financial strength of the districts; (3) Divide the expense among the several districts in proportion to their ability to pay, and charge to each its respective proportion.
1. Do the directors decide important questions at the quarterly meetings, or are they decided by those present at the meeting? — The directors; but after they have decided the points, it is always well, in matters of general interest, to lay them before the brethren, that they may understand them, and be more interested in them, although this is not necessary.
2. When a member goes into a district where he does not belong, where shall he get his tracts and to whom shall he report? — Of the church society of which he is a member, and he should report to the same, even if he is in another State. If he changes his church relationship, he should change his tract membership.
3. Can a tract society be organized before a church is organized? — Yes.
4. Must a member pay a dollar every time he changes his place of membership? — Not unless he moves out of the State; but if he moves from one Conference to another, it will be necessary for him to pay another dollar, before he can become a member of that Conference tract society.
5. Can a church society or district receive members in the tract society for any sum less than one dollar? — It is not Constitutional. See Article IV.
6. Has any State society the right to change the Constitution, so that individuals might be admitted for a less sum than one dollar? — We know of no reason why not, but it would be detrimental to the interests of the society.
7. How shall those directors attend the quarterly meetings who are unable to bear their individual expenses? — (1.) It is well to have all the directors, as far as practicable, attend each quarterly meeting. (2.) Each director should feel it his duty and privilege to attend these meetings, even at a sacrifice. (3.) It would be well to have men for directors who are able, and can spend much time and bear their expenses for the privilege of engaging in the work of God. But in some of our large Conferences it frequently happens that some of the directors live at a long distance from the quarterly meeting, and are in circumstances which will not justify their bearing their own expenses. (4.) It would be well in such cases if the district could raise money outside of the tract society to bear the expenses of the director. (5.) But if there be no other way, it is in the province of the directors to pay a portion or all the expenses of one or more such directors from the tract-society funds, and bring it in the general expense, which should be apportioned annually to each district. (See first paragraph of this article.) (6.) If any important meeting is to be held, the President should be authorized by the Board of Directors to urge those directors in limited circumstances to attend, in view of their expenses being partially or wholly met as above suggested. (7.) It should ever be remembered that all moneys received by the tract society from donations, book sales, free-will offerings, and the one-third, is tract-society money, and no one person has the right of appropriating these funds out of the regular tract society business. S. N. HASKELL.

THE MISSIONARY.

By Elizabeth Akers

BRINGING OUR SHEAVES WITH US.

THE time for toil has past, and night has come— The last and saddest of the harvest eves; Worn out with labor, long and wearisome, Drooping and faint, the reapers hasten home, Each laden with his sheaves.
Last of the laborers, thy feet I gain, Lord of the harvest! and my spirit grieves That I am burdened not so much with grain, As with the heaviness of heart and brain. Master, behold my sheaves.
Few, light, and worthless, yet their trifling weight Through all my frame a weary aching leaves; For long I struggled with my hapless fate, And stayed and toiled till it was dark and late, Yet these are all my sheaves.
Full well I know I have more tares than wheat, Brambles and flowers, dry stalks and withered leaves— Wherefore I blush and weep at thy feet— I kneel down reverently and repeat: Master, behold my sheaves!
I know these blossoms, clustering heavily, With evening dew upon their folded leaves, Can claim no value or utility. Therefore shall fragrance and beauty be, The glory of my sheaves.
So do I gather strength and hope anew, For well I know thy patient love perceives Not what I did, but what I strove to do— And though the full ripe ears be sadly few, Thou wilt accept my sheaves.
—Elizabeth Akers.

LOVE.

By Jos. Clarke

THE value of love, a pure, a holy love, cannot be over-estimated. In the system of religion the Bible enjoins, love lies with faith at the basis; for true faith cannot exist without love.
The church at Ephesus (see Rev. 2:4) is rebuked for its having left its first love. In their opposition to error, there was evidently some abatement of their first love, and a penalty was threatened if they did not return to their first love.
Here we see that God highly values love, and it is said in 1 John 4:8 that "God is love." And we must infer that a morality or religion that is stiff in austerity, and selfishness, and covetousness, and that lacks this ingredient, love, is repulsive to God.
To the seventh church (the Laodicean) the True Witness says (Rev. 3:18), "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire," that is, faith and love. (See Thoughts on Revelation, pp. 62, 64.)
Now a counsel given to buy the fine gold would intimate the idea that there was almost a total want of this greatly valued article in the seventh church; and if the first, or Ephesus church, was threatened with penalties for an abatement, how great the necessity for the last, or Laodicean, church in which so great lack exists that they must go and buy; not that all are wholly lacking, but there is so little that it is almost a failure.
This church is not invited to return to its first love; for its first love was not like that of the Ephesus church, pentecostal, reaching so high that it was full in God's sight; no, but it must be sought for. Have any fully attained to this love? JOS. CLARKE.

ITEMS OF NEWS

By Editor

  • Cetawayo is learning to read and write English.
  • The Brazilian cotton crop is estimated at 4,250,000 bales.
  • There are 82 Mormon churches in England and Ireland.
  • The capital employed in British railroads is $3,500,000,000.
  • Chicago proposes to raise a monument in memory of Thomas Paine.
  • Lowell is the first literary minister to England since Hawthorne.
  • Michigan's new capitol cost $15,000 less than was appropriated for it.
  • A rupture between Chile and the Argentine Republic is imminent.
  • Adolphe Borie, ex-Secretary of the Navy, died at Philadelphia, Feb. 5th.
  • During the year 1879, 175,589 immigrants landed at Castle Garden, N. Y.
  • Philadelphia has seven hundred miles of gas mains, and 12,252 public lamps.
  • The phylloxera is found in Sonoma and Fresno counties in small numbers.
  • Presbyterian Scotland is surrendering its opposition to the celebration of Christmas.
  • The combined length of new railroads projected for 1880 in this country is 9,000 miles.
  • The Phoenix Iron Furnaces at Phoenixville, Pa., are again in blast, after being idle five years.
  • A professor of the University of Leige has prepared a "history of Sitting Bull," in 400 pages.
  • Two miles of railroad track have been built upon the ice, crossing the St. Lawrence at Montreal.
  • The Herald relief fund amounts to $144,000. The Mansion House relief fund aggregates $275,000.
  • There are 60,000 Mennonites in the United States, located principally in Kansas and the Northwest.
  • The Sultan's establishment costs $14,000,000 a year, but Turkey has no money to pay her army or her debts.
  • James Gordon Bennett has started a Herald Irish Relief Fund, and heads the list with the princely gift of $100,000.
  • The Baptists were the pioneer missionary workers in Liberia, West Africa, their first church being organized in 1821.
  • An eminent Irish statistician estimates the loss occasioned by the failure of last year's potato crop in Ireland at $23,130,000.
  • An invitation has been extended to the French Government to participate in the celebration of the centennial of Yorktown.
  • A new Russian Church temple is to be dedicated at Moscow in August next. It was begun in 1833, and will cost over $13,000,000.
  • The Lord Mayor of London gives a bond of $50,000 for the safety of the official diamonds, and one of $100,000 for the safety of the plate.
  • By a recent hurricane in the Philippine Islands, twenty-five vessels, including four foreign frigates, were wrecked, and forty-six persons were drowned.
  • The Bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland have passed a resolution censuring the Bishop of Edinburgh for his affiliation with Pere Hyacinthe.
  • Near Barcelona, Spain, the family of a rich land-owner, consisting of seven persons, were found murdered in their beds. Robbery was the apparent motive.
  • The Pennsylvania delegation to the Republican Presidential Convention at Chicago has declared for Grant by a meagre majority of six votes over Blaine.
  • The Greek Government, in ordering that the Bible in Greek should be read in the public schools, specified that the original and not the modern Greek should be used.
  • In the Sandwich Islands Congregationalism prevails among the native Christians, although there are several Catholic churches and one Episcopal church in the Islands.
  • Four hundred bandits having driven the authorities from the Brazilian town of Januaria, in the Province of Minas Gerses, sacked the place, and burned twenty-two houses.
  • General Roberts, from Cabul, reports that up to November, 1879, he had ordered seventy-three executions for complicity in the attack upon the embassy, murders of camp-followers, etc.
  • New York Herald correspondents have made a very thorough canvass of the famine-stricken counties in Ireland, and report that 300,000 human beings are now or shortly will be in danger of starvation.
  • Throughout the East various manufacturing enterprises, which have lain dormant for years, car works, rolling mills, tool works, woolen mills, etc., have revived and are many of them running night and day to supply orders.
  • The liabilities of the City of Glasgow Bank which failed some time since were in round numbers $64,000,000, and the assets $38,000,000, leaving a deficiency of $26,000,000, to be made good by 1,819 personally liable shareholders, who were nearly all impoverished thereby.
  • Two persons lost their lives in a burning building at Fort Collins, Cal., Feb. 3rd.
  • Near Monterey, California, a woman, in a fit of somnambulism, attacked her three sleeping children with a hatchet, and did not awake therefrom until she had terribly cut them about their heads. It is thought they will recover.
  • During a severe storm on the Atlantic coast, Feb. 2d, the schooners Daniel Harding and Kate Newman collided off Tom's river, N. J., the latter sinking with all but one of the crew. Seven dead bodies have been washed ashore.
  • The California State Normal School at San Jose was burned to the ground Feb. 10th. The building cost $280,000, and the museum, library, etc., but little of which was saved, will bring the loss to about $300,000; insured for $50,000.
  • Near Colville, Pa., two men were carrying 100 lbs. of nitro-glycerine in a sleigh, the upsetting of which caused the nitro-glycerine to explode, tearing one man to fragments and seriously injuring the other. Several houses were demolished.
  • A terrible accident occurred on the circular railroad at Clichy, France, Feb. 3d. A fast express train ran into the rear of a slow train which preceded it. Twenty-two persons were killed, and one hundred sixteen wounded, several fatally.
  • A New York grand jury has found 25 indictments against Rev. Edward Cowley, Manager of the Shepherd's Fold, charging him with starving, beating and cruelly ill-treating the children in the Fold. In default of $12,000 bail Cowley was committed to the Toombs.
  • Terrible atrocities have been committed in Afghanistan by the Ghilzais against native tribes favoring the English. Two thousand families are reported to have been exterminated. As a reprisal several villages of Ghilzais were captured by the Hazores, and every soul in them slain.
  • A statue of young Louis Napoleon is to be erected in Westminster Abbey. The Queen is decidedly in favor of the project, and has prevailed upon Dean Stanley to consent to this desecration of England's national mausoleum, which is strongly opposed by public opinion throughout that country.
  • The first missionary on the western coast of Africa, Rev. Albert Bushnell, native of Rome, N. Y., died at Sierra Leone, Dec. 2d. He had just returned from a visit to this country. Mr. Bushnell first went to the Gaboon Mission in 1843. When he arrived at Gaboon river he found 900 slaves chained two and two, awaiting shipment to Cuba. He was very influential in procuring the abolition of the slave trade and ameliorating the condition of the natives.

OAKLAND CHURCH.

By James White

WE wish to say to the friends of our general cause that in response to a call from Mrs. W. and the writer for donations to help pay the debt on the house of worship at Oakland, Cal., about $4,000 was pledged. Of this sum less than $3,000 has been paid. We were more willing to make that appeal from the fact that we had already put 1,500 into that house, and at the time of the call pledged $200 more, which we have since paid.
We advanced $1,000 of loaned money to meet a payment then due, and held a $1,000 note against that church due last June, and have received in donations less than $1,500, as about the same amount was sent direct to Oakland. Those who have not paid their pledges, and five hundred brethren who have done nothing to help that poor church at Oakland that has great burdens to bear, will please forward their payment of pledges, and free-will offerings, to Elder James White, Battle Creek, Michigan, and we will see that the sums are properly applied. Let wealthy brethren ask themselves this question, Why should we let Elder White give $1,700 to that church, and we give little or nothing. J. W.

LAFAYETTE, CAL.

By B. A. Stephens

COMMENCED labor here February 6, and have spoken five times. Sabbath morning fourteen came forward for prayers, among whom were several backsliders, and one new convert, the miller of the place. The spirit of the Lord was present, hearts were melted, and tears flowed freely, as all confessed their past lukewarmness and sought the Lord.
At a partial re-organization of the Sabbath-school to-day, twenty-one names were enrolled, a club of ten Instructors, also maps, books, etc., were ordered, and all appear to be taking hold to do their part in the little probationary time that remains. Pray for us.
February 8. B. A. STEPHENS.

FRESHWATER, CAL.

By J. D. Rice

BEGUN meetings in this neighborhood January 17. Have fair audiences for the country. Have given sixteen discourses to date. Several have commenced the observance of the Lord's Sabbath, for which we feel grateful to God.
Bro. Morton expects to start for Chico to-morrow, to look after the interests of the cause there. The enemies of “present truth” who were silent when we were present are very brave now, when they think the flock is alone.
February 2. J. D. RICE.

MICHIGAN.

By W. H. Littlejohn

BETWEEN January 17 and 26, I visited Monterey and Hillsdale. At the first-named place the regular quarterly meeting of section No. 1 was held. Bro. and Sr. White were present, and conducted the services on the Sabbath. Throughout the whole meeting, the attendance was large and the spirit animated. At Hillsdale, also, our services were encouraging. While among them, we organized a health and temperance club.
W. H. LITTLEJOHN.

KANSAS

By G. H. Rogers

The meetings at Canning Creek are increasing in interest. Five have signed the covenant. Four of these are heads of families; among them are Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. They accepted the truth many years ago, under the labors of Bro. Van Horn. Bro. T. was separated from commandment-keepers, and for eight years has wandered a prodigal from his Father's house. He has renewed his covenant with God.
Have given to date twenty-three discourses upon the Advent and Sabbath.
January 25. G. H. ROGERS.

BLADON SPRINGS, ALA.

By Charles O. Taylor

On my way to New Orleans, La., I spent about three weeks with this church. There are about thirty keeping the Sabbath here. But they were much like sheep without a shepherd. There was considerable outside interest, and it increased while I was with them. C. O. TAYLOR.

OBITUARY.

By Vira Bowlsby

DIED, January 24, 1880, sister Jenny, wife of Franklin Gleason.
Sister Jenny enlisted in the great work of her Master at the age of 18, joined the Baptist church, and has ever been a devoted Christian. A little over one year ago, under the preaching of Elder A. T. Jones, she joined the Seventh-day Adventist church at Eugene City, Oregon, where she remained until death. She leaves a husband and son, and many friends, to mourn their loss. We miss not only a devoted wife and mother, but a kind and affectionate sister, but we mourn not as those without hope, for "blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Words of consolation by Elder Driver.
VIRA BOWLSBY.

BUSINESS DEPARTMENT.

By Editor

"Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully," (margin, negligently). Jer. 48: 10.
RECEIVED FOR THE SIGNS.
$2.00 EACH. E A Brown 7-5, Mrs D B Rackey 7-1, Mrs J W Hambleton 7-8, John Judson 7-1, Lenna Walters 7-5, H Ovenberg 7-1, Wm M Dale 7-7, W C Grainger 7-5, Mrs E K Atchison 7-5, W B Mason 7-5, Mrs Mary Rice 7-5, W A Noble 7-5, Mrs Frances King 7-5, Mrs Martin Wester 7-5, C F Jenkins (2 copies) 7-5, R B Torrance (2 copies) 7-5, B B Warren (2 copies) 7-5, E V Clarck (2 copies) 7-5, Wm Arnold (2 copies) 7-5, Marcia Owen (2 copies) 7-5.
$1.00 EACH. Robert Thompson 6-28, Mina Kisner 7-5, Sylvia Ferren 6-31, John B Green 7-10, S N Copeland 7-3, Joseph Leach 6-24, W H H Bradley 7-5, E G Bolter 7-5, Benn Smith 7-5, Mrs Wm F Lindley 7-5, Henry Stoner 6-28, Mrs Sarah A Moore 7-5, Eugenio Fuller 7-1, A Loucks 6-29, A Patterson 7-5, T Welburn 7-5, Wm H Evans 7-5, S E Bummel 7-5, J B Babcock 7-5, Calvin Starr M D 7-5, E Jas Tripp 7-5, John E Langley 7-5, Jacob Martin 7-5, M E Sharp 7-5, M N Carman 7-5, Myron Jenkins 7-5, Rev H C Thompson 7-5, W D Nelson 7-5, G W Peabody 7-5, Aulba Crandall 7-5, A R Fitch 7-5, Matilda Merrell 7-5, E A Pratt 7-5.
MISCELLANEOUS. Mrs T C Everts 4.00, 7-1, J W Burton (10 copies) 10.00, 7-5, Thos H Lewis 3.00, 7-5, Mrs Adeline D Truman (6 copies) 6.00, 7-5, Miss Hattie Sturtevant (4 copies) 4.00, 7-5, T M Busby 50c 6-29, J B Forest (4 copies) 4.00, 7-1, Sarah E Barr (4 copies) 4.00, 7-1, Elizabeth Taylor (10 copies) 10.00, 7-5, Geo Anderson (3 copies) 1.50, 6-29, Miss Annie L Nickerson 1.25, 7-5, Mrs H Perry (96 copies) 96.00, 7-5, Wm Seiler 75c 6-33, I A Garli 25c 6-18, J N Loughborough (3 copies) 4.00, 7-5, Clara A M Dunlap (10 copies) 10.00, 7-5, Truman L Wyman 62 1/2c 6-29, Nathan Fogg 62 1/2c, C K Ackley (16 copies) 16.00, 7-5, Isaac Rice 1.50, 7-1, Mrs Mary West 1.20, 7-5, Mrs Sarah A Bake 1.20, 7-5, John Autra 50c 6-28, Wm Parkham 50c 6-28, John Dodson 50c 6-28, Sarah Prosper (2 copies) 2.50, 7-5, Mrs E W mbish 75c 6-29, M les Vanalstine 1.25, 7-5, G H Robinson (10 copies) 10.00, 7-5, Mary Coleman (10 copies) 10.00, 7-5, M Hackworth (10 copies) 10.00, 7-5, Mrs Losa Scott (10 copies) 10.00, 7-5, James Walker (6 copies) 6.00, 7-5.
OAKLAND CHURCH. Samuel Winkley 1.20.
DONATIONS TO SIGNS. J L Voris 3.30, Mrs S Hunt 8.00.
RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT. Colorado T and M Society 5.40, Mo T and M Society 80.00.
CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE. Visalia church 23.00.

THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN.

By R. F. Cottrell

By chance, or by providence, I lately went into a church. I omit to give the denomination, because it is a rule with me to treat all with equal courtesy, and to say nothing prejudicial to any particular one. The minister gave notice that on the next Sunday evening he would give a lecture on the antiquity of man, in which he would prove that Adam was not the first man, but that men had existed on the earth two hundred and eighty thousand years at least. What a strange annunciation from the pulpit by a professed minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But the Spirit expressly testified that in the last days it would be so. "They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and be turned unto fables."
I heard the lecture. It was attempted to prove, from profane historians, that certain kingdoms of the earth had existed forty thousand years, more or less; and secondly, by deductions from geological investigations, that men had existed on earth for hundreds of thousands of years. From the announcement of the subject, when the appointment was given, I had anticipated the drift of the argument; and at the close of the lecture, having before asked the privilege, I was kindly permitted to make the following remarks:—
The apostle Paul says, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." No greater miracle can be thought of than the bringing into existence of the whole material universe; hence there can be no greater act of faith than that which believes the statement that "in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Therefore, the apostle, in Heb. 11, where he specifies many of the great acts and achievements of faith, places this at the head of the list.
"The worlds were framed by the word of God." Says the sweet singer of Israel, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth." Again, "He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." Accordingly it is said, "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light."
A person whose faith is bold enough to accredit these statements of the Scriptures sees no necessity for the creative work to occupy a longer period of time than that given in the first chapter of Genesis. The days of the record were such days as an evening and a morning—a night and a day—constitute, that is, days of twenty-four hours. Otherwise the record is utterly unreliable, and calculated to mislead. They were such days as the sun, to which it was given to rule the day, marks off for the inhabitants of the earth. To him who could speak the word, and countless worlds would spring into existence out of nothing the time is amply sufficient; but if nature had to create itself, eternity itself would be too short a period in which to accomplish it.
It is by faith, and not by exploration and observation, that we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." The believer walks by faith, not by sight. In those things which are beyond his own observation he takes the word of God, simply believing what God has said.
We speak of geological formations; but the earth did not make itself. We speak of certain portions of the earth as made lands, alluvial soils, the soil having been removed by the flowing of water and deposited in a new locality. This takes time; but the creation of the material itself is quite another thing. The earth did not create itself; and it cannot tell us how old it is. We cannot tell how long a time it has taken to accomplish certain changes in the earth. Hence the confident assertions of many geologists is merely guess-work. And when men's guesses conflict with the revelation which God has given us, we hope to be excused though we choose to believe the latter.
After these remarks I read in conclusion the following article by Pres. Tuttle, entitled, "That Old Skull," which I think is a capital hit on that popular farce and prime minister of skepticism, geological guess-work.
A few weeks ago, a society of scientific men met in the city of Chicago, to discuss a great variety of questions pertaining especially to the natural sciences. Pure mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, botany, geology, and some other sciences furnished themes for some truly learned papers and discussions.
It was a noticeable fact that in some of the discussions—such as astronomy and chemistry—the lecturers were very positive, as if aware their footing was sure; while in some others they were subdued and modest in tone, as though not so sure that all they said was true. The spirit and deportment of the association were worthy of men exploring God's secret things in nature.
One lecture was noteworthy. It was read by Prof. Whitney, in the elegant Baptist church on Wabash Avenue. The lecturer had his blackboard and crayon, to illustrate the geological character of the place in which was found the fragment of a skull which has become famous all over the scientific world. Aside from the skull itself, the lecture was charming in the definiteness with which it described places and phenomena of a truly extraordinary character. No one could surmise that the lecturer had any theory or pet notion to be cared for, so carefully and candidly did he state all he had learned about the locality, the strata, the mining-shaft, who owned it, who found the skull, and when, what was done with it and said about it, how it came into his hands—and, indeed, as candid and dispassionate a statement of all he knew about the relic as he could have made concerning a proposition in geometry.
The general fact thus stated and evidently believed by the professor was that this skull of a human being was found in a much lower and earlier geological formation than is usually assigned to man. He did not make the inference, but others did, that, inasmuch as human bones have at last been found in this early geological formation, they must have been there long prior to the date usually assigned as the origin of the race. The usual account, in harmony with the records of Moses, asserts that man was created about six thousand years ago; and the weight of scientific testimony thus far has been in favor of this account. Now, if human remains are found in the tertiary—when the usual account can be justified by finding them only in the post-tertiary—then we shall be compelled to give up that common theory, and with it the first and second chapters of the book of Genesis. It is a grave matter.
Some of the learned gentlemen at Chicago quite put the blush on the common theory of six thousand years as defining the time of man's origin; and talked of thirty, forty, and even seventy thousand years in place of six.
Meanwhile, that old skull sat ghastly and silent on the table at the lecturer's side. Not a word did it speak; and yet I fancied I detected a smile on its unclothed cheek-bones and jaws, to hear what the credulous savans—not the lecturer—were saying about it, as having come down from such a distant age to tell them "Moses did not know what he wrote about."
Yes, that old skull, found down in tertiary in that volcanic region, could not have got there by any little eccentricities of the earthquakes' cracking the strata of the earth, to let it down where it did not belong. There it belonged, and nowhere else; and, therefore, etc.
Speaking of earthquakes. In 1755 occurred that which destroyed Lisbon. When it began to rock the earth, and the solidest buildings began to fall, thousands of the affrighted people rushed to "the marble quay which had just been constructed at great expense. It suddenly sunk with them, like a ship foundering at sea. But, when the water closed over the place, no fragments of the wreck, none of the vessels and boats near by that were drawn into the whirlpool, and not one of the thousands of bodies carried down, reappeared upon the surface. Over the spot the water stood six hundred feet deep, and beneath this, locked in the fissured rocks, in chasms of unknown depths, lie the relics of what was the life and wealth of this portion of the earth in the middle of the eighteenth century. These rocks are the clayey and other comparatively soft strata of the tertiary formation. When, in some future epoch, they are raised again to the surface by a convulsion of the same nature of that which engulfed them, the vestiges they contain may re-appear, converted, in part or wholly, into stone, like fossils entombed when the strata were deposited."
There sat the silent old skull on the lecturer's table, and seemed to me to be trying to say: "By-and-by, a few hundred years hence, some diver or miner will find an old skull down in the tertiary under where Lisbon quay sunk in 1755; and some very wise men, meeting in Chicago, will say, 'Here it is in the tertiary! It is at least seventy thousand years old! Moses wrote what he did because he did not know any better.' And yet, gentleman savans, that skull belonged to a live man on the 1st of November, 1755, who sunk down in an instant into the tertiary from as good post-tertiary as what you now stand on! Do not be deceived, gentleman, for Moses will yet beat you all!"
Who knows but Prof. Whitney's California skull found its resting-place in the same way, and as quickly? In that awful earthquake, last spring, at one of the Sandwich Islands, as our missionary, Pogue, declares, a huge volume of red mud was thrown out of the crater, at the rate of a mile a minute, three miles, and buried a whole village, in an instant, fifty feet deep. Perhaps it was tertiary mud; and by-and-by some miner may find under it some old skull, seventy thousand years old, to bear testimony against Moses! Who knows?
R. F. COTTRELL.

MAKING SCEPTICS.

THE verities of religion once accepted, nothing is so consistent as the most profound earnestness and the most intense revival efforts. A single instance of apparent listlessness may cause a soul to be seized with an unfavorable prejudice never to be overcome. When Dr. Wm. E. Channing was in his childhood, an incident occurred which may possibly explain why his remarkable talents were given to the advancement of New England Unitarianism rather than the old gospel with its revival fervor. In his boyhood, his father, who was a member of the orthodox church, took him to hear a celebrated preacher in the neighborhood. The things of the unseen world were set forth with deeply solemn effect. Man's lost condition without Christ, was represented in colors so vivid and startling as to produce a wonderful impression upon the mind of the youthful Channing. And then when the preacher unfolded the salvation of the gospel and offered it freely to the people as God's precious gift to those who seek for it, in his simplicity he thought that every one would seek it without delay. The service was concluded, and, with intense feeling, he watched to see what the people would do. His father pronounced the sermon "sound doctrine," but said nothing to the boy or any one else about seeking the Lord. They got into the carriage and rode home—the boy absorbed in awful "thoughts." The father, making no further allusion to the sermon, presently began to whistle; and on reaching home took off his boots, put his feet toward the fire-place, and began to read the newspaper, leaving his boy, without a timely word of Christian counsel, to struggle with the great thoughts which oppressed his young heart.
But even childhood draws its conclusions; and young Channing asked within himself the question, Can what I have heard be true? And too quickly he reached the conclusion—No! The people did not believe it, or they would have sought it at once; his father did not believe it, or he would have evinced a deeper solicitude. And ever afterward Channing had a prejudice against the solemn and startling revival efforts of the evangelical church. May not a lack of earnestness on the part of Christ's friends sometimes produce more scepticism than the shallow logic of avowed infidelity?

Christ the Sum and Substance of Revelation

By John Hall

FROM the beginning until Christ came, and since Christ came until now, Jesus Christ in his person and in his work has been the sum and substance of divine revelation unto men. It is he that makes the Old Testament and the New to be one. It is he in the cross that binds all the various dispensations together. It is he that unites in one bond of beautiful harmony, patriarchs, prophets and apostles. Ever since the earth heard any message from God, it has been a message about Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. Before the curse was pronounced upon man, and before man was driven from the garden, even then mercy was triumphing over judgment and the statement was made prophetically: "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Did I not say truly that this blessed Christ, this atoning Saviour, this Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world, is the sum and the substance of revelation from God to man?—John Hall.

A Good Life Makes a Good Sermon

A good life makes a good sermon or exhortation forcible and weighty; a bad life makes all these null and void.
Continue reading: THE MAN-TRAP AT ASHDALE