Earlier text: The SermonRemarks on the Prophecy of Joel.
By Uriah Smith
VERSE 1. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. The trumpet among the ancient Israelites was to be blown as a token of alarm when danger was near. Was a hostile army approaching, were dangers impending, which required action and haste to escape or avert, the trumpets pealed out an alarm through all the land to arouse the people. This custom is used as a medium through which to enforce a command upon the servants of God, when the great day of the Lord, in which is summed up for the wicked, all dangers, and all calamities, is about to burst upon the world. Not that a trumpet is now literally to be blown; but an alarm is to be given which shall be as startling, and arrest the attention of the people as effectually, as the trumpet blasts that echoed of old over the mountains of Judea. The trumpet anciently was to be blown by the priests. Num. 10:8. So now the alarm is to be given by the ministers of the Lord. As the priests were the guardians of the people, and were to warn them of approaching danger, so those who are set apart as teachers of God's word, are required to understand the developments of his work in the earth, and to give warning when in the accomplishment of his dispensations, judgments are declared, and to be executed, upon the unfaithful. The Lord has set his ministers as his watchmen, to see when the sword is coming and warn the people; and by the prophet Ezekiel he charges them with their solemn responsibility in these words:-- "If when he [the watchman] seeth the sword come upon the land, he will blow the trumpet, and warn the people, then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." Eze. 33:3-9. The trumpet is to be blown in Zion, and the alarm sounded in God's holy mountain. A movement is first to be made by the church of God. If the church is asleep what can be expected of the world? The church is set as the light of the world, and should be prompt to see the light and make it known to the people. But what are the professed churches of our land doing? They have gone down into the plains of Ono, and are joining hands with a pleasure-loving, judgment-hating, world. And while nature is already beginning to quiver with the throes of its final convulsion, and all over the sea and land around us, and the heavens above us, tokens are multiplying to show that the great day of the Lord is hastening upon us like a lion leaping upon its prey, the church join in the world's mad chase after delusive phantoms, the ministers preach smooth things, and prophesy peace; and the wicked, plunging down to death, are made to feel quiet and at ease. Never were there so widespread and confident assertions of a good time coming as at the present day. The cry of peace finds a ready reception in the carnal mind. And since the delusive doctrine of a temporal millennium was invented by Daniel Whitby, about two centuries ago, this sentiment has found such marvelous growth that it is now echoed from almost every pulpit and religious paper in the land. And what shall be the end thereof? This dream and cry of peace, so securely fostered by the doctrine of the world's conversion, is marked in prophecy as one of the characteristics of the last days, and one of the signs of impending destruction. The day of the Lord, says Paul, comes as a thief in the night. 1 Thess. 5:2. And he writes to his "brethren, the true church, that they know this perfectly, but are not in darkness that the day should overtake them as a thief. Verses 2, 4. Then he says of the world, "For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them." Verse 3. And this is the time when the prophet, in the chapter before us, calls upon us to blow the trumpet and sound the alarm; for the inhabitants have reason to tremble rather than be at ease, in view of the impending day of the Lord, which shall try every man and every work, with its fiery ordeal. The next verse sets forth the nature of this day:-- Verse 2. A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. The world is looking for light; but that which is coming is darkness; they look for joy; but shall find gloominess instead; but will look for ease, prosperity, and pleasure, but will suddenly find themselves in clouds and thick darkness; and this day comes like the morning spread upon the mountains, covering all at once. In the next sentence, as if overwhelmed with the sublimity of the scene before him, with an abrupt exclamation, he introduces the agents by which the events of the day of the Lord are accomplished. "A great people and a strong!" Some mighty army comes forth at the bidding of the Lord. We shall see who they are in subsequent verses. But does not the reference to future generations destroy the application of this language to the great day of the Lord, beyond which we look for no generations in the ordinary sense of that term? We think not. We take the expression, simply to mean that as there had been no day before it like it, there never should be afterward. It stands out conspicuous and alone as a day unparalleled for the sublimity of its scenes, the terror of its judgments, and the magnitude of its revolutions. The prophet now turns his attention more particularly to the agents concerned in this great work, and devotes the next nine verses to a description of them and their doings. Verse 3. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6. Before their face the people shall be much pained; all faces shall gather blackness. 7. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8. Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses, they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11: And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it? These verses have been the occasion of considerable study: some considering them a description of the devouring locusts mentioned in the first chapter; others, that the language is altogether too strong, and the description altogether too elevated to apply to any insect, or any ravages they have ever been known to commit. Those who apply it to the locusts, as do commentators generally, spend much time in showing their likeness to horses, their sound to that of chariots, their running like men with unbroken ranks, &c. But there are insuperable objections to such an application. 1. When the plague of locusts fell on Egypt, Ex. 10:14, it was said that there never should be the like again. If Joel 2:2, refers to locusts that came upon Judea in Joel's day, it describes a greater calamity than that of Egypt; for it says that there never had been any like it before; and hence the language of Ex. 10:14, is plainly contradicted. 2. The expression, "the day of the Lord," can refer to nothing else but the great day so often referred to in other scriptures. A reference to this day introduces the "great people and strong" described in the verses before us. And the description closes, verse 11, with a reference to the same day. It is most reasonable to conclude that all that intervenes refers to the same time, and the agencies God then makes use of to accomplish his will. It is hardly conceivable that between these plain references to the day of the Lord, Joel should throw in a long description of locusts, which in this case devastated Judea centuries ago. 3. The language seems to be entirely too strong for simply a description of the local ravages of a swarm of locusts; especially such expressions as, the earth quaking before them, the heavens trembling, and the sun and moon and stars withdrawing their shining. But the Lord has an army which will be called forth in martial array in the great day of the Lord, to whom the language will apply, and of whose movements and operations the words of the prophet are a striking description; an army that will accomplish the work here specified, and the results of whose presence it is beyond the power of language adequately to portray. 1. The Lord's army. "A great people and a strong," says Joel. Daniel and John in giving the number of this army, which we believe to be none other than the angels of God, say, "Ten thousand times ten thousand [that is one hundred millions] and thousands of thousands." Dan. 7:10; Rev. 5:11. 2. Will these angels accompany the Lord when he appears in the clouds of heaven? "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him," Matt. 25:31. 3. "A fire devoureth before them." "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels in flaming fire." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8. 4. "The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses." "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean." Rev. 19:14. The context shows this to be at the second coming of Christ, and that this is a figure of the angelic hosts which then attend him. 5. "Like the noise of chariots." The Lord "shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple [Rev. 16:17], a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to his enemies." Isa. 66:5, 6. "A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord." Jer. 25:31. The context shows that this takes place in the day of the Lord. 6. "All faces shall gather blackness." Paleness is the sign of fear and alarm; blackness of despair. There is no time when "all faces" will gather blackness except "in that fearful hour when they realize that probation is no more; that the harvest is past, and the summer is ended, and they are not saved. 7. Verse 7, 8, and 9, reveal some of the characteristics of these heavenly agents whom the Lord at this time commissions to execute his will. No wall can obstruct their march; no bolts nor keys can bar their entrance; their ranks cannot be broken; the sword cannot hurt them; the most secret chamber cannot conceal from them the objects of God's displeasure. Then shall the wicked realize that they are in the hands of executioners, against whom all human safeguard and all human weapons are utterly powerless. 8. "Before them the earth quakes, and the sun, moon, and stars withdraw their shining." Joel 3:12-15 shows that this is in the day of the Lord, when multitudes are in the valley of decision, when the heathen are gathered to be judged, and the sickle is put in for the final harvest. 9. The Lord utters his voice before his army. The last manifestation the Lord gives to the wicked of his majesty and power, is to utter his voice from heaven just before the appearing of Christ. See Jer. 25:30; Joel 3:16; Heb. 12:26; Rev. 16:17. 10. "The day of the Lord is great and very terrible and who can abide it?" Similar language is uttered by the wicked in that day. They exclaim, "The great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:17. None will be able to stand but such as are then clothed in the panoply of truth, and who, while mercy was offered, made the Lord their friend. And they will not only be able to stand, but to them that day will be the rising of the sun of righteousness and the morning of everlasting joy. U. S. Have Faith in God.
By A. P. Lawton
It is the privilege of the people of God, while they have no confidence in themselves, to live so near to him that they may rest by faith on the precious promises, and feel that though cast down they are not destroyed. When we so live our hope will be like an anchor; our hearts will be filled with love to God, and our lives will speak forth his praise. A lack of prevailing faith keeps the people of God weak and feeble. They look for the blessing a great way off, and according to their faith so it is. They make feeble efforts and have feebleness in return. They let go the arm of the Lord before they get the victory. This is the victory, even our faith. God knows how much in earnest we are, and he will do all he has promised for the overcomer. The rich experience, which is the fruit of the Spirit through faith, is not comprehended by the natural heart. Like the precious gem it is found by digging deep—as the diamond glitters in the sun's rays, so the pure in heart will reflect the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. While its brightness in its focal intensity will destroy the wicked at the coming of Jesus, those who have been purified made white and tried can dwell with it. We should talk, live, and act, faith; for it is pleasing to God; but unbelief is from our great enemy. I am happy while writing on this glorious subject. By faith I now claim Jesus as my present Saviour. Precious Jesus! How I love to dwell upon that name! No music on earth was ever so sweet. Praise him forever.—A. P. LAWTON, in Review. A Word to the Awakened
By Baptist Weekly
Dig deep, and lay your foundation well is our earnest advice to every awakened soul. Every revival, nearly, brings into the church more or less of what may be called "shaky professors." Their religious life is frail, ill-built, tottering, and sure to come down in the first stiff gale of temptation. The simple reason is there was no underlying godliness based on Jesus Christ. When you see a huge crack in the third story room of a tall mansion, you may at once suppose that there is something wrong in the foundation. So with religious profession that is not securely resting on the solid rock, Christ Jesus. Sooner or later the crack appears in the daily life, or else the flimsy structure leans over world-ward like a bowing wall and a tottering fence. Even if it manages to hold itself up until the dying hour, the tremendous surge of death tumbles the whole edifice of presumption and falsehood into irretrievable ruin. When the last storm descends, and the floods beat upon it, it falls, and "great will be the fall of it," for eternity can bring no repair to the wreck. Be sure you are crucified with Christ, emptied of self-righteousness, and that you have heartily taken the Lord Jesus and him only, as your life and righteousness, surrendering all for him and finding all in him. Canon Kingsley says, "Whatsoever is not simple, whatsoever is affected, boastful, willful, covetous, tarnishes, even destroys the heroic character of a deed, because all these faults spring out of self. On the other hand, wherever you find a perfectly simple, frank, unconscious character, there you have the possibility at least, of heroic action. For it is nobler far to do the most common-place duty in the household, or behind the counter, with a single eye to duty, because it must be done; nobler far, I say, than to go out of your way to attempt a brilliant deed with a double mind, and saying to yourself not only 'this will be a brilliant deed,' but also, 'and it will pay me, or raise me, or set me off, into the bargain.'" The Burden of Proof.
By Uriah Smith
BETWEEN the two institutions, a true and a false Sabbath, the seventh and the first day of the week, it would be well for all to understand with whom lies the burden of proof; which party are bound to make good their position. The following acknowledged logical principle will be in point here. "Any ancient institution is presumed to be well founded until its principles can be shown to be false and mischievous, or it can be shown, by fraud or violence, to have supplanted a more ancient institution. In the latter case the burden of proof falls upon the more modern, and presumption lies in favor of the more ancient institution. It happens, sometimes, that those are called innovators, who are in reality, the advocates of what is truly ancient and venerable. If they prove this to be the fact, they, of course, transfer the burden of proof to where it justly belongs." Tappan's Logic, p. 482.
Applying this principle to the question in hand, the burden of proof will be found invariably to fall upon the defenders of the more modern institution of Sunday-keeping. We are not the innovators—introducers of a new and novel institution, as some would fain have us believe, but are the advocates of that which is truly ancient and venerable. And this institution—the Lord's Sabbath, on the seventh day of each week, has every presumption in its favor: its principles cannot be shown to be false or mischievous; and certainly it cannot be shown to have supplanted by any means an institution more ancient or venerable; for its existence is co-eval with the world itself. The burden of proof then is "transferred to where it belongs." The advocates of the more modern institution of Sunday-keeping, are bound to show us its lease of life, the right it has to existence a single hour. It certainly has, with the mass of mankind, in so-called Christian lands, taken the place of the more ancient Sabbath. Is this a lawful succession? or is it a usurpation? Has it gained its present position by divine right, or by fraud and violence? The whole controversy of the first-day Sabbath turns upon these points; and on these its advocates affirm that it exists by legal succession, and divine right: on the same we deny. And remember that every presumption lies with us in favor of the more ancient institution. But not only are the first-day advocates unable to prove what they claim on their affirmation, but we can even turn the negative into a positive, and show that it has usurped the true Sabbath, not only by fraud or violence, but both by fraud and violence. Let these principles and facts be remembered; and let him who affirms that Sunday is the Sabbath, bear in mind how much will devolve upon him to make that affirmation good. The Coming Camp-Meetings.
By George I. Butler
As these most important meetings are so soon to commence, I cannot refrain from saying a few words through the Review in regard to them, desiring, if possible, to add my mite of influence to that of others in inducing our brethren to attend them and endeavor to make them seasons of great blessing and importance. I say this all the more freely as I do not expect to attend them as I have for the last three years. As will be seen in another article, I design to labor in a new field in tent labor. This will doubtless be best for the cause and for me, for several reasons. Experience has clearly demonstrated that a change of gifts is desirable and important from time to time for the good of the people who hear preaching. Ministers are mere human instrumentalities, through whom the word of God is discoursed. Their ministrations are very liable to be more or less affected by their own peculiar organization. It is a great thing to be a whole man, with breadth of mental caliber sufficient to avoid running into peculiar personal ruts. But few attain to this. Far more give a personal impress to those who continually dwell under their influence until their characters become warped according to the peculiar idiosyncrasies of the preacher. To change, giving the people the benefit of different gifts from time to time, is therefore desirable. On the other hand, it is good for the preacher himself to change and be brought into new relations. His labor is liable to become molded by the peculiar circumstances which continually affect him, till he becomes more one-sided than before. The labor in camp-meetings and large gatherings of our own people calls for certain peculiar characteristics. I have been earnestly engaged in these labors for three seasons past, while brethren of greater experience and ability were called to something else, or laid up partially from overlabor. I rejoice with my brethren that those will take hold this summer who have had long experience in the work, and whom our brethren have greatly missed in the past, while I feel thankful for a change myself to another field. But I cannot forbear to express my deep interest that the camp-meetings this season shall be well attended, and be seasons of great interest. If I thought that I had any personal friends whom my influence would bring to them, who would not otherwise attend, I would earnestly advise them to be on the ground in season, and to work for God. Bro. White, we see in recent articles in Review, has laid out a vigorous programme for these meetings: For one, I do earnestly desire that this may be carried out to the letter, and that these meetings may surpass any ever held before in interest. I have always felt there was a want not fully met in them. Although we have had excellent camp-meetings, in which our brethren and sisters have reaped a great benefit, yet there is, I am sure, a higher point to be attained in them—a greater work to be accomplished through them, and I much wish it may be approached the present season. Our camp-meetings are a most important instrumentality of grace, where souls should be converted to God, backsliders reclaimed, the people generally receive a clearer insight into the depths of the truth, and a general awakening and arousing should be attained. This may be accomplished if ministers and people act up to their whole duty. We hope our friends will put away their unbelief, their coldness and apathy, and make all reasonable efforts to attend the coming camp-meetings. Doubtless there are some in peculiar circumstances who may be justified in remaining at home; but this cannot be generally the case with our people. These are the great occasions of each year with us. This is where the Lord has often met with us, and many of our friends have had relatives and acquaintances converted here. Make the best of these opportunities, friends, while you have them. Our people generally, years before this, have greatly desired the presence of Bro. and sister White and were disappointed when they could not have this privilege. Now that you can have their presence improve the opportunity. Encourage them by your zeal and earnestness in the truth, put away from yourselves your unbelief, your coldness and distrust of the cause, and take a new, fresh hold upon the pillars of our glorious faith. At these meetings you will hear things and see things that will encourage you, we may reasonably hope. May God greatly bless the coming camp-meetings and all who labor in them. GEO. I. BUTLER. THINK of it! Waiting! Angels from the high court of Heaven standing near thee, O lukewarm professor! to watch thy course, whether thou wilt heed the sweet, but hearty, counsel of the True Witness. And as they mark thy faltering steps, thy love of the world, thy haughty mien, thy pride, thy selfishness, thy stupidity and carelessness, or as they behold the frequent display of thine anger and malice, and how thou justifieth thyself when thy fellows rebuke thee, then how sad those angels seem! Do they not turn away weeping to their Master's presence, with the wonderful account of a wretched sinner refusing the gracious offer of white robes, a brilliant crown, and an immortal heirship to enduring riches? Then the strange, the unparalleled patience of our great High Priest, as he condescends to hear with solicitude the account of thy wavering counsels, how thou doubtest such love as his, how thou dost murmur and set thyself against the only hope that opens its friendly portals to welcome thee, how thou almost hatest reproof, and would-est almost avoid the reprover that humbles himself to plead for thee, that troubles himself for thee, that gives his angels charge for thee, to watch over thee, to guard thee, to reprove thee, to wake thee from thy stupid slumber. But will Jehovah wait upon thee? True he has waited long, (O miraculous love!) but will he wait? Beware! Once he said of Ephraim, “Let him alone, he is joined to his idols.” Art thou joined to thine idols too? Dost thou worship thyself, or thy possessions? Is thy dignity easily touched? Is thy pride great, so that thou canst hardly bear to come down into the valley? Is thine honor great, so that thou canst hardly bear to associate with the despised company that follow the man of sorrows? Dost thou hesitate? Dost thou sink down in view of the prospect? What if the good shepherd should send thee a final message more plain, more cutting, than any before? He, the great Physician, knows thine only remedy; he offers thee the bitter draught; wilt thou drink it? He drank a bitter cup for thee; wilt thou drink the cup sent in mercy, the only remedy for thy dreadful disease? Waiting! God, and Christ, and angels, waiting for thee; not for thy wealth and power, No, no! The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and the nations are to him as the small dust of the balance. He formed the earth, and appointed the sea its bounds; he whirls the planets in their orbits with unerring certainty, and ceaseless motion. Countless millions of suns give light and heat beyond our sphere, at his control; all the dignitaries of Heaven bow low at his feet and cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, while he blesses them with his life-giving Spirit. Waiting! Jesus, the bright and morning star, the brightness of his Father's glory, the express image of his person, stands at the door. What door? At the door of thine heart. Are not the night dews upon him, the damp, cold, chilling airs of earth, as he stands there knocking? Why stand his messengers there, with such patience and love? Ah! they wait to see if thou wilt open the door and admit the sweet Spirit of truth. But wilt thou open the door? Yes; but you cannot, perhaps. Why? Because there are so many things in the way. The True Witness has told thee of thy follies, thy besetments; get these out of the way, and the door of thine heart will open to the heavenly Comforter. Take away these impediments quickly, lest he tire of waiting, and spue thee out of his mouth. J. CLARKE. Sanctification.
By F. R. Richmond
[In all the range of theological questions none is more perverted and abused than the Bible doctrine of sanctification or holiness; and the abuse of the doctrine seems to be an especial evil at this time. As it is held by many it is a terrible delusion; the very climax of self-deception. We once heard Eld. Parkhurst, an able Methodist minister, say in a preachers' meeting, in Boston, Mass., that in a long experience in the ministry, he had found those professing entire sanctification to be the most selfish, self-willed, uncontrollable, and least disposed to effective labor, of all his members. They were never willing to work unless their every whim and caprice was indulged; a failure to bow to their judgment was sure to bring down their indignation and to cause a separation between them and their brethren. Under the garb and pretense of humility they were always grumbling and finding fault with others. The church is never right because it will not pliably adopt their standard, or accept them as a standard. True humility will defer to the judgment of others and "esteem others better than ourselves." As a Methodist minister in Ohio once said, "Humility does not look well on stilts." "Brotherly kindness" is kind in spirit, and true "charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil," that is, it is not suspicious and jealous of others, but watchful over self. In view of the prevalence of this moral disease we recommend the following remarks which we copy from the Review and Herald of May 27.
J. H. W.] We often meet with a class of persons who claim to have "perfect love," to have "peace that is like a river," to be "freed from sin," &c. They are very sanctimonious and manifest a mild, lamb-like disposition when no one crosses their track, or thinks them inconsistent with their profession. They are willing to fellowship any one who speaks well of them, and says nothing of their faults. They are often at the prayer-meeting and237take an active part there, the burden of their work being not to search out and confess their sins, for from these they think themselves free, but to tell what great things the Saviour has done for them, and to exhort others to seek that high degree of holiness to which they themselves have attained. Should any one attempt to show them any deficiencies in their Christian character, though it might be done through a desire to do them good and in a spirit of love and meekness, he would be immediately reckoned as a persecutor and an enemy, and they would console themselves with the words of Jesus: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." But are these individuals really what they profess to be, sanctified or cleansed from all sin? We are told that we may know them by their fruits. One of the fruits of the spirit is righteousness. Eph. 5: 9. "Every one that doeth righteousness is born of God." "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." Sin is the "transgression of the law." In Gal. 5: 22, 23, Paul says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." They profess much love and seem to have abundance of joy and peace. But another fruit is meekness; do they bear this? If a person is so near the Lord that he commits no sin he will be very meek; he will be careful not to boast of having attained a higher degree of holiness than his brethren; for when he begins to glory in his own goodness he loses sight of Christ, and thus loses his sanctification. The Pharisee who went into the temple to pray made a high profession and was undoubtedly, to all outward appearances, a righteous man; but the publican, who could see his own sinfulness, and was ready to confess, and desired to forsake his sins, was more acceptable in the sight of God than he. Those who advocate the doctrine of perfection say that when the blood cleanses them from all sin, to confess it to the world is a cross which it is their duty to bear. They are generally very faithful in doing this duty; but cannot we honor our Saviour more by letting our daily life and conversation tell on the side of truth? Actions speak louder than words. Another fruit of the Spirit is temperance. Do we find these individuals taking up their cross daily by denying their appetites of all injurious luxuries? or are they so absorbed in the great theme of full salvation that they have no time nor strength for so unimportant a work as battling their own appetite? The Saviour considered this work of so much importance as to fast forty days. If a person is right before God he will have ceased to care for the applause of his brethren, but those who think their work of overcoming is completed fail to see that it is to raise themselves in the opinion of others that they are laboring. They are so blinded that they cannot see the motive by which they are actuated. When a person has worked himself into the belief that he is past sinning, he has placed himself in a position in which he cannot see himself. Says John, "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Then, this kind of sanctification is nothing but self-deception. Overcoming this sinful nature is not the work of a moment. Christ says, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate," thus showing that if we would gain eternal life, we must make an effort. Those who are unwilling to deny self and labor in earnest to overcome, would gladly believe that the Saviour will do the work for them which he has given them to perform themselves; but there is danger that such will not understand this deception of the enemy until it is too late. John, in one of his visions, saw a company who had "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Christ had not prepared them for the home of the saints in a moment, but they had had severe conflicts with the powers of darkness and their own sinful natures; for they had come out of great tribulation. The Saviour had provided the blood, but the work of washing the robes had been performed by the saints; and this work we all must do, if we would wear white robes in the kingdom of God. We cannot climb up some easier way, but we must dig deep and examine our hearts thoroughly, and with God's help, root out everything of a sinful nature. We must subdue our passions, overcome our appetites and resist the devil. If we set about this work in earnest we shall find we have a continual warfare, but we may be of good courage; for the Saviour has promised to help us and the conflict will soon be over. Time is short, and we have none too much of it in which to wash our robes, or form a character for the earth made new. Modern Church Worship.
By James White
Mrs. H. B. Stowe is a very good delineator. In a recent novel she gives the following description of worship in a modern fashionable church :— "It was a church of eminent propriety. It was large and lofty, with long-drawn isles and excellent sleeping accommodations, where the worshipers were assisted to dream of Heaven by every appliance of sweet music, and not rudely shaken in their slumbers by any obtrusiveness on the part of the rector. In fact everything about the service of this church was thoroughly toned down by good breeding. The responses of the worshipers were given in decorous whispers that scarcely disturbed the solemn stillness, for when a congregation of the best fed and best bred people of New York on their knees declare themselves 'miserable sinners,' it is a matter of delicacy to make as little disturbance about it as possible. A well-paid choir of the finest professional singers took the whole responsibility of praising God into their own hands, so that the respectable audience were relieved from any necessary exertion in that department. As the most brilliant lights of the opera were from time to time engaged to render the more solemn parts of the service, flocks of sinners who otherwise would never have entered a church crowded to hear these 'morning stars sing together,' let us hope to their edification. The sermon of the rector, delivered in the dim perspective, had a plaintive, far-off sound, as a voice of 'one crying in the wilderness,' and crying at a very great distance. This was in part owing to the fact that the church, having been built after an old ecclesiastical model in days when English churches were used only for professional services, was entirely unadapted for any purposes of public speaking, so that a man's voice had about as good a chance of effect in it as if he spoke anywhere in the thoroughfares of New York." It seems a pity that such scenes are to only painted in novels, which are looked upon as romances, of course, and thus the force of the truth continued in the sketch as lost upon the minds of the readers. As a specimen of Mrs. Stowe's style of sarcasm this is even copied approvingly into religious papers. But let some bold reformer point out to the congregation where this mockery of the solemn worship of God is carried on, and cry out against the abomination as it deserves, and no popular religious papers would notice him unless to rebuke him for his uncharitable ravings! Preaching, prayer, and singing, should all be aimed to the purpose of leading the congregation to worship aright; but instead of this they are too often substituted for action and activity on the part of the membership. The church itself is prayed to, sung to, and preached to, while it remains a passive spectator of the form of worship. It is a wonder that all cannot in these things find a fulfillment of Paul's prediction in 2 Tim. 3 : 1–5. Pacific Publishing Association.
By James White
THIS young institution must be nourished now. The Battle Creek Association is very strong and above want. But few of our people have taken stock in it. There is a host of the friends of the cause, especially those who have joined the ranks the past five or ten years, who have not yet taken stock in either Association. These whoever they may be, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, are urgently invited to take stock in the young Association at Oakland, Cal., in a liberal manner. Bro. Edward Lobdell of Portland Maine, hits the spot exactly in the following, as expressed by a recent letter from Eld. Goodrich of Maine :— “Bro. White :—Bro. Edward Lobdell of Portland, Maine, wishes to take three shares in the Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, for which I enclose $34.50.” Bro. Lobdell is one of the old hands, and has stock in all our institutions, yet he reaches out a long helping hand from the Atlantic way over to the Pacific to help just when help is needed. Now when the sun shall set, especially at the commencement of the holy Sabbath, Bro. Lobdell, as he follows the orb of day down, can enjoy the happy reflection that he has stock in the young institution across the continent. We suggest that all our good brethren, old and new, who are able so to do, put themselves in a position to enjoy the same happy reflection with Bro. L. which they can do by sending to this office all the way from one to one hundred dollars for the Pacific Publishing Association. At all our camp-meetings we shall make a big strike for a wider circulation of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, and stock in the Pacific Publishing Association. But those who have the cash on hand should not wait until camp-meeting, these can foward at once to Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich.