Since I last wrote I have visited churches as follows: Sabbath, March 9 and 10, I had four meetings and the ordinances with the church in Hillsdale. Their number has been reduced by removals by letter, and the disorderly walk of some; but others are striving to overcome.
Sabbath, 16 and 17, I was with the church at Ransom Center. We had also four meetings with them, and the Lord's supper. This church has faithful members, and if they avoid the spirit of emigration I think it will not be long before they will have erected a house of prayer.
From April 13 to the 16th, I was with the church at St. Charles. We had, including social, seven meetings, also the ordinances. We trust our labor was not248in vain. We rode nine miles on horseback from this place to Chesaning, as the stage did not run. As we were crossing a large slough, our horse fell with us and well nigh covered us with mud and water. It made us think of Pilgrim's slough of despond, but with him we came out on the right side.
The evenings of the 16th and 17th, we had three meetings with the church in Chesaning. This church were in a discouraged condition. Some were favoring secret societies. We warned them not to put on the enemy's armor to do the Lord's work.
Sabbath the 20th and the 21st, we had four meetings with the church in Bunkerhill. One of them was held at the house of Bro. Briggs, where he had invited his neighbors in the evening of the Sabbath. Here we found our dear sister Christian, from Williamsburgh, near N. Y., waiting the coming of her family from that place. The church here are but few; but they have a mind to work.
JOHN BYINGTON.
WAITING AT THE WRONG DEPOT.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
Of late I have met with several Adventists who are preaching a definite time for the Lord to come, saying, that it will be this year. They say that all the servants of God must be ready and waiting when he comes, in the depot, satchel in hand, ready to go. All who do not believe definite time they say, are not ready. I have heard them illustrate it sometimes thus: A train is expected to pass a depot at a certain hour, and all passengers expecting to go must be on the platform, satchel in hand, and waiting; so they say it is with them. The Lord is coming this year and they are all ready to go. All who do not believe this definite time they fear are not waiting, and hence will be lost. We think, however that they are not correct who are looking for the Lord to come when there is still so great a work for the church to do in order to be prepared for that event. They are neglecting this work and we fear that they will be found wanting when the Lord does come. Now I think they are making a mistake similar to one which I once made. I was going to Ohio to attend a State Conference. I stopped at Jackson over Thursday night intending to take the cars for Toledo, Friday morning, at five o'clock. It was my last chance to go before the Sabbath. Thinking that I knew all about the trains I made little inquiry. Friday morning long before time and before others were up, I was at the depot, satchel in hand, anxiously waiting for the cars. I often looked at my watch and counted the minutes till the train was due. At length the time was nearly up, but to my surprise I saw no indication of the train, nor any one preparing for it. The depot was not open nor any one stirring. At length the thought struck me that this might not be the right depot; so I found a man and asked him if the cars left this depot for Toledo? He said, “No, sir, that depot is on the other side of the city, nearly a mile from here.” Now I was in trouble. The time was almost expired and I was a mile from the cars. My waiting had been in vain because I had not waited in the right place. I had to make quick work in order to reach the train before it left. Thus I fear it is with our time-setting Adventists. They are waiting as was I, at the wrong depot. I fear that some of these our friends will not find out their mistake soon enough to reach the right depot in time to take the train.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
QUARTERLY MEETINGS IN N. Y.
By R. F. Cottrell
The meeting for the second Sabbath in April, was held at Adams' Center, Jeff. Co. I had the privilege of attending this meeting, and of uniting again with Bro. Fuller in the work. The Lord blessed his people assembled there, and they engaged in the work of giving themselves anew to his service, to seek him with all the heart and serve him with all their power. We had a very deeply interesting social meeting on first-day morning, in which nearly all took part. Their testimonies followed each other in quick succession, and were expressive of deep and solemn feeling, and a determination to know God and to serve him perfectly with all the heart. May God still help them in the work of overcoming! May none slacken their efforts till the victory is gained, and the harvest of the earth is fully ripened. Then may we be gathered up to meet our descending Lord.
I am now separated from Bro. Fuller with whom I have taken sweet counsel for the last three months. May God still bless his labors, and also go with me to the work.
R. F. COTTRELL.
THE WORK IN MAINE.
By CHAS. STRATTON.
Since my last report, I have been attending Monthly Meetings and laboring with the different churches in Maine. Our Meetings are interesting. Every week some new ones are brought into the truth. In Clinton and Canaan there have been Sabbath meetings and Sabbath Schools established within a few months, and S. B. in Clinton. Bro. Barnes has been laboring with good success in both places. Our prospects in Maine are good, if we can only have enough of the help of the Lord.
Our brethren and sisters are becoming more spiritual as the truth works down out of their heads into their hearts. Many professors of religion, if their heads were taken off, their religion would be gone, and they lost. We want to be certain that we are united to Christ, the living vine; then when Christ who is our life shall appear we shall also appear with him in glory.
Our dear Bro. Goodrich has returned home and has taken hold with us to labor systematically, and I trust effectually, in the cause. I am satisfied that there are others in Maine that must take hold of this work. My prayer is that God may thrust them into his vineyard. The fields are all white ready for the harvest, and he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
My heart is often made glad to know that the Lord will have the wheat gathered in. If one will not help, another will, and the field will be reaped, and the Lord of the harvest will reward the faithful laborers as they come bringing their sheaves with them. Thank God! They that sow in tears shall reap in joy!
The Judgment is here. The Master soon will be here and say, Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of thy Lord. The New Jerusalem's gates will open, and the righteous nation will enter in. Bless the Lord!
CHAS. STRATTON.
Cornville, Me., April 18, 1867.
A SUNDAY LAW.
By B. S. BARNES
To show that the tendency of the times is fast demanding a restrictive Sunday law, I copy the following for the Review from sermons lately delivered by eminent men of the popular pulpit:—
“The Sabbath, therefore, must be maintained as a public institute in the integrity of its sacredness, and its first safeguard is the protection of the laws. Although the constitutionality of the Sabbath is no longer an open question, yet the extent to which fresh legislation may be carried is, and has been, a matter of contest. No doubt the genius of our system would dictate extreme caution in the way of positive enforcement of Sabbath duties. Yet, since the whole presumption of law and precedent is in favor of the Sabbath as an existing religious institute, there would seem to be no reason why a defensive legislation may not be most stringent and peremptory, saving the liberty of the individual conscience by not exacting a personal worship; but saving, too, the purity of the public conscience by forbidding the open desecration of the public worshiping day. The community owes to itself, as an act of self-preservation, such conservative legislation as this.”—Alexander H. Vinton, D. D.
An article prefixed to this discourse states that it was addressed to one of the largest and most substantial religious audiences ever assembled—the church, which is one of the most commodious in America, being filled to its utmost capacity.
E. O. Haven, President of the University of Michigan, says:—
“Politically, it may be asked, should the observance of the Sabbath be required by civil law?
“This opens up for investigation the general subject, the proper object of civil law. The profoundest Christian statesmen and moralists are coming clearly to see that in moral teaching the church should lead and the state follow. The object of the state is, not to require religion or morality by force, but to protect life, liberty, and property. If the state enacts a law for the observance of the Sabbath, it is to secure the political good of the people. This law is not designed to reach a religious result, but a benefit that shall be enjoyed by all, whether religious or not.
Such a law is proper and should be enforced.”—The Pillars of Truth, p. 94.
John Todd, D. D., has lately written a book to Sunday School Teachers, one whole chapter of which is devoted to setting forth the immediate duty of the State to enact a restrictive Sunday law.
B. S. BARNES.
News and Miscellany.
Can ye not discern the Signs of the Times? Matt. xvi, 3.
The Luxemburg Question.
THE European news is warlike. What we get by the cable is meager, frequently very stupid, and seldom very trustworthy; but it points in a blind way toward an outbreak somewhat earlier than had been expected. Last summer it was generally agreed that this was to be a year of peace; not because the causes of war had been put out of the way, nor because the treaty of Prague was a final settlement, but for a number of less conclusive reasons. Napoleon had set his heart on a quiet summer for his great Exposition at Paris. Bismarck, having driven Austria out of Germany by arms, was inclined to pursue the work of consolidating the German States by diplomacy, and by the same means to strengthen the alliances of Prussia, as well as by a period of rest to recruit the resources which extraordinary efforts had strained. If these two men agreed on peace, there was nobody bold enough to challenge their determination, or strong enough to dispute it with a prospect of success.
For many weeks, therefore, the ramblings on the Continent passed without exciting great alarm. It is quite recently that the Bourse and the Exchange have felt something akin to a panic, the two nearest causes of which were the publication of the secret treaties between Prussia and the South German States, and the sudden emergence of the Luxemburg business. This latter, like the Schleswig-Holstein question, may become another instance to prove on how small a pivot the affairs of Europe will sometimes appear to turn. What the negotiations said to have taken place in regard to Luxemburg may be, we do not fully know—much less do we know how far either Prussia or France may be disposed to go in asserting their respective views. What is known may be briefly stated. The importance of the duchy as a piece of territory is not very great. Its whole population is less than one-fourth that of the city of New York, and its area in square miles not more than a seventh of Massachusetts. But this little plot of ground lies on the frontier of France, in a position of great strategic importance, and contains one of the strongest fortresses of Europe—the strongest after Gibraltar, said Carnot. It belongs since 1814 to Holland, but has a German-speaking population, and a political connection with the German Confederation, and its fortress has been occupied by troops of the Federal army. The German Confederation having gone to pieces, Luxemburg is occupied by Prussian troops, and is at present wholly in the military control of that power. Pending the final determination of the relations between Holland and the new Confederation, negotiations have sprung up for the cession of Luxemburg to France. Whether the King of Holland proposed, or the Emperor of France solicited, this cession, is not known; but it is stated in the news which came by the last steamer, that Holland has agreed (undoubtedly under no slight pressure from Berlin) that Luxemburg shall not be ceded without the consent of Prussia—a consent very certain not to be given, except for a consideration, and not likely to be given for any consideration. The statement of this pledge may or may not be true. Meanwhile, negotiations with respect to the cession, commenced with Prussia and France, and Count Bismarck had notified the Emperor that the consent of Germany was necessary to the sale of a fortress completed by the German Confederation, and that the bargain must be ratified by the powers which guaranteed the treaty of 1839, by which the disposition of the Luxemburg territory was settled.
Thus stood matters when we received by the cable, a week ago and more, the startling intelligence that Count Bismarck had addressed an energetic note to the Tuilleries demanding of the Emperor his reasons for arming, and declaring that Prussia would hold France responsible for consequences if she did not cease immediately her warlike preparations. Accompanying this dispatch was another, stating that Rastadt, a fortified town of Baden near the right bank of the Rhine, had been suddenly re-inforced by two Prussian regiments, and that orders had been sent from Berlin to Wurtemberg and Baden for the transportation of cavalry horses. The well-known boldness of Count Bismarck gave a color of probability even to this statement, and it was not generally discredited until ten days had elapsed without bringing any intelligence to confirm it. Of course, if it were known in Europe that such a dispatch had been sent, the uneasiness would have increased to a panic, and the journals would have been filled, if not with intelligence, at least with rumors and with comment, some of which might before this have found their way to this side. The fact that nothing came tended to show that the original statement was an invention or an exaggeration. On Friday of last week, however, came a dispatch asserting that Napoleon is strengthening his forces on the frontier, and making other warlike preparations, and that the French reserve of 1868 will be called out on the 1st of this coming May. Prussia, on the contrary, is represented as making less active preparations. On Saturday came a repetition of the original statement that Bismarck had sent to Napoleon a demand for explanation; but the sources of information are not indicated. Out of this jumble of inconsistent and fragmentary information, it is impossible to form a positive opinion, or to base upon it more than a conjecture of the probability of the earlier approach of that struggle for supremacy which cannot be for many years postponed, and of that convulsive effort at re-organization to which the European States are irresistibly impelled.—N. Y. Independent.
Our New Territory—Description of the Russian-American Possessions.
As there will naturally be felt a desire on the part of the public to know something of the extent and value of the possessions which our Government has been treating with Russia for, we subjoin the following description of them, taken from the revised edition of Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World, published in 1866:
Russian America, according to the treaties of the United States and Great Britain, in 1824-5, comprehends all the American coast of the Pacific and the adjacent islands north of the parallel of fifty degrees forty minutes north latitude, and the whole of the main land west of the meridian of one hundred and forty-one degrees west longitude, which passes through Mount St. Elias. It is bounded north by the Arctic ocean, east by British America, south by the Pacific, and west by the Pacific and Arctic oceans and Behring's Straits, which separates it from the Russian possessions in Asia, the distance across from Cape Prince of Wales to East Cape being only thirty-six miles. With the exception of the narrow strip extending in a south east direction along the coast nearly 400 miles, and the remarkable peninsula of Alaska, it forms a tolerably compact mass, with an average length and breadth of about 600 miles each. Its greatest length north and south, from the southern extremity of Alaska to Point Barrow, is about 1,100 miles; greatest breadth measured on the Arctic Circle, which passes through Cape Prince of Wales, is about 800 miles; the249longest line that can be drawn across the country is from Cape Prince of Wales to its southern extremity, latitude fifty-four degrees forty minutes, a distance of about 1,600 miles. Estimated area, 394,000 square miles. The part of the mainland south of Mount St. Elias consists of a narrow belt, which is continued along a mountain ridge parallel to the coast, and has nowhere a greater width than about thirty-three miles. The interior of the country is very little known; but from several expeditions, it appears that throughout its west part it is elevated and uneven, while the part extending along the Arctic Ocean is invariably flat, with the exception of a small portion lying between 141 degrees and 152 degrees west longitude. The coasts of the mainland and the islands have almost all been carefully explored. The north coast was discovered in the course of the present century.
The climate of Russian America is not so cold as either the east parts of the same continent, or the east part of the continent of Asia, under the same latitude. It is, however, far too rigorous to admit of agricultural operations; and the whole value of the territory is derived from the products of its fisheries or of the chase. The latter have been placed under the rigid monopoly by the Russian government, which has conferred the sole privilege of trafficking in them on the Russian American Company. This has led to remonstrances on the part both of the United States and Great Britain which have been so far successful that a lease has been granted to the Hudson's Bay Company, granting them the exclusive possession of the mainland of Russian America, from fifty degrees forty minutes north, to Cape Spencer, in latitude fifty-eight degrees thirteen minutes north, and the exclusive privilege of supplying the Russians with agricultural produce and provisions.
The principal settlement is New Archangel, a small town with 1,000 inhabitants on the Island of Sitka, the largest of the group George III., which is called Baranov by the Russians, and was named George III. by Vancouver. It is the seat of the Governor of all the establishments of Russian America, and has fortifications, magazines, and a Governor's residence, all built of wood. The ordinary squadron stationed on its coasts consists of two frigates and two corvettes. The Russian-American Company, incorporated 1799, for fishing and hunting fur-bearing animals, whose chief establishments are here, have fifty ships of all sizes engaged in the collection and conveyance of peltry. Besides these possessions, Russia had formerly a small colony, called Bodega, in California, north of San Francisco. It now belongs to the United States. Its port is small, but was once important for the Russian fur trade.
The population of Russian America is estimated at 61,000, of whom perhaps 6,000 are Russians, Creoles, Kodiaks and Aleoots. The remainder, above 50,000 in number, enjoy a greater or less degree of independence, and consist almost entirely of Esquimaux.
MONTHLY MEETING AT CANAAN.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS, IN MAINE: According to appointment from Bro. Stratton in another column of this paper, Sabbath, May 11, is your next Monthly Meeting in Canaan. As you well know, it is important that these meetings be kept up. By the blessing of God, they have been a great benefit to the cause in Maine the past six months. We have all acknowledged and appreciated this. Greater harmony, union, strength, and zeal, have been produced among us than before. We have all enjoyed many precious seasons at these meetings. We know that God has blessed our efforts in sustaining them. Many souls have been converted, and many brought to the knowledge of the truth by them. We still need their influence in Maine. Now it is for you to say whether they shall be sustained or not. Let no brother or sister think that they have no interest in it. Every one has an interest in them, and if they have the proper zeal for the truth they will feel it. If one can stay at home others can. When we begin to make excuses about not going, we had better ask ourselves if it is not that we lack interest in the cause of God, if we have not more zeal in our affairs than in the cause of God,—more interest in our farms than for our souls, more interest to save time and money than we have to save souls who are perishing. Time is short, and we can afford to spend some of it in the service of God besides the Sabbath day. Satan will fix up many plausible excuses for you, but be careful how you heed them. God required ancient Israel to come up to Jerusalem once a year and spend several days each time. He promised to take care of their farms, their houses, and cattle, while they were gone. That same God will take care of your affairs while you go to worship him. Brethren, think of these things, and act as will please God. We do hope that there will be a large gathering at this Monthly Meeting. I hope to be with you at your next one. I am still trying to serve God and love the truth. May the Lord bless you all.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
Items.
—At a recent trial at Fort Hamilton, in New York harbor, a shot weighing 1,080 pounds was fired from a 20 inch gun to a distance of four miles.
—The “Gentile” Sunday School at Salt Lake City is still flourishing, and has 125 children from all religious denominations, even Mormons. The saints are moving to establish opposition schools.
—Sixteen murders have been committed in Jackson Co., Ind., in the past two weeks, most of them shockingly cold-blooded and premeditated. The number of rapes, robberies, arsons, and other crimes are too numerous to mention.
—Bees are destroying thousands of the fruit and grape buds in New Albany, Ind., by stinging and killing them. Fruit growers say that the depredation of these busy insects are so formidable as to endanger the entire peach and grain crop.
—Accounts from Rio Janeiro state that between the 7th and 14th of March, 143 deaths from cholera occurred in a little town of Rio Grande do Sul, the population of which is about 3,600.
—A telegram received here April 23, by Atlantic cable, has the following significant paragraphs: “Peace is despaired of.—There is a tendency to a panic.—Prussia is quietly arming.”
Louis Napoleon.
THIERS, the French historian, one of the men who rose with the revolution of 1830, who was Minister of Louis-Philippe, and who “defended society” in 1848 against the Socialist doctrines of Prudhon, is now one of the most conspicuous leaders of the opposition to the Empire, and has just made an elaborate speech which is worthy to have been spoken by the Minister of Charles X. It is a curious illustration of the antiquated political policy of Europe, for it is a plea for the dismemberment of other nations. It assumes that prosperity consists in the misfortunes of others; and that a truly great France is incompatible with a united Italy, and a confederated Germany. The Emperor is blamed for not having foreseen the result of the war, and for being outwitted by Bismarck. Thiers’s speech is a long wail over the lost balance of power—a balance secured by the treaties of Vienna, which were made solely in the interests of kings and dukes, and with regal disregard of the people. Thiers, of course, is much too learned a scholar not to fortify his position with history; but history will be interpreted very differently by other scholars and statesmen. He ended his speech by the sharp sneer that there was no fault left for the Imperial Government to commit.
This assault of Thiers is strong not in itself but in its opportunity. It is no discredit to the Empire that it has not interfered to prevent the unity of Italy and Germany, but it is very mortifying that Europe has been reconstructed, and the treaties of Vienna destroyed without the increase of territory and with a loss of prestige to France. A united Italy and a confederated Germany do not threaten the legitimate policy of France; but it is a wound to French “glory that France has not equally advanced with those Powers.” The skill of Thiers is shown in choosing the moment for his attack, and although his explanation of the fact is unsatisfactory, the fact still remains and stings.
Emile de Girardin has shown his superiority to Thiers as a political tactician by fastening upon the simple fact and relentlessly exposing it. He boldly declares that the Empire is a failure, and that when it talks of conceding liberties it confesses that liberties have been withheld. As for the Emperor he says that he has broken his oath, and distinctly insinuates that he overthrew the Republic when it was not in peril. This is the substance of an editorial article which has interested France quite as much as the speech of Thiers; and nothing more forcibly illustrates the truth of Girardin’s assertions and the nervousness of the Government than the fact that he was tried and fined for the publication. That is a sign of real weakness in the Empire. Were the Emperor conscious of a sure hold upon the nation he would have willingly allowed the publication as an evidence of his security. But if the editor had been sure of that hold, he would not have written the article.
If the effort which Louis Napoleon is making toward a league of France with Holland and Switzerland to withstand the increasing power of Germany should fail, the Empire would be in danger. The French might be content to be ruled by the cleverest man in Europe, but they will hardly remain loyal to him when they distinctly see a cleverer. Bismarck is a dreadful rival. His game is so imposing and swift and brilliant, that Louis Napoleon is as much dazzled as the rest of Europe. It will require all his energy and skill to hold his throne against the singular political combinations which are now plainly arising in Europe, and in which the United States unofficially and involuntarily, but none the less powerfully plays so important a part.—Harper’s Weekly.
Affairs in Europe.
EUROPE is in that extremely critical condition that war in one part of the Continent would probably involve the whole Continent. It is in fact one vast powder magazine; apply the torch to any part of it and the flame would at once communicate to the entire building. Prussia and France would not fight single-handed for Luxembourg, nor Russia and Turkey engage in a national duel over the possession of the Bosphorus.
All that saved a Continental war last summer was the lightning speed with which Bismarck and his needles forced Austria into compliance with the demands of Prussia. While the sleepy Powers were waking up and buckling on their armor, the German war was begun and finished. The greatest of living diplomats had in a few days accomplished his objects most effectually and staid the ravages of war. The Count was of Macbeth’s opinion that “if it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly,” and the result has justified the wisdom of his policy. But it is hardly possible that the thunderbolt of war could now fall upon Central Europe without hitting Eastern Europe, and even crossing the channel and striking gouty old John Bull in his workshop.
The great Powers are none of them willing to begin the fight. Turkey protests that she is the most liberal Government in the world, the very “bird of freedom,” but that Russia is an old bear that tore Poland in fragments, and that the English lion should unpaw Ireland before making a fuss about Crete or Servia. Prussia is even bolder of speech than the sick man of the East, and tells Napoleon in plain Dutch that he must let Luxembourg entirely alone. The other Powers are less demonstrative, but evidently keep up “a terrible thinking.” They act very much as if “spoiling for a fight,” but each is waiting to take the other at a disadvantage. It is possible that the storm may blow over and leave the sky clear and peaceful, but the strong probability is, that the thunder of cannon and the rain of blood will precede the final calm.
The failure of the Czar in the Crimean war was not felt by any of the parties to be a finality. Russia is continually increasing in strength and enterprise, while Turkey is becoming more and more feeble all the time, and what is more, the Western Powers are less concerned in the integrity of the Ottoman Empire now than then. England alone has any special aversion to Russian aggrandizement. Her Majesty’s Indian possessions are not far removed from the southern boundary of Russia, and the latter is gravitating toward British India. The English Government is, judging from the tone of the British press, more apprehensive for “the balance of power” in Asia than in Europe, and that for the very good reason that John Bull has a very profitable investment on that continent, and wishes to retain a monopoly. So far as Europe is concerned, he has no special interest in Continental affairs. All he asks is to be let alone in his island retreat. Once he aspired to the crown of France, and still later he went into partnership with his “Dutch Uncle,” but now he is “I by myself, I.” Italy may disturb the national balances, France may shatter the Holy Alliance, and Prussia may suddenly become a first-rate, instead of a fourth-rate, Power, indeed the whole fabric of European polity may be torn into shreds, and the British Government will sit calmly by and not raise a finger to stay the progress of events; but when the Czar has his eye on the riches of the East, and threatens, however remotely, to dispute the supremacy of India, it begins to shake off its lethargy. Those who predict that England will not take part in the pending struggle forget that Russian supremacy in the Bosphorus would endanger that of England in Southwestern Asia; but such is the fact, and for that reason England cannot, in the event of an Eastern war, remain a listless spectator.
In a time like this there are never wanting those who predict the final result; but frequently events take a widely different turn and bring up at a stopping place not thought of by the seers. In this instance let the war drum of that continent once marshall the hosts of Europe, and no human calculations can at all divine the result. It is, however, highly probable that Turkey would be dismembered. Russia will never rest until the Black Sea and the Bosphorus are secured without restriction. Constantinople is likely to become a Russian city. The Turkish territory in which the Greeks predominate would probably be given to the Kingdom of Greece, with which Russia would establish a close and strong alliance. All these things are, of course, conjectural, but the evident tendency of events is in that direction.—Chicago Journal.
Conference Department.
By R. O. Saunders
Exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. Heb. x. 25.
This Department is designed to fill the same place in the paper that the Conference or Social Meeting does in the worship of God. Speak often one to another to comfort, edify and aid each other in the way of holiness and true Christian experience.
From Sister Saunders.
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I have often thought, when reading the cheering testimonies in the Review, that I would tell you some of my experience. It has been two years since I decided to go with the remnant to Mount Zion. I love the holy Sabbath, and am glad to be numbered with the people that are trying to keep it according to the commandment, though I have always observed the seventh day, having in different places belonged to three Seventh-day Baptist churches.
“In holy duties let the day
In holy pleasures pass away.
How sweet a Sabbath thus to spend
In hope of one that ne’er shall end.”
I love the Health Reform. It has done much for me as an individual; and I believe it is just what this people need to fit them for translation. May we obey the truth in all its points, knowing that we are not our own, but that we have been bought with a price, even the precious blood of Christ.
We are truly living in the last days, even in the sifting time when those that are not rooted and grounded in the truth will be led astray through the temptations that are thickening around us. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Oh! I long to be free from sin and sorrow. Hasten, welcome day, when the trump shall sound which will awake the righteous dead. Then shall we meet our loved ones whom cruel death has torn from our embrace. I hope to be there having been sanctified through obeying the truth.
I feel that the work is rising, the church is giving heed to the straight testimony, and is trying to get out of the lukewarm state we have been in so long. We have just enjoyed one of the best Quarterly Meetings we have ever had here. Brn. Cottrell and Fuller were with us, filled with the fruits of the Spirit, and as Bro. C. spoke to us Sabbath morning from the text found in Rom. xiii, 11–14, which is a sermon of itself, it was meat in due season. Professing, as we do, to believe that we are living in the last days, when the last message of mercy is being proclaimed, is it not high time that we all awake and buckle on the whole armor? But truly the dark night of sin and sorrow is far spent, and I do rejoice that the day is at hand. Yes, that glad day will soon come when hope will be changed to glad fruition, when the Just One shall come to take his redeemed ones home.
Bro. Fuller, in the afternoon, spoke to us of the covenant which the children of Israel entered into, found in 2 Chron. xv, 12, 13. The church have been coming up for a few weeks past, and it seemed that they were ready to enter heartily into the covenant to seek the Lord with all the heart. I trust that while the most of the church solemnly covenanted together, they will make sure work of it for the judgment; for our individual cases must soon pass in review before the great Judge of all the earth; and now is our time to secure Jesus as our advocate by giving him the whole heart, and showing our love to God by keeping all his commandments, and walking in the ordinances of the Lord’s house blameless.
Two were added to the church and as a large company met to attend to the ordinances, we felt to rejoice that our blessed Saviour left us the example of humility of which he says, “If ye know these things, happy250are ye if ye do them.” The sweet Spirit of God rested upon us while we remembered him who was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief; who was rich but for our sakes became poor, and died the ignominious death of the cross, that we might be saved through his atoning blood. He said, “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” And in order that we do not eat and drink unworthily, we must by faith discern the Lord’s body. Let us remember Jesus’ words, “Except ye eat of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.”
First-day morning at nine o’clock we met for prayer and conference. For two hours and a half the time was well improved. While the melting Spirit of God rested down, our hearts were made tender and with many tears the brethren and sisters confessed their heart-wanderings; and as we expressed a determination to return, the Lord met us a long way off. How good the Lord is! Oh, that men would praise him for his wonderful works to the children of men! All seemed ready to still seek the Lord. We truly had a refreshing season and felt it was the very gate of Heaven to our waiting souls.
We were led to rejoice in the rock of our salvation, and to praise God to see the youth making new resolves to be on the Lord’s side. May the dear youth all through our ranks see to it that they have a daily experience that will tell to their spiritual advancement in the cause of truth. Is not eternal life worth more than the pleasures of this transitory world? Are we not willing to wear the yoke of Christ and bear the cross, that by the assistance of God, we may overcome all the besetments of life and finally have right to the tree of life.
R. O. SAUNDERS.Jeff. Co., N. Y., April, 18, 1867.
A Testimony to the Sabbath
Bro. R. Town writes from Franklin Co., N. Y. I have been a believer in the Advent doctrine since 1846, and was one of the disappointed ones in ’44. I moved to Locke, Ingham county, Mich., four years ago last fall where I was taken sick, besides having my foot cut with an ax. In my afflictions I was visited by the good Samaritans, who left me the History of the Sabbath, and many other books treating on our glorious hope of immortality through Christ alone. Those books were just what I needed, and after a few weeks’ study, I saw the light on the Sabbath, the ending of the 2300 days, and the sanctuary, &c., and no sooner did I see the light than I resolved to walk in it. On account of my health, I left Locke in six months after my wife and I began to keep the Sabbath of the Lord, and I returned to N. Y. Where I now live there are no Sabbath-keepers. For a time I have been deprived of the Review and Instructor, but wish to take them again.