Review and Herald, Vol. 20, No. 8. (7/22/1862)

Review and Herald

Jul 22, 1862

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 22, 1862

LIFE INSURANCE.

By Hastings

MAN naturally loves security and dreads uncertainty. Give him something that is permanent and he reposes in the enjoyment of it. But where all is uncertain all is unrest. Among the things that are uncertain on earth, nothing is more so than human life. No other possession is held by a tenure more frail. No thread is more brittle than that which holds us to these mortal scenes. From childhood to old age, ten thousand dangers lurk along our path. Ten thousand flickering life-lamps expire before the first blast of earth's chill tempest, others burn but feebly and at last go out in darkness, and often the life that seemed to glow with a steady and a quenchless flame is blotted out in an instant by some untoward event. So man dies—"his breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. cxlvi, 4. His purposes are broken off and unfulfilled—his wealth is snatched from him—the sceptre drops from his hand—the crown from his brow, and he falls like a potsherd smitten by an iron rod; or fades like a flower before a burning blast. "In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down and withereth." Ps. xc, 6.

Life, though so frail, is yet of immense value. Because upon it hangs all enjoyment, prosperity, friendship, wealth, and all the support and dependence of others who look to us for assistance. Cut off life, and happiness fades from the home; joy flees from the hearts of friends; bread for the hungry fails, and the goodly building of human comfort falls in ruins upon the pillars that have been broken beneath it.

Men in the absence of any desired good naturally seek a substitute for it. So if they cannot retain life, they contrive by an associate or corporate action to secure to their friends, or those left behind them, some of these blessings which they would have secured had they been permitted to live to carry out the plans they had formed. So that, by paying annually a certain limited amount, the person is thus insured, and in case he shall die, his heirs or legal representatives are entitled to a large amount of money on account of the insurance thus effected by him.

Reader, I wish to call your attention to a system of "Life Insurance," older, better, and more reliable and satisfactory, in every respect, than any system which is usually known by that name.

The authors of the existing systems of life insurances are all poor mortals, sick, dying, or now dead, and not one of them, nor all of them, can preserve their own lives from the power and dominion of death and corruption.

But the author of this system is the living God; He who lives forever; He who giveth life to everything; Him in whom we live, and move, and have our being; He who is the deep unfathomed "fountain of life." And with Him associated in this work, is His Only Begotten Son, who, quickened by the "Eternal Spirit," lives "by the power of an endless life," and of whom it was said: "In Him was LIFE, and the LIFE was the LIGHT of MEN."

The real object of this system of insurance is far beyond that of all others. They do not attempt to give life, preserve life, prolong life, insure life, or restore life at all. So far as life is insured, men have no more life when insured than when uninsured. Insurance neither stays nor overcomes the power of death. It simply pays money to the living when the insured person is dead. And this has sometimes awakened the avarice of wicked men, and they thought to gain this money by taking the lives of those who were thus insured.

But this system to which I allude does not substitute money for life, it proposes to give LIFE itself. Not to prevent death here, but to give back a better life after this mortal life has fled. For "the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE."

I wish you now to look for a moment at some of the peculiar excellences that attend this system of "Life Insurance."

It is needful always that insurance be effected in a good company. One where there is an abundant capital. One that is not a sham and a fraud upon community. One, too, that is managed by men morally good; men who will not steal the funds intrusted to them, and who will equitably adjust all the righteous demands which may arise against it. And these desirable traits are pre-eminently found in the system of which I speak. The great God of heaven and earth, just, wise, almighty, glorious and immortal, He promises, He insures ETERNAL LIFE.

While in all other systems life itself is not insured, but instead of it a sum of money is paid to the survivors after the death of the person insured, he deriving no personal benefit from it—in this system the person himself derives the entire benefit, and his life is really insured. "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he LIVE; and he that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die—shall not die forever." John xi, 25, 26. When these scenes of mortality are past, God shall make good his pledge, and bestow upon those who love him—life, eternal life. "He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." It shall be no substitute of dollars and cents, but life itself in its eternal springtide, flowing from the very Godhead's depths.

In all other systems there are certain limits, beyond which insurance is not effected. It is only upon the healthy; those free from disease, and also (at the ordinary rates) those that are young, or in the prime of life. For the companies could not afford to insure, at usual prices, the aged, the feeble, or the sick. This system differs from them here. No class, age, sex, color, or country; no victims of disease, no infirm persons, none, however near the hour of dissolution, are cut off from the benefits of this system of "Life Insurance."

Persons who have never known a day of health have been insured for all eternity. And policies do not expire by limitation, nor do the rates increase with advancing years and increasing liability to death.

In all other systems the insurance is simply based upon acknowledged uncertainties. The company sometimes say, "We will pay you ten thousand dollars if you die within ten years; if not, we pay you nothing;" and the person desiring insurance pays his ten, or twenty, or fifty dollars, with the understanding that there is no certainty that he will need the insurance, and if he does not, then his money, or the most of it, is a loss to him. He takes the risk of losing the cost of his policy while he lives, and the company take the risk of losing the amount of his insurance when he dies. True, statistics concerning the average of human life enable men to calculate the average risk, but of course many live and lose their ten dollars, where one dies and his friends gain their ten thousand.

But this system which I commend is based upon absolute certainties. Death is certain. Our need of life is a certainty. We effect this insurance, knowing it will be needed. This is the understanding on both sides. We shall stand soon on the uttermost verge of mortal life. We shall need something beyond, and as this life slips from our grasp, or breaks asunder within it, we need to "lay hold on eternal life." This we are enabled to do by the great plan and purpose God has formed and developed in the gospel.

In all other systems the principle involved is merely that of debt and credit, of loss and gain. It is mainly a matter of self-interest on both sides. It is money paid for an equivalent to be rendered, with an assumed risk included. Not so here. This system proceeds upon principles of grace, not of debt. It is free insurance. It is "the gift of God." "God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." This gift is free, because none could purchase it. "Priceless, because above all price." It flows not from principles of speculation or self-interest, but from the free grace of God. As if the Rothschilds should devote all their great riches to the issuing of free policies of insurance to all who would come and get them; and yet this would soon use up all their immense wealth. But the great God is richer than all men. The wealth of the universe is his. With him is "the fountain of life."

The terms of ordinary life insurance are necessarily kept within certain rates. Any company which goes upon a lower scale of premium will fail, according to the ascertained laws of mortality. A certain amount of money is needful. Men without money cannot be insured. And here is a marked difference between the

two systems. "He that hath no money" may come and be as welcome to this insurance as the richest or the greatest. Mercy is free; grace is free; life is free. "Without price" is God's standing stipulation. No man may change it. None may take toll of those who pass through the "strait gate." None may charge commission upon the policies by which God insures. Beggars and slaves, as well as priests and princes, may come and be accepted here.

In order to have life insured in ordinary systems, there must be a medical examination, and a certificate from the physician that you are in health, in no special danger of dying, or else insurance cannot be effected. No such evidence is requisite here. "They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." God requires no certificates of health, but rather a confession of disease. He is not pleased with our pretensions to self-righteousness and goodness. An insurance agent would stare should an applicant say, "I am in the last stages of consumption—will you insure my life?" He would say, "O, no, sir, you cannot be insured here." But our Saviour delights to receive and examine just such miserable dying men as have no other help or hope. His invitation is, "Come unto me;" "and whoso cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out."

There are in all life insurance companies certain prohibitory conditions attached to policies; certain occupations, which are right and honest in themselves, but somewhat perilous, and certain localities of disease and danger, at their dangerous seasons, are prohibited. But there are no conditions of this kind connected with this system. "From sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth" this insurance holds good. And amid the icebergs of the north or the simoons of the south—the pestilence that walks in darkness, or the destruction that wasteth at nonday—amid cholera, yellow fever, or plague—by land or by sea—in the desert, or in the dungeon; anywhere, everywhere where duty calls and where a righteous man may go, this insurance still holds good. No matter where the believer is; whether buried on land or in the ocean's depths; whether his dust be mouldering in the sepulchre of his fathers, or his ashes be flung to the heedless winds by the hands of furious foes, he is sure of eternal existence, and "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we appear with him in glory." Then shall this corruptible put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality.

There are, however, certain conditions of this life insurance, with which all must comply to secure it. First of all is this: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved; confide in him; trust him with your all. You never would secure insurance in any company unless you had faith or confidence in them—in their plans, promises and honesty. So you must confide in Jesus Christ. He is your only hope. Look to him, cast yourself upon him, and seek to be saved by his grace and mercy alone. Second: You must obey his commandments, follow his example and abide in his love continually. You must leave the sins, and passions, and pomps, and vanities of time. You must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. You must be wholly the Lord's. Come, then, to Christ, sick, dying, lost one, come to him and live. Accept his terms and take his promise as your surety and support. You may trust in him and fear no evil.

Beware of spurious and fraudulent institutions. Those companies that insure very cheaply are unsafe. Be sure you have your insurance in a reliable company, however stringent the regulations are. Beware of those who say that all are insured, and that there is no danger. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Men are not insured by accident. Eternal life they must "lay hold" of if they will have it.

Are you insured? The question is important. If life insurance of the present imperfect character is so important as men suppose, how much more so is that amazing plan which springs from the wealth of divine love, and which secures eternal life through Christ? "The wages of sin is death!" "Sin entered the world, and death by sin. Death has passed upon all men for that all have sinned." But you may have life—eternal life! Will you not secure it? O, come to Christ! Take his words and cast yourself entirely upon his mercy. Give yourself wholly up to him. Do not delay. Do not forget this matter. Are you insured for eternity? Is your life insured? Do you object that you must seek wealth? "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose himself, or be a castaway?" Ah! you are in danger. You slumber on the verge of death. Will you not come now to Christ and be forever safe?

Poor man—sick man—do not fear to come. Here is your only chance for "life insurance." Reject this and you lose all—you perish—you die! Accept this—secure this, and you shall live forever. Come! believe in Christ. Hand in your name. Confess him before men. Live to his glory.

Listen to this divine proposal: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John iii, 16, 17. Will you have eternal life?

THE FAMILY ALTAR.

How blest is that dwelling which ev'ning and morning Sends forth the sweet incense of heart-feeling prayers! How blest are its inmates, their lives thus adorning By humble confession and penitent tears.

How beams that pure altar, to heaven uprearing! Peace, peace to the dwelling in which it doth stand; Around it are formed ties strong and endearing, Which angels watch over by heaven's command.

How blest is that father who reared such an altar, And blest is that mother who stands by his side; Blest, blest are those children whose steps never falter, While walking the pathway which wisdom provides.

I came to a dwelling—God's seal was upon it— I entered—the entrance to heaven seemed there; In silence I list'ned, and wept as I heard it, The sweet invocation, the family prayer.

'Twas there that blest Book, giv'n by God's inspiration, Was read, and sweet hymns in the Spirit were sung; 'Twas not the vain glow of a showy profession, But the heart's deepest echo to heaven that rung.

O fain would I linger fore'er 'neath its portals, Though humble the structure that dwelling doth bear, Where its inmates are blest with such heav'nly recitals, The Christian's best safe-guard—true family prayer!

A THOUGHT FOR THE SKEPTICAL.

"THERE is a story told of a conversation between Bonaparte and one of his Marshals, while he was a prisoner on the Island of St. Helena. The Marshal had expressed a doubt as to the divinity of Christ—Bonaparte took him up. He dwelt on the fact that thousands of Christ's followers had suffered imprisonment and death for his sake; and that after eighteen centuries, the attachment of his friends to him had suffered no abatement. But all the great men of antiquity were soon forgotten.—Who would die for any of them? Those who followed them with applause while in their glory, soon ceased to cherish any affectionate remembrance of them. I, too, said he, will soon be forgotten. If you can not see that Christ was more than human, I did wrong when I made you a Marshal."

This argument which the sharp good sense of Napoleon could not but see and feel, proves other points besides the divinity of Christ. It proves that he was all he claimed to be—the divinely sent Messiah, commissioned of the Father to reveal God to men and especially to become their atoning Mediator and Saviour.

The great facts pertaining to the work of Christ are that God was in and with him while he lived; raised him from the dead, and soon after caused him to ascend in visible glory to heaven; there seated him on his own throne to rule this world in the interests of their joint plan of human redemption; and lastly, that in answer to his mediation, the Spirit was sent and still is sent to finish in the hearts of men the work which Jesus had begun and had made provision for in his teachings while he lived and in his atoning sacrifice when he died.

These facts received one of their richest installments of proof immediately after Christ's death.

Let it be considered that the object of his enemies in taking his life was to crush his cause. To the best human sagacity, this was wise and sure. If Jesus had not been divine; if God had not been in his movements sustaining his cause, it must surely have perished when he gave up the ghost. The disciples themselves tell us that in that hour of terror they all forsook him and fled. Peter had kept his old fishing coat, and now we see him girding it on again, and almost a majority of the disciple-band are ready to join him. If Jesus had not risen and met them with words of hope and cheer, his work must have utterly ceased. Out of many scores of other Messiahs—having the pretensions but lacking all that was real and divine—the entire cause and claims of each and every one went down hopelessly at his death. Not a man of them left a disciple to live and to die for his master after he had gone.

Just here lies one of the most conclusive, unanswerable proofs that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Son of God. His death did not ruin his cause; on the contrary it opened its era of power! Just when, according to all analogy and all philosophy, it should have died out and passed away into oblivion, then it rose and shone like the sun in the firmament; it began to travel in the greatness of its strength; it smote the hearts of his murderers and made its first conquests there in Jerusalem—that home of bigotry and corruption—almost before the blood he had shed was dry on the mount of crucifixion. And this new power remained year after year attesting the divinity of the man of Nazareth and endorsing the whole circle of his claims to be the Messiah. How should a man who had done comparatively so little while he lived, accomplish so much after he was dead? How can the broad, palpable, undeniable facts of this history be accounted for if Jesus were only human, and hence was nothing but a vile impostor? Did such divine power ever attend the cause of a mere impostor? Does God give his sanction to fraud and lies?

It is fortunate for the evidences of gospel Christianity that its earliest human friends and laborers had absolutely no earthly or selfish motive for giving to it their testimony and their life. For them there was in that cause no fame, no bread, no social standing—not one of those things that human hearts love and live for. So far from this was the truth of the case, they every one of them knew that adhering to that cause, they must suffer the loss of all things and be accounted the filth and off-scouring of the world.

Were they men of other passions than ours that they should be enamored of stripes, bonds, imprisonments; of shame and scorn; of poverty, hunger, exile and death? Or would they have suffered all this for a known impostor? Would they have borne it save under a perfect conviction that their Lord had gone up in triumph to heaven, and save under the power of a present God in their own hearts? Judge ye.

THE COMING HEIR, CONQUEROR, & KING.

By J. Chapman

[The following article is copied from the Northern Christian Advocate. Were it not for this, the reader would doubtless be disposed to regard it as the production of some genuine Sabbath-keeper, so exact is its harmony with the word of God, or, at least, with what we conceive to be the teaching of that word. But it is none the worse for the source from which it comes. We hail truth, whoever may utter it, and only wish that those who have so accurate conceptions of it on some points, might see with equal clearness on every other. U. S.]

"I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more until He come whose right it is, and I will give it Him." Eze. xxi, 27.

THERE is a peculiar force and beauty in the phraseology of this Scripture. The repetition greatly intensifies it, and was the means employed by the Holy Ghost to best express its great importance and vast meaning. This is one of the many prophetic promises which refer directly to the personal appearing, kingdom, and endless reign of the Messiah.

Zedekiah was that "profane and wicked prince of Israel" spoken of in the two preceding verses, of whom God said, "Remove the diadem and take off the crown." He was the last king that sat upon the throne of Israel, since which time the overturning has continued. "And it shall be no more" until Christ, the Son of David and promised heir, "whose right it is," shall come and possess it in person, as really as did Zedekiah. The coming of Christ, "the heir," here referred to, cannot be his first advent, for he came not then to claim and take his place on David's throne as Israel's King, but to usher in the dispensation of the Holy Ghost by his teachings, sufferings, and death; thus opening a door of hope to all who would believe upon him throughout the world. Hence we see that the overturning did not subside at the first appearing of Christ, nor has it yet ceased, but is increasing in violence, and will become still more intense until the coming of the "Prince of peace, whose right it is." Then shall he introduce and establish his glorious and endless reign, utterly abolishing both sin and death. This glorious triumph shall be

Where all his laws are spurned, His holy name profaned, And where the ruined world has mourned, With blood of millions stained.

The entire revelation of God to man harmonizes with this teaching, and with it harmonizes the marked and peculiar signs of our times. Nearly two thousand years have elapsed since the ascension of our Lord, and we have positively reached the time spoken of by Daniel the prophet, thus: "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Who can doubt? "He that runneth may read" this. Still another fact is not less obvious. It is that so clearly predicted by our Saviour thus: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." The bands

that bound society together, civil, social, and religious, all seem to be giving way. The time of trouble spoken of by both Daniel and our Saviour, is actually upon us. "Like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt," so it is now with the troubled masses. "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." This is now the moral phase of society, and precisely our prophetic whereabouts in the church, our nation, and the world at large. The church is in exile, weeping and praying, "even so, come Lord Jesus." While the latter-day "scoffers" in derision are saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" thousands are "deceiving and being deceived" by the delusive dream that the millennial day is softly stealing upon our world, and there shall be the much talked of golden age. Alas for such! Between our time and that future glory of Messiah's reign there lies a region as dark as midnight, strewed with such ruined hopes and blasting terrors as this world has never known—a time of plagues and tribulation as never was, when all hopes except those based on the truth shall utterly perish, with all those who have deceived themselves thereby.

There is a most manifest, blind, persistent rejection of the glorious truth, that the next great event which will mark the history of our world, make an end of Satan's usurpation and bring in everlasting righteousness, is the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom, in answer to that prayer he himself indited, "Thy kingdom come," the very kingdom ascribed to him, "for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever, amen."

No person who may be favored with grace enough to disarm himself of prejudice, and sit down as a humble learner at the feet of Christ and his apostles, and receive their exposition of the prophets, can resist the fact that the hope of the primitive church was, and the true hope of the church now is, "the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus ii, 13. Not until then will the church be disenthralled and saved from all her enemies, coming out of the wilderness, "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." Not until then will God's incorrigible enemies bow and confess, under the heavy pressure of his righteous judgments, and be removed as tares and cumberers of the ground. Verily there is no other legitimate Bible hope for the Israel of God in its trying hour. If other hopes are entertained, they are of human origin, and never to be realized. They are but the light of the fire and "the sparks of their own kindling." With all deference to the opinions of others, such is the modern theory of this world's conversion, and the building of Christ's everlasting kingdom in his personal absence by human instrumentality. In the light of God's immutable truth, it may be safely affirmed that God has nowhere commissioned men either to convert the world or build his kingdom proper in this world. If any doubt, let such disprove by plain, obvious scriptural testimony. Christ has commissioned and sent forth men to preach the gospel of the kingdom, and to tell us what the sure result would be, namely, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." The labors of more than eighteen hundred years, the world over, have invariably confirmed this certain result. We are forced to the conclusion that during the present dispensation, fallen humanity will remain the same, and that the gospel, like its author, will continue the same, nor will God, or the Holy Ghost, change. Hence the results of preaching, and all other means of grace, will not be more efficient in their results than they have been in the primitive church, and through the ages past. To what other conclusion does revelation, reason, and common sense lead? The apostle Paul certainly understood the nature of his calling, and may safely be regarded as a model minister and missionary of the gospel. In all his writings, there is nothing to indicate that he thought his commission was to convert the world, or build the kingdom of Jesus Christ. His words may be forced into such a construction, as they frequently have been. We will hear him speak for himself, thus: "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." He meddled not with things beyond his calling and measure.

Would to God it were so with all who claim to be sent of Christ to teach and preach in our day.—J. Chapman.

WISDOM.

By Rufus Baker

THE wise man tells us that wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Prov. iv, 7. It is not my design in treating on this important subject, to dwell upon what is called worldly wisdom; for that is said to be foolishness with God. 1 Cor. iii, 19.

But as there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord, Prov. xxi, 30, I shall speak only of that wisdom which is from above, that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. James iii, 17. This is what we all need. May God help us to seek for it as for hidden treasures; for it is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it. Prov. viii, 11. See also chap. iii, 18, 14.

Job's testimony corroborates the above. By reading chap. xxviii, 12-20, it will be seen that a value is placed upon wisdom far superior to gold. Silver, or even the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire, or the topaz of Ethiopia, shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. In short, it cannot be equalled with all the precious metals of earth. For no man knoweth the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of the living. Verse 13.

Dear reader, do you wish to possess yourself of this precious treasure? You can have it by complying with the conditions. You have not to do, as many have done who have labored hard to gain an earthly possession, and have in the end been doomed to disappointment. You have not to go to the golden regions of California in search of the precious metal, as some have done, and have finally had to return penniless.

There is nothing so uncertain about this treasure of which we are speaking. The apostle James tells us that if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, &c. James i, 5, 6. Here we see the necessity of firm reliance on the promises of God.

Do you wish for an example of this kind? You are referred to the case of Solomon, when, in the providence of God, he was called to reign king over Israel. We find that he loved the Lord and walked in the statutes of David his father, and that the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Ask what I shall give thee. He feeling his incompetency, as he was but a child, asked of the Lord an understanding heart, that he might judge so great a people, and discern between good and bad. God approbated his choice, and granted him his request, and said, Lo I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 1 Kings iii, 12.

Although this was spoken to Solomon in a dream, yet it was nevertheless true; for he afterward realized its fulfillment, as we read, And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. 1 Kings v, 12. What did God promise him? He promised more wisdom than any that had arisen before, or should arise after him. This same Solomon has told us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Prov. ix, 10, and again he tells us what the fear of the Lord is. He says it is to hate evil, pride, and arrogance, Prov. viii, 13; and also, The fear of the Lord is strong confidence. Id. xiv, 26. It is a fountain of life. Verse 27. And the fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom. Chap. xv, 33.

Job adds his testimony, and says, And unto man he said, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. Job xxviii, 28.

Having found the starting point, we will now examine the subject still further, and see if we cannot fully comprehend the means by which this boon can be realized. David said, That thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients; because I keep thy precepts. Ps. cxix, 98-100.

From this testimony we learn that David assigned the reason of his wisdom to the fact that he kept God's commandments, precepts, and statutes. Furthermore he says, Through thy precepts I get understanding, &c. Verse 104. Therefore we learn that the channel through which this blessing may be obtained, is obedience to the claims of God's law. Jesus has also said, If any man will do his [the Father's] will, he shall know of the doctrine. John vii, 17.

The question is frequently asked by those who are skeptical in regard to the Bible, why it is, if the Scriptures are the revealed will of God, that they are not written in such a style that all can comprehend them. The reason is obvious. God will never force any to believe; for this would not be in harmony with the free agency of man. All those who have been disposed to cavil, and were unwilling to ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit, have ever been left in darkness. God designs his truth for his honest children. This may be shown from the fact that when the disciples came to Christ and asked him the reason he spoke to the multitude in parables, he answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Matt. xiii, 11.

This language corresponds with that of the angel to the prophet Daniel. In speaking of the time of the end, he said, Many shall be purified, made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Dan. xii, 10.

Paul likewise says, But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2. Cor. iv, 3, 4.

Those who reject the invitations of the gospel, and refuse to submit to the claims of God's law, will be left without excuse. His word is explicit on the subject. He has made ample provision for all to come that will, and partake of the waters of life freely. Are any ignorant? There is a remedy provided. David tells us that the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Ps. xix, 7; and also that a good understanding have all they that do his commandments. Ps. cxi, 10.

Permit me to say in conclusion, dear reader, that we are on probation's ground. The light of God's truth is now shining. The third angel is yet raising his warning voice to the inhabitants of earth; and those who will heed his warning and be wise, will finally shine as the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever. RUFUS BAKER.

Foolish Thoughts

By Henry Ward Beecher

Foolish Thoughts.—We are apt to believe in Providence so long as we have our own way; but if things go awry, then we think, if there is a God, He is in heaven, and not on earth. The cricket in the spring builds his little house in the meadow, and chirps for joy, because all is going so well with him.—But when he hears the sound of the plough a few furrows off, and the thunder of the oxen's tread, then the skies begin to look dark, and his heart fails him. The plough comes crunching along, and turns his dwelling bottom side up, and as he is rolling over and over, without a home, his heart says, "O, the foundations of the world are destroyed, and every thing is going to ruin!" But the husbandman, who walks behind his plough, singing and whistling as he goes, does he think the foundations of the world are breaking up? Why, he does not so much as know there was any house or cricket there. He thinks of the harvest that is to follow the track of the plough; and the cricket, too, if he will but wait, will find a thousand blades of grass where there were but one before. We are all like the crickets. If anything happens to overthrow our plans, we think all is gone to ruin.—Beecher.

Small Good Actions Preferred

By G. Griffin

Never prefer a great good intention to a little good action. If a poor friend wants a frieze coat, don't let him wait in his nakedness until you can give him a cloak of broadcloth.—G. Griffin.

SYSTEMATIC LABOR.

By Editor

Six of our ministers, counting the editor, at present have their head-quarters in or quite near Battle Creek. This is a singular circumstance. It must look strange to our churches in other parts of the State, who do not hear a sermon in three months. And no wonder they inquire why some good preacher cannot make his head-quarters with them, so that when he returns to his family, now and then, they can have preaching.

The church at Battle Creek needs these preachers less than any church in the State, from the fact that it has more active members than any other church in the State, many of them of long experience and sound judgment. We sometimes preach to them, but often feel when done that a social meeting would have been better. And it is frequently the case that, when we return from spending a Sabbath with some other church, we are told that the brethren enjoyed an excellent meeting, the best in several Sabbaths. Now what is the use for us preachers to get in the way of these experienced, living members?

But when it comes to this that there are at our Sabbath meetings, from two to five of our ministers, which is sometimes the case, and others so destitute of preaching, things look out of joint, and we are led to look for the cause. Not many months since we preached to the church when there were four of these ministers present. And we have no doubts but the church would have been as well off, and perhaps better, if all five of us had been preaching in five different congregations, and they left to pray, exhort, and sing to the praise of God, as is their custom when preachers do not get in their way.

We preachers talk of system and organization. This is right. We have been trying to organize our churches, and it works well. We have been establishing systematic benevolence, and the thing admirably answers the design. Now we propose to the churches that they organize the ministers, and introduce among us systematic labor; that is, unless the ministers soon take hold of it themselves. We say, let the ministers be examples to the flock. This huddling together is, at least, setting a poor example to the flock. Where is the missionary spirit in all this? Those missionaries, and their noble partners in life, who have parted with dear friends and the comforts and associations of their native land, and have exposed health and life, in a sickly climate, in the hope of converting heathen men and women, set a godlike example of sacrifice and love for the salvation of men, which some of our ministers and their companions would do well to follow. Could they but fully venture out upon the arm of God, then they would realize an almighty power sustaining them, and they would feel at home anywhere and everywhere. The consolations of a life of devotion and sacrifice are all-sustaining. He or she who walks with God never feels lonesome.

In the path of duty we find the sustaining grace of life. There all may find freedom of spirit, and joy in the Holy Ghost. If we will give God a chance to work for us, and believe his promises, he will do great things for us. Our preachers say that at Battle Creek is a hard place to preach. And why? The reason may be because the Lord has nothing for them to do in Battle Creek. We close these pointed remarks by saying to the churches in Michigan that it may be your duty to send the Macedonian cry in to Battle Creek—"Come over and help us." Just get fully organized, brethren, so you can provide and hold legally a good home for a minister, something like an old-fashioned Methodist parsonage, and then you are all ready to welcome among you our preachers. This will work admirably in the case of those preachers who come in among us very poor, whom we wish to encourage, and at the same time prove them.

We speak plainly for the good of the cause—the good of all. All that holds us at Battle Creek is our connection with the publishing department. And let no one think that these good preachers are in our way in a pecuniary point of view. We put more than thirty dollars annually into the S. B. treasury of the Battle Creek church, from which treasury we have never received one cent for preaching to the church and never expect to.

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