THE TRANSFIGURATION; OR, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN MINIATURE.
By J. W.
EACH event in the mission and ministry of Christ has a marked significance. The transfiguration, and the words of our Lord relative to that mountain scene, were designed to teach a lesson of vast importance to the church. And for want of a clear understanding of the subject, many conclude that the second advent of Christ occurred in the days of the apostles.
The miniature exhibition of the kingdom of God at the transfiguration is designed to show the nature of the kingdom of glory, and that the immortal kingdom is to be set up at the period of the second advent of Christ. Our Lord connects his second coming in glory with the transfiguration in these words: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily, I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Matt. 16: 27, 28. Or, as it reads in Luke, "Till they see the kingdom of God." Chap. 9: 27. This promise was soon fulfilled on the mount.
"And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain, apart, and was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." Matt. 17: 1–5. Notice the following points:—
1. Jesus Christ appeared in his own personal glory. His countenance shone like the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
2. The glory of the Father was there. It was a "bright cloud" of the divine glory, out of which came the Father's voice.
3. Moses and Elias appeared; the one, the representative of those saints who shall be raised at Christ's coming and clothed with glory; the other, Elias, the representative of those who will be alive and be changed at the appearing of Christ.
4. The use the apostles made of the scene. Peter was one of the witnesses; and his testimony shows that the design of the transfiguration was to illustrate Christ's second, personal, glorious coming and the future kingdom of glory, and that this kingdom will be set up at the period of the second advent, and the resurrection and change of the just to immortal life. He says: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from Heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount." 2 Pet. 1: 16–18.
J. W.
CANADA CAMP-MEETING.
By James White
THE camp-meeting held at Magog, P. Q., August 12–17, exceeded our expectations. There were twenty-three tents upon the ground, including the provision stand, and two large congregation tents, and not less than one hundred brethren and sisters. This was regarded as a large gathering, considering the youth of the cause in the Province of Quebec.
The grounds were good, the weather fine, and the outside attendance large and orderly. About two thousand persons heard Mrs. W. with marked attention on Sunday afternoon, on the subject of Christian Temperance. A more intelligent, orderly, and appreciative audience, we seldom meet.
On the last day of the meeting, a Conference was organized, to be known as the S. D. Adventist Conference of the Province of Quebec. The Elders Bourdeau seem adapted to this field, as they speak both English and French. We shall hope much for this Conference, if all the brethren will waive personal views and feelings, and will cheerfully unite upon the unit message represented by the third angel of Rev. 14:9–12.
We formed pleasant acquaintances at this meeting with brethren and sisters of real moral worth. A young brother requested prayer for his father, who was a Baptist deacon. The grandfather, eighty years of age, who is a young convert to the faith, arose, and uniting with his grandson, asked prayers for his son. We shall long cherish happy remembrances of similar incidents in this good meeting.
J. W.
EXAMINATION OF A FAMOUS FALSEHOOD.
By John Nevins Andrews
(Continued.)
SINCE the publication of Domville's elaborate work, James Gilfillan of Scotland has written a large volume entitled, "The Sabbath," which has been extensively circulated both in Europe and in America, and is esteemed a standard work by the American Tract Society and by first-day denominations in general. Gilfillan had read Domville as appears from his statements on pages 10, 142, 143, 616, of his volume. He was therefore acquainted with Domville's exposure of the fraud respecting "Dominicum servasti?" But though he was acquainted with this exposure, he offers not one word in reply. On the contrary, he repeats the story with as much assurance as though it had not been proved a falsehood. But as Domville had shown up the matter from the Acta Martyrum, it was necessary for Gilfillan to trace it to some other authority, and so he assigns it to Cardinal Baronius. Here are Gilfillan's words:—
"From the days of the apostles downwards for many years, the followers of Christ had no enemies more fierce and unrelenting than that people [the Jews], who cursed them in the synagogue, sent out emissaries into all countries to calumniate their Master and them, and were abettors wherever they could, of the martyrdom of men, such as Polycarp, of whom the world was not worthy. Among the reasons of this deadly enmity was the change of the Sabbatical day. The Romans, though the Christians had no objection on this score, punished the Christians for the faithful observance of their day of rest, one of the testing questions put to the martyrs being, Dominicum servasti?—Have you kept the Lord's day?—Baron An. Eccles., A. D. 303, Num. 35, etc."
Gilfillan having reproduced this statement and assigned as his authority the annalist Baronius, more recent first-day writers take courage and repeat the story after him. Now they are all right, as they think. What if the Acta Martyrum has failed them? Domville ought to have gone to Baronius, who, in their judgment, is the true source of information in this matter. Had he done this, they say, he would have been saved from misleading his readers. But let us ascertain what evil Domville has done in this case. It all consists in the assertion of two things out of the Acta Martyrum.
1. That no such question as "Dominicum servasti?" was addressed to any martyr till the early part of the fourth century, some two hundred years after the time of Pliny.
2. That the question even then did not relate to what is called the Lord's day, but to the Lord's supper.
Now it is a remarkable fact that Gilfillan has virtually admitted the truth of the first of these statements, for the earliest instance which he could find in Baronius is A. D. 303, as his reference plainly shows. It differs only one year from the date assigned in Ruinart's Acta Martyrum, and relates to the very case which Domville has quoted from that work! Domville's first and most important statement is therefore vindicated by Gilfillan himself, though he has not the frankness to say this in so many words.
Domville's second point is that Dominicum, when used as a noun, in the present case, signifies either a church or the Lord's supper, but never signifies Lord's day. He establishes the fact by incontestible evidence. Gilfillan was acquainted with all this. He could not392answer Domville, and yet he was not willing to abandon the falsehood which Domville had exposed. So he turns from the Acta Martyrum in which the compiler expressly defines the word to mean precisely what Domville asserts, and brings forward the great Romish annalist, Cardinal Baronius. Now, say our first-day friends, we are to have the truth from a high authority. Gilfillan has found in Baronius an express statement that the martyrs were tested by the question, "Have you kept the Lord's day?" No matter then as to the Acta Martyrum from which Bishop Andrews first produced this story. That, indeed, has failed us, but we have in its stead the weighty testimony of the great Baronius. To be sure he fixes this test no earlier than the fourth century, which renders it of no avail as proof that Pliny's stated day was Sunday; but it is worth much to have Baronius bear witness that certain martyrs in the fourth century were put to death because they observed the Sunday-Lord's day.
But these exultant thoughts are vain. I must state a grave fact in plain language: Gilfillan has deliberately falsified the testimony of Baronius! That historian records at length the martyrdom of Saturninus and his company in northern Africa in A. D. 303. It is the very story which Domville has cited from the Acta Martyrum, and Baronius repeatedly indicates that he himself copied it from that work. He gives the various questions propounded by the proconsul, and the several answers which were returned by each of the martyrs. I copy from Baronius the most important of these. They were arrested while they were celebrating the Lord's sacrament according to custom. The following is the charge on which they were arrested: They had celebrated the Collectam Dominicam against the command of the emperors. The proconsul asked the first whether he had celebrated the Collectam, and he replied that he was a Christian, and had done this. Another says, "I have not only been in the Collecta, but I have celebrated the Dominicum with the brethren because I am a Christian." Another says, "we have celebrated the Dominicum, because the Dominicum cannot be neglected." Another said that the Collecta was made (or observed) at his house. The proconsul questioning again one of those already examined, received this answer: "The Dominicum cannot be disregarded, the law so commands." When one was asked whether the Collecta was made (or observed) at his house, he answered, "In my house we have celebrated the Dominicum." He added, "Without the Dominicum we cannot be," or live. To another, the proconsul said that he did not wish to know whether he was a Christian, but whether he participated in the Collecta. His reply was: "As if one could be a Christian without the Dominicum, or as if the Dominicum can be celebrated without the Christian." And he said further to the proconsul: "We have observed the Collecta most sacredly; we have always convened in the Dominicum for reading the Lord's word." Another said: "I have been in [literally, have made] the Collecta with my brethren, I have celebrated the Dominicum." After him another proclaimed the Dominicum to be the hope and safety of the Christian, and when tortured as the others, he exclaimed, "I have celebrated the Dominicum with a devoted heart, and with my brethren I have made the Collecta because I am a Christian." When the proconsul again asked one of those whether he had conducted the Dominicum, he replied that he had because Christ was his Saviour.
I have thus given the substance of this famous examination, and have set before the reader the references therein made to the Dominicum. It is to be observed that Collecta is used as another name for Dominicum. Now does Baronius use either of these words to signify Lord's day? It so happens that he has defined these words with direct reference to this very case no less than seven times. Now let us read these seven definitions:—
When Baronius records the first question addressed to these martyrs, he there defines these words as follows: "By the words Collectam, Collectionem, and Dominicum, the author always understands the sacrifice of the Mass." After recording the words of that martyr who said that the law commanded the observance of the Dominicum, Baronius defines his statement thus: "Evidently the Christian law concerning the Dominicum, no doubt about celebrating the sacrifice." Baronius, by the Romish words sacrifice and Mass, refers to the celebration of the Lord's supper by these martyrs. At the conclusion of the examination, he again defines the celebration of the Dominicum. He says: "It has been shown above in relating these things that the Christians were moved, even in the time of severe persecution, to celebrate the Dominicum. Evidently, as we have declared elsewhere in many places, it was a sacrifice without bloodshed, and of divine appointment." He presently defines Dominicum again, saying, "Though it is a fact that the same expression was employed at times with reference to the temple of God, yet since all the churches upon the earth have united in this matter, and from other things related above, it has been sufficiently shown concerning the celebration of the Dominicum, that only the sacrifice of the Mass can be understood." Observe this last statement. He says though the word has been employed to designate the temple of the Lord, yet in the things here related it can only signify the sacrifice of the Mass. These testimonies are exceedingly explicit. But Baronius has not yet finished. In the index to Tome 3, he explains these words again with direct reference to this very martyrdom. Thus under Collecta is this statement: "The Collecta, the Dominicum, the Mass, the same [A. D.] 303, xxxix." Under Missa: "The Mass is the same as the Collecta, or Dominicum [A. D.], 303, xxxix." Under Dominicum: "To celebrate the Dominicum is the same as to conduct the Mass [A. D.], 303, xxxix; xlix; li."
It is not possible to mistake the meaning of Baronius. He says that Dominicum signifies the Mass! The celebration of the supper by these martyrs was doubtless very different from the pompous ceremony which the church of Rome now observes under the name of Mass. But it was the sacrament of the Lord's supper, concerning which they were tested, and for observing which they were put to a cruel death. The word Dominicum signifies "the sacred mysteries," as Ruinart defines it; and Baronius, in seven times affirming this definition, though acknowledging that it has sometimes been used to signify temple of God, plainly declares that in this record, it can have no other meaning than that service which the Romanists call the sacrifice of the Mass. Gilfillan had read all this, yet he dares to quote Baronius as saying that these martyrs were tested by the question, "Have you kept Lord's day?" He could not but know that he was writing a direct falsehood; but he thought the honor of God, and the advancement of the cause of truth, demanded this act at his hands.
Before Gilfillan wrote this work, Domville had called attention to the fact that the sentence, "Dominicum servasti?" does not occur in the Acta Martyrum, a different verb being used every time. But this is the popular form of this question, and must not be given up. So Gilfillan declares that Baronius uses it in his record of the martyrdoms in A. D. 303. But we have cited the different forms of question recorded by Baronius, and find them to be precisely the same with those of the Acta Martyrum. "Dominicum servasti?" does not occur in that historian, and Gilfillan, in stating that it does, is guilty of untruth. This, however, is comparatively unimportant. But for asserting that Baronius speaks of Lord's day under the name of Dominicum, Gilfillan stands convicted of inexcusable falsehood in matters of serious importance. J. N. A.
QUARTERLY MEETINGS FOR OCTOBER
By I. D. Van Horn
WE have a special desire that the quarterly meetings for October shall be made meetings of great benefit to the cause in the N. P. Conference.
1. Let all our brethren and sisters make up their minds that they will attend these meetings in the churches to which they belong, or, if they cannot attend, report to the church by writing a letter. Those who do not belong to any church can report by letter to me at Beaverton, Oregon. I shall be pleased to hear from you and learn what the interest for the truth is in your neighborhood.
2. Preparation should be made for the celebration of the ordinances in each organized church. Let all difficulties and wrongs, if any exist, be settled up so there may be perfect union existing among all. Every one should know that in the communion we express fellowship with Jesus the great head of the church, so perfect fellowship should exist among the brethren and sisters, or hypocrisy will be manifested. I believe our people generally in this Conference do not place that importance upon celebrating the ordinances which393they should. Every one should not only esteem it a duty but a precious privilege; and therefore should make special efforts to be present on such occasions.
3. The T. & M. work must have its share of attention. Beforehand the directors should see that the librarians have a sufficient number of blanks to furnish the members. Then let every member report something, if it is no more than a donation. Come, brethren and sisters, wake up to this important work, and let us hear from every one of you. Our State T. & M. Society is in debt, and as this quarterly meeting will be in a time of the year most favorable to raise means, we earnestly hope this great branch of the work will not be forgotten. Let us all make an effort in this direction worthy of the cause we represent. Let your light shine and it will bring precious souls to the truth.
4. "Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Mal. 3 : 10. We would extend a cordial invitation to the lonely ones to aid us with their "tithes" to the Conference, and "offerings" to the T. & M. Society.
I. D. VAN HORN.
Aug. 23, 1880.
FOREVER AND EVER.
By J. D. Rice
THE terms “forever,” and “forever and ever,” are generally understood to have but one meaning, and that is, “eternity of duration,—time without end.” And so deeply has this idea become rooted in the popular mind, that to question it is considered heresy. And when they read that the wicked are to be tormented in the lake of fire day and night forever and ever (Rev. 14:10, 11; 19:20; 20:9, 10, 14, 15), they think the matter is settled beyond controversy, that the wicked live eternally in the flames of fire, notwithstanding the Scriptures plainly declare that this lake of fire, caused by the igniting and melting of this earth, shall cause the “perdition” (destruction—Webster), and the “second death” of the ungodly. Rev. 20:9, 14, 15; 2 Pet. 3:7, 10, 12; Prov. 11:31. That here they shall be “destroyed together,” Ps. 37:38; Isa. 1:28-31; burned up root and branch, Mal. 4:1; destroyed “soul and body,” Matt. 10:28; “be as though they had not been,” Obd. 16; cease to exist, be “cut off,” Ps. 37:9, 10, 34, 38; and then that the saints shall inherit the earth, as sin and sinners and the effects of sin are forever wiped away, and the earth is purified for their everlasting abode. See Rev. 20:15; 21:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:6, 7, 13; Ps. 37:9-11, 34; Matt. 5:5, etc. It is then that the ashes of the wicked are mingled again with the dust which the saints tread upon. Mal. 4:3.
Now if these terms always meant an eternity of duration, then we could not harmonize the declaration of Rev. 14:11; 20:10, with the facts which we have just presented; and we have not presented a tithe of the evidence which goes to substantiate these facts. But if the Scriptures warrant us in giving a limited application to the use of the word, then this great stumbling-block is removed, and harmony restored to the word of God; and we can see how they can be tormented “forever and ever,” and yet be burned to ashes and die, cease to be, or exist. Is it thus used? Let us see.
In Ps. 9:7 we read: “But the Lord shall endure forever.” We know this is unlimited, for God is “from everlasting to everlasting.” Ps. 90:2. See also Lam. 5:19; Dan. 4:34; 7:19, 28, etc., where the word expresses eternity of duration. But we need not multiply texts upon this point, for none, I think, deny that it is thus used. But in Jonah 2:5, 6, we read of his experience when swallowed by the “great fish.” He says: “I went down to the bottom of the mountains, the earth with her bars was about me forever.” How long was that? “Three days and three nights; chap. 1:17. It is evidently limited in its application here.
Again we read in Ex. 21:1-6, of the Hebrew servant who was to be released at the end of seven years, but if he chose rather to stay with his master, then his master was to take him to the door-post and bore his ear through with an awl; and the record states, “he shall serve him forever.” How long could that be? No longer than he should live. Thus it represents his lifetime only, and that of course was indefinite, as life is uncertain.
This list might be greatly extended, if space allowed; but sufficient has been given to show that it does not always mean eternity, as used in the Bible. The word itself is indefinite, and the time which it expresses is to be determined by the connection in which it is used. When applied to eternal things, such as God, the holy angels, the inheritance of the saints, etc., we know it signifies eternity. But when applied to things of this life and its probationary state, and things which God plainly declares shall come to an end, it is limited to that time. Its application can extend no farther than the things to which it is applied, or, as Dr. Adam Clarke says, it means as long as a thing considering the surrounding circumstances can exist.
Forever, comes from the Greek word, aion, and is thus defined by Greenfield: “Duration, finite or infinite, unlimited duration, eternity; a period of duration, past, present, or future; time, age, lifetime; the world, universe.”
Similar to this, is the testimony of Schrevelius, Liddell and Scott, Parkhurst, Robinson, Wahl, Cruden, etc., who are standard authorities. These are unanimous in giving their definitions to this word as we have presented it, and shown it to be used in the Bible. With these facts before us, we need have no difficulty in harmonizing the statement that they shall be “tormented day and night forever and ever,” with the declaration that they shall be burned up and come under the power of the “second death,” and that they or their place shall not be (Ps. 37:10), but the place where they are “burned up” (the earth, 2 Pet. 3:7-13), shall be made new for the righteous to dwell in forever.
J. D. RICE.
The Missionary.
By S. N. Haskell
SCOTLAND: HOW THE LIGHT BROKE OUT.
The Roman Catholic religion was the religion which prevailed at the time the reformation commenced its work. The people were under the papal supremacy; and society was but little in advance of that in heathen countries. In Scotland half the wealth of the nation belonged to the clergy. They had obtained an exorbitant degree of opulence and power. Their lives were corrupted by wealth and idleness; and they were a scandal on religion, an outrage on decency.
Their ignorance was as great as the dissoluteness of their morals. Even bishops were not ashamed to confess that they had never read any portion of the sacred Scriptures. The ignorance of the common people prepared them for superstition and religious imposture.
The Book which was intended for all, and which alone was able to make them wise unto salvation, was locked from them and its use prohibited under severe penalties. They trusted in their pretended spiritual guides, who instructed them to trust for their salvation in the performance of certain rites and ceremonies. Of the doctrine of Christianity there remained scarcely anything but a name. Avaricious priests and monks stood ready to devour their temporal substance.
Every avenue by which light might enter was carefully guarded. Learning that would throw light upon the Scriptures was branded as heresy. The most frightful pictures were drawn of those who had separated themselves from the Romish church. These were held up before the church to deter others from following their example. Their meaningless forms and ceremonies were their religion. If any person should express dissatisfaction on account of these abuses, or if he proposed a correction of them he was at once stigmatized as a heretic and unless he escaped by flight was immured in a dungeon or burnt at the stake. Thus they guarded their system of corruption. By forms and ceremonies the clergy ruled the people, and by making these so important the devil ruled the clergy.
The devil had in this manner spread his net of darkness over the people to prevent the work of God. But all this could not prevent the light of reformation from reaching honest hearts.
It was in a dungeon that the seeds of truth from a German Bible found good soil in Luther's heart. By unknown means, which history intimates may have been some of the stray writings of Luther, a gleam was imparted to Patrick Hamilton, a young man, and a relative of James III. His free utterance against the church aroused the suspicion of the clergy. Attracted by the fame of Luther he repaired to Wittenburg, became acquainted with him and also with Melancthon. He enlisted the university at Marburg which was under the direction of the learned and pious Lambert. While here he was seized with an unconquerable desire to impart the knowledge which he had received to his own countrymen. In vain were the dangers to which he would be exposed presented before him. His determination was fixed, and taking with him a single attendant he returned to Scotland. The missionary spirit once kindled could not be extinguished.
S. N. HASKELL.
Freely
FREELY.
The difference between covetousness and charity is this: In charity you give your money to God, as an act of worship; in covetousness you make your money into a god, and worship that. Have you noticed that we have the account of two very remarkable collections taken up among the Israelites while they were in the wilderness? One was a collection for building the tabernacle. "And they came," so the record runs, "both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets and ear-rings and rings and tablets, all jewels of gold, and every man made an offering unto the Lord." That was a charity contribution, and it had two great elements of acceptance in it: it was willing-hearted, and it was self-denying, since they took the jewelry off their persons for the Lord's treasury. But there was another collection. The people broke off the golden ear-rings which were in the ears of their wives, and in the ears of their sons and their daughters, and had them melted up and fashioned into a golden calf for them to worship—that was "covetousness which is idolatry." And that golden calf has a long line of descendants. Every great fortune held for admiration and pride and self-gratification and luxury, has a clear pedigree running back to that calf. Every pleasure on which we lavish time and money and affection, for purely selfish ends, is a lineal descendant of the golden calf. Every idol of dress or fashion or pride, which we set up in our lives, and make the almost exclusive object of our interest, however refined and well approved it may be by man, because it takes away what belongs to God, is of the same lineage with that golden calf. And a man with any jealousy for God's honor, will be pained to see the ravages of that golden calf, in a Christian congregation, as Moses was when it broke loose in the congregation of Israel. And because man has such an innate and almost ineradicable tendency to such idolatry, God has set up the great and holy claim of charity as a safeguard and protection against it.
"Freely give." This quality of free willingness is always required. In Old Testament and New, from Hebrew and Christian, the same condition is demanded. "Every one willingly offered a free-will offering unto the Lord," is the language of the Old Testament constantly repeated. "If first there be a willing mind, it is accepted according to that he hath not." This willingness is everywhere dwelt upon in the Scriptures. It constitutes the very fragrance and divine aroma of our sacrifices. It is the wing which bears our alms to Heaven, which our reluctance might make so heavy that it would fall only with a dull thud upon the bottom of the contribution box. Whatever you give, be it much or little, let it be willingly. Indeed, we are reminded that this is the unvarying condition of God's dealings with us. Whether we give or receive, our free will must come into activity. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," says God; and whosoever has a willing mind let him give freely.
What is the difference between robbery and charity? It is simply the action of the will that constitutes the difference; that is all. If I ask you for a contribution to a good object, and you give it of your own free will, that is charity. If I take the same amount of money from you for the same object, but without the consent of your will, that is theft. That shows the heaven-wide difference in an act which the consent of the will makes. And God will have this voluntariness, or he will not have our gifts. "Will a man rob God?" asks the prophet, and we reverse the question, and ask, Will God rob a man? Nay! He says, "freely give." And not an ounce of violence will he use to force open the hand to get a contribution to his treasury.—Watchword.
ELLICOTTSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.
By D. T. Fero
The last quarterly meeting of the East Otto church was held at the tent, and was an occasion of great interest. Nine were baptized on Sunday, most of whom accepted the truth at Ellicottsville. About fifty Sabbath-keepers and more than two hundred others were present. The scene was so impressive that some of the spectators wept, and others were heard to express their conviction that this was the true baptism. One Methodist lady who had been sprinkled said, "I never was baptized." As we subsequently met the candidates, and saw their beaming countenances, and heard their fervent thanks to God for his truth and blessing, we felt that God indeed witnesses and approves willing obedience. Ten united with the East Otto church.
D. T. FERO.
S. THURSTON.
CEDAR SPRINGS, MICHIGAN.
By D. A. Wellman; G. H. Gilbert
Our meetings commenced June 18 and closed July 25. The brethren, who have nobly stood up for the truth here, have been encouraged. Seven or eight have been added to their number, and others are deeply interested. Some books were sold, several subscribers to the Review obtained, and a Sabbath-school of twenty-four members was organized and furnished with record and class books, Instructors, etc.
Aug. 10. D. A. WELLMA N.
G. H. GILBERT.
GRYTHYTTEHED, SWEDEN.
Bro. Rosqvist writes from Sweden that he has organized a Sabbath-school in Grythytted with thirty-six Sabbath-keepers, and that there are now in all thirty-nine believers who are keeping the Sabbath. He has baptized eight, and three have not been baptized. The rest received that ordinance among the Baptists. Nearly all of these friends participated with him in the celebration of the ordinances, and they were made glad by the presence of the Lord, and felt his blessing in their hearts. Sunday he held two meetings, and then organized a tract society of twenty-one members. This is the first one in Sweden. Others will join soon. The friends very kindly supplied his present wants, and helped him with means for the journey. He will now hold meetings in Philipstad, not very far from the former place.
CEDAR SPRINGS, MICHIGAN.
CORVALLIS, BENTON CO., OREGON.
By W. L. Raymond
Elder Van Horn and myself pitched our tent and commenced meetings in Forest Grove, Washington Co., the 9th of July, and continued our labors there for four weeks. At first our meetings were very well attended from the surrounding country, but as the harvest came on, and the attendance was not large from the town, we thought best to move our tent to some larger place during harvest, and so came to Corvallis. Here we find a people with willing ears and of friendly appearance, some of whom have already given us substantial aid, and all seem friendly. Our audiences average from one hundred to one hundred and fifty. We have given nine discourses, and the people are beginning to purchase books and tracts, seemingly with a determination to know whether these things are so. We hope to give a good report from this place before we leave.
Aug. 20, 1880. W. L. Raymond.
Temperance.
WHAT WE SAW.
JUST after leaving the office, a few days ago, we saw a man, well clad, moving very slowly and evidently very drunk. A pretty little girl, five or six years old, her face wet with tears, was holding the man's hand and trying to lead him along. Two little boys were with them, and all the little ones seemed deeply concerned about something. The man at last stopped, reeled off the sidewalk, sank on his knees, and then sat down on the sand. He was all the time muttering to himself, and now seemed endeavoring to say something to the children.
The poor little girl that had been leading her father, was greatly perplexed when he sat down in the dirt. She went up to him, and lovingly threw her little arms around his neck, as if to charm him by her love to another effort to go home. We saw her tiny hands as they met back of the father's neck. Strong men, hurriedly going home, stopped and moaned at that spectacle of helpless love, and maudlin drunkenness. The little girl was very neatly dressed, and the apparent gentility of the group gave hideous emphasis to the lesson before us. "What can we do?" said a stalwart gentleman near us. With our hearts bursting with sympathy we answered: "Nothing, but to get a policeman to take him home." How long, O Lord, shall such things be! A little further on stood an unconcerned saloon keeper in the door of his shop.—California Christian Advocate.
TOBACCO.
"How are you, sir? you seem to be a gentleman."
"Well, yes; I count myself a gentleman in every sense of the word."
"Well, I am glad to meet one once in awhile. It is so seldom one meets a gentleman in every sense of the word that it does a fellow good. I suppose you belong to the church?"
"O yes, certainly; count myself a good Christian."
"Then you believe in the Golden Rule?"
"'Certainly—do unto others as you would have them do to you.' Oh, certainly, certainly; could not think of deviating from it."
"Well, I suppose you have a good influence in society."
"Well, yes; they count that I have. A great many come to me for advice, and follow my example. In short, they count me a model man."
"Have you a wife?"
"Yes; a fine little woman she is. It would do you good to see her."
"Have you any children?"
"Yes, four of the nicest little chicks you ever saw—two boys and two girls."
"Does your wife use tobacco?"
"Oh, my! She is too nice to think of such a nasty, filthy habit as that. I could not think of living with her if she did. Just think of it!"
"Do your boys talk of smoking?"
"Oh, no; I would not have them acquire the habit for anything in the world."
"Do your daughters use snuff?"
"No, no; hope they will never indulge in such a filthy habit."
"Well, well! Do you smoke? I see a case of cigars in your pocket."
"Well, yes, sometimes, just for pastime. Will you have one?"
"No, thank you. I would not have my wife, sons or daughters use it, and it would be contrary to the Golden Rule if I did, and how could I claim to be a Christian? And then if I have an influence over the rising generation I want to wield it in a better cause."
"Oh, yes; but I acquired the habit while young, and can't quit."
"So did I, and of swearing and drinking; but in order to be a Christian I had to quit."—Observer, in Eureka Herald.
The Folly of Seeking Fame
It is a very indiscreet and troublesome ambition which cares so much about fame; about what the world says of us; to be always looking in the faces of others for approval; to be always anxious about the effect of what we do or say; to be always shouting, to hear the echoes of our own voices.