Last week we gave a chapter from Howard Crosby’s Yale Lectures to divinity students, on the personal habits of the minister. The same lecture, as published in the Independent, mentioned, also, speculating, social, frivolous and loose habits, as other bad habits to be avoided. We give his remarks on these points, believing that our ministers will read them with profit, and all others at least with interest:—
The pecuniary habits of the preacher may bring him into great reproach. A speculating minister draws expunging lines through all his sermons. His interest in the money market shows small interest in the kingdom of Heaven. His eagerness to buy and sell makes his preaching lifeless. His people lose their respect for him, and never can count him sincere in holding up the incomparable glories of the unseen and eternal. He is the man with the muck-rake, when he ought to be the interpreter. An extravagant minister makes a different, but equally unfavorable, impression. He is not supposed to be a worshiper of Mammon taking a chief place in the house of God; but he is stamped as a self-indulgent man, who cannot deny himself any gratification that arrests his eye. He is felt to be lacking in that self-control which is so important an element in the foundation of Christian character; and for this reason is liable (as is the speculating minister) to the reputation of insincerity in his ministration of the gospel.
Closely allied to the extravagant minister is the borrowing minister, whose visits to his people they find so expensive that they take pains to avoid him when out of his pulpit. They naturally consider his calls to be more concerned with their pockets than with their souls. Even though he may be a man gifted in conversation, and may, under the direction of his conscience, use his gift for the spiritual welfare of his people; yet the object will be missed if, after every exercise of his pastoral function, he virtually hands in his bill for attendance. The preacher who throws the blame of his borrowing habits upon his wife’s extravagance, exhibits the old Adam in its original meanness. “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she has spent my salary, and so I borrow.” The confession implied, that he knows not how to rule his own house, shows him, according to the divine oracles, unfit to take care of the church of God.
These evil pecuniary habits are too often found in those the very soul of whose vocation is soiled by any irregularity in the matter of money. Excuses, of course, are readily found, as they are for every human fault; but no excuse, however good in itself, can save the preacher’s reputation. The stain is there, no matter how it got there, and this is all with which we have to do.
It is as appropriate here as anywhere to answer the question, “Should a preacher who has been guilty119of gross sin remain in the ministry?” for some of these habits to which we have to make so brief a reference may easily lead to overt acts that shock the moral sense of the community. To put the question in a more pointed shape, giving an example of what we mean by gross sin: “Should a preacher who has become a drunkard continue, after a supposed reform, to exercise his ministerial functions?” If the reform be a true one, it would seem to be a hard verdict to shut him out of his important and chosen work, for which his experience, moreover, has thoroughly fitted him. Besides, it would seem that such a man could argue more feelingly with the depraved and abandoned, having a more vivid sense of the horrors of their degradation. These considerations would lead us to answer the question in the affirmative, were it not that another element of consideration more important than all others is the practical one of the personal reputation of such a preacher, as a stumbling-block to the community. The majority of men will not believe in the genuineness of his reform, and even those that do so believe will look upon him as a weak and uncertain guide. His drunkenness will be ever before them as they essay to listen to his discourse, and all authority will be eliminated from his eloquence. The preacher must have a good report from them that are without, or he has no place in the true apostolic line. Now, if we apply this rule to the case in point, we must answer our question sorrowfully but firmly in the negative. The preacher who has been a drunkard can no longer be useful as a preacher. He may find many ways of honoring his Lord and serving his cause, where he will not be publicly observed and criticised; but the position of authority and influence he has forever forfeited.
Very many pernicious habits never reach to such a length as to fall under this illustration, and the counsel of a bold and wise friend or the resuscitation of conscientious thought may break up an evil habit, and render the preacher in all things acceptable and efficient.
In the social life of the preacher evil habits will naturally be most conspicuous, and, therefore, most harmful. His daily contact with men should impress upon them a sense of the truth of his character and the dignity of his calling. Whatever will destroy confidence in these must necessarily undermine his usefulness and bring discredit upon the Christian ministry. His personal and pecuniary habits have, of course, a social side, and touch his social character; but there are other forms of habit, that belong more directly to the social life, to which we now make reference as social habits. It requires great watchfulness on the part of a preacher of the gospel to avoid the snares that Satan lays for him in the many-sided intercourse of life. The desire to please, the fear to offend, the claims of politeness, the shrinking from undue responsibility, the dread of being counted assuming,—these commendable causes may break down the barriers that ought to exist between the teacher and the taught, between the ruler in the house of God and those who are under his spiritual sway. Besides these virtuous causes, there may be the workings of a carnal nature, tempting in the same direction, until these combined causes bring the preacher into questionable positions, and identify him, not with his people as such, but with the godless world. We may enumerate a few of these social habits which render the minister unfit for his holy office.
Frivolous habits, which mark the gay world, are altogether unbecoming. He may plead his right to do as others; that he did not lay aside his humanity when he became a minister; that he, too, must enjoy life: but all these excuses, so often given, only reveal the moral unfitness of the man the more. A minister has not the right to do as others. He stands on a higher plane, and the nature of things requires that he should walk by a higher rule in the details of daily life. What private Christians may do without injury to themselves or to others, he can not do. If we can say “noblesse oblige,” the principle is eminently true in the case of the Christian preacher. Moreover, the preacher’s humanity should be of so sanctified a sort as to exhibit tastes and inclinations of a more spiritual nature than those found in ordinary society. He does not lay aside his humanity when he becomes a minister; but he exalts his humanity, and assumes a new dignity which inheres in the office. He is to enjoy life; but he finds sources of joy in all the duties of his sublime vocation, and is not compelled to drink at the world’s crowded fountains.
Identification with the world’s gayety and fashion must always defile a minister’s garments. The fast horse, the pleasure yacht, the dashing dog-cart, conspicuous jewelry, attendance at ball, opera, or theater—these are unfailing marks of a minister low-toned in his piety or eccentric unto uselessness in the service of that God the love of whom is put by the Scriptures in excluding contrast with the love of the world.
Next to frivolous and gay habits we may note habits of undue intimacy with the other sex. It need not be urged that a preacher should live above the suspicion of looseness. Forced by his position into constant association of a confidential sort with both sexes, he needs an unceasing watchfulness against indiscretion. He is not simply to guard against his own feelings, but he is to avoid appearances that could be readily misconstrued. He is to parry a foolish admiration that offers some delicate attention, with a polite indifference, that his own integrity be not compromised. He is to refuse private interviews, except in such accessible places as parlors and drawing-rooms, and in visiting the sick he is not to lay aside his circumspection. Gallantry, or playing the beau, at once exposes the preacher to the rude but righteous shafts of public criticism, while it may lead his own heart and life into lamentable snares.
The habit of self-laudation is a hindrance to a successful ministry. The minister is to forget self in his message. He is to hide self behind his Master. For him to expatiate on his own merits is to forget his position as ambassador, and exhibit himself as principal. Asking members of the congregation their opinion of his sermon, in hopes of obtaining a flattering comment; dilating on his profound studies and the instances of his marvelous power over men; parade of titles and academic honors; insertion of laudatory articles in the newspapers of himself and his work; publication of the numbers that he has gathered into the church; enumeration of the revivals he has started,—all these are sickening forms of the vanity of small minds, and show a spirit out of harmony with the grand self-forgetful movement of the divine life.
We mention only one other class of habits that should be shunned by the man of God,—those which sacrifice his honor, and thus take from him the strength and beauty of truth. The preacher who exaggerates, so that the coarse world exclaims, “He lies!” who takes advantage of his position to make sweeping assertions, unsusceptible of proof; who manufactures his facts, and stakes everything on an antithesis; or, again, the preacher who makes engagements only to break them; who is ever ready to say yes, without any regard to the issue; who raises hopes and leaves them to wither,—these are preachers who are steadily forming a sentiment in the world against the gospel which they profess to preach, for there is nothing on which the world has such correct notions (however little it practices on them) as the necessity of truth and honor in a high and guiding soul.
SABBATH EVE.
By Mary M. Faulkner
BY MRS. MARY M. FAULKNER.
The most pleasant part of all the week is the hour just before the commencement of the Sabbath,—the time when all are in readiness, and waiting for its blessed approach. What an appropriate moment to review, in some place of retirement, our life for the six days just passed, and while pouring forth the soul to God in prayer, to ask help that wherever we have failed, we may do better in the future. The privilege of asking divine aid is truly a most exalted one, and it is one that we may enjoy only while Jesus is our mediator. Then how careful we should be, that we may gain victories daily, and make improvement in the divine life each week, that we may be fitted for the “finishing touch of immortality.”
And as we are now waiting weekly for the holy Sabbath, so may we at last be ready and waiting for the coming of our blessed Saviour.
THE MODEL LADY.
By Luella Plants
SHE is truthful and honorable. She reverences her Maker and is a Christian. She has been improved by culture, has a good literary education, and her household education is thorough. She knows how to walk, and holds herself erect. If she is tall or short, she is not ashamed of it. Her dress is always neat, simple—never superfluous. She has good society manners, and behaves herself well in every place. She knows how to talk; all her words are well chosen, and she never uses slang phrases in her conversation. Our model lady may be rich or poor; she is prepared to fill any station in life; does not care for being called an old maid, and would not marry merely for a home or a name. The model lady makes the best of herself and her situation. She is a blessing wherever she goes, and God will bless her in this world, and prepare her for a better world.—Luella Plants, in Free Methodist.
THE PALM TREE.—
The Scripture says: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” Let us see what this comparison means; the palm grows not in the depths of the forest or in a fertile loam, but in the desert. Its verdure often springs apparently from the scorching dust. It is a friendly lighthouse, guiding the traveler to the spot where water is to be found. The tree is remarkable for its beauty, its erect aspiring growth, its leafy canopy, its waving plumes, the emblem of praise in all ages. Its very foliage is the symbol of joy and exultation. It never fades, and the dust never settles upon it. It was, therefore, twisted into the booths of the feast of tabernacles, was borne aloft by the multitude that accompanied the Messiah to Jerusalem, and it is represented as in the hands of the redeemed in Heaven. For usefulness, the tree is unrivaled. Gibbon says that the natives of Syria speak of 360 uses to which the palm is applied. Its shade refreshes the traveler. Its fruit restores his strength. When his soul fails for thirst, it announces water. Its stones are ground for his camels. Its leaves are made into couches, its boughs into fences and walls, and its fibers into ropes and rigging. Its best fruit, moreover, is borne in old age; the finest dates being often gathered when the tree has reached a hundred years. It sends, too, from the same root a large number of suckers, which, in time, form a forest by their growth. What an emblem of the righteous in the desert of a guilty world! It is not uninstructive to add that this tree, once the symbol of Palestine, is now rarely seen in that country.—Selected.
WEARY
By Eliza H. Morton
BY ELIZA H. MORTON.
Weary of self, weary of sin,
Weary of conflicts fierce within,
Weary of toil, weary of pain,
Weary of failure oft and again,
Weary of living, weary of life,
Weary of turmoil, noise, and strife,
Weary of earth with all its woe,
Weary and homesick here below,
Weary of all but Him who died,
Weary of all but the Crucified.
Battle Creek, Mich.
FUGUE
By Caroline Leslie
Our fingers on Life's hallowed organ-keys,
We play, with differing theme, the tune of time;
While through our discords and our harmonies,
Along the echoing octaves to the skies,
Triumphant-footed God's sure purports climb.
Awhile, with heaven-blinded eyes, we stand
In the first bright, unconscious solitude
That peoples all the world from fairy land,
And hold instinctively, with lingering hand,
The brief, glad cadences of babyhood.
Our grasp grows wonted to the sounding maze;
A stronger tone takes up the melody;
The childish treble of our earlier days
Becomes a dreamlike memory, that plays
’Round manhood's full, sonorous symphony.
And whence these airy notes that float and grow,
Now clearly sweet, now vague and shadowy,
Across a somber warp in golden glow
Flashing their magic shuttles to and fro,
To weave love's intermediate harmony?
Hark! vailed in rolling chords the theme again
Questioning, eager-tongued, of coming years;
While from afar a stealing minor strain,
All palpitating and alive with pain,
Breathes back the answer in a sound of tears.
A slower movement now—a softer key;
From trembling hands of age the old refrain
Wavers to silence. Shall there no more be
Of all that has been? Lo! across death's sea
Heaven echoes back the glad child-song again.
—Caroline Leslie, in the Evening Post.
HOW TO BE EDUCATED.
Every boy should have his head, his heart, and his hand educated. Let this truth never be forgotten. By the proper education of the head, he will be taught what is good and what is evil, what is wise and what is foolish, what is right and what is wrong. By the proper education of the heart, he will be taught to love what is good, wise, and right, and to hate what is evil, foolish, and wrong. And by proper education of the hand, he will be enabled to supply his wants, to add to his comforts, and to assist those around him. The highest objects of a good education are, to reverence and obey God, and to love and serve mankind. Everything that helps in attaining these objects is of great value, and everything that hinders is comparatively worthless. When wisdom reigns in the head and love in the heart, the man is ever ready to do good; order and peace reign around, and sin and sorrow are almost unknown.—Philadelphia Price List.
Liberty Is Law: Bright Eyes on Justice
—Bright Eyes, the Indian girl whose appeals in behalf of her people have been so earnest and stirring, recently spoke two sentences which the Christian at Work thinks are worthy to rank with the grand utterances of our most able statesmen. The sentiment is this: “What I ask for my countrymen is liberty; and liberty is law.” This is true in the political world. The object of law is to protect individual rights, and to regulate public affairs; and those nations that are governed by the wisest and most wholesome laws enjoy in the greatest degree the blessings of peace and prosperity. But how is it in the moral world? Are those persons who seek to bring their lives into conformity to the law of God under a “yoke of bondage?” Is the Almighty less capable of instituting wise laws for the proper regulation of human lives, than are erring men for the right government of nations? No; God’s moral law is what James calls it, “a law of liberty.”
TEXAS S. S. ASSOCIATION.
By R. M. Kilgore; Rosa Chrisman
THE TEXAS Sabbath-school Association held its first annual session near Dallas, in connection with the camp-meeting of Nov. 5-11. The meeting was opened by singing, “Let us Work for the School.” After the minutes of the previous session had been read, a Nominating Committee was appointed.
Remarks were then made by several on the importance of the Sabbath-school work, and, judging from these, we think the people are awakening to a new interest in this noble work.
The following officers were elected for the coming year: President, R. M. Kilgore; Secretary, Rosa Chrisman; Executive Committee, R. M. Kilgore, D. C. Brooks, and T. T. Stevenson.
There being no other business, the meeting adjourned.
R. M. KILGORE, Pres.
ROSA CHRISMAN, Sec.
The Law of the Harvest
By Geo. D. Boardman
—The law of the harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.—Geo. D. Boardman.
Faith That Reaches Only the Head
—The faith that only reaches to the head will never sanctify the heart. Knowledge without experience will no more sanctify, than painted fire will burn, or the sight of water cleanse. It may do good to others, as the knowledge of Noah’s carpenters was useful to him, while they perished in the flood.
Words of Praise and Encouragement for Workers
—One way of working in a good cause is by showing hearty sympathy with those who are at work in that cause. No one is above the need of words of commendation or of grateful appreciation of service rendered. It is often true that those who are supposed to be beyond this need, feel keenly the lack of the cheering and refreshing stimulus of outspoken thanks. At all events, it is a duty to speak words of praise where they are deserved, whether they are wanted or not.—S. S. Times.
MAINE S. S. ASSOCIATION.
By W. H. Blaisdell; Isadore A. Baker
The second annual session of the Maine Sabbath-school Association was held at Somerset Mills, in connection with the T. and M. quarterly meeting, Jan. 4.
Not as many were present as at our former meeting, yet the occasion was one of marked interest. The President being absent, J. E. Baker was elected President pro tem.
The members of the various schools reported that since our last annual session, which was held at Norridgewock in October, 1879, there had been a renewed interest in the Sabbath-school work. Parents and children, as well as the teachers, seem to have waked up to the importance of this branch of the work.
It was thought that these good reports were the results of the former Teachers’ Institute; the teachers and friends of the schools went home with more zeal and enthusiasm, and it worked in the schools till, little by little, all were awakened. And yet the standard is not as high as we wish it to be, nor as it may be if all will work with the interest that they now express.
It was recommended that these institutes should be held oftener, and that more time should be given them. It is hoped that more will attend the next session, and go with a view of working while there. It is workers that we need.
We hope that the subject of hearing recitations may receive special attention next time; much of the interest of the Sabbath-school depends upon this, and it is important that the teachers be acquainted with the various methods employed.
Will all the teachers please give the subject careful thought and study, and be ready to give us the result at our next meeting.
W. H. Blaisdell, Pres.
Isadore A. Baker, Sec.
OUR COUNTRY'S PROGRESS.
FROM an article in America of Feb. 7, 1880, we take the following paragraphs concerning the grand features, resources, and rapid development of our country, all of which evidence strengthens the consistency of our position that this nation is a subject of prophecy:—
The greatest glory that falls to an American is, that like the old Roman, he has a country to be proud of in all that constitutes a country,—power, wealth, refinement, honor, boundless resources in minerals and cereals, and all that makes a nation prosperous and happy; grand mountain scenery; waterfalls that are the wonder of the world; lakes, salt and fresh, which are inland seas, and valleys the largest, most wonderful and extensive, as they are also the richest in the world. A climate that has no equal, and a land most productive, as if Nature had exhausted herself in her efforts to render our people happy. The time is fast approaching when Americans will pay more regard to America and less to Europe, except to visit her decaying monuments, and, like Gibbon moralizing in the gloomy ruins of the Roman Coliseum, view with pity her fallen greatness.
The nations of Europe are so incumbered, the different superstructures so weighted down by taxation, that gaunt famine is stalking with giant strides through that continent. Huge armies are always ready to cut each other's throats at the command of privileged classes and designing statesmen, whose ambition is power, and whose ultimate object is the extermination121of one another, that, like marauding robbers, the victors may gather in the spoils. The cumbersome fabrics raised by centuries of oppression are falling to pieces from their own inward rottenness, and millions of her people are already seeking refuge on our hospitable shores from the impending wreck.
Europe is only repeating her history at the present time. Let us wish that her people may rise from the chaotic wreck redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled from the incubus of ages, and that America may profit by her example.
The great immigration from European countries to America is centering in the West. The movement of population is striking the Mississippi Valley with a crash, waking with rude affright from happy dreams the lone tenant of the border, who opens his eyes and stands aghast in mute bewilderment, thinking of the sudden transformation that has taken place in his immediate vicinity during the past ten years. The whole history of the world does not furnish us such another instance of rapid colonization and development as that of the Mississippi Valley and western Territories; and before the next World's Fair in New York, four years hence, we shall, as a nation, so far eclipse every other in history that we shall wonder at ourselves, and perhaps the world may then learn a lesson from our example.
WOULD IT?
A writer in one of our exchanges expresses the opinion concerning our work as S. D. Adventists, that if we would drop some of our peculiar views, such as the mortality of man, and the perpetuity of spiritual gifts, it would tend greatly to the advancement of our cause, and result in a rapid increase of converts to our views. It is in reference to this opinion that we ask the question which constitutes the heading of these lines, “Would it?”
This writer would not say, Drop the Sabbath, because he believes that is a truth that may not be neglected. But that is the very feature of our faith we are oftenest advised to drop, by those who become interested in our views of prophecy, but who do not want to keep the Sabbath. And if we look over the entire field of our faith, we find that different ones, according to the compromise which their inclination or interest prompts them to suggest, advise us to drop nearly every feature of our faith. If we should heed them all, but very little would at last be left.
And this is not with all a mere matter of talk. So firmly persuaded have some felt that a much greater work could be done if only some particularly objectionable point of faith were abandoned, that they have raised their colors with the offensive article expunged, and endeavored to rally the expected multitude to the new movement.
This has been especially true in reference to the doctrine of spiritual gifts. If that were only dropped, some have thought, then the movement would sweep all before it. These persons have doubtless been led into their misjudgment concerning the result of such a step by this fact: They have probably heard very many people say, Well, I could get along well enough with most of your views, if it were not for your doctrine of spiritual gifts; that awful subject of the visions I cannot receive. But do these persons who make such remarks rush to the standard of those who set out to preach substantially the same doctrines with the visions left out? Not by any means. That is not what they intended at all. And what does this show? It shows that they did not want to receive any of the truth, and so made the visions an excuse for not receiving it. And when these are dropped, then some other point is seized as the objectionable feature, like the Sabbath, the nature of man, the second advent, etc.
These excuses are too transparent to deceive any one; for no honest man will refuse to obey whatever truth he clearly perceives, because something else is taught in connection therewith which he cannot accept. If the subjects of the Sabbath, the nature of man, and spiritual gifts are presented to any one, and he perceives the truth of the perpetuity of the Sabbath, he is no less bound to receive and practice that truth than if he could indorse what was taught on the other subjects. And he who will not do this shows a degree of dishonesty which must certainly jeopardize his hope of Heaven. We have therefore learned not to judge of the tendency of any doctrine by the course of such persons concerning it.
And what has been the result with those who set out to proclaim the doctrines of S. D. Adventists with spiritual gifts left out? Suddenly their minds seemed to become enveloped in bewildering darkness, and their hold to relax on the great pillars of our faith, which are as firmly established as any truths of the word of God. From that point they have drifted away, till we now behold them floundering in the midst of a theoretical and spiritual chaos. They are carrying on no important enterprises. They are gaining no marked accessions to their ranks. And they scarcely have financial strength to publish an apology for their abnormal existence.
The conclusion to which we are led by all our reasoning and all our experience on this subject is, that if at any time the Lord has a special truth to be proclaimed, he will bless its proclamation, however unpopular it may appear to the world. And without God’s blessing we can do nothing. We may erect a theory of pleasing proportions, trim away all its crosses lest it shall offend some one, deck it with flowers to make it attractive, and thus try to win multitudes to its support. But if it is not the truth which in the development of God’s plans, and the unfolding of his purposes, belongs to that time, all our efforts will be but as “sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.” We therefore think it best to make it our object to proclaim a whole truth*, humbly and sincerely, and leave with the Lord all questions of influence and numbers.
Can we spare any of the more crossing features of our faith? Even as it is, we have a sharp contest continually to keep ourselves from being drawn insensibly away into a spirit of worldliness, pride, and formality. And how much worse would it be had we fewer features of faith to strongly remind us of the separation which we ought to maintain! Rather than surrender any unpopular features, the probability seems to be that still closer truths will be necessary, to test to the last degree any remains of the carnal mind that we may still be inclined to cherish in our hearts.
IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
By Editor
We are happy to note that The Bible Banner, of Philadelphia, ranges itself on the side of what we must consider, both from theory and experiment, to be the Scriptural view of the subject of tithes and offerings. To this end it quotes from the REVIEW the article on “Tithes and Offerings,” which was published in No. 3, present volume, with an editorial article by J. D. B., from which we give an extract below.
The practice of paying a tithe of our income into the treasury of the Lord, as what rightfully belongs to him, is one which we can recommend, not only because it is a command of the Lord, and his work receives a great benefit from the means so bestowed, but because of the blessing it brings to the givers themselves. Whoever will practice it, we believe will soon come to see the wisdom of God in the arrangement; for it is something in which all, even the poorest, can engage, as it is so easily done, if taken hold of scripturally, that is, by laying aside the tithe first and immediately, when the income is received. Then the setting apart of the tithe never becomes a burden; and the blessing of the Lord on the nine-tenths which he permits us to retain for our own use will cause it to go further and accomplish more than we could accomplish by adding to our nine-tenths and wrongfully appropriating to our own use the remaining tenth, which the Lord claims as his.
S. D. Adventists have very generally adopted this system; and they have done it, as the Banner remarks, not by extortion or compulsion; for no pressure of this kind is brought to bear, but “willingly and of a ready mind;” and so far as we know, it has proved to the individuals themselves a help and a blessing, both temporally and spiritually. Then there is the pecuniary advantage to the cause; for if any people blessed with a fair proportion of numbers will adopt this system, they will find that their enterprises will not be crippled by financial embarrassment. And if the thoughts advanced in the article referred to shall be any help to the readers of the Banner, it will be a satisfaction to us, as we know the plan will be to them if they will adopt it. In the editorial remarks, alluded to above, the Banner says:—
“This people, with hearts properly devoted to the Lord and systematically acting in this pecuniary matter conscientiously, are ‘well able to go up and take the land,’ of, (1.) a thorough and adequate support of their local churches, and of their poor; (2.) an extensive missionary work; (3.) and besides they could easily carry on a publishing business of $150,000 a year. This is no dream.”
We have pointed you to the S. D. Adventists, who are doing very nearly this thing. They mean business. They believe what they say, even if you think their doctrine untrue, and they show the legitimate fruit of faith, deeds. It is done without bondage. It is done freely. There is no driving. In this land and this age there can be none. Their people are not in Utah, isolated by hundreds of miles of deserts from civilized community. They are settled among men where they do not depend on the prophet and apostles and hierarchy, for the quiet enjoyment of their own way. It is said by some that the tithes are extorted, but it is doubtless a libel; for it is no more possible to extort tithes from S. D. Adventists than it is from other Adventists, or Baptists, or Presbyterians, or Methodists, or other religious people. Now what they do they do gladly, and though they are doing so large a work they no doubt are doing less than they might; for no doubt many among them do not come up to the standard of duty they adopt.
If what they do proves that they believe their own preaching, then when with the probable income our brethren represent, they could do a $150,000 publishing work yearly, and do not do a $30,000 business all told, does it not prove that we do not one-fifth part believe what we preach?
As none of our writers furnish a treatise on this subject, we are going to let the S. D. Adventists tell you how they do their work, and why they do it so; therefore I have begun a reprint this week of an article on tithes from the REVIEW AND HERALD; it is Scriptural and earnest, and we hope it will be read. We may now and then introduce a note in brackets. We feel that there is a moral question here involved, and are in earnest about this matter. The Lord’s truth must be published. His people must do it. We are expecting to see them gladly offer to the Lord, and rejoice in the prosperity of his work.
EPIDEMIC OF MURDER.
THE Chicago Inter-Ocean of Feb. 5, 1880, prints the following concerning the prevalence of crime in that city. Chicago is not an exceptional city in this respect; and this epidemic of crime everywhere should cause men to pause and consider the times in which we are living, and the coming issue as foretold in prophecy. The Inter-Ocean says:—
“Another assassination and robbery yesterday. We submit that crimes of this character have become so frequent of late as to give cause for general alarm. Men are shot down or butchered in their own stores or in their beds, and the guilty parties escape unrecognized, unpunished. Crime, bold and defiant, stalks through the city without seeming let or hindrance. There is inefficiency or criminal negligence somewhere. Chicago seems to be in the clutch of abandoned ruffians and cut-throats, who ply their trade in utter indifference of the authorities. If the Mayor and Chief of Police don’t want to have their administrations brought into something worse than contempt, they will give indications pretty soon that they are not wholly asleep and unconscious during this epidemic of murder.”