The Review and Herald, Review and Herald, Vol. 47, No. 22.
THE FOUNDATION OF GOD STANDETH SUREPage 1
Earlier text: THE FOUNDATION OF GOD STANDETH SURETHE SAINTS' INHERITANCE.
By G. V. Kilgore
“Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5:5. In the beginning God made the earth and placed man upon it. Man was upright and had dominion over this earth and all that it contained. But by sin he lost that dominion and brought death into the world. Since his fall, our earth has been peopled with those who have not known God. The few of each generation that have known him have been persecuted and afflicted, and have found nothing of earth's pleasures in which to delight. But blessed are those who have endured such things for righteousness' sake; for there will be a time when they will enjoy the pleasures of the earth made new. Christ will save all that come to him. And such he commands to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” When this prayer is answered the righteous will be the only inhabitants of the globe. The wicked do not do the will of God, but are against him. As long as they remain on the earth that prayer cannot be answered; for in Heaven God's will is done perfectly, and so it will be on the earth when the wicked are no more. Then “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Num. 14:21. Then “the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Ps. 37:10, 11. Christ has promised that the meek shall inherit the earth; but this is disputed at the present day by some of his professed followers. They teach that the earth will be burned up—put out of existence; and that the saints will inhabit a spiritual or immaterial Heaven above to all eternity. But the Bible contradicts this. It says, “Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited.” Isa. 45:17, 18. Should the earth be destroyed and no more be inhabited, then the creation of it was a vain work; for its inhabitants so far have not filled it with God's glory. Nor will they before the time that these professed followers of Christ say it is to be burned up. See Matt. 13:24–30, 36–42. Peter tells us the works that are in the world shall be burned up. But these works are the things that Christ died to destroy (1 John 3:8), which are the works of the devil. Had he said the earth should be burned up, he would then have contradicted the scripture which declares that “the earth abideth forever.” Now the word “forever” signifies eternity, when applied to things that God has established. Therefore, this earth will exist eternally;—but not in its present condition; for it is not now as it was when God formed it to be inhabited. Then the garden of Eden was here; sin was not known, death had not been heard of, man enjoyed the presence of God and of angels. Had he remained loyal to his Creator, this glorious state would have been his to enjoy forever. But he sinned; death followed; and had redemption never been devised he would have been eternally lost. But Christ gave himself to redeem fallen man, and to him the first dominion is promised: “And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:8. After Christ comes with all his holy angels, and after he has separated the righteous from the wicked, he will bid the good inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Matt. 25:31–34. Of course this inheritance will be given to the saints after “all things that offend and them which do iniquity” have been gathered out of his kingdom, which will not be done till after the thousand years of Revelation 20. For when the thousand years are expired Satan, the great offender, and all the wicked, will be on the earth. They will go up on the breadth of the earth, and compass the camp of the saints and the beloved city. Rev. 20:7–9. Then fire will come down from God and devour them. This is the same fire that Christ speaks of in Matt. 13:42, into which all that do iniquity shall be cast; and “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Then they will inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, which is this earth. That glorious city that Abraham looked for will then be on the earth. Around it the wicked will have received their just reward. They will have seen the glorified saints in the kingdom. “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” Luke 13:28. When the wicked and all the heathen “shall be as though they had not been,” the will of the Lord will be done in the earth as it is in Heaven. Then will “every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them,” sing, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” The new earth will be adorned with beautiful trees and lovely flowers. Even the most desolate places of this earth will then bloom like the choicest gardens. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” Isa. 35:1, 2. When people hear of a good country they sometimes sell their homes and go long distances and make great sacrifices to pass the few remaining years of their lives in a fairer clime. In view of this glorious new earth the prophet says, “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.” Who does not feel strengthened when thinking of the riches that God has in store for those that love him? Who is not willing to make sacrifices for the kingdom, to live in such a country as the Bible says the new earth will be? Although the Bible gives us such glowing descriptions of the city of God and of the earth made new, yet “we see as through a glass darkly.” “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, . . . what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him.” The law is a mirror showing our derangement, but not setting it right; like a perfect plumbline revealing the crookedness of the wall, but not making it straight; like a lamp on a dark night showing the obstacles and dangers of the way, but not removing them. The mirror, plumbline, lamp, neither create nor remove the evils. The law cannot remove our sin, but only shows the existence of sin.—MacIntosh. Meditating Upon Divine Truth
It is not hasty reading, but seriously meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that makes them sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee’s touching on the flowers that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon them and drawing out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most on divine truth that will prove the choicest, wisest, strongest Christian. EIGHT WEEKS AT BATTLE CREEK.
By James White
We reached Battle Creek, from California, in time to make some preparation for the extra session of the General Conference which commenced March 31. After that very pleasant and timely meeting was past, then came up nine hundred and ninety-nine important matters relative to the best good of our Publishing work, Missions, College, and the like. We never worked more hours in the day. We never labored with as little sleep, or crowded waking hours with mental and physical activity, as during the past eight weeks. And now that we are pleasantly located in a “Sleeper” on the Chicago and Quincy road, outward bound for the first of the season’s camp-meetings, in the enjoyment of health, and happy in the love and work of God, we look back with great pleasure upon the period afore-named. God is good. But these words do not express the present state of our mind and heart touching the gracious dealings of the All-wise and Merciful. Should we say that he is supremely good, the point is not reached. And when we say that he is inexpressibly good, we confess that human language can never tell the story of love, mercy, and goodness of God, through Jesus Christ, which the repenting, obedient, and trusting mortal shares. The goodness of God will find full expression only in the songs and hallelujahs of the ransomed and sinless in the eternal ages. Battle Creek is the place of great importance to our cause and people. And what makes it the point of the deepest interest to us at the present time is the fact that after twenty years of battling for the right on this old ground, during which we have received wounds, and have also experienced victories, there is no point in the whole field where we enjoy greater freedom than at Battle Creek. There is a covenant between us and that church, which to us is as solemn and sacred as any that has been made between men since time began. The events of the memorable visit made to Battle Creek from Colorado by Mrs. W. and the writer, nearly three years since, called out from representative men in that church statements of want of co-operation in the past, and pledges for the future, which were subscribed to by more than two hundred persons. How solemn was the hour when Elder U. Smith, before a full house, dedicated the roll containing the confessions, pledges, and the names, with the gold pen, and the ink fountain, which had been used to draw the articles, and with which each name had been signed, to be laid up as a memorial! That roll, that pen, and that ink-fountain are tastefully deposited in a mahogany box of appropriate dimensions, and fastened to the speaker’s stand in front of the large Bible. When in the house of God, addressing the audience, that covenant is literally between us and the people. But to know, whether with that people, or separated from them, that this covenant is in our hearts, both theirs and ours, affords us in our advanced position on our pilgrimage, greater happiness than anything else in this life can. We love to have full confidence in fellow-laborers and friends. And when forced to let go that confidence it is hard to confide again. But under the circumstances it would be cruel to question the faithfulness and integrity of our people at Battle Creek in the absence of the clearest evidences of unfaithfulness. The council held at Battle Creek before representatives from the Michigan churches last August resulted well. That gave good opportunity to bring out the real facts in the case, and gave confidence and stability to the cause and work at Battle Creek. And at the time of the great revival in September, Eld. Smith, Prof. Brownsberger, Dr. Kellogg, Mrs. W., and the writer entered into a solemn covenant before God to stand together for the right. We had retired to a grove a few miles from the city to enjoy a season of prayer. The Lord met us there. For want of time and tools to engrave the covenant upon the grand oak, we cut five notches in the sapling to mark the place where the covenant was made by the five. It is not expected that all our readers will comprehend the wants of the situation at Battle Creek, and see the necessity of fortifying so fully against disorganizing and distracting spirits, while it is expected that the friends of disorder will protest against such proceedings. Our people generally in the several States have no idea of the difficulties of the position at Battle Creek, and the amount of care and labor taken by those whose hearts are in the work. As proof of this we cite the disappointments and failures of most of those who have come from the different States as helpers in the cause. The past eight weeks we have labored most pleasantly with Eld. Smith. He has worked excessively hard since the close of last camp-meeting season, and needs the rest, and change which the labors of camp life will give. We shall be very happy to meet him at the Iowa meeting. Doctor Kellogg labors hard and to the point. He manages the HEALTH REFORMER ably and well, and he is producing new pamphlets on the great temperance theme, and others of inestimable worth. We were obliged to part with him the first of May to represent our publishing work at the Centennial, and to spend the summer in the preparation of still other works on the health question. The doctor has an extensive and important field of usefulness, and with the blessing of God will be both happy and successful. Prof. Brownsberger is very happy and hopeful in his work. Prof. Bell and the lady teachers in our school are true fellow-helpers, and all unite in words of commendation of the ability and deportment of the students generally. Our College is destined to be an unparalleled success. Mrs. W. meets us at the Kansas Camp-meeting the 26th, which doubtless adds to the inspiration of the journey. We have just left Kansas City, and are now speeding onward to Topeka, en route for the camp-ground, where we expect to have our good tent pitched and in readiness for lodgings to-night, the 25th. Time and space would fail to speak of the pleasant interviews with students at Battle Creek, of renewed acquaintance with Eld. Spicer and family, recently from Minnesota—who are giving themselves fully to the work—of the many social seasons with dear friends; and though mentioned last, not by any means the least, in the absence of the careful hand of Mrs. W., the lunch outfit by several, of good bread, raspberry turnovers, buns, northern spy apples, oranges, and nuts. We are forcibly reminded of the kindness of these good hygienic friends twice each day at least. Doubtless Paul would associate such acts from the sisterhood with being helped on his way after a godly sort. By incessant application to matters pertaining to our missions, school, and the publishing work, to the neglect of writing for our papers, we were able to leave them in good condition. Bro. H. W. Kellogg fills a place of care-taking at the Office. And, probably we shall not soon spend as much time at Battle Creek as we have this spring. The work is extending. General duties become more numerous and urgent. We hope to attend most of the camp-meetings, and have time to use the pen. More next week. J. W. That which gives our cause efficiency and power more than any other thing is the union and confidence enjoyed. It is not so bad to suffer impositions and abuses from being too confiding, as to become jealous of every one and sour over the wrongs of others, whether real or imaginary. This is especially wrong and sinful when manifested to tried friends in the cause, in the absence of the clearest evidences on which to base doubts. It is the duty of the servants of God to press together. Satan will suggest doubts in the minds of the brethren and sisters, and inspire feelings hard to control. He must be resisted by a constant effort to put the most favorable construction on the words and actions of others. Satan will suggest the worst construction. He will even fire the mind and heart to give expression to the most unfavorable construction of even the sincere words and acts of those of the brotherhood. No one loves to be blamed, unless it be the fool. It is more than most people can bear to be blamed for their faults. But when sincere people, who are in the fear of God seeking to do right, have their words and actions criticised, and the worst construction possible put upon them by the suggestions of Satan, it is then that good people's hearts are deeply wounded. If wrongs exist in the minds of the brethren, whether real or imaginary, our churches and Conferences are open for investigation. And there is a proper way to meet all these matters of wrong. But those persons who will sour and grow really bitter under the suggestions of Satan, and find fault with their brethren in a back-biting style, and create doubts, and cause distractions, are no more worthy of membership with those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus than Satan himself. These become railers in the full sense of the word, and should have the benefits of the most thorough discipline of the church. “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.” 1 Cor. 5:11. The time is not far distant when the fault-finder, wherever he may disturb the peace of our people, will be asked, Have you taken the measures stated by Christ in such matters? Or, Have you called for an investigation of these things? And if he answers in the negative, all God-fearing, peace-making people will refuse to keep company with him; because in the strongest sense of the word such an one will be regarded as a railer. The cause will never be safe from the influence of apostates and impostors until that point shall be reached. It is a matter of devout thanksgiving to God that as a people we are fast approximating to a state of scriptural discipline and confidence. No one can form any idea of the sad results of want of proper confidence in the work in the past, only those who have passed the fiery ordeal, and have had their spirits wounded, and their hearts rent, by the cruel rule of Satan in this matter. God would have had a strong people in the city of Rochester, N. Y., but for this. There were men of ability and wealth in and near that city when the Spirit of God indicated that the Press should be located there in 1852. But on account of their unfaithfulness, and even the cruelty of some, the Spirit of God as plainly indicated that the Press should be moved, because of the frown of God upon his professed people. The Rochester church has since been blotted out, mostly by deaths, so that the last home where a teacher of the present truth could find free refreshment in that great city was closed up when our esteemed sister, widow Lamson, moved to Olcott last winter. When the Press was moved from Rochester to Battle Creek, it was done by the decision of a handful of brethren from Michigan and Indiana, who met in a room sixteen by fourteen feet (according to measurement we took May 14, 1876), and that room was not half full. These precious souls were confiding, kind, and liberal. God blessed them and their work of faith. The testimony of those who had the burden of the work was anxiously sought for in all parts of Michigan where churches were raised up. The cause grew rapidly and firmly. And from 1859 to 1872, one-third of our strength as a denomination was in the little Peninsular State. And in Michigan our ablest ministers have been raised up, and from Michigan the field has been supplied from Maine to California, from Minnesota to Texas. For the past fifteen years Michigan has had two-thirds of her ministerial talent out of the State, and yet our cause has grown faster and firmer in this State than in any other. The State of New York might have had this great blessing. And God is now testing California. Who can ponder these things without calling to mind the bitter curse upon the inhabitants of Meroz, because they came not up to the help of the Lord against the mighty; and how even the harlot Rahab has the honor of being enrolled among the heroes of faith for confidingly assisting the servants of God? We can conceive of hardly a higher crime that man can commit against his fellows than for the professed follower of Jesus Christ to give himself up to a spirit of fault-finding, murmuring, and railing against worthy members of the brotherhood, in the absence of the clearest evidence in the case. THE SANCTUARY.
By Uriah Smith
Twenty-second Paper.—The Sanctuary Rebuilt.
When the seventy years of Israel's captivity were expired, and the land of Judea had lain desolate and thus enjoyed her sabbaths of which the wickedness of the people had deprived it, the Lord, in fulfillment of his word, stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to make a proclamation throughout all the kingdom, that of all the people of the God of Heaven dwelling therein, whosoever would might return to Jerusalem . Two tribes only, as tribes, Judah and Benjamin, acknowledged the heavenly token, and availed themselves of the opportunity offered. The majority of the other tribes chose to remain in their iniquity, and to abide still in the land of the heathen. But some of all the tribes joined themselves to the returning company, so that all Israel was represented, and all the tribes were perpetuated in Judea after the captivity. Hence the idea sometimes advanced that there are ten lost tribes which are to be restored at some time in the future, is a figment of the imagination. Forty-two thousand, three hundred and sixty persons, enough to people quite a respectable city, returned under the proclamation of Cyrus, to the site of Jerusalem, to rebuild the house of the Lord. And the sacred vessels which had been taken away were also restored. Fifty-two years after the complete destruction of the first temple the foundation of the second was laid by Zerubbabel. The prophets, Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the builders. Ez. 5:1; 6:14. Hindered fifteen years through the influence of the Samaritans, and others, it was at length finished and dedicated in the sixth year of Darius Hystaspes, B. C. 515, twenty-one years after its commencement. Though this temple was not, in some respects, equal to the first, yet the Lord promised that the glory should be greater, because to it, in the fullness of time, should come the Desire of all nations. Hag. 2. What was wanting in the second temple? It was not with respect to size that the first house surpassed the latter; for this was of the same dimensions as the former, being built upon the same foundations. But those marks of the divine favor which were the main glory of the first temple, were wholly wanting in this. These the Jews reckon up in five particulars; namely, 1. The Ark, and the Mercy-seat which was upon it. 2. The Shekinah, or divine presence. 3. The Urim and Thummim. 4. The holy fire from the altar. 5. The spirit of prophecy. What had become of the ark? Upon this question there has been expended much conjecture. That it was not carried to Babylon is generally admitted; as, if it had been, it would have been brought back with the other sacred treasures which had been carried thither. Ez. 1:8–11. It is supposed by some that it was hid away and preserved by Jeremiah. To sustain this view reference is made to the book of Maccabees which contains the following account of the matter:— Jeremy the prophet “being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God. And when Jeremy came thither he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door. And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for this place it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy.” 2 Mac. 2:4–7. And from this latter expression some have inferred that it is to be discovered and brought forth again before the end. “Most of the Jews will have it,” says Prideaux, “that king Josiah being foretold by Huldah the prophetess, that the temple, speedily after his death, would be destroyed, caused the ark to be put in a vault under ground, which Solomon, foreseeing this destruction, had caused of purpose to be built for the preserving of it.” For proof they produce 2 Chron. 35:3. But Prideaux argues that “these words import no more than that Manasseh or Ammon having removed the ark from where it ought to have stood, Josiah commanded it again to be restored to its proper place.” These are, perhaps, but little more than conjectures. And while there seems to be an improbability that God would permit any work of his own hands, like the writing on the tables of the decalogue, to be destroyed by the hands of wicked men, there does not appear any positive proof that the ark and its contents were not destroyed with the temple, as were, probably, the show-bread table and the golden candlestick. The want of the ark was, however, supplied as to the outward form; for an ark was made of the same shape and dimensions as the first, and placed in its appropriate position in the second temple (Lightfoot on the Temple, c. 15, s. 4); but it contained no tables of the law, there was no appearance of the divine glory over it, and no oracular answers were given from it. The Urim and Thummim. These were the third object specified as wanting in the second temple173 . What were they? Prideaux concludes that the words meant “only the divine virtue and power given to the breastplate in its consecration of obtaining an oracular answer from God, whenever counsel was asked of him by the high priest with it on, in such manner as his word did direct; and that the names Urim and Thummim were given hereto, only to denote the clearness and perfection which these oracular answers always carried with them; for these answers were not, like the heathen oracles, enigmatical and ambiguous, but always clear and manifest; not such as did ever fall short of perfection, either of fullness in the answer, or certainty in the truth of it. And hence it is that the Septuagint translate Urim and Thummim by the words delosin kai aletheian, i. e., manifestation and truth, because all these oracular answers given by Urim and Thummim were always clear and manifest, and their truth ever certain and infallible. As to the use which was made of the Urim and Thummim, it was to ask counsel of God in difficult and momentous cases relating to the whole state of Israel.”—Connection, Vol. i. p. 156. Five hundred years elapse. The temple, as might well be supposed, became, during this time, in many respects sadly in need of repairs. Whereupon Herod the Great, to ingratiate himself into the favor of the Jews, conceived the idea of rebuilding it throughout. The old temple was pulled down to its foundation, and the building of the new one commenced B. C. 19. It was this temple to which the Jews referred when they said to the Saviour at his first passover in the spring of A. D. 28, “Forty and six years was this temple in building.” John 2:20. It had been completed the year before, A. D. 27, the very year in which Christ commenced his public ministry. To this temple, according to the prophecy of Haggai, the Desire of all nations had now come. Happy would it have been for the Jews if, knowing the time of their visitation, they had received him as their Lord, and owned his mission. Externally, this building was at once the admiration and envy of the world. “Its appearance,” says Josephus, “had everything that could strike the mind and astonish the sight; for it was on every side covered with solid plates of gold, so that when the sun rose upon it, it reflected such a dazzling effulgence, that the eye of the beholder was obliged to turn away from it; being no more able to sustain its radiance than the splendor of the sun.” “It appeared at a distance like a huge mountain covered with snow; for where it was not decorated with plates of gold, it was extremely white and glistening.” Thus we are brought to the time of our Saviour. That covenant which had its ordinances of divine service in connection with “a worldly sanctuary,” was drawing to a close. The great Sacrifice to which the offerings of the sanctuary pointed was about to be offered. The Lord was engaged in his solemn mission of love to man. Often would he have gathered them, to enlighten their blindness, heal their backslidings, and save from destruction. But they would not. Their incorrigible resistance at length wrung from him the mournful lamentation, “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” Matt. 23:37, 38. Yes, their beautiful house, the Spirit and presence of God driven therefrom, had become only a tomb of darkness and death. And as Christ departed with sad and lingering footsteps from the temple, the fearful doom which he saw awaiting that people obliged him to declare, not in anger, but in sorrow, that the temple should be thrown down, so that not one stone should be left upon another. In the purpose of God, the services of this worldly sanctuary were now at an end. And when amid the startling scenes, the darkness and the earthquake, that attended the crucifixion of the Son of God, unseen hands violently rent in twain the magnificent veil that hung before the holy of holies, its services came really to an end; for they were no longer of any virtue. A few short years sufficed to bring the literal fulfillment of our Lord's prediction. The armies of Rome environed Jerusalem. The city fell. Titus desired to spare so gorgeous a trophy as the temple, but a Roman soldier, impelled by a blind spirit of infatuation, or perhaps by a divine impulse, climbing upon the shoulders of his comrade, thrust a blazing firebrand into the gilded lattice of the porch. The flames at once sprang up. No power could then save it. It soon lay a melted, shattered, hissing mass of ruins. And the date of this destruction, in A. D. 70, falls upon the same month, and the same day of the month, as the destruction of Solomon's temple by Nebuchadnezzar, six hundred and fifty-eight years before. Standing here at the conclusion of its earthly history , it remains to inquire why this arrangement was ever instituted. What was the object of this earthly sanctuary and the services connected therewith? U. S. The term hell, in every instance of its occurrence in the common version of the Old Testament, is rendered from sheol in the Hebrew, to which the Greek hades corresponds. It is used to designate the place and state of all the dead, whether righteous or wicked, and is frequently translated grave, and properly too, as that is the usual receptacle of the silent sleepers who have gone down to the dust in fulfillment of the sentence, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” But the popular use of the word hell, as meaning the place of the punishment of the wicked, leads many of the common readers of the Bible astray in the reading of the Old Testament and all those instances in the New Testament where hades is the word in the original. Should we render sheol, in every instance of its occurrence in the Old Testament, by one uniform word, and let that word be hell, the reading of many a text would seem strange indeed. But there could be no reasonable objection to this. Sheol is used to convey one idea to the mind, and might be rendered uniformly by the same term. We will quote a few texts where this Hebrew word occurs, giving the word hell as its representative. The language of the pious Jacob, who prevailed with God would be, “I will go down into hell unto my son mourning.” And David’s charge to Solomon concerning certain gray-headed sinners, such as had “shed the blood of war,” in time of peace, would be, “Let not his hoar head go down to hell in peace.” “But his hoar head bring thou down to hell with blood.” Again, we should read in Psalms, “For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in hell who shall give thee thanks?” And we would find the wise man exhorting all to the improvement of their time in good works, from the fact that “there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in hell, whither thou goest.” According to this testimony all, the good and the bad, excepting those translated, are destined to one place, and that place is one in which no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, exists. This is positively affirmed; and as the Scriptures do not contradict themselves, it is certain that any representation of life, knowledge and activity among the inhabitants of that “land of darkness,” is a figure of speech by which unconscious and inanimate things are represented as living, acting, and speaking. The following are examples: “Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?” Isa. 14: 8–10. “The strong and the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell,” &c. See Eze. 32: 18–32. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is another example. These things were never spoken or written to induce the belief that the dead in sheol or hades were conscious and capable of conversing and acting; for this would be a contradiction of the positive assertion that there is no knowledge or work there. The trees of the wood, the timbers in a house built by dishonest gain, the hire of the laborer kept back by fraud, and the blood of the martyrs, are made to speak in the same way that the dead are made to converse; Isa. 14: 8; Hab. 2: 12; Jas. 5: 4; Rev. 6: 10; and all this for the purpose only of bringing true thoughts of future retribution vividly before the mind. And it would be no more absurd to hold that all these are literal facts, than to hold that the dead in hades, sheol, hell, or the grave, are conscious, and capable of conversation and action. R. F. COTTRELL. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31. Again, says Paul, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1. Very many professed Christians ignore these words of inspiration, and regard these plain Bible declarations as non-essentials. But the great apostle informs us that these words of Holy Writ are for our reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. According to Paul’s testimony, the texts above quoted, instead of being of no importance, are of the utmost significance especially to those looking for the coming of the Lord. Every Christian should keep his body under control. So did Paul. “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” The animal appetites must not rule. Many who are not gluttons eat too much, and many who are not drunkards, drink too much. They eat simply for enjoyment, without regard to principle or health. Quantity and quality are wholly disregarded. And they drink for the same purpose. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Let every Christian take this inspired rule to his table and it will preserve him from yielding to many a temptation. Let him ask, How can I glorify my heavenly Father in partaking of this food, or this drink? Many who profess to love the Lord appear to live simply to eat, drink, dress, sleep, and take their pleasure. The Christian should eat, drink, and dress to live, and do all this in that manner which will honor God most. What a preservative would this text have been to many professors who have fallen little by little, until they have backslidden from God. Dear brother, and dear sister, let me entreat you to keep this text constantly before your eye, write it upon your mind, stamp it upon your heart. If tempted by careless professors to smoke or chew tobacco, drink a glass of the Indians’ fire-water, tea, coffee, or other stimulating drink, ask yourself, Can I do this to the glory of God? Will it glorify God, and benefit me to indulge in it? Ought I to be led by these dead professors? Should we not let our light shine here, bear our testimony for the Lord and his cause, and show that we do walk by the precepts of our God and appreciate the light and counsel of his Holy Spirit?
M. WOOD. CHARITY RUN WILD.
By Uriah Smith
In one of his recent meetings in N. Y. city, Mr. Moody is reported to have said that “if there was anything during all these meetings he had to be thankful for it was the utter want of any feeling of sectarianism. Baptist, Methodist, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, all sects met at these meetings on one common footing, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and, therefore, as Christians, and he hoped it would always be so. ‘I hope,’ said Mr. Moody, ‘I will see the day when the Roman Catholics will join with us, for they are as good Christians as any among us, and that all who stand by that blessed Name will advance in solid column against the works of the world, the flesh, and the devil.’” He has a very poor conception of the spirit of Roman Catholicism who does not know that it is a cardinal principle with them never to unite with anything that is not a complete concession to themselves; and we know that the characteristic doctrines and the corruptions of that church are from the pit of darkness. Yet men in the honied phrases of the pseudo-union which they are seeking, will talk of uniting with that church. This is one of the items which clearly show the tendency of these times. A QUESTION UPON S. B.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
FRANK TERRY, Mo.: You refer to my statement that the Lord requires one-tenth of all our income. Having paid this to the Lord’s treasury, the other nine-tenths belong to us to use for our own benefit. Then you suppose that a man raises one thousand bushels of corn. One hundred he gives to the Lord, and nine hundred belong to himself. With this nine hundred bushels he buys a field of forty acres which he rents for $120 per year. You conclude that, according to my statement, he would be under no obligation to give any of this $120 to the Lord, and that he might go on that way till he need not pay even a one-thousandth of his income to the Lord. This conclusion is not right. Each year the Lord requires one-tenth of all our income from whatever source. That field of forty acres each year has to be warmed by the Lord’s sun, and watered with the Lord’s rain. If he gives you increase from that field, one-tenth is the Lord’s. If you work it yourself, the Lord must give you strength and wisdom with which to do it. Shall you render nothing to God for all this? No doctrine of the Bible is more plainly taught than this; viz., that one-tenth of all our income each year, whether from the produce of the land, the fruit of the tree, the increase of our cattle, or the labor of our hands, is to be given to the Lord. While most of our people profess to believe this fully, not one in a hundred of them practice it. Many a man who raises from his farm, and earns in various ways, from $300 to $600 a year, quiets his conscience by giving from $10 to $20 per year. Every year he is withholding from $10 to $50 which do not belong to him. Then when he meets with losses, misfortunes, sickness, etc., he is ready to murmur at Providence and wonder why these things should come upon the righteous. It is time that we looked after this matter a little closer.