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Review and Herald, Vol. 61, No. 51.

THANKSGIVING SERMON

Review and Herald

Dec 23, 1884

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 23, 1884

THANKSGIVING SERMON.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“Oh! sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nation are idols; but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts. Oh! worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; fear before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth; the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved; he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.”
I think we have something to be thankful for. We ought to be glad, and rejoice in God; for he has given us many mercies. The thought comes to me that we may have a Thanksgiving in the future without any giving. It may be that the time of trouble will be upon us. But to-day let us rejoice that we are granted this opportunity of coming within the courts of the Lord. We ought to come with humble thanks for all his mercies that have been given us all through the year. But I fear too many of us encourage the habit of looking always upon the dark side of life, and that at a time when God has crowned us with his goodness and mercy. This is wrong. We should be enjoying the sunshine of his golden blessings, that have crowned the year with plenty. When God pours his blessings into our hearts, we should not shut them up as we would precious ointment, lest the perfume escape; we should bestow them upon those around us, that they also may be glad and rejoice. In my experience I have found that when I brought joy to the hearts of others, my own soul rejoiced, and was filled with the melting Spirit of God. In the morning and all through the day, a sense of God’s goodness filled my heart, and it awakened such feelings of gratitude as I cannot express.
We want this Thanksgiving to be all it implies. Do not let it be perverted, mingled with dross; but let it be what its name implies—giving thanks. Let our voices ascend in praise. Let our hearts lay hold on the Exalted One; for the train of his glory fills the temple.
We should individually aim for a higher and holier standard. The mind will surely become dwarfed if it is continually occupied with earthly things. But if trained to dwell upon heavenly, eternal themes, it will be expanded, elevated, and strengthened. The mind should take hold of things unseen, and meditate thereon; then things of eternal interest will be so exalted above the earthly, that temporal affairs will sink into insignificance in comparison. We do not regard divine things as of high value; and by neglecting to train the mind to prize eternal things more than earthly, we lose a valuable experience. We fail to obtain the wisdom God has brought within our reach. Suppose we change this order of things, and begin from to-day to train the thoughts to dwell upon the great plan of salvation, devoting less time to self-serving. Suppose you try to count all your blessings. You have thought so little upon them, and they have been so continual, that when reverses or afflictions come, you are grieved, and think God is unjust. You do not call to mind how little gratitude you have manifested for all the blessings of God. You have not deserved them; but because they have flowed in upon you day by day, year by year, you have looked upon them as a matter of course, thinking it was your right to receive every advantage, and give nothing in return. The Lord sometimes withdraws his mercies to bring people to their senses. Shall we make it necessary in our case for him to do so? Look away from your own trials and difficulties. Cease to magnify your little grievances. Put all thoughts of self out of your heart. Cease self-service, and serve the only true and living God. Let his melody be in your heart, and his praises on your lips. The blessings of God are more than the hairs of our head, more than the sands of the seashore. Meditate upon his love and care for us, and may it inspire you with love that trials cannot interrupt nor afflictions quench.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good, and his mercy endureth forever. What kind of a Thanksgiving shall we keep,—one to ourselves, bestowing all our benefits upon ourselves and receiving the attentions of others, but bringing no thanksgiving offering to God? This is idolatry of the most offensive character in the sight of a jealous God. Everything should be avoided that would have a tendency to draw our hearts’ worship from God. Let not any more Thanksgiving days be observed to please and gratify the appetite, and glorify self. We have reason for coming into the courts of the Lord with offerings of gratitude that he has preserved our lives another year.
Parents, do not neglect to impart to your children the very education they should have. Upon their birthdays, instead of calling their attention to themselves by giving them presents, teach them to come with an offering to God. It is a sad fact that there are many children who have been left to come up willful, disobedient, unthankful, and unholy, yet whose birthdays are respected and honored with feasting and with gifts, when it would have been better had they never been born. Their birthdays might better be observed with fasting, clothing them with sackcloth, instead of making them occasions of amusement and giving gifts; for their steps are rapidly leading to perdition and ruin. In many cases, birthday gifts have proved a detriment rather than a blessing. The children should be educated to look to God as the giver of life, their protector and their preserver, and to come to him with an offering for all his favors. Every opportunity should be employed to implant in their hearts right views of God and his love for us. Nothing should be done to foster in them vanity, self-esteem, or pride. Teach them to review the past year of their life, to consider whether they would be glad to meet its record just as it stands in the books of heaven. Encourage in them serious thoughts, whether their deportment, their words, their works, are of a character pleasing to God. Have they been making their lives more like Jesus, beautiful and lovely in the sight of God? Teach them the knowledge of the Lord, his ways, his precepts. “Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” We want the children to learn to look away from self to heavenly things, there to bestow their thanksgiving.
God has spared our lives till this day; now how shall we keep it, with feasting and gluttony? Is this a true thanksgiving to God? No; we are to render thanks and thank offerings for the mercies bestowed upon us every day during the past year. How should we keep Thanksgiving?—“When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” This is the kind of a feast God instructs us to give. How many will follow these specific directions of God’s word by calling the poor to their homes with words of sympathy and the spirit of beneficence, and thus make such a feast as will be pleasing to God? Satan has sought to destroy the true purpose and design of Thanksgiving, to turn away from God, the honor due him, and to center it upon ourselves.
Now is the time when God should be praised for his goodness and bountiful gifts to the children of men. You may say, “What has the Lord done for us?”—Much in every way. You have the products of the earth, filling your barns, your granaries, your store-houses. In this you have abundance for which to give thanks. Here are your children. They are clothed, and you have fuel, food, and shelter. You should not only praise God, but you should come into his courts with a thank-offering. How many of us have trained ourselves to bring an offering to him? I remember a brother’s once taking us to his granary, saying, “You see my barns and granaries are so full I shall have to build an addition; for I do not know where to bestow the products of my ground.” And a little after, speaking of a poor widow, he said, “I do not see how she will take care of herself this cold winter. I fear she will have a hard time of it, indeed.” I said, “Who gave you these things you have just shown me! Was it not the God of heaven? You say it was; then it is your duty to give of your plenty to that poor widow. Thus you can answer this question yourself.” He had not seen it in that light. He had thought helping the poor from his bounty was another consideration. God help you to open your hearts to suffering humanity; for they are the purchase of high heaven. Christ identifies his interests with those of his needy, suffering children; and neglect done to them is registered in the books of heaven as done to Christ in the person of his saints.
Brethren and sisters, you ought to be willing to do anything you can for his suffering children, that good deeds may be credited to you in heaven. Jesus will say to you in that day, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when saw we thee sick or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” They were not aware they had done anything for him; but Christ saw that these deeds of kindness had been done through love for him and the dear children.
Let us be careful that we are not deceived in this matter.
There are a great many who seem to have a great burden to do missionary work; but I have thought that if such would only begin in their own households, it would be the very best thing they could do. Whenever you take up the duty that lies nearest you, then God will bless you, and hear your prayers. There are too many doing outside missionary work, while their own households are left destitute of any such efforts,—going to ruin through neglect. They do not seem to understand that it should be their first work to take heed to home duties. The first missionary work is to see that love, light, and joy come into the home circle. Let us not be looking for some great temperance or missionary work to do until we have first done the duties at home. Every morning we should think, What kind act can I do to-day? What tender word can I speak? Kind words at home are blessed sunshine. The husband needs them, the wife needs them, the children need them. Now let us make a thanksgiving at home. How easy it might be for us to bring sunshine, mellow and beautiful right into our homes, if our hearts were filled with the grace of God? This may be done by kind words and loving ministrations. If there had been more of them in the past, I believe that more of us would have come into this house with the praise of God in their hearts for his loving-kindness unto us and ours. It ought to be the desire of every heart to make as much heaven below as possible. We ought to be just before we are generous. There needs to be a home religion, a home thanksgiving. There needs to be the very soul of a pure life right at home. Then when you come to such a place as this, you will make melody to God in your hearts. They would be full of the tenderness of love. You could speak of the mercy and love and goodness of Christ in your soul. Your hearts would be full of melody all the day. Your song would be, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” This kind of piety is of some value. There is a great deal of meeting-house religion; but there is little home religion. Cultivate it, that when you come into the house of God, you will love to talk of Jesus. You cannot make your tongue be silent. The love of Jesus will be like fire shut up in your bones.
If a feast is to be made, let it be for those who are in need. Do you not think God regards those who are poor, who have but little of life’s good things, who long for Jesus to come into their homes with blessing? Does he not call upon us to answer their prayers as far as is in our power, ministering unto their wants? Christ pities and loves them. Any neglect of them is written in the heavenly records as done to himself. Call into your houses the poor, the afflicted, the halt, and the blind.
Your blessings do not come from mortal hands. God has ministered to you all these years. It is he who has kept your children. And now in return, why not make him a thank-offering. Even to-day bring larger and smaller gifts, and put them in the treasury of the Lord. Do you not think it would be pleasing to the God of heaven? Jesus says, “I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it.” What is that open door for? It is that the love of God may come streaming down to us,—poor, unworthy mortals. Never have his blessings ceased to flow to us through this open door. And for this reason we ought to let this love flow to others through the open door in our hearts. Oh! let us make this the best thanksgiving we have ever had. Let us look back and see how many thanksgiving days we have spent without acknowledging God’s gifts to us, and render to him that which is his own. When you take heed to the word of God, and follow its instructions to the letter, you will enjoy blessings from the God of Jacob. Hear what Isaiah says: “Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house; when thou seest the naked, cover him. . . . Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.” Your souls shall be like a watered garden, whose waters fail not. “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.” Do you want to hear that voice respond to your call, saying, “Here I am?” Then go to work in God’s way. Get rid of your selfishness and heartlessness, and pray God to give you a loving, tender, sympathizing heart. Then when you call you may hear his voice answer, “Here I am.”
I remember the case of a poor man, who lived near a rich widow in Battle Creek. She had had her orchard trimmed, and the limbs and sprouts thus cut off lay by the fence. This poor man asked of her the small favor to give him this brush to use for fuel; but she refused him, saying, “I want to keep them; for the ashes will enrich my ground.” I never pass the house of that woman without thinking of this incident. Ground enriched to the neglect of the poor!
I thank God for my life—not that it has been one of ease or of pleasure. I am not glad because of any such thing; I would not exchange my experience for any life of ease upon earth. I have a faith that looks over into the future, and sees the tree of life. Upon it grow precious fruits, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No more broken hearts, no more sadness, no more sins, no more sorrow, no more suffering, in that kingdom of glory. If I am faithful, I expect to meet the loved ones there. Oh! I have everything to be thankful for. I expect to see Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life shall have glad fulfillment. I expect to see the Redeemer’s glorified saints,—the white-robed ones about the throne, singing the victor’s song. They have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. There they stand by the great white throne, and Jesus, he that was crowned with majesty, glory, and honor,—he leads them to fountains of living waters. He is to open to us the living truths of the word of God. We have a little of it here; but throughout eternity will be unfolded the rich treasures of truth. I am so glad that he has honored me in giving me a part to act in this work of shedding the light of truth on the earth. I am so thankful that I can be a partaker with Christ of his self-denial and suffering, and finally of his glory. I thank him with all my heart; with all my voice will I praise the Most High, and glorify him on the earth. Soon we shall know as we are known. If there are any who have had wrong feelings or jealousy, now is the time to confess them. God help us to humble our proud hearts, and bring Jesus into our midst. Open the door of your hearts and let him enter, and you will have such a Thanksgiving as you never experienced before.

JESUS, OUR KING.

By T. A. B.

BY T. A. B.
“For yet a little while and He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.” “And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time.” Heb. 10:37; 9:28.
Come to thy waiting ones, Jesus, our King; Come to thy longing sons, Jesus, our King. Come in thy splendor bright, Gladden our failing sight, Brighten our sorrow’s night, Jesus, our King.
Thus we draw near thy side, Jesus, our King. Thou in our hearts abide, Jesus, our King, Let not our spirits rove, Draw thou our souls above, Bright Star of peace and love, Jesus, our King.
Dark though our dreary day, Jesus, our King, Guide thou our weary way, Jesus, our King. Eyes on thy gospel’s light, Hands on thine altar white, Guide thou our steps aright, Jesus, our King.
Let that bright morning come, Jesus, our King, Take thy dear children home, Jesus, our King. Gladden our failing sight, Brighten our sorrow’s night, Come! in thy splendor bright, Jesus, our King.
East Randolph, N. Y.

The Greatest of Faults: Unconsciousness of Self

—The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none.—Carlyle.

Noble Thoughts Versus Trifling Thoughts

—Trifling thoughts belittle the mind, weaken the intellect, and dwarf the affections. Shun them. Noble thoughts make noble minds, and noble minds say and do noble things, that benefit mankind and glorify God. Seek them.

Continual Communion With God Through Daily Events

—Events happen every hour in the day which furnish us with errands to the throne of grace. We ought, in the secret of our hearts, to be communing with our Father all the day long, either hearing his voice, asking his guidance, or making confession, if in any of these things we fail. Just as we advance in acquaintance with God and ourselves, shall we have more of the spirit of little children, distrusting our own strength and putting our strength in him.—Watchman.

THE TEMPLE IN HEAVEN.

By W. H. Littlejohn

THE SECOND ANGEL’S MESSAGE CONSIDERED.

BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.
Mr. Biblist.—“When we dispersed last evening, the points of agreement in the experience of the ’44 Adventists and the last generation of Christians as outlined in the parable of the ten virgins had been shown to be most complete. Do you remember, Maud, how this was done?”
Maud.—“Yes, sir; quite distinctly. You proved that the ten virgins represented the followers of the Lord at the time of the advent. Then you showed that as the virgins, when they went out to meet the bridegroom the first time, were disappointed in meeting him, so Mr. Miller and his followers at the time of the commencement of the Judgment prepared to meet the Lord, but were mistaken in their calculation; and so the Lord did not come as they anticipated.”
Mr. B.—“Did I say, Maud, that the mistake of which you speak, furnished proof that the Miller movement was not in the order of the Lord?”
Maud.—“Just the reverse of that, sir. You argued not only that the parable of the ten virgins, but also the tenth chapter of Revelation could not have applied to them had they not met with just such a disappointment as they experienced.”
Mr. B.—“That is correct, Maud. Those who cite the mistake of Mr. Miller and his friends as evidence that they did not do the work assigned to them in the providence of God, are exactly wrong. Had they not met with a disappointment, we might safely conclude that they did not give the genuine judgment message, as those who do that—according to Revelation 10 and Matt. 25: 1–13—must have had just such an experience in connection with the coming of the Lord as did the ’44 Adventists. The error of the latter and its connection with their identity can be illustrated by an incident that transpired in connection with the American Revolution. Two brothers, on opposite sides in that contest, though unknown to each other, were engaged in mortal combat on the deck of a man of war. The elder dealt a tremendous blow at the younger, which disarmed him of his cutlass, and dashed his military hat from his head. In a moment more the younger brother would have been transfixed by the blade of his antagonist; when the wind catching the unconfined hair, tossed it back from his forehead, revealing a scar nearly the shape of a half moon. That discovery saved the life of the doomed man; for it furnished to his antagonist the means of recognizing a long lost brother. Just so with the mistake of the Miller movement. Though it may seem to us to mar the symmetry of a work otherwise complete, it is in fact one of the very marks which prove that the work itself was heaven-born.”
Mr. Thoughtful.—“I thank you, Mr. Biblist, for that illustration. It meets the case exactly. How thankful I am for these talks. I verily believe that we are actually standing in the hour of God’s Judgment. The evidences are too numerous and too striking to be set aside. Never in all my life have I spent so solemn a day as the one that has just closed. Visions of the events that are taking place in the temple in heaven have been constantly passing before my mind, and I have examined my own heart and calculated my own chances in the Judgment as never before. How grateful I am that we have an High Priest that can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. My whole soul is full of praise to God to-night that we have not yet passed the line where probation for the world will end. I feel like taking up the Judgment message myself, and warning men to repent before it is forever too late.”
Mr. B.—“Yes, yes, how the world might be stirred if ministers only would believe and preach the searching doctrine that relates to a Judgment actually in session and rapidly drawing to its close. If clergymen generally could be united in presenting to the people the thrilling truths that are taught by the sublime lessons of the sanctuary as set forth in the teachings of the Old and New Testaments, I firmly believe that thousands of apathetic Christians and thousands more of hardened sinners might be brought to the Lamb of God, whose blood will soon be pleaded for the last time in behalf of our fallen race. There is in this theme a power that is found in no other. It is what might be called a ‘present truth.’ The Spirit of God seems to attend its presentation in a most remarkable manner. It not only reaches the heart by assisting the hearer to see the Saviour in the character of the bleeding Lamb that died on Calvary for the sins of the world, but it also furnishes to the intellect, in the historical fulfillment of its prophetic foreshadowings, the material with which to build an intelligent and rational faith in the word of God. You let a man once become thoroughly established upon the sanctuary question, and it is a very hard matter, if not an impossibility, to move him away from his confidence in the book of God. It has been my fortune to see several such who have apostatized from the truth so far as practical experience is concerned; but not one of them, to my recollection—though despairing of his own salvation—could be induced to deny the inspiration of the Bible.
“But enough on this point. I feel to-night, Mr. Thoughtful, as if our evening talks had not been in vain by any means; since they have been the means of inducing you to accept one of the grandest truths of the Bible. You will remember that when we started out, the sole object that I had in view was that of explaining to you the significance of the Mosaic tabernacle and its services. This has been done; and we have found that in symbol it taught nearly all the grand truths that are related to the Judgment and the sacrificial work of Christ. Perhaps the time has come, therefore, when we should bring our evening interviews permanently to a close.”
Mr. T.—“While I thank you very much, sir, for the light that you have already given me, you will not be offended if I beg of you to continue our talks on Bible subjects still longer. It occurs to me that there must be other things in your peculiar faith that I would like to understand. You have already explained the message of the first angel of Revelation 14; but I notice that there were two other angels that followed the first, each of whom also had a message, as I conclude, for the world. If I am right in this, and if you have any theory in regard to the fulfillment of the predictions foreshadowed in the messages of these angels, I would be a thousand times obliged to you if you would impart it to me.”
Mr. B.—“Well, Mr. Thoughtful, it is true, as you seem to surmise, that I have a theory respecting the fulfillment of the second and third angels’ messages of the 14th chapter of Revelation. I do not know that I should have said anything about the matter, however, at this time, had you not requested me to do so; but as it is, I shall take pleasure in setting before you the views of our people on these subjects. It is not late, and I will enter upon my work to-night.”
Mr. T.—“Very good, sir; that will please me much.”
Mr. B.—“In discussing the two remaining messages it is not necessary to go over the same ground again that we have already traversed. We have seen that the first angel typified a movement that was to take place in the church. As the second and third angels belonged to the same series with the first, they also must symbolize like movements. It has already been seen that the first angel’s message was given in 1844. As a consequence, the second and third angels’ messages would be due somewhere this side of that time. Now what are the facts of history bearing upon this subject? I answer, That there are those who claim that the second and third, as well as the first, angels’ messages are now going to the world.”
Mr. T.—“Do I understand you, sir, that the first angel’s message is still being proclaimed?”
Mr. B.—“Certainly so. It would be a manifest incongruity to have a Judgment message proclaimed only at the time of the commencement of the Judgment. Every consideration of propriety or advantage demands that it should continue to be announced so long as the Judgment lasts. In short, I believe that the first, second, and third angels’ messages are alike in this particular; i. e., they will continue to be preached to the world so long as probation shall last. They are designed to make ready a people for the coming of the Lord, and they will therefore be proclaimed to the world until the Lord closes his work in the heavenly sanctuary.”
“But to return to my argument. I will take up the second and third messages in their order. It is a well-known fact that the Adventists, subsequently to 1844, under the leadership of William Miller, claimed to give the second angel’s message. The positions taken by them, in brief were as follows: First, that the term ‘Babylon’ is one which, in the Scriptures, is applied to corrupt forms of religion generally. Secondly, that this application, though frequently given to the Romish church in the New Testament, is also used at times in that book in such a manner as to indicate that it cannot be confined to that church; but must cover other corrupt Christian sects. Thirdly, that in Revelation 14: 8, the ‘Babylon’ spoken of cannot be the Romish communion alone; as the fall mentioned therein was a moral one, and as the Romish church at the time in question—that is, the time for the session of the Judgment—had been a fallen church for centuries. Fourthly, that the Babylon of Rev. 14: 8 must comprehend the Protestant denomination, as, according to Rev. 18: 1, 4, which furnishes another allusion to the same corrupt body, it is a place where the people of God are evidently found in large numbers; since they are there called upon to come out of Babylon, lest they should be ‘partakers of her plagues.’ Fifthly, that the Protestant churches, by rejecting the Judgment message and persecuting those who gave it by withdrawing from them the hand of fellowship and blackening their characters, arrayed themselves against the special work of God for their time; thus rejecting the only movement which could heal their former backslidings.”
Mr. T.—“How does that second message read?”
Maud.—“I have it right here, and I will read it. ‘And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’”
Mr. T.—“I don’t know about this, Mr. Biblist; I don’t know about this. You would include the grand old Methodist church in Babylon, would you not?”
Mr. B.—“Certainly, sir. Unfortunately that communion, in common with the other Protestant sects, was found fighting the work of God in 1844. It is a pretty serious thing, Mr. Thoughtful, for the church to array itself against the great Head of the church by endeavoring to overthrow the work that he is seeking to establish. Do not get the impression, however, that according to Mr. Miller’s theory, the orthodox churches in his day had fallen so far that none of the people of God were to be found within them. His idea was this: the churches of the Reformation, when they separated themselves from the Romish connection, were comparatively pure, and in the providence of God furnished a nucleus around which those could gather whom the Lord called out from the apostate Roman body. In process of time the orthodox sects lost the spirit and power of the Reformation, became more and more conformed to the world, refused to follow on in the progressive path that would have led them finally to the rejection of all of the errors that they had brought with them from the Mother Church, and at last reached the point where God was compelled once more to organize a body of believers outside of their ranks, who, in turn, should seize the standard of reform, and hold themselves in readiness to accept joyfully any new light that God might vouchsafe to them.
“That the orthodox churches must eventually drop to a much lower level than they have struck as yet, might be proved from prophecy as well as history. From the very nature of the case, this must follow. For what there is in them at the present time of power and vitality, they are indebted to the thousands of good souls who still remain within their borders. In process of time, these will be called out and connected by degrees with the special work of God for this day, thus rendering the spirituality of the churches from which they came out, less and less.”
Mr. T.—“This is a hard saying; who can hear it?”
Mr. B.—“I am aware, Mr. Thoughtful, that the theme I am now discussing is by no means a pleasant one to an orthodox ear. Indeed, it is quite painful to myself. But be patient. If I dash from your hand the beautiful chalice from which you have taken many a pleasing draught, and give to you in its place one more beautiful still and filled with water more clear, sparkling, and healthful than you have hitherto enjoyed, assuredly you will have no cause for complaint. Why should we look upon it as a thing impossible, or even improbable, that orthodoxy should meet with a moral fall. In so doing, it but repeats the history of the past. The Jewish church once represented the highest type of the church of God on the earth. But how changed in the days of Christ! Then it crucified the divine Son of God. Out of that church was then called the body which was organized into the church of Christ, clothed with power, adorned with holiness, and sent forth to the conquest of the world. Alas! that such a church should finally descend to the status of the mother of harlots, as brought to view in the 17th chapter of Revelation! This it did, however; and out from it the churches of the Reformation were called, lest otherwise the light of God’s truth should become extinct in the earth. I repeat, that in view of these facts, it should not be considered impossible for orthodoxy to degenerate so far, that at last it, in turn, should reach a point where God could no longer use its organizations as such in his special work. The presumptions all favor such a possibility, and to-morrow evening I will present some external proofs that this condition of things has already been reached.”

GO FORWARD.

By J. M. Hopkins

BY J. M. HOPKINS.
The way was dark, I could not see; There seemed no path prepared for me My journey to pursue. Dark clouds o'ershadowed all the day, And thorns beset me in the way I knew not what to do.
I could not, dared not, backward turn,— To prove untrue my soul would spurn,— And God would frown, I knew. Nor could I listless, idle stand, With silent lips and folded hand, And so much work to do.
What then? I cast my eye above, And listened to a voice of love, Which spake beyond the cloud; “Go forward,” was the Lord's command, “Though thorns beset on every hand, And darkness still enshroud.”
“Go forward; gird the armor on, And wield the sword till victory's won, The conflict soon will cease. Go forward; I will be thy Guide, Will succor thee where'er betide, And give thee lasting peace.”
Now, trusting in my Saviour's might, (We walk by faith and not by sight), I press my journey on. Trusting in him, I cannot fail, By him I know I shall prevail, And wear a victor's crown.
Chatfield, Minn.
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