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Review and Herald, Vol. 62, No. 10.

BEHOLD! HE COMETH

Review and Herald

Mar 10, 1885

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 10, 1885

BEHOLD! HE COMETH

By L. D. Santee

BY ELD. L. D. SANTEE.
“Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him.” Rev. 1:7.
The last sands in the glass of time are wasting. The wonderful era when sin and sinners perish together is just upon us. The tide of wickedness that for six thousand years has been rolling onward its black flood is about to be checked. The heralds of that “day of wrath” are to be seen on every hand. The time hastens when “earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard” (Isa. 24:20); when the voice that once “shook the earth” shall shake heaven also (Heb. 12:26); when faithful servants of God shall awake or be joined to “the power of an endless life;” when they shall be fashioned like unto Christ’s glorious body (Phil. 3:21); neither shall they die any more (Luke 20:36). With these grand events in the near future, the words of our text come to us with wonderful power. The coming of the Lord, the resurrection and immortality—such are events that we to-day have to contemplate. At the time that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints” (Jude 14), the second advent has been the beacon light toward which the eyes of the waiting church have been longingly directed. Job from the sackcloth and ashes of affliction found comfort in the Lord’s coming, and he breaks forth in the strong language of assurance, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” Job 19:25. God, by the mouth of David, made prominent in the Psalms the doctrine of the advent; and as they were used in the temple service, and formed a part of the Jewish worship, this grand coming was ever kept before God’s chosen people.
With the ushering in of the new dispensation, the second coming of Christ and the resurrection were quickly introduced; for therein lies the hope of the church (Matt. 16:27): “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Again: “For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14. The Saviour promised in John 14:3, “I will come again.”
The disciples ask, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” and the larger part of the 24th chapter of Matthew is an answer to the question. The Saviour narrated a series of consecutive landmarks, beginning with the destruction of the temple, and ending in our own generation. What wonder that the disciples spoke often concerning the advent! for so the Master had taught them. What wonder that they loved the event! for it would end their pilgrimage, and bring their reward. What wonder that Christ spoke of his second coming! for then would he enter into his kingdom; then would he “see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied;” then would he enter into that wonderful joy for which he “endured the cross, despising the shame.” When he went away, he ascended in a personal, visible manner, and a cloud received him out of the sight of his disciples. Acts 1:9–11. Said the angels, “This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Our text says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds.” This grand truth, taught by the prophets and later by the Saviour, was placed in front of the Christian church. The gospels emphatically declare it, the epistles are full of it. Paul, in 1 Thess. 4:16, says, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.” Peter declares (2 Pet. 1:16), “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude, in his one chapter, repeats, “Behold, the Lord cometh,” and John, the beloved disciple, in the first chapter of Revelation pens the language of our text, and in closing the book prays, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
The solemn thought that comes to us is the startling nearness of that event. The long lines of prophecy recorded by Daniel have worked out their fulfillment. From our standpoint to-day, we look at them as being almost entirely in the past, and they locate us beyond doubt as being in the end of the world. In 2 Pet. 3 is given another sign of the last days. We listen to the scoffer, and again we say, Fulfilled. Paul in 2 Tim. 3 gives the condition of the professed church in the last days. We look at the prophecy, and then at the reality, and as we turn away, we ask, “O God, where are thy people?” “Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God!” Truly “the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart.” Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof! We look at the nominal churches with their pride, and sadly we confess, “It is fulfilled! it is fulfilled!” I am reminded of the question, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Thank the Lord! there will be some faithful souls that will have remained loyal. In Rev. 14:12 they are represented as coming prominently to the front just before the coming of Jesus. They are denominated “saints.” Their characteristics are keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. They have come out from the world, and are separate. They have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” and God says they shall walk with him in white, for they are worthy. They come up through great tribulation. God’s people will be tried, and be overcomers. Of them it can be said, “They loved not their lives unto the death.” Rev. 12:11. To die for a purpose is grand. We read with a thrill of the heroism of the Ninety-third Highlanders at Balaklava. As the Russian cavalry charged on their line, Sir Colin Campbell shouts to his men, “Steady, men! Every man must die where he stands!” “Ay, ay, Sir Colin! We’ll do that,” responded his begrimed warriors; and nobly was their promise kept. But grander, nobler far, is the resolve of that soul for Christ who can say with singleness of heart—
“I’m a traveler, and I go Where all is fair; Farewell, all I’ve loved below, I must be there. Worldly honors, wealth, and gain,— All I resign; Welcome sorrow, grief, and pain, If heaven be mine.”
—and who can say unreservedly,—
“Now to be thine, and thine alone,— O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”
Dear friends, are you among that number? If so, give yourself no rest until the conflict is ended. Those that sow in tears shall reap in joy. The joy of our Lord was to save that which was lost. If we would enter into his joy, let us labor and be not weary. Brother pilgrim lost in the darkness, let us send this cry of cheer to each other, “Behold, He cometh!” “Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.” The present hour is crowded with sublime and awful events. God is sealing his servants. The investigative Judgment is determining forever human destinies. The voice of Jehovah, as uttered from Sinai, is going to the dwellers on earth.
In the Old World, England, France, Switzerland, and Italy are receiving the light. The Scandinavian highlands are waking from the darkness of ages. “The isles wait for His law.” Soldier of the living God, stand at your post of duty. Even as Israel enjoyed the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, so the Lord is going before us. The scenes of mortal life are swiftly passing away. If you would be an overcomer, now is the time to gain your victories. If you would see the King in his beauty, now is the time to make preparation. The church cried in the person of the Revelator, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” and this prayer of two thousand years is about to be answered. The whole creation is groaning for redemption. The earth is waxed old like a garment. Earthquakes, cyclones, fire, and blood multiply their sickening record. “Deep calleth unto deep,” and all nature that has suffered under the curse while six millenniums have slowly rolled away, help to swell the mighty chorus of pain. The towns of the living will not compare with the cities of the dead. But “Behold, he cometh!” The reign of the destroyer is almost o’er.
“O storm and earthquake, wind and warning thunder, Your hour is coming; one wild outburst more, One other day of war and wreck and plunder, And then your desolating reign is o’er.”
“Behold, he cometh with clouds.” “Amen! even so come, Lord Jesus.”

CHRIST'S SUFFERING AND GLORY.

By N. W. Vincent

BY N. W. VINCENT.
(TUNE: “O Pure and Free.”)
Saviour died, was crucified for Adam's fallen race; For guilty foes his prayer arose, with offers of his grace; Death he bore, and scourging sore, to spitting gave his face, A crown of thorns his brow adorns—behold Immanuel's grace!
Glory to the Lamb of God, our Prince, our Saviour, be! Who washed us from sin in thine own blood! Reign to eternity!
With pain and grief, without relief, his life our Saviour gave— His life being given, 'twixt earth and heaven, the world to cleanse and save.
He said, and bowed his head; fierce demons round him rave; The spear did pierce his side, Christ sinks into the grave.
Sabbath ends, a light descends, the bands of death are riven! Heaves and quakes, God's Son awakes, all power to him is given; He greets, his brethren meets, while fiends are backward driven. He gave commands, then raised his hands, then rose with clouds to heaven.

THE TEMPLE IN HEAVEN.

By W. H. Littlejohn

DR. CROSBY ON THE CONDITION OF THE CHURCHES: THE ARGUMENT ON THE SECOND ANGEL’S MESSAGE CONCLUDED.

BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.
Mr. Biblist.—At the close of our last interview I read to you some bold words in regard to the situation of things in the churches, taken from an address delivered before a convention of ministers convened in Philadelphia. Let me re-read several lines in order to refresh your memories in regard to the general character of that address. Here is something which will present in a few words the sum and substance of what the Rev. Mr. Pierson said in reference to the moral condition of the great majority of church members:—
“Four-fifths of the nominal membership of our churches add nothing to their real power; they are either a dead weight, or a positive hindrance to the advance of the gospel; they help to fill up the gulf between the churches and the world, and break down the distinction between the truly regenerate and the enemies of God and the truth.”
This is a startling picture; no more so, however, than is found in the words of another distinguished clergyman, which I will proceed to read to you. If I mistake not, I have the extract somewhere right here. Yes, this is it. It is clipped from a lecture delivered by Dr. Howard Crosby in New York City during 1883. The Doctor says:—
“The great bulk of the Protestant Church is identified with the world. It has a name to live while it is dead. It has turned its doctrine into naturalism or rationalism, and its life into selfishness. The old landmarks are gone. Family prayer is given up. Sunday newspapers are read, prayer-meetings are ignored, worldly partnerships are formed, social sins are connived at, even excused, the pulpit is made a stage on which to strut and pose before a gaping world, and religion is made one of the instruments of fashion. We may not cure this dreadful evil, but we may ourselves avoid it and its doom. We may look to ourselves and to our families, that we go not with the multitude of Christians to do evil, and to perish in the hour when Christ shall come as a thief to their dismay.”
The closing words of this extract seem to be almost prophetic. They intimate the Doctor’s conviction that the evil is incurable, and that the present condition of things in the churches will continue until the Lord shall come. In this the clerical lecturer was right. The Revelator saw that in the days just preceding the advent, the great body of Christendom would depart so far from God that they could not be healed en masse, and that the only remedy would be found in calling out the people of the Lord from this latter-day Babylon, and uniting them under a standard which God should erect for that purpose. What that standard was to be, will appear hereafter. We have already reached the time of the advent, and if we do not find the precise state of things in the popular churches of to-day which the inspired penman predicted, then it is useless to look for them elsewhere. If affiliation with Rome, toleration of Spiritism, general unbelief in the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, rejection almost universally of the Bible record of the creation, the prevalence of worldliness to that extent that, as the Rev. Mr. Pierson puts it, “four-fifths of modern church members only serve to fill up the gulf between the church and the world,”—if all this, I say, does not indicate an order of things such as might be expected to call out just such a message as that found in Rev. 14:8, then I repeat that it is difficult to see what could do so. I will leave the subject of the fall of the churches right here, therefore, with the remark that the task of their impeachment has been by no means a pleasant one to myself. Protestantism had a noble mission, and for a time did a grand work. It is a sad thought that it could not have continued faithful to the end. Its victory proved its defeat. It was when it was weakest that it was strongest; when it was few in numbers, that it was a mighty host. Within its borders there are still many noble, God-fearing men and women; but they present to the whole a proportion so small that they are powerless to withstand the tide of worldliness and immorality that is sweeping in upon them from every side. If they will but listen, they will hear the voice of God saying, “Come out of her, my people.”
Mr. Thoughtful.—I do not exactly understand you, sir.
Mr. B.—I mean this: God sees that the preponderating influences in the popular churches of to-day are so strong and so worldly that it is of but little or no use for those who are really spiritually minded to endeavor to bring into them those converted through their labors; as they would be almost certain to be swept along by the current which is ever moving in the direction of the great maelstrom of pride and dead formalism. In order, therefore, to save the workers themselves, and place them in a position where he can use them to a greater advantage in laboring for the salvation of others, God has caused the trumpet to be sounded outside the camp of modern orthodoxy for the purpose of separating from that mixed multitude all those who have enough faith in the word of God to accept its teachings as correct, and obey its precepts at the sacrifice of worldly prosperity and applause, if need be.
Mr. T.—I think I understand you now. You mean that God has virtually cast off the orthodox churches, and is raising up a new church outside of them, through which he intends to work hereafter.
Mr. B.—Well, yes, that is substantially correct; though as I have stated before, you should remember that God has not cast off a single one of those in the popular denominations who at heart are genuine Christians. He loves them as well as ever; and it is because he loves them that he is endeavoring to separate them from their unfavorable surroundings. The moral atmosphere in which they live is not the only thing that is inimical to spiritual growth. They are constantly imbibing false doctrines also, which produce fatal results in time. To counteract this latter evil, God has seen to it that those who represent the nucleus around which the church of the last days is being formed should have their faith winnowed of at least those grosser errors that have contributed so largely to the fall of Babylon.
Mr. T.—I see, I see. You mean that Seventh-day Adventists constitute the church through which God is especially working at the present time.
Mr. B.—There you are just right. That is precisely the idea that I designed to convey.
Mr. T.—But are they not a very small people?
Mr. B.—Yes, sir; but that is rather in their favor than against them. The world has never yet seen a genuine reform which was popular at the outset; neither has it ever produced a church which has not steadily declined in moral power when it reached that point in the matter of numbers that it could be said to be strong.
Mr. T.—What do Seventh-day Adventists number at the present time?
Mr. B.—All told, probably not more than thirty thousand.
Mr. T.—How do you know but that they will fall in turn?
Mr. B.—It is not at all unlikely that they might, were it not for the extreme brevity of the time that lies between us and the advent, and the great unpopularity of their views.
Maud.—I do not see, father, what the unpopularity of their views has to do with their fall.
Mr. B.—Much in various ways, Maud; first, that unpopularity, as a rule, prevents men from uniting with them who are not deeply in earnest in the service of God. Secondly, it furnishes an almost certain guarantee that those among them who may backslide will separate themselves from the church at an early date. You know that lukewarm Christians would not be very likely to remain in any church a great while at the cost of reputation and pecuniary advantage.
Mr. T.—What do you mean by pecuniary advantage? I do not see why it should cost any more to be a Seventh-day Adventist than it would to be a Methodist or Baptist.
Mr. B.—Nevertheless, it is true that it does. This is particularly so of the dependent laboring classes, such as mechanics, hired men, servants, clerks, teachers, etc. The last day of the week is the busiest day of the week in most communities. That is the day which Seventh-day Adventists observe as the Sabbath. As a consequence, they are out of joint with the public two days out of seven: Saturday and Sunday,—Saturday, because they cannot conscientiously work on that day themselves; Sunday, for the reason that it is the day which the majority of the community celebrate as the Sabbath, and therefore are not willing that others should work for them on that day. Not having had any experience in that line, you have little conception of the amount of annoyance which this discrepancy between employers and employees frequently occasions. I have known of scores of our people who have been compelled many times to forego the opportunity of getting desired employment because they were observers of the seventh instead of the first day of the week. Many of our young people, for example, are well qualified to act as clerks in stores; but it is very seldom that they can secure such positions, because, as already remarked, Saturday is the best day of the week for business, and their absence from the place of business on that day renders it inconvenient, if not unprofitable, to employ them. Whenever they are engaged to fill such positions, however, it is because their reputation for honesty and industry outweighs all other considerations.
Mr. T.—I begin to feel the force of what you say about mechanics, clerks, and common labor; but I do not perceive just how seventh-day observance should prevent those engaging in it from securing employment as teachers. I am not aware that any of our schools are kept open on Saturday.
Mr. B.—What you say in regard to the fact that schools are generally closed on Saturday is correct. The obstacles in the way of our people as it regards the matter of their obtaining schools, do not originate in any incapacity on their part to meet all the requirements of the situation. It springs rather from the bigotry or narrow prejudice of those first-day observers who have more charity for conscientious young men and women who suffer loss rather than to go against their convictions of duty, than they have for those who are either infidels or who at least make no profession whatever.
Mr. T.—That seems to be almost too much. Most of us find it hard enough to do right when it is to our pecuniary advantage to do so.
Mr. B.—Very true. My heart has been made to ache again and again as I have seen our men and women rejected on the score of their peculiar faith from opening after opening. It would seem that they were doomed to want, although anxious to labor for an honest livelihood.
Mr. T.—Did you ever know any of them to go to the poor-house for want of work?
Mr. B.—No, sir, I never did; but I have known many cases where such a thing would have been inevitable had not the Lord specially provided for the persons in question.
Mr. T.—What is the effect of these differences upon your people? Do many of them give up the faith in consequence of them?
Mr. B.—In all my experience I never knew one to do so who was living as near the Lord as he should. Usually these trials but serve to make them more and more firm in the truth. If, however, a man becomes backslidden in heart, he is very apt to make the prospect of coming to want a pretext for giving up the Sabbath. And as our people, being strictly temperate and industrious in their habits, are quite thrifty in their pecuniary affairs. As none of them use liquor or beer, and but few of them drink tea or coffee, their living expenses are small, comparatively speaking.
Mr. T.—Did I understand you to say that none of your people use tobacco or liquor in any way?
Mr. B.—Yes, sir.
Mr. T.—That is remarkable, indeed. I have often heard your denomination spoken against; but what you have said to-night concerning their self-sacrifice and their denial of appetite for sake of principle, makes me desire to know more. Would you have any objection to a brief sketch of their rise and history?
Mr. B.—Not the slightest, sir. Indeed I could not avoid doing so, as I have already promised you an explanation of the third angel’s message with which they are inseparably connected. Perhaps I had better not enter upon that to-night, however, inasmuch as it is already to-morrow evening, the Lord willing, I will tell you when and where Seventh-day Adventists meet, and give you something of an idea of a work which I believe to be one in which the hope of the church is centered more than in any and all things else besides. If it is, as I have endeavored to show in our conversation thus far, that we are actually in the hour of God’s judgment, and that it is about to come, then it is but reasonable that God must have a people somewhere on earth who are alive to the awful importance of the time, and are earnestly engaged in the work of endeavoring to arouse men to the danger of the situation. That mission, I believe in my heart, Seventh-day Adventists are fulfilling; and I shall hereafter address myself to the task of setting forth the Bible arguments in favor of such a position.

“HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER THEE”

By Eliza Jones

BY MRS. ELIZA JONES
(TUNE: “Scatter Seeds of Kindness.”)
Do we ever catch the shadow of the angels passing by? Do we hear their soft wings rustle as they float toward the sky? Do we oft in hours of anguish, when our hearts are bowed with care, Know the angels stoop to listen to our weary, broken prayer? Oh then gather up the sunbeams, Gather gladly day by day What the angels bring from heaven, Scattering all along our way.
Do we sometimes, in the hurry of our toiling, busy life, Stop to listen to the whisper warning us to leave the strife? When the spirit powers of darkness gladly goad us on anew, Do we feel good angels’ fingers guiding us in safety through? Oh then gather up the sunbeams, Grateful gather every day, What our angel drops as leaven Just to cheer our lonely way.
Do we know how oft the tempter has been turned aside in rage By the touch of angel fingers on our heart’s unwritten page— How when sorely tried and tempted, widely ope’s the prison door, And we see the path so clearly, that was closed and dark before? Oh! then gather up the sunbeams, Cheerful gather day by day, What the angels drop from heaven Ere they wing their upward way.
No! we ne’er shall know the watchcare God hath hedged around our path, Till the loud-mouthed trumpet sounding claims our victory over death, And we see the shining angels leading forth from death and gloom, On the resurrection morning all the righteous from the tomb. Shall we gather up the sunbeams, Gladly gather, now ’tis day, What the angels bring to cheer us Through the dangers of our way?
Let us live that they may ever come and walk with us at will; When the evening shadows gather, they may then be with us still; When the night of death shall cover all our hopes in that still sleep, They may smile as still they hover, not be turned aside to weep; For we gathered up the sunbeams, And our treasures safely lie, When the angels come at dawning We shall find them all on high.
San Francisco, Cal.

THE TREASURE HID IN THE FIELD.

By Roswell F. Cottrell

BY ELD. R. F. COTTRELL.
Let us suppose that in this parable relating to the hidden treasure, as in another, “the field is the world,” Man had fallen, lost the “dominion” which had been given him, surrendering it into the hand of the usurper, Satan, and was doomed to return into the earth. Still God loved the world. The Son saw that the lost possession might be redeemed (Eph. 1:14), and that there was a treasure of precious jewels here that might be saved. So “he gave himself,” his life, his soul, his all, to purchase the field. Satan offered to give it back to him without his dying to redeem it, if he would only fall down and worship him; but he did not succeed. Jesus purchased the field and the treasure which was hid in it by giving all that he had.
And now a redeemed and glorious earth is offered to man, provided he will follow Christ. The terms of discipleship demand our all. He that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be the disciple of Christ and joint-heir with him. It takes a full sacrifice, all that we have. The sacrifice becomes mutual. If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. And the time will come when he will say, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” By mutual sacrifice the covenant is ratified. The joy will be mutual, and as enduring as eternity.

THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL.

By Roswell F. Cottrell

BY ELD. R. F. COTTRELL.
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” The apostle well knew the danger of the church. Fallen human nature is very easily beguiled from the simplicity of true religion as taught in the word of God. This is, and ever has been, the tendency of the human heart. In very ancient times, when men departed from the worship of the true and living God, they still would have a form of religion, but would have something more showy and attractive to the eye and outward senses. They planted their pleasant groves, set up their images, and had their ostentatious ceremonies. Vain show took the place of the simplicity of the humble worship of God as ordained by him, it being more in harmony with the instincts of the carnal mind.
And thus in the later dispensation the professedly Christian church, forsaking the simplicity that is in Christ, adopted the doctrines and ceremonies of the pagans, in order to have an influence and to have something more attractive to the heathen; and thus the church was corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, and was filled up with the unconverted. The carnal mind had gained the ascendency, and this resulted in the persecution of those who still adhered to the simplicity of gospel truth. The same tendency is seen everywhere. Protestants or reformers start out to correct abuses and to vindicate some neglected and unpopular truth, and for awhile are humble and zealous, and as a consequence, they are persecuted by popular errorists; but as they grow in numbers and strength, they gradually decline from the simplicity which characterized them in the beginning, and, as bodies, become lifted up with pride, and fall into the condemnation of the Devil.
S. D. Adventists are not exempt from this tendency; for they are human. It is only by a constant warfare against worldliness, pride, and vanity, by watching and praying as our Saviour has warned and admonished us, that any will be kept from the delusive and subtle snares of Satan. In Christ is meek simplicity of deportment, of dress, and of personal adornment. How beautiful is this simplicity, in contrast with the vain customs and foolish fashions of the world. It is refreshing to meet with those who, by the simplicity of true godliness rebuke the vain show and unbecoming customs of the world,—it is refreshing as the oasis to the weary and thirsty traveler, over the burning sands of the desert. When one who loves the simplicity that is in Christ is permitted to see genuine samples of it, he may well thank God and take courage.
There will be overcomers in these last days, when most of those who profess to be the Lord’s have departed from Christian simplicity (if they ever knew anything about it). The knowledge of this may keep us from despair. Some will be found true to God. In their mouth will be found no guile. They will be without fault before the throne of God. Oh, to be one of that number, and to behold the whole family of the pure in heart, when they shall be gathered into their everlasting possession, and be forever with their Lord!

To-Day: Using Each Day Well

By Reynolds

To-DAY.—Are you well? Enjoy your health and use it to the best advantage. Are you ill? Then to-day is a day in which to be patient and endure cheerfully. Are you free from trouble? Then it is a thanksgiving day. Are you carrying heavy burdens for yourself or others? Then it is a day for a special looking to God, and the rolling off of your burdens at the foot of the cross. Whatever the day brings to you, God comes with all its gifts in the person of his Son and in the office of the Holy Spirit. In the presence of Jesus the darkest day will be sanctified; and using each day well, improving every moment to some good end, how rich we may become as the days go on, and what fruit we may bear to the glory and honor of our heavenly Father, who fills the measure of our days to completeness so that we need not trespass upon to-morrow.—Reynolds.

THAT FILTHY HABIT.

By F. J. Dye

BY F. J. DYE.
Trying to see how much better I feel when I don't smoke; and I feel one hundred—hundred—per cent better since I stopped smoking. So remarked a gentleman to a friend at the railway office. And according to his statement, he must have been a great sufferer, either physically or mentally, while indulging in the smoking. We do not wonder at his feelings. It would seem that a system whose very core is saturated with deadly nicotine could experience other than feelings of relief at the discontinuance of a practice so detrimental to health and mental soundness.
Do not many others who are now slavishly giving themselves to this injurious and degrading experience similar results by making a trial of the above experiment? And what a blessing to the race, could all the devotees of the weed be brought to realize what an untold amount of pain and suffering they are uselessly inflicting upon themselves and others by the disgusting and soul-destroying tobacco habit! But the consciences of such persons are generally blunted and hardened, and their moral sensibilities stunted by the stupefying drug, as to render their consciences almost hopeless.
Why will human beings, endowed with intelligence and reasoning powers so much superior to those of the brute creation, degrade themselves? Even reveling in polluting and poisoning the very atmosphere in which they move, and sickening with their foul breath every rational person who approaches them. To what depths of depravity will men descend? Young men and boys of tender age are taught to acquire the manly (!) art. What pains to simply become despicable and loathsome.
The expensiveness of the evil,—$350,000,000 smoked up, thrown away,—nay a thousand times worse than thrown away. It is no exaggeration to say that there is more property annually destroyed and more distress in our large cities, resulting from the burning of tobacco and cigars and occasioned by the destructive conflagrations, accounts of which the newspapers are so ready to notice. But the tobacco conflagration attracts no attention from them, not even a passing notice.
Tobacco is the vilest of the vile; the habit of smoking the most senseless and unreasonable of habits that can be imagined. It is one of the evils that has devoured the earth, and “defiled the inhabitants thereof.” We can only look forward to, and long for, the time not far in the future, when this fallen world shall be purified from every defilement. Every vestige of the evil will then be removed. “Jerusalem shall be rejoicing, and her people a joy,” and “there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth.” Rev. 21:27.
Minneapolis, Minn.

STOLIDITY IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.

By M. E. D. G.

WHEN I was a little child my father gave me a great many orders. Some of them suited me very well, and I used to shout out a hearty assent. Other commands, like “Come up to the study in five minutes and read your Greek chapter,” made me feel rather discouraged, and I used to hear in silence. “Did you hear what I said?” “Yes, sir.” “Well, give me some sign that you hear! It is not civil to keep silence when you are addressed.” How often I think of my dear father's standard of good manners when I see the congregation come into church. It is the Father's house, but the manner of finding seats is just the same as in the theater, only the usher carries the members in his head. No one bows or kneels to greet by reverent attitude the promised presence of the Lord. The choir sings, and the congregation looks on, perhaps hears, though they give no sign. The minister reads the Bible lesson. That exercise he has entirely to himself, and sometimes he makes much of it, but the stolid faces brought there by stern consciences show no interest. The minister prays, and every neck holds its head bolt upright, and every eye has in it at last a little interest. It is watching to see that the preacher keeps his own shut. The prayer is evidently a tedious performance, which the preacher also has entirely to himself, and which the people seem to think he had better have left out, only he has the habit of it.
A glimmer of interest may be found in the congregation when the text is read, but no sign that worship is the purpose. It is there to be entertained. The whole dead mass hangs on the poor preacher's neck, and if he is poor in oratory, he has an awful tug to galvanize it into a semblance of life.
Wouldn't it be civil to give some sign, even if they are not really there to worship? At least there can be a hearty joining in the singing, and a reverent bowing of the head when prayer is offered, and an intelligent, appreciative interest in the face, as the sermon is unfolded. The attitude of the hearers has much to do with the effectiveness of the preaching. If there be a true spirit of worship and praise, it will be easy to show some sign of interest.—M. E. D. G.

WHAT ROUSSEAU WROTE.

Rousseau was one of the leaders of infidelity in France, yet constrained by his convictions to write as follows:—
“I confess that the majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me; the sanctity of the gospel speaks to my heart. See the books of philosophers with all their pomp; how small are they compared with this! Can it be that a book at once so sublime and so simple should be the work of men? Can it be that He whose history it gives should be only a man himself? Is there here the tone of an enthusiast, of an ambitious sectary? What mildness, what purity in his manners! What touching grace in his instructions! What elevation in his maxims! What profound wisdom in his discourses! What presence of mind, what finesse, and yet what justice in his answers! What empire over his passions! Where is the man, where is the sage, who knows how to act, to suffer and to die, without weakness and without ostentation? When Plato painted his ideal just man, covered with all the opprobrium of crime while worthy of all the rewards of virtue, he drew trait for trait the picture of Jesus Christ: the resemblance is so striking that all the Fathers perceived it, and it is impossible to mistake it. What prejudice, what blindness, to dare to compare the son of Sophroniscus with the Son of Mary! What a distance from the one to the other! Socrates, dying without pain, without ignominy, sustains easily his character to the end; and if this calm death had not honored his life, one might have doubted whether Socrates with all his genius was more than a sophist. He discovered, they tell us, the principles of morality; but others before him had put them into practice, and he turned their examples into lessons. Aristides had been just before Socrates had set forth the nature of justice; Leonidas had died for his country before Socrates had made it a duty to love one’s country. Sparta was sober before Socrates praised sobriety; before he defined virtue, Greece abounded in virtuous men. But where did Jesus find among his people that pure and elevated morality of which he gave at once the lessons and the example? From the bosom of the most furious fanaticism was heard the highest wisdom, and the simplicity of the most heroic virtues honored the vilest of all peoples. The death of Socrates, philosophizing tranquilly with his friends, is the mildest that one could desire; that of Jesus expiring in torments, injured, railed at, cursed by a whole people, is the most horrible that one could dread. Socrates, taking the poisoned cup, thanks him who presents it and who weeps; Jesus, in the midst of frightful sufferings, prays for his enraged murderers. Truly, if the life and the death of Socrates were those of a philosopher, the life and death of Jesus Christ were those of a God.”
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