Earlier text: The Coming of Christ: Matthew 24 and the First Century[THE following statements which we find in the Christian Statesman of Oct. 12, 1872, shows the work that is going forward in the old country relative to Sunday observance. It is a part of the same general movement which is agitating this country. Wherever Sabbath-keeping is undertaken, it will have this movement to meet.] The Sabbath Observance Committee of the Irish Presbyterian Assembly, reported, at the meeting in June last, that more attention has been given and a greater interest excited in favor of the Christian Sabbath, than in any former year. “The Lord’s Day Observance Society” in London is eminently entitled to the gratitude of all who love the Sabbath, for the watchful care they have exercised, and the noble efforts which they made to resist all encroachments, and to remove existing forms of Sabbath-breaking. These things they have done, and continue to do, by personal effort and example, by means of public lectures, and by an extensive circulation of tracts. This noble society has exercised a most beneficial influence in the great center of the United Kingdom, and has again and again employed its mighty influence in resisting those parliamentary measures which were prejudicial to Sabbath observance, and has uniformly promoted all measures calculated to secure its proper observance as a day of holy rest. “The different countries on the Continent of Europe have long and largely entertained very erroneous views regarding the Sabbath, and by their principles and example have done much to mold and influence for evil the people of these countries. But it is gratifying and encouraging to know that a reaction has set in, and that in different places on the Continent a better state of things has lately been apparent. “After a long, painful, and often a discouraging struggle, in Switzerland, and notwithstanding the cold indifference with which the Swiss people regarded the Sabbath, and the opposition which they often gave to its rightful claims, yet, by the blessing of God, and the efforts of a few godly men, ‘the new Federal Constitution’ has been brought to adopt the following resolution: ‘The Confederation recognize the first day of the week, as a day of holy rest.’ This result bears testimony to the faith and patience, the earnestness and prayerfulness, of the friends of the Sabbath in that country, and more especially the societies in Geneva, Basle, and the church of the Valleys, who have contended for the maintenance, perpetuity, and observance of the Lord’s day.” You write a good letter, it is just the thing; you feel that it could not be improved; but still writing on, alas, you write an imprudent paragraph. You were hasty. Your mistake is prominent and glaring. It is astonishing you did not see it. But the letter is spoiled. You will not send it. You burn the whole, because of the error. It would not do to send; your friend would be astonished, perhaps displeased. So with our lives. We live on from day to day in security. We feel the blessing of God upon us. We think it will be so always. We love holiness and hate sin. We do the thing that is good, and eschew evil. Our hope is bright, and our peace as a river. All at once a crash! some snare of Satan has been hidden from our feet, and we are fallen. “Where are you now?” says Satan. “All your hopes are gone, your prospects for this warfare are blighted. You might as well give up the race.” Your three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, all echo about the same sentiments. You feel a good deal as you did about the spoiled letter, as if you might as well be put into the waste basket. But perhaps the voice from the cloud, though more terrible, is more considerate, and you now say, “I am vile,” but it is because of the voice from the cloud that you say it. The Lawlessness of the Land.
Our secular and religious press has much to say about the growing lawlessness of our people, and the reckless disregard of human life, evidently increasing at a most fearful rate in every part of the land, especially in our large cities. Why should we be surprised at it? Strong governments, in a great measure, keep this lawless spirit in check; but when there is no restraint upon individual freedom, where men grow up without parental restraint, or the more wholesome restraint of God’s law, and every man, because he is a man, without regard to his fitness, is permitted to have a voice in the government, and, from his very infancy, is reminded by the demagogue, who governs the land, of his “God-like privileges,” this lawless and reckless spirit must of necessity be generated. Nothing but Christian culture can keep it in check. And where is this wholesome Christian culture to be had? A very large portion of the working people of our land have no Christian training at all, and in most instances where they have any, it is most defective. Even the very literature of our Sunday-schools is poisoned with this idea of every man’s “glorious right as a free citizen of ‘the greatest of nations.’” Instead of teaching the boy “to do his duty in the sphere of life in which it pleases God to call him,” his Sunday-school book tells him to do right, and he may become President or Senator. The French revolution which to-day tears down and destroys everything that is hallowed and sacred, and would rob every prosperous individual of his rights, clearly shows what may always be expected, where unrestrained freedom exists, without Christian culture. Is there not much reason to fear that we are rapidly drifting into the same current, and that fearful revolutions may be in store for us? Like causes may be expected to produce like results. Even now we are beginning to hear in our midst the vandal cry of the communist and the agrarian, “Down with the rich, down with the corporations, down with churches.” None can deny the fact that the vulgar crowd now governs the land. Men of the highest character are now rarely selected to office. It is well known that the man who controls the most money and distributes it the most freely, is the man who gets the office, without regard to his fitness for it. Bribery and corruption are fearfully on the increase. Though it is not yet true, it is a common saying, “every man in office has his price.” Questions of the deepest interest, connected with the constitutional law, and vitally affecting the welfare of States and individuals, are now constantly settled according to the numerical strength of the party, whose prosperity is to be promoted or insured by its settlement. Solemn compacts, justice, truth, and everything else that is sacred and holy, are now trodden under foot, where the interests of party demand it. Men in high places violate their oaths of office, and shamelessly say, “We cannot afford to go against our party.” Thus we see everything like Christian principle disappearing from among our rulers, and a very large portion of the worst elements of our population turned aside from honorable pursuits, and absorbed in an everlasting “hunt for the spoils of office.”—N. Y. Times. THERE are many people who are wise in counseling others, but themselves often fail to perform their own counsels. It is easier to counsel than to do. Many people talk much of what other people should do, but fail to do much themselves. It is easier to talk than to do. I have known ministers who preach to others how to obtain the grace that would sustain them in the hour of trial, but themselves have fainted beneath the burden. It is easier to preach than to do. I have heard of military officers who were brave in commanding others, but were missing on the battle field. It is easier to command than to fight. All that is noble, or pure, or lovely, all, whether great or small, to which we should look for counsel, or guidance, or wisdom, teach us that we have not a moment of wakeful life to spend in laziness or misdirected effort. The great lesson taught is, we should be doing. God is doing. Christ is doing. The Holy Spirit is doing. Good angels are doing; and how grand, blessed, and lovely the mighty work. Devils are doing, winds are doing, floods are doing, fires are doing, earthquakes are doing, electric forces are doing, disease is doing, death is doing, love is doing, hate is doing, righteousness is doing, sin is doing. Without doing, all noble graces cease to be. Of what avail is it for the farmer to believe he shall reap a harvest in the autumn, if he sows not in the springtime? Of what avail would it be for the mechanic to believe he could build a house if he did nothing? Of what avail would it be for an editor to believe he could publish a paper if he did nothing? Of what avail would it be for a man or woman to believe they shall finally reach and rest in God, and home, and Heaven, if they do nothing? Of what avail would it be for the wife to say she loved her husband, if she never did anything for him? Of what avail would it be for parents to say they love their children, if they do nothing for them? Of what avail is it for a man to say he loves God, if he never does anything for him? This is the love of God, that ye keep his commandments. All animate beings, all reason and conscience teach us that we should be doing. Doing for God. Doing for Heaven. Doing for a starry crown. Doing for humanity. Doing for the lost. Doing so far as we can, by the assistance of Divine grace, to right the wrongs, to comfort the afflicted, to lift up the bowed down, to whisper words of hope to the discouraged, to clothe the naked, to feed the starving, and do it for Christ’s sake. Do for God, for the days are evil. Sin abounds. Love grows cold. Every agent of sin is hard at work. This demands earnest labor of the Christian to roll back sin’s tide and save some. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might, for there is no wisdom, or knowledge, or device in the grave, whither thou goest.” Do valiantly, that when the Master comes he may say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”—Domestic Journal. FOR PROMOTING HARMONY AMONG CHURCH MEMBERS.
1. To remember that we are all subject to failings and infirmities of one kind or another. 2. To bear with, and not magnify, each other's infirmities. Gal. 6 : 1, 2. 3. To pray one for another in our social meetings, and particularly in private. James 5 : 16. 4. To avoid going from house to house for the purpose of hearing news, and interfering with other people's business. 5. Always to turn a deaf ear to any slanderous report, and to lay no charge brought against any person, until well founded. 6. If a member be in fault, to tell him of it in private before it is mentioned to others. 7. To watch against a shyness of each other, and put the best construction on any action that has the appearance of opposition or resentment. 8. To observe the just rule of Solomon, that is, to leave off contention before it be meddled with. Prov. 8 : 11. 9. If a member has offended, to consider how glorious, how godlike it is to forgive, and how unlike a Christian it is to revenge. Eph. 4 : 2. 10. To remember that it is always a grand artifice of the devil to promote distance and animosity between members of churches; and we should therefore watch against everything that furthers his end. 11. To consider how much more good we can do in the world at large, and in the church in particular, when we are all united in love, than we should do when acting alone, and indulging a contrary spirit. The Loud Cry.
By A. M. Lindsley
We remember years in the past when much was said and written about the loud cry of the third angel. Something of the spirit that will attend the closing work was begotten in the hearts of the faithful ones, who, looking forward to that time, brought it near by faith. But we have tarried quite a number of years, and the loud cry has not yet gone out in its fullness. But shall we for this reason doubt that the work is going on? Shall we grow so cold and half-hearted that it will be but a little remove from our present standing to eat and drink with the drunken, and smite our fellow-servants, saying in effect, “My Lord delayeth his coming”? Oh, no! while some fall out by the way, let the true-hearted wait on the Lord, and watch his opening providence. This work is a great work. It has, through all these years, been assuming features of permanent foundation—collecting and combining forces of power, which will ere long be felt in forwarding the work to its completion. A preparatory work has also been going on in developing character in the church. We have found that the Laodicean message belongs to us, with its truthful description of our case, its stirring, thrilling admonitions to be zealous, and repent. Have we done it? Have we sought for the anointing? Are we clothed with the garments of righteousness? Do we possess that love that will stand the test? Let each one answer these questions with all honesty. Oh! how humiliating to be compelled to own that we have not all been faithful. Some have fallen; but God’s mercy still lingers. Let us arouse, and, calling to mind former days, gird ourselves anew for the conflict. This is the day of God’s preparation. Link after link of prophecy, reaching down to their fulfillment, and different chains stretching away into the future, bind with interest the minds of the students of prophecy, gathering force as they hasten on, all pointing to one grand, culminating center—the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the setting up of his kingdom. Does the view savor of dullness? Listen. “Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly, . . . the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall and not rise again.” Isa. 24: 17–20. This is in process of fulfillment. Old earth totters. It trembles under premonitions of her final death struggle. Passing away is written on everything; nothing so abiding as the word of God which we have as a sure guide in this evil time. Looking these things fairly in the face, shall we longer sleep on the verge of destruction? Has not the time come to fully awake? Will it not be pleasing to God if we now yield all to him? Doing this, will not his people occupy the position where he can use them to his glory? for nothing short of this will accomplish their part of the work. A prepared state of heart must necessarily and inevitably be the condition of God’s people before he can pour upon them the fullness of the blessing of his Spirit, to aid in swelling the loud cry. As we see the rapidity with which Scripture is being fulfilled, has it ever occurred to those who are not making progress, that there is great danger of their names being dropped, while others will be raised up to take their places? This will doubtless be true in many cases. The recording angel is on his way, and as our days are swiftly passing, we should be able to say at the close of each, “I have made some progress.” God’s great work is going on in all its minutia; let us not fail of a share therein. The Dragon Spirit.
By J. B. Goodrich
WHEN we present before the minds of people the idea that the image of the beast is to be formed under this government, and is to enforce the mark of the beast, we are met with this argument: This is a Christian land, and every one is allowed to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and none to molest or make us afraid. But when the claims of God’s law are presented, and people find they are breaking the fourth commandment every week, and no scripture to sustain their practice in keeping the first day, then they resort to the tongue of slander and ridicule to stop the progress of the work, and prejudice the minds of the people against us, and to turn away their ears from hearing the law. But some in this place the other night thought they would try another mode of opposition; so just after our meeting had commenced, Thursday evening, Sept. 19, a number of rocks came tumbling upon the roof of the house, which at first greatly disturbed our meeting. Order, however, was soon restored, and we were permitted to go on with the meeting. The text that we were treating upon was very appropriate for the occasion. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” 1 Cor. 15:19. “If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.” Verse 32. But Paul’s hope was based upon the fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead, therefore there would be a resurrection of the dead; and he could trials well endure. It is clearly seen that the same dragon spirit is in the world now that existed in the days of the apostles; as then, so now; the most of the opposition comes from a professedly religious quarter. But they may say, We did not throw any stones. Yes, but “the witnesses” that stoned Stephen laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And hear Saul’s confession: “And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.” Acts 22:20. But we can say that we have many strong friends in this place, for which we feel very thankful; and we hope to see others take hold of the truth, and keep all the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Victory will turn on the side of truth. The third angel’s message is the present truth. It is the last message of mercy to this world before Jesus comes. What a solemn thought, that we are living in the very last days of probation! Soon the last call will be given, the last prayer will be offered for sinners, and the last tear shed, and the sad proclamation will go forth, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Rev. 22:11. My dear, unconverted friends, halt no longer. Make haste and delay not to keep God’s commandments and the faith of his Son. Flee from the city of destruction, and enter the city of God. J. B. GOODRICH. Bridgewater, Me., Oct. 3, 1872. All May Do Something.
By M. E. P.
At a social meeting in Battle Creek, not long since, a remark was made by an aged brother which greatly impressed me with the thought that all may do something, and none need be excused from personal effort to advance the cause of present truth. In speaking of his inability to labor as in former years, the infirmities of age, &c., being upon him, he said: “But I can at least present a tract, and kindly request the reading of it; and I can quote at least a part of the fourth commandment.” Here, I thought, is an example for all. It showed a mind to work and a readiness to do. Though the faculties were impaired, the heart was there. And this is what we want. A work ever so carefully followed is worse than useless if there is no soul in it. Who of us may not do as much as he suggested, and many of us even more? put the heart in it, and the blessing of God upon the effort, is what will bring the good results. Eloquent sentences and pleasing manners, we know, are mighty in winning people to the subject presented; but if we lack these, let us pray the more that utterance may be given, and the spirit and power of the truth find its way to the heart, then may we hope for fruit unto life eternal. M. E. P. THERE is a good story told of Stephen Girard, the millionaire, who sent his best clerk to learn the cooper's trade; and when he had mastered it, desired him to make him twenty, good, substantial barrels, for which, on delivery, he paid him a thousand dollars each, telling him he could then go into business, but if he was ever unfortunate, and lost his property, he could fall back on his cooper's trade, and be sure of earning a living. The ancient Israelites made it a principle to give their children a trade, whatever their profession or education might be. So Paul, though brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, could also make a tent as well as the best of them. Every man should master some business, whether mental, mechanical, mercantile, or agricultural. He should know something, and know how to do it. A skillful man is an independent man. He may go where he will, his craft will bring him support. His fortune is in his own hands. When he enters a city, he knows just what he can do, and he knows just where to go to find the work with which he is acquainted; and if he can do several things, his chances are so much the better. On the other hand, a man destitute of skill, and unacquainted with any special business, must drift about, and take his chance, and submit to the roughest and most menial employments, and those which bring the poorest pay. There is a great repugnance in the minds of many to learning a trade. An advertisement for a clerk, or office-boy, in one of our cities, brought something like a hundred applicants within twenty-four hours; while a blacksmith, advertising for an apprentice, had only one, and he was too old to undertake to learn the trade. And yet, the blacksmith's chances for success, and wealth, and prosperity, and honorable competence, and independence, were tenfold more promising than was the chance which was so eagerly sought. The supply151 of clerks, and book-keepers, and soft-handed, genteel do-nothings, is very far in advance of the demand. The need of the world is labor and brains;—willing hands, well skilled for work. And the father who neglects to provide his son with some useful occupation, and to see that he masters it thoroughly, wrongs his child, and runs the grievous risk of increasing the stock of idle, dependent and vicious members of society. It is stated that in a report of the Prison Association, of fourteen thousand five hundred and ninety-six persons confined in the penitentiaries of thirty-six States, in 1867, seventy-seven per cent, or eleven thousand, two hundred and thirty-eight of the number, had never learned a trade. Another later report gives us over ninety per cent without trades, among the inmates of the penitentiaries. A bright and intelligent boy was arraigned in Bangor, for stealing, and also for setting fire to a building. He was found guilty, and made an eloquent appeal to the judge to mitigate his sentence, for his poor mother's sake, and in consideration of the fact that he had been led on to crime by association with others more vicious than himself. Judge Kent gave him five years in State Prison, saying, “I think it will be a good thing for you. You can learn a good trade, and when you come out, you can be a good, respectable man.” Many a poor fellow has had his first opportunity of learning a good trade in State Prison. But how much better it would have been, had he learned it before he went there, and thus kept out of mischief and bad company, and saved himself the sin of crime, and the shame of imprisonment. The voice of inspiration agrees in this matter with the teachings of common sense; says Paul, “Let ours also learn to profess honest trades [margin] for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.” Titus 3: 14. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily, thou shalt be fed. Ps. 37:3. Bind up the broken heart,
Cement it with the blood
That from Mount Calvary flowed;
’Twill soothe the smart,
Inflicted by the dart,
That Satan hurled.
“What’e’er thou find to do,
Perform it with thy might;”
Strike boldly for the right,
Thy work will soon be o’er,
We’re nearing the bright shore,
Where palms of victory wave,
In triumph for the brave,
Who face a frowning world. Christian, “do good,”
Where’er thy lot is cast;
The cold and wintry blast,
That sweeps across the way,
That leads to endless day,
Will soon be o’er. Work while ’tis called to-day;
Bring sinners home to rest,
With the redeemed and blest;
A gem shall deck thy crown,
Thou wilt be pleased to own,
For the reward is given,
Bright as “the stars” of Heaven,
That fade no more. A. P. LAWTON
By A. P. Lawton
In our labor, the time, manner, place, quality, and adaptation, should be carefully considered. The skillful gardener does not, after taking up a plant, lay it down, and consider his work accomplished. He knows that a little neglect just at this time will ruin the plant. He handles it carefully, and immediately puts it into soft, prepared earth, watches, waters, weeds and nurses it, until it has taken root. He understands the wants of each variety, and how to meet them. One unskilled in the use of the hoe will hack here and there, and the tender, valuable plant, as well as the weed, goes by the board; and if he could be made to understand the mischief he has done, it would be too late to repair it. Too much pruning will ruin the most promising tree, or orchard; while the right kind of care will greatly improve both the tree and its fruit. If so much skill and care are requisite in a horticulturist, how much more in the watchman on the walls of Zion. “Souls are their charge. To them it is given to train them for their native Heaven.” A word spoken at the right time, manner, and place, is worth a thousand at some other time. To watch, means to be on the look out. This is their work. But can no one have a part in this work but those especially set apart to it? Every member of the body has a work of their own to do; and those who live near to God, will know what it is. Every one is not a wise reprover or teacher. May all have wisdom from above to know and do their own work. Then we shall have prosperity, and the building will go up, without the sound of ax or hammer. Clare Co., Mich.
By J. O. Corliss
THURSDAY, Sept. 26, I left home to visit the church in Vernon, and finish a course of lectures I commenced there last winter. Bro. W. N. Haskins joined me in labor at this place. We have given fifteen discourses, which we trust will result in some permanent good. One more has taken a decided stand in favor of the truth. We have met with some opposition from a Disciple minister, the taking the position that the law was abolished at the cross, and nine of these commandments re-enacted in the New Testament. The brethren, after hearing him, and seeing his unscriptural position, have expressed themselves firmer in the truth than before. We have commenced a course of lectures in what is known as the Green Settlement, six miles north of Clare. There seems to be a good interest manifested to hear the truth. We hope to have the prayers of God's people, that we may move in the counsel of the Lord, so that our labors may be blessed of him. Our P. O. address is now Clare, Clare Co., Mich. So said a gay young lady, who in company with pleasant friends was walking one summer day near the railway in a Canadian city. The train was coming. Nearer and nearer it thundered along its way toward the depot. The thoughtless girl proposed crossing the track in front of it “just for fun.” With quick ejaculations of alarm, her friends plead with her to desist from so dangerous an adventure; but paying no heed to their entreaties, in a mere spirit of frolic, she sprang upon the track, her dress caught in the ponderous engine, and in another moment the fair and beloved form lay a mangled, crushed, and lifeless mass under the relentless iron wheels. These gay words were her last—she never spoke again. We have seen the young man leave his country home, and all the hallowed associations of parents and sisters, whose affections were twined about him, to seek employment in the crowded city. A good situation was secured—his prospects were fair. But evil comrades came around; and, lured by their flatteries, he went with them to the haunts of vice. Its mad pleasures were described in smooth words; “I’ll keep myself,” he boastingly said. “I’ll go once, just for the fun of the thing.” He passed on to the chambers that take hold on death and hell, and that night the angels mourned over one who, despite a pious mother’s entreaties and warnings, began a downward career of ruin from which he has never recovered. And so men and women are every day stepping into the path of destruction, “just for fun.” Multitudes of people, young, gay, and proud, are doing evil, or putting themselves in harm’s way, not because they are so desperately wicked or vicious, but because they are careless of consequences, and heedless of their ways, not stopping to seriously consider the end of putting one’s self in the track of temptations. In the case of such, we cry with affection and alarm,—“Take care!” The fun which begins in lightness and vanity ends in death and destruction. Beware of the dangerous path. Shun the approaches to it. There is a safe way; walk ye therein. It is a dreadful thing to perish through the indulgence of a little, brief fun, when the gate to happiness and life unending stands open wide. Oh, will you to-day commence to think upon these things, and be wise, for— “Time will end our story,
But no time, if we live well,
Will end our glory.” Tract and Missionary Department.
By E. H. Root; J. E. White
To the Michigan T. and M. Society.
At the annual meeting of this society held on the Michigan Camp-ground, Sept., 1872, it was decided that Quarterly Reports should be made out at the same time in every district. And that the first quarter commence with September, and continue to December, 1872. Please notice this. It is not time to report for this quarter till the last of November, 1872. Let all be ready at that time, and forward the reports to the Secretary at Battle Creek. The Director in each district should supply himself with a book in which to keep a summary of each report that is made in his district, and in which to keep a record of meetings, and an account of all business transacted. The Librarian in each church should also be supplied with a similar book for the same purpose. There is a supply of books at the Office at Battle Creek, which were ordered for that purpose, which will be sent by mail, postage paid, for 40 cents each. We pronounce it just the thing. We also suggest that each working member of the society be supplied with a small pass-book in which to keep a record of business done, labor performed, and any interesting items that may occur, and from which he shall make his quarterly report. Efforts have been made at the Review Office to get just such a book, which will be sent by mail, postage paid, for 25 cents per dozen. E. H. Root, Pres. New Hampshire.
By P. C. Rodman
Have commenced meetings in North Woodstock, N. H., and have given four lectures. Congregations average about sixty. They give good attention as if interested to know the truth. I hold meetings Sunday in the Free-will Baptist house, evenings in the school-house, which is a little more central for the people. Dear brethren and sisters, pray for us, that we may have wisdom and strength to meet the mind of the Spirit of God in this effort, and souls be saved in obeying the truth in this place. P. C. Rodman. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. DIED, in Warren Co., Iowa, Sept., 29, 1872, of “strangulated hernia,” Jerusha, wife of Otey James, aged sixty-three years, eleven months, and eighteen days, after an illness of eleven days. For many years she was a member of the Christian church, and in 1860 embraced the doctrine of the Seventh-day Adventists, and ever since lived a consistent Christian life. Funeral discourse by Bro. J. H. Morrison, from Acts 26: 6. We have every assurance that her peace was made with God, and we have a strong hope of meeting her again in that better land. OTEY JAMES. DIED, in North Attleboro, Mass., on the 28th of July last, Mr. Ransom Hicks, of Providence, R. I., aged seventy years. H. M. BROWN. “It Is Not Convenient.”
By William Boynton
WHEN we present before others the truth for this time, and urge upon them the necessity of taking their stand upon it, we are often met with the assertion, “It is not convenient to be so different from the majority of mankind; it will be such a great hindrance to me in my business that I shall not be able to make a livelihood.” Do such consider that all the blessings they now obtain are directly from the hand of that kind Providence who has laid down these great truths for them to obey? It is not convenient! What an excuse for mortal man to offer to his Maker who gives him all he has to enjoy! Look at the Christians of past ages. Did they consult their convenience in things pertaining to godliness? Was it convenient for righteous Abraham to leave his father’s house and go “out, not knowing whither he went,” and “sojourn as a stranger in a strange land”? Was it convenient for Enoch to walk with God for “three hundred years,” among the prevailing degeneracy of that wicked age? Was it convenient for Noah to warn the world for one hundred and twenty years of their approaching doom, and bear their scoffs and sneers? Was it convenient for Moses to leave the honors of being king, and endure afflictions with the people of God, taking upon himself, for forty years, the humble life of a shepherd, and finally the cares and murmurings of an ungrateful people? Was it convenient for Elijah to follow God, when all of his brethren (to outward appearance) had fallen into idolatry, and because of his warnings be obliged to flee for his life into the wilderness? Or for Joseph, because he could not “do this great wickedness and sin against God,” to suffer years of imprisonment? Was it convenient for Job to be bereft of his children, and suffer by disease all that was possible for Satan to inflict, and still hold on to his integrity? Was it convenient for Jeremiah to remain “many days” in prison, or to be cast into the miry dungeon because of his prophesyings? or for Daniel to be cast into “the den of lions,” because he would worship the God of Heaven only? Was it convenient for the three Hebrew children to say, “We will not serve thy gods,” even at the risk of being cast into “a burning fiery furnace”? Was it convenient for Peter and John to say to their persecutors, “We ought to obey God rather than man”? or for Stephen to stand boldly for the truth and be stoned to death? Was it convenient for Paul to leave his high position among the Jews, and become a poor despised teacher of the doctrines of Christ? or for the cause of truth suffer imprisonment, and five different times “scourgings,” to be “beaten,” “stoned,” and “shipwrecked,” to be in “perils of robbers,” of his “own countrymen,” “by the heathen,” “in the wilderness,” and “among false brethren,” to have “weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness,” and all this that he might by “this means save some”? And lastly, was it convenient for Jesus to leave his glorious home on high, and come down and lead a life of sacrifice and suffering, having “not where to lay his head,” being “a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs,” and finally to die on the cruel cross to save a lost and ruined world? And if it has not been “convenient,” since our first parents left Eden, to be righteous, and God has marked out the path of affliction for the righteous since that time, that he might wean them from the love of the world and fit them for his heavenly kingdom, why should men talk about convenience in the service of God? No; we shall not find it convenient, but nevertheless very profitable, if we keep his commandments. And we should not seek “convenience,” but with Abraham “a better country, even a heavenly,” and with Moses, “have respect unto the recompense of reward,” that we may, with Job, “see God.” Oh! that we might now say with Paul, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man,” and not like Felix put it off “till a more convenient season.” The great forces of nature are silent. Light is noiseless, but every sunbeam is a rod of strength. Frost works so secretly, but the ponderous iceberg is its work of silence. Quietly the heat lifts the vapors of the oceans, they fall upon the mountains, and a thousand rivers roll forever to the sea. Unconsciously, and unheard, the heart every moment sends the current of life leaping along its channels, and we live, and think, and work. Thought is silent. In his chamber, the statesman secretly makes out the policy that lifts up or thrusts down nations. In his laboratory alone, the chemist communes with nature, and in the faintest whisper, she tells him of her hidden riches. Nature does her great works in silence. The seasons come and go. The sun sweeps his annual circuit in the heavens. The forests and fields put on their gorgeous robes. The staff of bread for the nations comes as the daybreak. When the Temple of Solomon was reared, there was no sound of hammer upon the building. It was in silence. Only the shout came when they put on the capstone. The movements of history are not the roar of cannon, nor concussion of battle. Revolutions are not mere noisy tumults. Freedom has worked in the closet. She has struggled in the midnight of her sorrow with the strong one, till she has prevailed. God has not spoken with an audible voice. Omnipotence has not appealed to the ear. Power cannot be heard. It was a more subtle revelation. The silent word, the invisible spirit—they speak. Sinai was heard but once, but the still, small voice entrances the ages. Faith is silent. “Only believe,” and the new creation rises within. The rapid tide of nature turns. Darkness flies away. The burden of guilt rolls off, and lightness sits upon the soul. The river of peace comes in. Jesus has all power. The Father has given it to him. The poor woman touched in silence the hem of his garment, and was healed. The silent power is here. We may wait for it, and our strength shall be renewed. “All things are possible to him that believeth.” Jesus is moving in our midst. He is the silent force of history. The fountain of love opened in the eternal hills flows gently, but irresistibly, through the blighted fields of our humanity. We love to think of the power of the silent man of griefs. His cross has become the symbol and the realization of power. We believe in him. Love is power. Working in the silence of suffering, it becomes in Christ the great secret of strength, and he being lifted, is drawing all men unto him. Him we desire above all things, and him we wish to see holding his sceptre over every human heart and every land.—Sel.