We have shown that the sixth of the seven trumpet angels ceased to sound August 11, 1840, and that then, says the Scripture, “the second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” Rev. 11:14. The third woe and the seventh trumpet are identical. And when the seventh angel sounded, said the prophet, “There were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” He also said, “The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy [margin, corrupt] the earth. And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Verses 18, 19.
Now we want it to be clearly seen, and it may be, that the events here named are identical with those of Rev. 14:6–20; 16:1–21, and that the latter are but an explanation in full of the former. To show this we shall here bring together the statements of Rev. 11:18, 19, and the corresponding ones of chapters 14 and 16.
1. “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come.” Rev. 11:18. The third angel says, “If any man worship the beast and his image, . . . the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” Chapter 14:9, 10. And in the seven last plagues is filled up the wrath of God. 15:1, 6–8; 16.
2. “The time of the dead, that they should be judged.” Rev. 11:18. “I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, . . . saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come.” Chapter 14:6, 7.
3. “That thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great.” Rev. 11:18. This time of reward is at the coming of Christ; for he says: “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Chapter 22:12. Again he said: “Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14. But his coming follows immediately the Third Angel’s Message; for says the prophet, “I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” “And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Rev. 14:14, 16. This harvest is the end of the world. Matt. 13:39.
4. “And shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Rev. 11:18. “Another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God.” Rev. 14:17–19.
Here are shown two reapings. One is by the Son of God reaping the harvest of the earth, gathering the wheat into the garner of God. The other is to gather together those who are to be cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God. The former are the fruits of the true Vine, Christ, Jesus. For he says: “I am the true Vine.” “I am the Vine, ye are the branches.” This is the Vine of Heaven, for Christ, the true Vine, came down from Heaven to do his Father’s will; and of this Vine the “Father is the Husbandman.” All who abide in Christ, the true Vine, will be gathered by the angels into the kingdom of God, when he comes on the white cloud to reap the harvest of the earth. The others are called the clusters of the vine of the earth. Those have no connection with the heavenly Vine, but are of the earth, earthy. And when the clusters of this vine are gathered, it is only to be cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God.
This same result is shown by John the Baptist under another figure: “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt. 3:11, 12.
5. “And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11:19. Why is this called the ark of his testament? Because within it is his testimony, as there was in the earthly temple, which was a pattern of the heavenly. “In the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.” Ex. 25:21. But what was the testimony or testament that was put in the ark? “He gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” Ex. 31:18. “And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.” Ex. 32:16. These tables Moses broke when he came down from the mount and found the people given up to idolatry. Then said the Lord to Moses: “Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.” Then says Moses: “I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed
two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.” Deut. 10:1–5. This ark was called the ark of the testimony or testament because that in it were the tables of the testimony which God gave to Moses, and that testimony was the ten commandments. It is this alone which gave it the title of the ark of the testimony.
Now we have shown that this sanctuary or temple on the earth was only a pattern or figure of the sanctuary or temple in Heaven. Therefore, that testimony which gave to the ark of the earthly sanctuary the title of the ark of the testament must be identical with the testimony which gives to the ark in Heaven the title of the ark of His testament, that is; the ten commandments. Now this temple of God in Heaven is opened at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. There is shown the heavenly ark of his testament; and connected directly with this stands Rev. 14:12. The Third Angel’s Message says: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God.”
6. “And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Rev. 11:19. This is identical with the record of the events of the seventh plague. For says the Scripture, “The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Rev. 16:17, 18, 20, 21.
But the seven last plagues comprise the wrath of God. This wrath is poured upon those who worship the beast and his image, upon those who refuse to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And the Third Angel’s Message is to warn men against that worship that they may escape this wrath, and calls them especially to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. These things show that these three messages of Revelation 14, and the wrath which is foretold by the third of these, and the coming of the Lord which follows the third, represent events referred to as occurrent when the seventh angel shall sound. It is therefore absolutely certain that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14 is due to the world.
Here we must refer again to Rev. 10:7, where the angel declares with an oath that “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” We have shown that the mystery of God is the gospel, and that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and that therefore in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound, the power of God for the salvation of man shall cease to be exercised. Note especially that this is in the days when the seventh angel begins to sound. From the texts presented in former articles, as well as all already given in this, it is plain that the events connected with the Third Angel’s Message end with the end of the world. Therefore the Third Angel’s Message is the means by which God makes his last effort for the salvation of men. Thus it becomes of584
the utmost importance to the children of men to know when the Third Angel’s Message is due to the world. In our article last week, in discussing the subject of the mystery of God and its finishing, we elicited the sanctuary and its services, the Levitical law, and showed that they were typical of the heavenly sanctuary, and the work of Christ in his priesthood. We showed that the services ended with the cleansing of the sanctuary, and that Christ’s priestly service ends at the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, and we showed that this cleansing began in 1844. Therefore this last service of the gospel, the finishing of which is identical with the finishing of the mystery of God, began in 1844.
Again: we showed that the cleansing of the sanctuary was really a work of judgment. It was so understood by the people who performed the service; it was so intended to be understood by the Lord who established the service. This is made certain by the voice which instanced that whosoever was not partaker of the services that day was cut off without mercy when the services closed. He had no further chance. His probation was gone. This was but typical of the work of Christ once for all, and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary must be likewise a work of the Judgment. This answers exactly to the words which describe the scenes of the seventh trumpet when it begins to sound, that then was come “the time of the dead, that they should be judged.” And as we have seen, this cleansing of the sanctuary, this work of judgment, this time of the dead, that they should be judged, began in 1844.
But this time of the dead, that they should be judged, is the same time referred to in Rev. 14:6, 7, in that message which carries still the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, yet saying with a loud voice to all, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come. Paul preached this same gospel, but not that the hour of his Judgment was come, but simply a judgment to come. Acts 24:25, and 17:31. But when the time comes when the seventh angel shall begin to sound, then it is declared in accordance with the same gospel, the hour of his Judgment is come. But this, as we have shown, is identical with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary which began in 1844. Therefore it is certain that the seventh angel began to sound in 1844. That this hour of Judgment is not the great day of Judgment which comes at the end of the world, but is a time which precedes the end of the world, answering to the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, is shown by the fact that two other messages follow this one before the coming of the Lord and the end of the world. But these two do follow this one, and the third of these is the Third Angel’s Message which warns all men against the worship of the beast and his image, and against receiving his mark, under the dreadful penalty of having to drink the wine of the wrath of God, and which at the same time calls all to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
This wine of the wrath of God is the seven last plagues, with the last of which come the lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail, which come at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. These commandments are the testimony of God which was brought forth prominently when the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament. And all these things are but the events that occur in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound. And as we have found that this seventh angel began to sound in 1844, then it was and onward the Third Angel’s Message is due to the world. When this message is finished, the mystery of God will be finished. When this message closes, the work of the gospel will be closed. And when the seven last
plagues which are pronounced by this message against those who worship the beast and his image, shall be poured out upon them which shall have the mark of the beast, and upon them which worship his image,—with the pouring out of the last of these comes the end of the world.
Therefore now is the time when there is danger of being drawn into the worship of the beast and his image. The people now living are the ones who are concerned in this. The people now living are they who will be called upon to make an image to the beast, and to worship the beast and his image. These are also the people who will be warned by the message of God against all those things under penalty of suffering the seven last plagues, and will be called to the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Camp-Meeting in Maine.
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
THIS meeting was held near the city of Portland on the ground occupied two years ago. Last year the camp-meeting was held in this city also. There have been two courses of meetings held here during the past summer with but little manifest interest. There were a few, however, that took their stand for the truth, and many others were interested to hear.
It was in this city that Sister White lived when a girl, and is well known by the oldest inhabitants. Notwithstanding they are unbelievers in her mission and work, yet they have confidence in her and in her family. The cause in Maine is not as prosperous as in some other Conferences, but some of the oldest friends of the cause dwell in this State, and from it men of influence in the cause of present truth have gone to other fields. There is no doubt that there will yet be a large number who will embrace the truth in this Conference. The First-day Adventists are very numerous here and many of them are not an honor to any cause that should be respected in any part of the country. There are others who are of the best class of citizens.
There was a good attendance over the Sabbath and at the close of the meeting. On Sabbath a goodly number came forward for prayers; and on Monday morning some of the same interest was manifested, but in a less degree than is often seen at this stage of a camp-meeting. We feel deeply for this State. They need labor of a different character from that which they have had in the past. Two years ago there were plans laid for an exchange of laborers, but owing to certain arrangements that seemed to be necessary they were not carried out, and this in part at least contributed to somewhat discourage the brethren. It is not well to have the same laborers year after year without change in any field; there should be a diversity of gifts. And those Conferences where this is the case always flourish the best. There is no one perfect, and the stamp of one class of minds on any community is not as good as though there were a variety.
In the cause of Christ it is the divine mould that should be seen and not the human. When there is a reliance on some one man, or class of men, to do the work, with the idea that none others can do as well, then it is that some other spirit than that of God comes in. The apostle says: “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius.” The apostle was thankful that there were other laborers who acted a part.
The apostle continues: “For ye are yet carnal; for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.”
It is perfectly natural for brethren to esteem very highly, for their work's sake, those who first brought them the truth, and this is right. It is as it should be for the joy in the kingdom will be to see those who, by the blessing of God, we have been instrumental in bringing into the truth. Upon this point we have the following words: “As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.” And again, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.” But when personal feelings come in so that there is a feeling of partiality, then it is that a spirit of selfishness takes the place of that disinterested benevolence which is the essential element of Christianity. The cause of truth is the Lord's, and is in his hands, and he will carry it forward. There is nothing that we really can do against the truth, but all will, in the end, tell for its advancement. For “the foundation of God standeth sure, the Lord knoweth them that are his.”
We have reached perilous times when it becomes us all to have a living connection with God and build on the rock. Soon there will be times that will try men's souls, and then there will be many that now expect to be saved in the kingdom of God, who, for want of a living connection with God, will fail. “I am the vine, ye are the branches,” says the Saviour. It is from him that we must draw real nourishment if we shall stand in the evil time. There were never more solemn times than the present. In almost every congregation of Christian believers, there is a possibility, and even a probability, that there are some who will be translated and some who will drink of the seven last plagues. May the Lord help us to prepare for the coming events.
About sixty tents were pitched and some 300 brethren were present Sabbath and first-day. The eighty-five foot circular tent was well filled on Sunday. The speakers from abroad were Elders G. I. Butler, U. Smith, and the writer.
S. N. H.
The Sabbath Agitation.
By G. I. B.
No observing person will deny the fact that the Sabbath question is assuming a prominent place in the public mind. We consider this fact to be a special indication of the nearness of Christ's advent, a fulfillment of prophecy, and a striking evidence that Seventh-day Adventists have an important message to give to the world. To make our meaning more plain we will elaborate these statements somewhat, that the reader may get a clear idea of the subject.
In reference to the suggestion that a spirit of inquiry is abroad concerning the Sabbath question, such as has not been seen for generations, or even many centuries, we call attention to a few facts.
We are living in an age of inquiry. Scarcely anything in the world is considered settled. It is a reading age. Minds are active and everything is being scrutinized closely. It is an unbelieving age. Sacred things are lightly regarded. Everything supernatural is questioned. A great effort is made to explain away God's agency in many things, and ascribe to natural law the works of Omnipotence: the origin of the world, the creation of man, and the miracles of the Bible. Therefore it is not strange that the Sabbath question should come in for its share of consideration.
The spirit of this age is secular, lax in spirituality, earthy, and pleasure loving. The current is strong585in these directions and it sets against any sacredness of regard for any day. A strong tendency exists to make all Sabbaths days of pleasure merely. This tendency alarms the most devoted people of the churches, and they fear that all piety and reverence for God will be swept away from the public mind. These know that a weekly Sabbath is a great bulwark of true religion, and they greatly fear that the day they have considered sacred will become a mere pleasure day, as Sunday is regarded on the continent of Europe. Therefore they raise their voices loudly in behalf of Sunday sacredness as they view it. This adds to the agitation of the subject.
During the last forty years a body of people has arisen in many parts of the world who believe in the sacred obligation of the seventh-day Sabbath. These are advocating it by public speakers, missionary workers, and many other agencies; talking with the people, giving their reasons for observing it, claiming for God's original Sabbath the same sacredness it had ever had, though it lay trampled under feet by the great apostate power which has thought to change it. They have used millions of dollars in the aggregate in creating agencies and sustaining them in bringing this important institution before the public mind.
In carrying forward this work, they are publishing many periodicals, books, pamphlets, and tracts in all the leading languages of Christendom, and strenuous and persistent efforts are being made to circulate them in all directions. Tract and Missionary Societies are organized in many States and countries, to scatter these publications. In the leading commercial cities of the world, ship missionaries are placing them on a large number of ships and steamers going to every part of the globe. It would be strange indeed if these efforts had no effect. The result is seen in all directions. The public prints both secular and religious often have in them references to the Sabbath question. Those papers which have a question department often have in them questions and answers upon this subject. Much is being said about it everywhere.
A respected brother connected with one of the city missions in one of our metropolitan cities, informed the writer that in a dozen successive issues of one of the leading dailies there were some nine or ten which had articles bearing on the Sabbath question. In another instance the editor of one of the leading religious journals, when personally solicited to answer in his journal some leading questions concerning the Sabbath, said he could not open the columns of his paper to this subject, giving as a reason that every week a score of such questions come in to be answered. These straws show which way the wind is blowing, and how great is the interest upon this subject.
These efforts of Sabbatarians to uphold the claims of the ancient Sabbath of the Bible, necessarily disturb the adherents of Sunday keeping, as the Sunday institution is shown up in its true light as devoid of all Bible authority. The effect is twofold at least upon first-day observers. The reasons for keeping the seventh day, lead the more candid and those who are seeking for light and truth to become unsettled, and they question the grounds of first-day observance, and many change their practice. The effect upon those who make no profession of religion, is to make them lose what little respect they had for Sunday.
While with many others who are thick and thin supporters of Sunday, the effect is opposite. They are stirred up and enraged because Sunday authority is questioned. The stronger the arguments used against it the more bitter such become in their feelings, and the more they are determined to sustain their pet institution. So the greater the agitation in behalf of the ancient Sabbath, the more energetic the supporters of Sunday become. Already a strong party is formed who are exerting themselves to the utmost to create a public sentiment sufficient to enforce the observance of the day by the pains and penalties of the law of the land. This appeal to the secular power is always the last step taken by supporters of a crumbling, falling, man-made institution, when it has lost the respect of the people. What they lack in argument they propose to make up in force. So it has been in the past. And it would seem that this experience is to be repeated in our own free Government.
To the careful observer it is wonderful what a change has come over the public mind on this Sabbath question. The agitation is not confined to America but it is going on in Great Britain, and on the continent of Europe, and in Australia, and really throughout Christendom. Plenty of evidence can be given to sustain these statements.
How can we account for this fact? After centuries of apparent quiet, where at least little stir and interest has been manifested in the subject, all at once the agitation begins upon the question of what day is the true Sabbath for Christians to keep.
The history of the ancient Sabbath of Jehovah from the creation of the world to the present time is one of the most interesting of theological studies. For 4,000 years it was always recognized as the only Sabbath day. History is perfectly clear in recording its continued observance for several hundred years after Christ. Gradually, however, another day began to assume a certain degree of prominence among Christians. First it received a sort of voluntary consecration as not a hint can be found in the Scriptures requiring any such consecration, then a custom was established in its favor as a mere festival day. Then some 200 years after the birth of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church began to bestow upon it special favors, calling it the Lord's day and making it a joyful festival, while at the same time the ancient Sabbath was turned into a fast day. After a little a heathen emperor made a law that the townspeople should rest on “the venerable day of the sun,” while farmers might still work upon it. This was the first law ever made in behalf of this day. Then the Catholic Church, taking advantage of the existence of this heathen law, exalted it still higher. Finally the Catholic council of Laodicea, A. D. 364, pronounces a curse upon all who should keep the ancient Sabbath. The new day is still further advanced and all labor upon it finally forbidden, and pains and penalties are inflicted upon those who will not keep it. Bogus miracles are invented to add to its sacredness. It was never called the Sabbath however till more than a thousand years after Christ. Every effort of the Roman Catholic Church was put forth to bolster up and add to the sacredness of the new day till the time of the Reformation.
The Reformers at first treated it like other festival days of the church and did not regard it as any more sacred than Easter or Christmas. But in 1595 Rev. Nicholas Bound invented the modern seventh-part-of-time theory, since which the new day has undertaken to hide under the sacred folds of the fourth commandment. For more than twelve hundred years after Christ not an instance can be found in history where such a claim was ever made, that the new day could be enforced by that commandment, and very few instances indeed till after Dr. Bound made this great discovery. Since that time this is the popular claim.
What was this new day which thus invaded the sanctity of the ancient Sabbath kept for 4,500 years? All understand that it was the Sunday. What was the Sunday? It was “the wild solar holiday of all ancient times,” as a high authority dignifies it. It was the weekly memorial of sun worship, the most ancient form of idolatry. The worship of Bel, Baal, Apollo, and many other gods of ancient times was really homage of the sun. Sunday, i. e., the day of the sun, as a weekly holiday in honor of sun worship, can be traced back into the remotest ages of antiquity. This very fact should forever stamp it as a rival to the ancient Sabbath. It was set up in honor of idolatry, and its adoption by the Catholic Church when it observed a vast number of heathen rites, is not to be wondered at. But that the Protestant church, which has professed to take “the Bible and the Bible alone” as its sole authority, should adopt this ancient idolatrous memorial appropriated by the Roman church, is indeed astonishing, when not a text of Scripture could be found in its favor.
But it would seem as though the ancient Sabbath had been entirely supplanted by this successful rival, when so many centuries had passed and Protestantism had adopted the Sunday of “Pope and pagan.” All did seem quiet and settled, very few voices were raised against it. Sunday had the field, and the conflict seemed to be settled forever. But when the great Advent message was proclaimed, it contained one clause which had in it a disturbing element, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 12. The prophet of God had foretold the rise of a power which should think to change the “times and the law.” Dan. 7: 25, Revised Version. These were given into his hands for “a time and times and the dividing of time,” i. e., 1260 prophetic days, or years. This time covers the supremacy of the Papacy. This language implies a change. When the last message is proclaimed God's commandments are again proclaimed in their purity. When lo! the agitation commences and extends by land and by sea, and never has there been seen such an agitation of the Sabbath question as we are now entering upon.
Dear reader, this agitation is but fairly commencing. It will stir the world more and more. It will reach to every land and every clime. The religious bodies cannot stop it. The secular powers with their pains and penalties cannot squelch it. It is going in all directions through the land. The nations must and will hear it. God's ancient Sabbath will have such a consideration as it has not received for ages. Hoary fables will be exploded. Man's inventions in behalf of Sunday sacredness will be exposed. God has reserved this grand, ancient memorial, the Sabbath of the Bible, as the last great truth with which Christendom will be tested. That Sabbath which patriarchs, prophets, the church for 4,000 years, Christ, and the apostles kept as the Sabbath of the Lord, and which will be kept in the new heavens and new earth (Isa. 66: 23), will be kept by the true church when our Lord and Saviour shall return.
G. I. B.
The Gospel Preached to the Poor
Said Christ: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor." Luke 4:18. Here is a direct statement and proof. No one should fail to see the force of the word "because." The fact that Jesus was commissioned to preach the gospel to the poor, was an evidence that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. To the same effect, when John sent, inquiring, "Art thou he that should come?" he gave as one evidence of his divinity the fact that, "the poor have the gospel preached to them." While this is not the sole evidence, it is an important one; and while many teachers of false religion may pay great attention to the poor, it may be accepted as a settled fact that any religious teacher, even though his theory be true, who does not teach in such a way that the poor and unlearned can understand and be profited thereby, is not called of God to teach. The Bible contains "the deep things of God," but these must be unfolded to the comprehension of the simplest minds. Christ commissions his teachers to feed his sheep; and sheep, as well as lambs, must be fed from a low rack.