Publishing Committee · Rochester, N. Y. · May 15, 1855
The End of the Wicked.
By Samuel Bourn
BY SAMUEL BOURN.
[We had heard of Bourn's writings, but never could get sight of them till 1847, when we accidentally came into possession of two volumes of his Sermons. The following is an extract from his discourse on "The Gospel Doctrine of Future Punishment," published near a century ago.—Bible Excavator.]
THE Gospel Doctrine of a total everlasting destruction is much more adapted to bring sinners to repentance than the doctrine of endless misery and torment; because they may be convinced of the reason and justice of the former; but never can be so of the latter. And it is of the greatest importance that men be convinced, not only that they shall suffer for their sins, but also that they shall suffer justly, and no more than their guilt deserves. It is indeed highly requisite, that men should have a profound reverence of the Supreme Being, and a fearful apprehension of the punishment due to wickedness: but it is equally requisite, that this fear be built upon a reasonable foundation, and a persuasion of the justice of that punishment; it ought to be the fear of a most righteous and merciful Governor, who punishes in due measure, and to answer a wise and beneficent purpose; not of an unjust and merciless tyrant, "who punishes without measure or end to satisfy an implacable and eternal resentment." The former is a motive proper to bring sinners to repentance, by convincing them, that if they persist in their wickedness, it will become right and fit in the great Governor of the world, and requisite to the ends of his goodness, to punish and destroy them for ever, in order to put an end to their wickedness; and for an example to others. But the doctrine of an eternal preservation in the most dreadful torments is not proper to bring men to repentance, or to promote virtue in the world. On the contrary, this anti-christian doctrine hath actually produced much wickedness, and of the worst kind, and hath served also to harden men in it.
The more we study human nature, and understand what influence different principles have upon the temper and conduct of mankind, and are acquainted with the religious history of the christian world, the more we shall be convinced of this. When men have been guilty of enormous crimes, or abandoned themselves to some vicious courses, but at length begin to think of another world, and what their own condition will be after death; then, to be persuaded of the righteous judgment of God, and that he will punish impenitent sinners in a terrible and exemplary manner, but no more than their iniquities deserve, or than the ends of government and the purposes of wisdom and goodness require: this persuasion will lead them to a true repentance, as it implies a conviction of the mischievous, heinous and criminal nature of their own actions, and tends to inspire them with an abhorrence and dread, not of God, but of their own wickedness and ill deserts, and with a veneration and esteem of the Almighty Governor of the world for his very justice, though it condemns them; because they believe that his intention in punishing is to prevent the progress of wickedness; and put an end to misery; not to make wickedness and misery immortal. The fear of God is consistent with the love of him, and with the highest confidence in his paternal goodness and saving mercy; hence they naturally reflect upon their own disingenuity and ingratitude, in transgressing the will of the wisest and best of Governors. And this temper is the true spirit of repentance towards God, and the spring of humility, justice and charity toward men.
But on the other hand, if they believe that God will punish beyond all bounds of justice, and will preserve condemned sinners alive for ever, in order to wreak upon them an insatiable eternal vengeance; and that it is his design not to extirpate and destroy, but to preserve and increase wickedness and misery in the creation; this opinion, the more seriously they attend to it and believe it, the more it will prevent true repentance: it can only serve to confound the mind, to absorb and destroy the best principles of true religion, and particularly to exclude from the heart all love of God and all confidence in his justice and goodness. For let men pretend what they will, they cannot esteem, love, and confide in a tyrant, or a being whose will and pleasure is to make wickedness and misery endless. They may be hypocrites through fear, and profess love with their mouths; but secretly and in their hearts they will have an aversion to him: they will hate God more than themselves, and abhor his government more than their own sins and ill deserts. At best, this opinion will only produce a slavish dread and terror which may compel men to worship God against their inclination, and praise him with their lips, while their hearts are not only estranged from him but utterly averse to him.
It is indeed readily allowed, that this opinion may have driven some men to have used certain means, by which to avoid that relentless and insatiable vengeance, which they impiously ascribed to God. But by what means? Not by repentance and the practice of sobriety, humanity and charity; but by penances, pilgrimages, unctions, auricular confessions, priestly absolutions, and all the low tricks of superstition; which correspond to the base and unworthy notions they had formed to themselves of the Supreme Being. Or else, where it made a more deep and violent impression, it hath driven men to a gloomy bitterness of temper, and inspired them with a dark and fierce enthusiasm; and they have sought to compensate for their vices, to appease the deity, and recommend themselves to his favor, by a furious bigoted zeal for a particular church or party, and by hating and persecuting others, whom they vainly and presumptuously styled enemies to God and religion.
Such have been the real and natural consequences of this anti-christian doctrine. For according to men's sentiments of God and of the designs and measures of his government, such hath been the influence of religion on their temper and conduct, if they have not framed to themselves a God after their own evil hearts, they have framed their own hearts agreeable to that false and evil character, which they were taught to ascribe to God. And when they have believed the Deity to love and hate, to elect and reprobate nations, parties, or individuals, without reason or regard to the ends of good government, and to pursue those whom he hath thus reprobated, with an endless and insatiable resentment; they themselves have become more arbitrary, bigoted, fierce, unmerciful, and more addicted to hate and persecute their fellow creatures, all who were not of their own church, and whom they supposed to be reprobated of God. It is hardly credible, that inhumanity and cruelty would ever have been carried to such excess in the Christian world, as they actually have been, had they not derived countenance and support from the anti-christian and barbarous notions. Tyrants and persecutors, if they have not invented these doctrines, yet have applied them to excuse to their own consciences, and vindicate to others, the most iniquitous and cruel proceedings; and when they have made the very worst use of their power in persecuting good men, at least men who have deserved no such punishment, they have persuaded themselves and others, that they were acting like the Deity, espousing his cause and maintaining his character and his glory.
The court of inquisition, as established in many countries, and so far as it differs from civil courts of judicature, is declared by the authors and maintainers of it to be the nearest imitation of the divine tribunal; and it is avowedly founded upon and justified by the doctrines of reprobation and of eternal torments. Jews, infidels, and heretics are judged in that court to be criminals, and are condemned. And how do they vindicate this procedure; but by supposing them to be all reprobated and abhorred of God? And they execute them, not by a quick despatch, but by the most lingering torments. What then do they plead for this cruelty; but that it is an act of Faith, that they are doing the work of God, and that he will expose those wretches to the like torments for ever? Thus they conquer nature by Faith, as they express it: that is, they extinguish all sense of justice and relentings of mercy in their own nature, and harden themselves in iniquity and barbarity, by the belief of these very doctrines we are exposing: and by them they defend themselves in the face of the world, and give a color and sanction of religion to the most enormous wickedness.
The only way to promote sobriety, justice, humanity, and every virtue in the world, is by representing truly and recommending strongly the characters of the Deity and his government, as contained in the real doctrines of our Saviour and his apostles: that he is the most just and merciful Father and Governor of all mankind; who will by no means clear the guilty, or suffer the impenitent workers of iniquity to escape, but will assuredly punish them with an everlasting destruction from his own presence and by his own glorious power; but who in all the measures of his government intends the best ends, and to promote the good of the whole; to destroy forever, not to preserve forever, the souls of the wicked; to make virtue and happiness, not wickedness and misery, everlasting. This belief of religion will have a most happy effect, in reclaiming men from vice and exciting them to virtue, and is every way proper to engage our reverence of God and our charity to all men, to make us love the Lord our God, and serve him with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength; which is our highest excellence and happiness.
To sum up the whole in a few words.—To increase wickedness and misery in the creation, and to make them endless, is the work and design of the devil. To impute the same design to the all-perfect, and ever-blessed God, is no better than the greatest impiety. And to imagine that such a doctrine can do any good in the world, is great weakness and folly. Some men are amazingly forward, even while they praise God with their mouths, to harbor an ill-opinion226of Him in their hearts, and suspect Him of having unjust or cruel designs. The timidity and melancholy of some, and the artifice and tyranny of others, lay the ground-work of such diabolical delusions. But Christians should know better; and if they have not been taught otherwise, if they are yet ignorant of the truth as it is in Jesus, and have not the knowledge of God their most righteous Governor and merciful Father in heaven, it is high time they should learn to understand their own religion.
The true doctrine of the Gospel is more honorable in the Supreme Governor of the world, maintains the perfect consistency of His justice and mercy, and shows that the measures of His government are calculated to prevent, destroy, and extirpate wickedness and misery, to purge at last the whole creation from every evil, to collect together, as our Saviour expresses it, all things that offend and them which do iniquity, and cast them into a furnace of fire, where they shall be utterly consumed and never more exist. John, the forerunner of Christ, describes him by the sublime character and office of being the minister of divine justice and mercy to mankind, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather the wheat into his garner, but burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire, that is, utterly destroy it; then wickedness and misery shall cease for ever, death shall be destroyed, and destruction itself come to an utter end.
The practical language of the New Testament corresponds to the doctrine as before explained: and it remains that we attend to the Gospel admonitions, to choose the way of life, that our souls may live, and avoid the fatal paths that lead to eternal destruction. The gate of the former is straight and the way narrow, and it is requisite to strive to gain that important pass. But if it was a right hand or eye, that is an obstacle preventing our entrance into life eternal, it is better to part with it and cast it from us, than with it to perish forever. For what is a man profited, if he could gain the whole world, and lose his own soul, his own life and being forever? Or what can possibly be given to a man of equal value in exchange for his own life and being? It is not a few years in this world, but life and death absolute and eternal which are set before us. This is the very condition of our existence: there is no possibility of avoiding the momentous choice; and there is some difficulty in determining aright; and more in adhering to that determination. But the first thing requisite is to convince ourselves thoroughly of the vast importance of our present conduct and to have our minds awake and eyes open to look before us, and attend to the final consequences of things. As it is not easy for children to be persuaded, or bring themselves to apprehend, what is requisite or pernicious to their future health and life in this world; so men are not easily aware of the eternal consequences of their present actions. There are so many things to bribe their judgment, or divert their attention, or benumb their hearts, or alter their resolutions, that the gate is found to be wide and the way broad that leadeth to destruction, and many go in thereat; and it is not without some difficulty that any are reclaimed and brought back into the way of life. Are there few that be saved?—is a question to which no answer ought to be expected, but those persuasions to use our best endeavors, and those descriptions of the qualifications requisite to salvation, which are to be found so frequent, so clear, and so cogent, in the writings of the Gospel, that we would flee from the wrath to come, and let that goodness and patience of God lead us to repentance; and not after the hardness and impenitence of our hearts, treasure up for ourselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; but on the contrary, by a patient continuance in well-doing, seek for honor and immortality, that we may gain eternal life; and that we do not through corrupt prejudices mistake the way of salvation, and what we must do to inherit eternal life; but if we would enter into life, keep the commandments of God; that we would not deceive ourselves with a vain show and empty professions; for God is not mocked, and whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap: he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap an incorruptible and immortal life.
Do ye not know, says the Apostle, that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Our blessed Saviour hath most plainly and authentically specified the terms of our acceptance with God, and the duties requisite to salvation: and whosoever heareth his sayings and doeth them builds his hope of eternal life on an immovable foundation; but hearing and not doing, professing and not practicing, believing and not obeying, or to speak more properly, pretending to believe and have Faith separate from works of obedience, is only heaping up to ourselves the greater confusion and ruin. The grand event, the sublime mystery of a world to come, and of eternal life and death, is revealed in the Gospel with such perspicuity of doctrine, and force of application, as cannot fail to impress an attentive mind, and have a powerful effect. The favor or displeasure of the Almighty Governor of the universe; glory and immortality, or misery and destruction; everlasting life, or death eternal, are solemnly propounded to the belief, choice, or pursuit of mankind; and the way to avoid the one and obtain the other clearly described.
Let us wisely attend to these things, which are alone of infinite moment to us, and not let them slip out of our minds, or be choked with the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches; that we may escape the condemnation of the wicked, even everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and may inherit that eternal life, which is the gift of God (and which may God of his infinite mercy grant us) through Jesus Christ our Lord.
THE THIRD POINT.
By Editor
THE latest advices from Vienna give information that the Conference of the several Powers, having agreed upon the first and second points, had passed over the third, while waiting instructions from their governments at home. The Third point has respect to the power of Russia in the Black Sea. England and France would desire to secure from Russia, as a condition of peace, a pledge to reduce her fleet, and to dismantle the fortress of Sebastopol. Russia has consented to any reasonable terms, which do not bring into question her sovereignty on her own territory, but to destroy her own forts at the dictation of her enemies, and so to cripple her own means of defence and offence, is a degradation to which Russia will not consent. Indeed it seems absurd for the Allies to demand that Russia should do to herself, what they have most signally and disastrously failed to accomplish during a whole campaign. But for the Allies to make peace without carrying this point, and thereby admitting that they are unable to cripple Russia, in the field or in the cabinet, will be in the highest degree disgraceful to them, and would doubtless meet the general condemnation of the people of England and France.
Some of the foreign papers, and one or two of our own, have rumors of peace as immediately at hand. We confess it is hard to find any justification for such expections in progress of negotiations, or in the events transpiring in the Crimea. Indeed affairs look more like coming to a deadlock, than like making progress toward peace. In the meantime, an immense Russian army is on its way to the Crimea. The Holy Synod of St. Petersburg has issued an appeal to the people, urging upon them to devote themselves body and soul to sustain the Emperor in the great struggle to maintain the glory of the crown, and the integrity of the empire. We make a single extract from this appeal:
"Inhabitants of the country and of hamlets, you who arm for the defence of the church, of the throne, and of the natal soil, oppose to impious legions your powerful Russian breasts, in which beat hearts devoted to the faith of your ancestors and to the orthodox autocrat! But in preparing yourselves for the combat, place, above all things, your confidence in God, who gives invincible strength to those who execute his will, and remember that that which most terrifies your enemies is your holy religion, your pure conscience, your obedience to supreme authority as to God himself—to your masters and to your chiefs as to your parents. It is in the obedience which is agreeable to God, that dwells all the strength of the Russian empire.
"Fathers and mothers! you have before your eyes a sublime example in the imperial family; the Grand Dukes, blessed by their august parents, will hasten to the field of battle for your personal defence; is it for you now to hesitate to send you children there, at the request of the Czar? Say to them:—Children, take there your place, for the defence of our common mother, the divine church, and of the mother that nursed us—the Russian soil; your earthly parents bless you, and the church will pray for you."
With such a spirit as this animating the Russian Empire, it is plainly impossible for the new Czar to humble himself before the Allies, especially when as yet they have made no progress in compelling him to terms.
The Gospel without the Law.
THERE is what is properly enough called, preaching the gospel. There is a great deal of it in all protestant countries. Yet for many years it seems to have been comparatively powerless to the conversion of sinners. The question is even asked, how long are our churches will be extinct, unless the proportion of additions to losses turn in their favor, and that soon. And why, it is with reason asked is there so general an indifference to religion, not to say contempt of it? Why so little of that real seriousness, which is at least, part of the essence of a religious temper, which certainly marked the character of our forefathers, and which must always accompany the fear of God, and a just sense of eternal things?
Probably one great reason of all this, is that the Law of God and the truths that circle round it, are not fully and forcibly enough preached. We who are ministers do not present the law in all its demands. We do not, enough, make it seen and felt, that God's Law claims every one's entire and unqualified obedience and submission, even to the thoughts and intents of the heart. We do not carry back the demand to the first dawn of the hearer's reason and conscience, and lay that holy law along side of all the dark past of his life, from the beginning till now. We do not strip sinners of the thousand and one refuges of lies to which they flee, to justify or to excuse themselves for not having kept the law, or even to make it out that they have kept it sufficiently well. We do not, as we should, open the gates of the bottomless pit before their eyes, and by the light of those eternal fires, make them read for themselves the inscription written in letters of flame, "This is the place of torment."
Again, we are apprehensive that we do not realize and set before men, as fully as we ought, the utter alienation of their hearts by nature from all that God requires. We believe the doctrine; that is, it is in our creed, and so, according to the rules of the world, the credit of believing the doctrine belongs to us. And sometimes perhaps we do deliver it, but its full force and significance we do not habitually feel and deliver.
Are not these the true reasons why our churches, instead of filling up with humble converts, are diminishing? Does not this account, in part at least, for the exceeding distance of men's minds and thoughts from God and eternity? Does not this in a measure, account for the merely decent religious exterior of some, the open irreligion of others, the absorbing worldliness of the many, and the fraud and violence perpetually breaking out over all the land, like the eruptions of a volcano?
It is worse than of no avail to sing the song of redeeming love, unless the trumpet have first rung effectually the thunders of Sinai! Of what use to assure forgiveness to one who feels no particular need of forgiveness? What is a feast to a full man? What is wine to him that has "well drunk?" What is the best physician to the hale and hearty, to whom sickness and death are not only distant, but unrealized? What is civil pardon to the good citizen, who is at large and about his business as usual, and knows he has violated no law?
Not only the gospel, but even the office of preaching it is made contemptible, by sinking the moral law out of sight. Restore the law to its place; make its terms the actual terror of men's hearts, and pentecostal seasons will return. Converts will be multiplied. Public conscience will become a reality. Fashionable religion, along with fashionable vice, will hide its diminished head. Public men will shun commercial and political fraud, as they would shun the fires227of perdition. The work of preaching the gospel with all its self-denials, will be in honor, and the best talent, as well as the purest piety, will offer itself for the service. J.—[Oberlin Evangelist.]
REMARKS:—
By James White
Every one who is conversant with the Bible and the preaching of the present day, must assent to the truthfulness of the above, and if the Evangelist were like to produce any reform on that point I should heartily wish it God speed. I was struck on reading it with the difference between the sentiments of the writer and those of some of the preachers of what is termed the "Oberlin School." I heard one declare while preaching on this subject, in this State, that the keeping of the letter of the Law leads to death! I was led to wonder how wide a departure, in his opinion, from the strict letter of the Law of God is necessary to ensure eternal life; and, surely, the great majority must be saved, according to such teaching, for the departures from the plain, literal reading of God's Law are both frequent and broad enough to please the most rigid Antinomian. And I wondered further if the said preacher remembered reading in Prof. Finney's writings that every law had its letter and spirit; this relating to the external observance, and that to the internal: that the letter might be kept without the spirit, but the spirit of a law could not be kept without observing the letter.
But it is easy to perceive the cause of the dilemma—it is the fourth commandment. In vain may the press and the pulpit unite their efforts; they can never "restore the law to its place," until they cease to break, and teach others to break, the holy Sabbath. In vain will they seek to awe by "the thunders of Sinai," so long as they try to make the law delivered on Sinai enforce Sunday keeping. The people will not regard it—they will not tremble before it as long as this inconsistency is manifested in the lives and doctrines of those who profess to teach in God's name. I hope all will carefully read the remarks above, as they present a brief but striking view of the deplorable state of the churches and the world at the present time, with the evident reason why they occupy such a fearful position.
J. H. W.
Oshkosh, Wis., April, 1855.
Communication from Bro. Wheeler.
By Frederick Wheeler
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I would say for the encouragement of the dear saints scattered abroad, that the Lord is still with the remnant here in the East, who are striving to obey the last message of mercy to this perishing world. I have during the past Winter, visited most of the brethren in western Massachusetts and Connecticut, and also spent some time among the Seventh-day Baptists in Rhode Island; and found some among them quite interested to hear on the subject of the Lord's near coming. I have also visited most of the brethren in Maine and some other places.
I find the churches where I have labored, united (with very few exceptions) in the truth, and striving to heed the Apostle's injunction, to "mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them." As a general thing there appears to be a rising in spirituality, and a growth in grace among them. But yet I fear that there is too much indifference, too much holding on to the things and spirit of the present world.
There is power in the present truth when fully believed and obeyed, to cut us loose from the present world; to make us free in the Lord, and give us the blessed assurance of soon entering our eternal home. There is, I find, in many places quite an ear to hear on the reasons of our hope; many who seem to be enquiring, Are these things so? On the other hand, there are many ready to oppose, but truth is mighty and will eventually triumph; and those who are found obeying the truth will triumph with it.
How conflicting are the positions taken by the opponents of the truth. They tell us if we keep the Sabbath we are fallen from grace; for Paul says, say they, that Christ is become of no effect unto you; whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. Gal. v, 4. And then if this does not satisfy the enquirer after truth that it is wrong to keep the Sabbath, they will quote Rom. xiv, 5: "One man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Now say they, every day includes the Sabbath with the other days, and Paul says it don't make any difference whether we regard it or not. If we regard the day to the Lord it is well; and if we do not regard the day it is just as well. Now let us put their positions together. First, they make Paul teach in Galatians that if we keep the Sabbath we fall from grace. Second, he teaches the Romans that they might do as they choose keep it or not. How strangely indifferent Paul must have been to the welfare of the Roman church! Entirely immaterial with him whether they fell from grace or not!!! But unfortunately for their argument Paul does not speak of the Sabbath or the law of God, the ten commandments, in either of the above quotations. Surely error marks out to itself many crooked ways; while truth moves onward in one straight course.
The word of God presents to man a royal law growing out of the relation that we sustain to him as our Creator; and the relation we sustain to each other. This law the apostle proves all to have broken. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;" Rom. iii, 23; and "sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John iii, 4. From sin we are justified through faith in Christ, the great sacrifice who has been set forth as the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Rom. iii, 25; 1 John ii, 2; iv, 10. And being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Having the Spirit of Christ implanted in us (for if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his) we like him delight to keep the commandments of God, the Father, and the teachings of his Son. Or in other words we retain our justification by a faith made perfect by works or obedience. How much of the Spirit of Christ we need in these last days! The more we have of his Spirit, the more we shall delight to do the commandments of God. We need much of the Spirit of Christ that we may thereby exhibit the excellency of those truths we profess to believe.
I still feel to rejoice in God for his goodness to me; and I feel strong in the glorious hope of soon seeing the King in all his beauty. How cheering to the way-worn pilgrim is that "blessed hope." Without this hope how dark the prospect now before us! While the nations of the earth are preparing themselves for war, and the dark cloud of the great day of Jehovah's wrath seems gathering in the distance, and the cry of distress and suffering are borne on every breeze, the eye of faith beholds beyond these dark scenes, the bright glories of an eternal day.
The evidences are thickening around us daily that earth's great drama is about to close. What is done for the salvation of our fellow men must be done quickly. Then let us gird on the gospel armor anew for the closing conflict. The truth of God must be our shield and buckler. With our feet firmly planted on the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we may hope to abide the storm and reign with Christ for ever. Surely in view of these things it becomes us to search our own hearts and to know that our ways please God. It is the power of the truth we need. A living active faith that manifests itself daily in a holy life and a godly conversation. In the Spirit of Christ I desire to labor, having his love the moving principle in all my efforts, that when he shall appear I may be prepared to receive some humble place among the blessed, and participate in the glories of the earth made new.
Yours in hope.
Washington, N. H., Apr. 27th, 1855.
F. WHEELER.
P. S. I have consulted with the brethren here with regard to the proposed change in the terms of the Review. All seem desirous of having a weekly paper, and in favor of the proposed change in the terms. Let the price be fixed so that the paper may be sustained and you relieved from the perplexing embarrassment under which you have so long labored.
F. W.
The Best Excuses the Worst.
By Presb. of the West.
The common disposition of impenitent sinners to excuse themselves from the privileges offered in the gospel, is not only wicked in itself, and dangerous in its tendency, but it is pre-eminently foolish. There is nothing valuable to be gained by the most plausible and forcible excuses. A thoughtful mind may easily see this.
Let us suppose that a sinful man has an excuse and a really good one. Let us even suppose that the excuse is sustained as valid at the bar of God. This, surely, is as strong a supposition as any sinful soul could desire. Now what would result from it? The certain loss of the sinner's soul! We too seldom think of this. We too seldom think of the sinful soul as already lost; and of the gospel as the remedy. Yet this is the just view of the case. The gospel is a privilege; and a man excused from exercising a privilege is excused at his own loss. The gospel is salvation; and to be excused from salvation is to lose salvation.
Look at the matter in the light of the Saviour's parable. Many were bidden to a Great Supper; and they excused themselves. If a man is invited to a feast, and excuses himself whose loss is it? If a railroad train is hurrying on to some fearful precipice, and the voice of warning is raised, and the passengers cry out, "excuse us, we have no time to listen;" whose loss is it? If dangerous disease seizes a man's system and a physician prescribes the only adequate remedy, and the patient says, "excuse me," whose loss is it? If a man is in a burning house asleep, and a friend awakes him, entreats him to make haste, tells him that the danger is increasing, assures him that his hopes, one by one, are cut off, and calls out that if he is not even now in earnest he must perish; and he turns slothfully on his bed and exclaims, "excuse me," who suffers?
Is it any better when a guilty soul, already under the curse of God's violated law, is urged to flee to Christ for salvation, and pleads "I pray thee have me excused?" Surely men do not consider that they are already lost; that Christ came to save; and that whatever keeps the soul from coming to Christ, keeps it from heaven. To do nothing, is to perish; to be excused, is to perish. Such thoughts should put an end to all excuses. The better a man's excuses are, the worse. The more power an excuse has over a man's mind to keep him still; to prevent his praying; to prevent his repenting; to prevent his coming humbly to Jesus, the more certainly will they secure his perdition. A poor excuse has less power to blind the mind, than a plausible one; and since every successful excuse is fatal, the best excuses are likely to be most fatal. Can the spirit of making excuses be a good one, when its most successful excuse is the deepest ruin of the soul?
Pray that Sermon.
A young licentiate, after throwing off a highly wrought, and, as he thought, eloquent gospel sermon, in the pulpit and presence of a venerable pastor, solicited of his experienced friend the benefit of his criticism upon the performance. "I have but just one remark to make," was his reply, "and that is to request you to pray that sermon." "What do you mean, sir?" "I mean literally just what I say, pray it, if you can, and you will find the attempt a better criticism than any I can make upon it." The request still puzzled the young man, beyond measure; the idea of praying a sermon was a thing he never heard or conceived of; and the singularity of the request wrought powerfully on his imagination and feelings. He resolved to attempt the task. He laid his manuscript before him, and on his knees before God undertook to make it into a prayer. But it would't pray; the spirit of prayer was not in it, and that, for the very good reason—as he then clearly saw for the first time—that the spirit of prayer and piety did not compose it. For the first time, he saw that his heart was not right with God; and this conviction left him no peace until he had "Christ formed in him the hope of glory." With a renewed heart, he applied himself anew to the work of composing sermons for the pulpit; preached again in the presence of the pious pastor who had given such timely advice, and again solicited the benefits of his critical remarks. "I have no remarks to make," was his complacent reply, "you can pray that sermon."
The singular advice of this shrewd pastor would not be inappropriate to correspondents of a religious newspaper, especially when they write on controversial topics. If they would always pray their articles, from beginning to end, before they forward them, their discussions would doubtless elicit a great deal more truth and a great deal less of ill-feeling. By observing this rule they would give editors also the delightful satisfaction of believing that they are doing more good than harm by the publication of their articles. We suggest this as an important practical hint to our correspondents, hoping that their piety and good sense will not overlook or neglect it.—Watchman of the Valley.
Jests upon Scripture
Jests upon Scripture.—It is very common with some persons, says the Christian Messenger, to raise a laugh by means of some ludicrous story connected with a text of Scripture. Sometimes it is a play on the words, a pun; at other times a blunder; and not seldom, a downright impurity. Whatever be its form, even when lightest, it is no venial offence, leading as it does to profane contempt of God's word. Those who practice this, have never been celebrated for genuine wit. The laughter which they call forth is provoked solely by the unexpected contrast between the solemn words of Scripture and some droll idea. There is no real wit in the case; and the dullest persons in society are most remarkable for these attempts.228
The evils arising from this practice are greater than appear at first.
It leads, in general, to irreverence to Scripture. No man would jest with the dying words of his father or his mother; yet the words of God are quite as solemn. When we have heard a comic or vulgar tale connected with a text of Scripture, such is the power of association, that we never hear the text afterwards without thinking of the jest. The effect of this is obvious. He who is much engaged in this kind of false wit will come at length to have a large portion of Holy Scripture spotted over by his unclean fancy.
Communication from Bro. Loughborough.
By John Norton Loughborough
Labors in New York.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I have just returned home after an absence of five weeks, during which time I have visited the brethren in Madison, Jefferson and Oswego counties. The brethren seem to see and feel somewhat the importance of holy living, and the Lord is working for them by adding a few to their numbers of such as we trust may be saved.
In North Brookfield our meetings were not largely attended, but some interest was manifested by those who did attend. We gave seven discourses on the subject of immortality through Christ. Our next effort was in Leonardsville, the south part of the town of Brookfield; gave seven lectures in the Seventh-day Baptist meeting-house to large and attentive congregations. We spoke three times on the Life and death question and gave four discourses showing the connection of prophecy and the commandments of God. Several furnished themselves with publications desirous of still further understanding the reasons of our faith.
Bro. Rhodes accompanied me from Brookfield to Lorain and the rest of the journey. Our meetings at Lorain we trust were of interest and profit. We found six had embraced the observance of the Lord’s Sabbath and present truth since we were there last Winter. Others are still investigating. First-day morning one sister put on Christ in baptism. The next Sabbath and First-day we spent at Roosevelt. Two there have lately embraced the truth. The church seems to be in a prospering condition. Two Brn. in this place were baptized.
Yours still striving to overcome.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.