CHAPTER IX, verses 3, 4: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things; But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
“PERHAPS before the flood men had taken the liberty of eating flesh; but it seems not to have been explicitly allowed. The distinction of clean and unclean must relate to the use of them in sacrifice: and the eating of blood seems principally to have been prohibited because blood typified the great atonement. (Acts xv; 19-20.—Scott.)”
“Meat.] “We may safely infer that the earth was less productive, and its productions less nutritive, after the flood than before; and that the human constitution was greatly impaired (as appears in the diminished length of life,) by the alterations in the whole economy of nature.”—Dr. A. Clarke.
“Which is the life thereof.] “That blood is the seat of life (a living fluid) could not be known to Moses but by revelation, it being a secret in nature never discovered till of late, and that by many experiments and observations, of which the age of Moses, and following ages, knew nothing.” Dr. WILSON. “Hunter has confirmed the doctrine that the living principle is inherent in the blood.”—Hales.
Verse 13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
“How vast the extent, how delicate the texture, of that shadowy arch! elegant its form, and rich its tinctures; but more delightful its sacred significance. While the violet and the rose blush in its beautiful aspect, and the olive branch smiles in its gracious import, it writes, in radiant dies, what angels sang in harmonious strains, ‘Peace on earth, and good will to men.’ ”—Fawkes, in Hewlett.
Verse 25. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
“The devoted nations, which God destroyed before Israel, were descended from Canaan: and so were the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians, who were at length subjugated, with dreadful destruction, by the Greeks and Romans.”
Verse 26. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
“The descendants of Shem, in the line of Arphaxad, Eber, and Peleg, included all the posterity of Abraham; and the Lord Jesus, ‘in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed,’ sprang from him.—Thus Jehovah was especially ‘the God of Shem.’ His descendants comprised a vast majority of the worshippers of the true God, till the coming of Christ; and afterward they were the first and principal instruments of bringing other nations to share the blessings of his salvation; so that the descendants of the other sons of Noah, when converted to Christianity, are taught to worship and ‘bless JEHOVAH the God of Shem.’”—Scott.
“ONE THING LACKEST THOU YET.”
By H. F. Farnum
I have met those, who were liberally gifted with intelligence, and whose conversation and deportment evinced cultivation, and refinement of mind and manners. To the casual observer they might appear the embodiment of all that could be desired or expected in members of our frail race. But ah! there was one thing lacking. The Sun of righteousness had not illuminated the soul. The “pearl of great price” had not been sought.
Youthful reader, turn not carelessly away, soliloquizing that this one lack was a little thing. Let us see. “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” What though he be honored never so highly by men, though his brow be laden with laurels, and all the world proclaim his praise? The honors like those who bestow them, will quickly pass down to an oblivious grave, and he who wears them, will not linger. The form so noble and proud, to-day, may be given to the earth-worm, for a banquet to-morrow. This you will admit is not visionary and unreal, but a solemn reality, which is too often exemplified before our eyes.
The gaudy insect that sports in the sunshine, only to perish in the storm, we deem a foolish thing. But does man display less folly than the vain ephemera? See him toiling, struggling, grasping for honor, or wealth, as though that were the highest attainable good—while he neglects real wisdom and true riches, and spurns that which will make him genuinely great.
Does religion appear gloomy to you? While the world looks beautiful and presents a thousand avenues to pleasure, wealth or fame? Let us reason awhile together and see if you are not laboring under a great mistake.293
The butterfly flaunts in the sunshine, forgetful of the storm. Thus, you may pass on for a brief time, drink at the fountain of pleasure, and perhaps reach the acme of your ambition; but death’s agonies, or the advent of Christ, will unveil to your mind a different scene, and teach you that your whole life has been a fatal error. Think not to let worldly ambition and sinful pleasure occupy the attention of your youthful and healthful days, and then offer to God the soiled and broken remnant of a misspent life. Will He, who anciently demanded a blameless sacrifice, accept this? Be not deceived. God is not mocked. As you live, so will you, probably, die.
“After the joys of earth,
After its songs and mirth,
After its hours of light,
After its dreams so bright,
What then?
“Only an empty name,
Only a weary frame,
Only a conscious smart,
Only an aching heart.
“After this empty name,
After this weary frame,
After this conscious smart,
After this aching heart,
What then?
“Only a sad farewell,
To a world loved too well,
Only a silent bed,
With the forgotten dead.”
But oh! there is a way laid open to happiness, to wealth, to fame; will you not walk in it? You may reach an elevation, from which you will never fall. You may acquire a name which will not pass to oblivion. You may wear an untarnished crown, and laurels that never wither; yea, more, you may drink unending pleasures, where death cannot touch you, or the sight of suffering or graves make you sad.
Oh! will it not be honor enough to become sons and daughters of the Eternal King—in whose sight, the pompous kings, thrones, and nations of the earth are but as the small dust of the balance? Will it not be wealth enough to become joint-heirs with his Son, and inherit a crown and kingdom which supplants all others—and passeth not from one generation to another but stands forever, when all others have become as chaff? Will it not be happiness enough to quaff, through endless ages, pleasures which so far surpass anything that we have ever tasted, that the word of God witnesseth, “Neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for those that love him?” Do you say, “Before I can become possessor of all this I must sacrifice, I must renounce many things, to which my natural heart cleaves?” This is true. But you can make no sacrifice for which you will not be amply repaid, even in this life, by the blessed assurance that your name is written in Heaven, and that He who rules the universe so loves his praying ones, that he sends a strong angel to guard them always. And even if it were not thus, should we shrink from sacrifice?
When our race had rebelled against God, broken his law, and for them awaited only its penalty, a dying life, and then a death that had no hope of life again, did Jesus shrink from sacrifice then? Did he think the leaving of his Father’s beautiful mansions and his glory there, for a life of woe and cruel death, too great a sacrifice to make that we might live?
Oh! let our faces be mantled with shame at the thought of our own selfishness.
Are you still doubtful? Do you still hesitate? Oh! that you might kneel before God, and receive his sweet Spirit, like dew upon the new mown grass. Then would worldly allurements sink into nothingness, when compared with the happiness of a pardoned soul. Then would you not think it a small lack to be destitute of the Christian’s hope. Then could you see, however high your worldly attainments, or mental accomplishments, your utter destitution without it.
Perhaps you still further urge, “I am as good as those who profess Christianity. Indeed, professed Christians do that which I will not.” This may be. Christianity is often abused by its professed followers; but because we find much that is false shall we conclude there is nothing genuine? The author of evil often stalks abroad in a religious garb, but is this any excuse for you? Do you think to hide yourself behind the faults of professors? The way is plain, the perfect law of God our rule, Jesus Christ our only pattern. You will find faults in all others; view them with a generous heart, remembering that you are also erring. Others are not amenable to you but to the great Judge before whose tribunal you must also appear.
We are living in the last days, near the close of this world’s history; and this fact alone should furnish an irresistible incentive to action in reference to your eternal salvation. You may say that we know nothing about the times and seasons, &c. But God has assured us that we should not be in darkness in regard to these things. In merciful condescension he has given us his written word. If we neglect to avail ourselves of the means thus kindly placed within our reach how can we expect to become enlightened? If you really seek for truth and wish to know whether these things are so, you can trace the fulfillment of the prophecies on the historic page, and satisfy yourself that we have reached the last link in the prophetic chain. Or you may shut your eyes and close your ears, fearing to investigate, lest you become convinced of these unpopular truths. But you will not be guiltless.
Again, you may be so occupied with the things of the world that you defer this matter to some “convenient time,” thus fulfilling the parable of our Lord. But remember that he says, “Not one of them that were hidden,” and so occupied that they could not come, “shall taste my supper.” You may think it immaterial whether we understand these things or not, if we are only prepared for death, &c. Perhaps the Jews reasoned thus in regard to the first advent of our Saviour; but we hear him condemning that nation, because, said he, “thou knowest not the time of thy visitation.”
The Omnipotent Ruler kindly gives us information and warning of the judgments which he brings upon the world. Is it not preposterous to suppose that we can turn a deaf ear to the warning and remain justified before him?
How was it before the flood? Did ignorance of the approaching storm save them? Does not Christ teach us that it would be thus in the last days? If we have reached that time, is it not important that we know it? What event has ever transpired in our world, so replete with interest to its inhabitants, as that which finally closes the history of this sinful state, and fixes irretrievably the destiny of all? How strange that even professed Christians should grow angry at the mention of our Lord’s return, and join with infidels in the ridicule of those who watch for the close of time’s dark night, and the ushering in of the morning! Speaking of that event, Paul assures us that crowns will be given to all those who “love his appearing.”
The Christian’s hope will soon reach its fruition. Then will its happy possessors shine as the stars forever.
“Beyond this life of hopes and fears,
Beyond this world of joys and tears,
There is a region fair;
It knows no change, and no decay,
No night, but one unending day,
O say, will you be there?
“No suffering form, no tearful eye,
No hoary head, no weary sigh;
No pain, no grief, no care;
But joys that mortals may not know,
Like a calm river ever flow,
O say, will you be there?”
H. F. FARNUM.
Steel Co., Minn.
The Commentary.
Tell me the meaning of Scriptures. One gem from that ocean is worth all the pebbles of earthly streams.—M'Cheyne.
Judgment on the House of God.
By Roswell Fenner Cottrell
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Pet. iv, 17.”
THE term rendered judgment in the text may, according to Greenfield, mean a judicial trial, or a condemnatory sentence, and by implication punishment. It is rendered punishment in A. Campbell’s version, I think. The trials and sufferings of Christians are the theme of the chapter. “Forasmuch then as Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.” V. 1. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad with exceeding joy.” 12, 13. “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him as unto a faithful Creator.” 16–19.
The argument is, If God’s judgments are so severe upon his own people in this life, how much greater shall be the punishment of sinners in the end? In view of this, we are exhorted to bear patiently our present trials.
R. F. COTTRELL.
“Until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”
The papal persecution against the saints of God is so restrained that the death penalty ceases to be executed, before the signs of Christ’s second coming appear; but the spiritual power of the great apostasy “prevails against them,” until Christ is brought near before the Ancient of days, in the inner sanctuary, where the judicial decision is passed upon the saints. Then the time comes that the saints are raised from the dead to possess the kingdom. After judgment is given to the saints and they commence their reign with Christ, they “judge the world,” who are still slumbering for a thousand years after the first resurrection, at which time the saints are rewarded with immortality. Therefore the saints are judged first. And in their “hour of judgment,” while the sanctuary is being cleansed, which is the blotting out of their sins, the corrupting power of the papacy ceases to prevail against them, they see God’s law—the rule of the judgment—as it exists in the “temple of God in Heaven,” and are released from their spiritual thralldom.
R. F. COTTRELL.
AN ARABIAN ANECDOTE.
An old Arab, hunch-backed, shriveled, rode alone in the desert upon a lagging horse. He was overtaken by one whom he had formerly known, a youthful chieftain, beautiful and brave. They conversed as they rode, hour by hour. At last, the old man said, “Let me tell thee of thy great improvement since last we met.” And the young chieftain listened joyfully. By and by the old man said, “Let me tell thee, also, of the faults which still remain unto thee.” Whereupon the young chieftain replied, “Friend, I just bethink me that I need to make haste to meet my father in yonder tents.” And he spake unto his swift horse, and left the old man far behind. “Thus,” mused the hunchback, “do men hear joyfully those things which they easily find out, though they should hear them not; while those things which they hardly find out, even though they should hear them, they have not time to hear.”
A HOME IN HEAVEN.
By Sarah F. Sharpe.
A HOME in Heaven so pure and bright,
That needs no sun to give it light,
For God himself its light shall be,
Before whose face all gloom shall flee.
A home in Heaven, passing fair,
No sin nor death can enter there,
Bright angels stand and sing glad lays,
And tune their harps in endless praise.
That city fair, with joys untold,
With gates of pearl and streets of gold,
Its walls are built of precious stone,
As lasting as Jehovah's throne.
That home above nought can surpass,
Its golden courts like unto glass;
Its domes and turrets brightly shine
In crystal splendors all divine.
Out from the throne a stream doth glide,
Upon its banks on either side
The lovely tree of life is seen,
All dressed in robes of living green.
Twelve kinds of fruit, delicious, rare,
Its waving branches freely bare;
Its leaves will all the nations heal,
Who have received the Father's seal.
Help us, O God, to keep thy law;
Help us from error to withdraw;
Thus be prepared when Christ shall come,
To share the joys of that glad home.
SARAH F. SHARPE.
Sandusky Co., O.
"THE PEOPLE ARE YET TOO MANY."
By R. F. Cottrell
We are a small people. The faint-hearted have been turning back. And yet the sifting is not all accomplished. The people are yet too many. If we were all living up to our high privilege—if we were sanctified through the truth we have received—there would be none too many. But purifying trials are before us. We shall be tested. The indifferent and the lukewarm will be cast out. And who will stand? Let us make the solemn inquiry, whether we, as individuals, shall be rejected. When Jesus said to his disciples, One of you shall betray me; they began to inquire, Lord, is it I? Let us also ask ourselves, Shall I be one of those that shall be cut off from Israel?
How sad that any who have been enlightened—have had so much done for them—should fall of the grace of God, and come short of eternal life!
Brethren, let us all make sure work. It is our privilege to be consecrated to God, and know that our ways please him. But if we do not heed the warning, we shall be cut off, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. Shall we deceive ourselves, and sleep on till it be too late? Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
R. F. COTTRELL.
ACCEPTANCE OF ONE'S LOT.
Persevere in earnestly striving to conquer in yourself the annoyance little daily vexations cause you; turn all your attention to this point for the present; feel that at this moment God only requires this of you; do not sow the seeds of good desires in the gardens of others, but cultivate well your own. Do not desire to be what you are not, but rather desire to be well what you are; turn your thoughts to perfecting yourself thus, and to bearing the crosses, be they great or small, which you may therein encounter.
WHEN DOES IT APPLY?
In Luke xvii, 34–36, we read: “I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left.”
Two classes of persons are here brought to view, probably the righteous and the wicked, between which there is, at some time a separation to take place. We wish to ascertain, if possible, when this time is, or at what period this portion of Scripture has its application. To do this we must look at the context, to which we invite the attention of the reader, commencing with verse 26: “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29. but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven, and destroyed them all. 30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away; and he that is in the field let him likewise not return back. 32. Remember Lot’s wife. 33. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”
Following these verses, come the ones first introduced. The proposition we first undertake to prove in reference to this scripture, is, that it does not apply to the precise moment when the glorious light of the coming Saviour flashes like the lightning from the east to the west, nor to any particular hour, nor to any day of twenty-four hours, but to a period of time more or less indefinite. But does it not say, “In the day when the Son of man is revealed,” and, “in that day,” and even, “in that night?” True; and some argue from this, apparently incapable of looking at the subject from more than one point of view, that the particular day of twenty-four hours in which Christ appears must be all that is referred to in the passage. But if we shall show that these expressions are sometimes used to denote an indefinite period, and that the context positively requires that they should be so used here, it will be sufficient to establish our proposition, with all reasonable and candid minds. And this can easily be done.
1. The definition of these words will allow us to give them such an application. Greenfield, under the word day (ἡμέρα) says that by metonymy the word is used both in the singular and plural to denote “time, as measured by days, as in the phrase, in our days; life, that is, time of life, age, years.” Under the word night (νύξ), he says, “Tropically, a time which is unsuitable, unseasonable, inopportune for doing any thing. By metonymy, a time of mental darkness, ignorance and vice.”
2. The word is frequently so used in the New Testament. Luke vi, 22, 23: “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy.” Not in a day, merely of twenty-four hours, but in a time, a season, when such should be their experience. Luke x, 12: “But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.” Verse 14 shows that this is the day of Judgment; and no one can suppose that by this a day of merely twenty-four hours is meant, but a period of time in which the Judgment sits, and the punishment is determined and executed upon the unrepentant and guilty. John viii, 56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad.” Not simply a literal day in Christ’s history, but doubtless the whole period of his ministry upon earth. Rom. xiii, 12: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” Here, certainly, something more than a period of twenty-four hours is meant. 1 Thess. v, 2: “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” But we all know that the day of the Lord is more than a literal day in duration; and that it commences with the judgments that fall upon the earth a short period before the appearing of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. See Isa. xiii, 6–13; lxiii, 1–6; Zeph. i, 14–18; 2 Pet. iii, 10, 12; Rev. vi, 1; xvi, 1–21; &c. Again we read, “Behold now is the day of salvation;” 2 Cor. vi, 2; referring to the whole gospel dispensation; the “day” when God took Israel by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, Heb. viii, 9, covering all the time consumed in fully delivering them from the house of bondage; the “day of temptation,” Heb. iii, 8, 9, 17, in which God was grieved with them forty years; &c. That the word night is used in a similar sense is shown by Rom. xiii, 12, already quoted, and by John ix, 4: “The night cometh when no man can work.”
These instances might be multiplied to almost any required extent. And although neither these, nor the definitions above given, would, of themselves, prove positively that the word day has an indefinite meaning in the passage under consideration, they show that it may be so used, and that such must be its meaning here, if there is anything in the context to require it.
We are now ready to look still further at verses 26–30, and show that a space of time, more or less indefinite, and not the precise moment at which the Lord appears, is referred to therein throughout. Verse 24 declares, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Here the plural, days, is used, showing that a period of some considerable length is intended. And so far as time is concerned, this is the key-note to the whole passage. The mind is set right in the very start. And the expression “the day when the Son of man is revealed,” of verse 30, and “that day,” of verse 31, and “that night,” of verse 34, evidently mean the same as “the days of the Son of man,” of verse 26; for all the expressions refer to the very same time. The parallel passage in Matt. xxiv, 37–41, reads, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be,” &c. Now there can be no just comparison between the days of Noah, and the act of coming again on the part of the Son of man. Hence, this is not what is intended. But there can be a comparison between the days of Noah, the days that preceded the flood, and the days that immediately precede the coming of the Son of man; and this consideration is sufficient to show that this is what is meant. And in this time there shall be a separation, or line of distinction drawn, between the righteous and the wicked; for two shall “be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left;” and “two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken and the other left.”
The reference to the days of Noah covers a period of time during which they were eating, drinking, marrying, scoffing at Noah, and giving themselves up to revelry and riot. To be a parallel case, a period of time must also be referred to in the last days, sufficient for these traits of evil to be developed and glaringly practiced among mankind.
Verse 31 says, “In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away.” This language is adapted to the customs of the country in which it was spoken, where the roofs of the houses are flat and so near together that a person can step without difficulty from the roof of one house to another, and so, in case of danger, could even escape from the city without coming down at all into the street. It must simply mean that in the time here spoken of, no one should give himself any concern about saving his earthly goods and possessions. But let us apply it, as some would have us do, to the moment when the Lord appears, and we ask, where then would be the necessity of such an exhortation as this? Who at that time will be looking to his wealth and riches? No one; for before this time the cankered gold of the miser will be cast into the streets, Eze. viii, 19, and the great ones of the earth, knowing from the convulsions of nature, even before the Lord makes his appearance, that the great day of his wrath is come, Rev. vi, 15, 16, drop all their earthly possessions, flee to the mountains, and lift up a frantic prayer to the rocks and mountains, to bury them from the wrath of the Lamb, and from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, the revelation of whose awful presence they momentarily expect. It is not, therefore, consistent to apply the language of verse 31 to the literal day of twenty-four hours, in which the Lord appears. It must cover a longer period of time, and have its application, previous to that event.
Verse 23 reads, “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” The attempt to apply this language to the very day of the Lord’s appearing, will present in a still stronger light the absurdity of that view. For we ask, How will a man at the moment of the Lord’s coming, as a result of seeking to save his life, lose it? And how will he, at that point of time, by losing it, save it? How? The folly of such a supposition is very apparent. As to what is meant by saving and losing life, there can be no difference of opinion. Seeking to save life and so losing it, is a course against which we are elsewhere counseled by the Saviour. See Matt. x, 39. It is to sacrifice the principles of truth and righteousness for the purpose of avoiding loss, persecution, or perhaps, death itself in this life, and so losing eternal life. While by losing our life for the sake of Christ, that is, throwing our whole selves into his service, and standing firm though we should suffer death here, we shall have eternal life in the end. Such language, therefore, cannot apply to any other time than that in which character may be developed, and eternal life be gained or lost. But this period of probation ceases for quite a space of time before the Lord appears. See Rev. xxii, 11, 12: “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. And behold, I come quickly.” And thus we are still more firmly held to the same conclusion, that is, that the language under consideration must apply to a space of time more or less indefinite, previous to the coming of the Son of man.
We have now shown that the terms “day” and “night” may be used to denote a period of greater or less length, and that the context positively requires that they should be so used in Luke xvii, 30, 31, and 34. We might therefore at this point submit our proposition as proved; but there are some other considerations we wish to introduce.
The Lord then proceeds to state the different issues that will befall those who seek to save their lives from motives of selfish interest, and those who are willing to lose them for the sake of Christ: one shall be taken, and the other left.
It is important to determine what is signified by these expressions. Why, says one, this applies at the coming of the Lord, and one, the righteous, shall be taken; taken up to meet the Lord in the air, and delivered from this world and all its evils; while the other, the wicked, is left; left to be destroyed in the great conflagration. This view looks very plausible at first sight, but it is exceedingly shaken when we come to look at the definition of the words. The word, taken, has rather the sense of being taken as a captive, apprehended, seized; while the word, left, instead of signifying left to perish, has the sense of being permitted to go away, delivered or rescued from danger. The second definition given by Liddell and Scott, to the first word, παραλαμβάνω, is, “To take in pledge, to take by force or treachery, seize, get possession of.” The other word, ἀφίημι, is defined under the second head, by the same authors, as follows: “To let go, loose, set free.” In accordance with these definitions, some translations read, “One shall be seized, and the other escape.” The Cottage Bible, comments thus: “One shall be taken, that is, as a captive.” Here is a separation between the righteous and the wicked. The one is seized, and doomed to destruction,295the other escapes.
And the disciples ask, “Where, Lord?” where shall this seizure and destruction take place? And he answers, “Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” The parallel passage in Matt. xxiv, 28, reads, “For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” And here a word is used which never has any other meaning but that of a corpse or lifeless body. Now those who apply all this to the literal day of the Lord’s appearing, are obliged to take the body, or carcass, as a representative of Christ, and the eagles as representatives of the saints which are caught up to meet him in the air. But can this be? What! represent the Lord of glory, as he comes in majesty and triumph with all the glory of the Father, by a dead body, a loathsome carcass; and the saints who are caught up to meet him, as eagles, which go to rend and devour their prey? The idea is repulsive and revolting to the last degree.
But what may be fitly represented by the dead body? Answer, The wicked who, as unworthy of life, are given over to destruction. And what by the eagles? Answer, The judgments of God, that come down upon them to slay and devour them. Job, speaking of the eagle, says: “Where the slain are, there is she.” Job xxxix, 30. So wherever the wicked are, the plagues of God will find them out, and come down upon them like eagles upon their prey. Describing the scenes of this time, the Psalmist says: “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Ps. xci, 7, 10. Thus the righteous escape, while the wicked by their side are seized and perish.
From this time on we understand there is no association between the righteous and the wicked. Certainly we cannot suppose that the saints will come up to the very moment of the advent, unconcernedly carrying on their work, either in their houses or in their fields, side by side with their deadliest enemies! No; the manifest judgments of God separate the one from the other, and then we can “turn and discern between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.” It is at this time, when Christ has ceased his intercessions, mercy pleads no more, and the plagues are falling upon the wicked, that the declaration found in Experience and Views, p. 17, will be fulfilled: “In the time of trouble, we all fled from the cities and villages, but were pursued by the wicked, who entered the houses of the saints with the sword. They raised the sword to kill us, but it broke and fell powerless as a straw,” &c. This is just before the final victory of the saints, when they “cry day and night unto God for deliverance.” Luke xviii, 7. This agrees perfectly with the testimony we have been considering, from Matthew and Luke.
With the view here presented there is consistency and harmony throughout; with any other there is not. People may endeavor to show that the testimony of Luke xvii, 26–37, refers to the very hour of the Lord’s appearing, and that the righteous and wicked are up to that moment, associated together in all the occupations of life, for the sake of proving the foregoing declaration from Experience and Views to be incorrect; but they can do it only by stubbornly shutting their eyes to all the claims of the context, and ringing an insignificant round of changes on the word “day.” But it must be very apparent to all that that is but a superficial and incompetent examination of this question, which does not inquire whether the word day of God may not mean a period of indefinite duration; whether the context does not require that it be so used here; whether the expressions about being “taken” and “left,” do not denote an event of such a nature that it cannot transpire at the moment of the Lord’s appearing; and whether the carcass and the eagles can apply to Christ and his saints. Taking these questions into account, as we have done in the foregoing remarks, we find that the language of Luke covers a considerable period of time, and that according to his testimony a separation between the righteous and the wicked certainly does take place before the Lord appears. Whatever discrepancy, therefore, the objector finds between this portion of scripture, and the statement from Experience and Views quoted above, is only what he himself creates by his own erroneous view of the passage.
THE MINISTER'S SABBATH.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
Does not the minister need a Sabbath, a day of rest, as well as other people? The farmer cannot work seven days in a week continually without breaking down. The mechanic needs one day of rest in every seven. The lawyer must also have his Sabbath. Without it he soon wears out and fails. In short, all who work mentally or physically, need at least one day in every seven of complete rest and recreation from their labors. The mind needs it, and the body needs it. Simply a change of work, or resting now and then an hour, will not do it. It needs a whole day's rest together. This gives the system time to regain the strength it has spent during the week.
Sometimes business men, lawyers, and even farmers, get in a hurry and think that they cannot lose time to rest, and so labor on for weeks without rest. But have they really gained any time by so doing? No; experience shows that they have actually lost time by such a course. Either a severe fit of sickness, seated disease, or premature old age is the result.
The God who made man knew that he needed a day in which to rest, and hence gave the Sabbath. Now is the minister an exception to all these cases? Can he labor continually and not feel the bad effects of it as others do? Certainly he cannot. Yet but very few ministers have a rest day once a week. Many labor on their farms, or about their secular affairs six days and then work in the pulpit on seventh. Many others read, or write, or study six days and labor in the house of God on the seventh. Now where is their rest-day? They have none. The consequence is that they as a class, wear out sooner and break down earlier than most any other class of people. They generally excuse this by saying that they are working for the Lord; but God requires no such thing at their hand. They only cripple their power to do good and shorten their days. I have repeatedly seen this illustrated among our own people within the last few years. Whilst others are reforming should not they reform in this respect? I think they should. Their health and usefulness require it, and God requires it.
I will state my own experience on this point. I have now been preaching about three years. It has been my custom to preach from one to three times on the seventh-day and as many on the first-day. Monday would generally be employed in writing letters, reports, &c. Then the four remaining days I must do my visiting, reading, studying, &c. As this left me but few hours for close study I felt as though I must improve every moment.
Every day I would take more or less exercise, and occasionally two or three hours at a time. This I thought to be all-sufficient, as I worked no day at hard labor with my hands. For the last two years of this time I have been trying to live out the Health Reform in every respect; yet at the same time I felt my strength gradually growing less. The last year I began to apply my mind a little closer to study than I had done before. I soon felt this severely. My brain often became confused and I would have a severe headache. I could neither study nor do any thing else. It required from one to three days of entire rest before I felt well again. These spells came oftener and oftener, until I concluded that something must be wrong in my habits of living. I could think of nothing that I was eating that was not healthful. I at length thought that I, as well as others, needed a day of rest from care. This I did not have on the Sabbath day as that was about the hardest day's work for me out of the seven, and during the other six I labored more or less as I felt able.
I therefore chose the day before the Sabbath for a day of rest and recreation. I solemnly promised myself that when that day came I would throw aside all study and cares of every kind and enjoy myself as best I could. I have practiced this now for several months, and I find that it pays far beyond my expectations. Both my mind and my body have seemed to gain new strength and vigor. My headache has nearly disappeared. I can now study and labor hard during six days without seeming to overtax my strength. I verily believe that I can now accomplish more mental labor in six days than I did before in seven. So I think it pays for the ministers to have a day of rest as well as others. I would recommend my brethren to try this.