Review and Herald, Vol. 13, No. 7.
MEETINGS IN CONVIS, MICHPage 1
MEETINGS IN CONVIS, MICH.
By J. B. Frisbie
BRO. SMITH: Our meetings continued in Convis most three weeks, with increasing interest until the close. We were told that the place where we held our meetings was a hard place, and doubt was expressed whether much good could be accomplished in such a wicked place. But Jesus said that he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. So we are to labor for sinners. Many who are honest in heart, if they can only be led to see we have the truth, will embrace it more readily than many old professors of religion, who are creedized. There were three sisters keeping the Sabbath in Convis, and had kept up their meetings for over a year praying for the Lord to revive his work. Their companions, though not Sabbath-keepers, were friendly. We believe they will yet see the importance of the Sabbath, and keep it. Some have decided to keep the Sabbath, as the fruit of our labor. A goodly number are interested enough to take the Review, and if they will read it, in connection with the Bible, we believe they will see we have the truth. Since our lectures closed, there has been a discourse preached against us by the settled Methodist minister from Marshall, on the immorality of the soul. He was replied to by Bro. Loughborough. We have no fears that our views will suffer by the effort. Yes the Bible! the blessed book! the Book of books! There is inspiration in the name. With all my heart I can adopt the language of John Wesley: "Let me be the man of one book, and that book the Bible." For several years I have been collecting a library of what I supposed good and useful books, which I have perused to the neglect of my Bible; but since I embraced present truth, they are a useless pile of lumber to me; I have lost my taste for them; and I cannot express myself better on the point, than in the beautiful lines of Bernard: "Men's books with heaps of chaff are stored;
God's Book doth golden grains afford,
Then leave the chaff and spend thy pains,
In gathering up the golden grains." O that men would love it more. Is it neglected by the mass of professed christians? It is; and its plainest truths are scoffed at. Is this an evidence that we are in the last days? Hear what the apostle Peter says, [chap. ii, 3, 4,] "Knowing this first that in the last days scoffers will come, walking after their own lusts, saying, Where is the promise of his coming?" Verse 5. The Apostle calls them willingly ignorant. What saith the Saviour: "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me." And what is the testimony? That he came into the world to suffer and die according to the Scriptures, and that he is ascended up on high, and that to those who look for him he will appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Turn with me to Paul's letter to Timothy, [chap. iv, 8,] "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." What says the Psalmist? "I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Hear the Saviour in his memorable sermon on the mount. "Seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you." Matt. vi, 33. So much for this life. Is it profitable? I think it is. Let us refer to this blessed book again about the life to come, of which Paul speaks. Hear the Saviour in John xiv, 3. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself." When? At death? Let us consult the text-book again. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. iv, 7, 8. Again, "When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Pet. v, 4. My prayer is, Sanctify me through thy truth; thy word is truth. Praise the Lord for his precious promises! I feel like heeding Paul's exhortation to the Hebrews: "Cast not away therefore your confidence which hath great recompense of reward." Heb. x, 35. In conclusion, my dear brethren and sisters, let us search the Bible more diligently, and treasure up its divine precepts in good and honest hearts, and practice them in our lives. Then we shall be able to give to every man that asks us a reason of the hope that is within us, and our pathway will become brighter and brighter unto the perfect day, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire, &c,—wherefore beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent—that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless. 2 Pet. iii, 12–14. Lapeer, Mich., Dec. 1858. I PRAY THEE HAVE ME EXCUSED.
By S. Elmer
What a prayer! The Lord of glory has prepared a feast. His servants are inviting the guests. But the reply of many is, I pray thee have me excused. What folly is this! What base ingratitude! What! refuse to sup with the Prince of glory? Who would not be an heir of the King of kings and Lord of lords? Alas, there are thousands who would shrink from the thought of making such a plea as the above, who are, notwithstanding, constantly refusing to accept the invitation. They exert themselves to the utmost to gain the perishable things of earth, and thus forfeit all claims to eternal life. Warning after warning they have slighted, and mercy so long abused and insulted is about to take her final leave, and then justice will seal the sinner's doom. Then will come that great and terrible day so long foretold by prophets, apostles, and also by our Saviour. What anguish will seize the sinner as he beholds destruction on every side, and these words rush upon his mind with all their force: It is now too late! He beholds the people of God calm and composed, in the care of their heavenly Father. Well he remembers the prayers, and tears, and entreaties of his friends, the solemn warnings of the faithful servants of God. But as he would not hear, the Lord has answered his prayer that he might be excused, and he is left without a shelter. Nor do his sufferings end here. He must come up in the second resurrection; and as he stands before the court of heaven, ere the righteous Judge utters the final sentence, he beholds the inexpressible glory and surpassing beauty of the New Jerusalem. And as he beholds the rich reward of the faithful, the thought again strikes him, I too might have been a sharer of all this, had not I begged to be excused! And now I would say a word to those that are still rejecting offered mercy. Are there any pleasures of earth that you prize so much, that you are not willing to exchange them for eternal life? If not, why desire to be excused? Have you realized the fearful and full import of that prayer that is continually offered up by the thoughtless multitude; and that all those that still persist in such a course will join ere long in that general prayer, "Rocks and mountains fall on us?" O that they would now comply with the invitation which says, "Come for50 all things are ready." Here are blessings adapted to the wants of all: food for the starving soul, strength for the weak, hope and joy for the desponding, inexhaustible riches for the poor and distressed, and life eternal for all who are ready to perish.
S. ELMER.
Ashfield, Mass. "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also." 1 Cor. xiv, 15. From the recesses of a lowly spirit,
My humble prayer ascends: O Father, hear it,
Upsoaring on the wings of fear and meekness,
Forgive its weakness. I know, I feel, how mean and how unworthy
The trembling sacrifice I pour before thee,
What can I offer in thy presence holy,
But sin and folly. For in thy sight, who every bosom viewest,
Cold are our warmest vows, and vain our truest;
Thoughts of a hurrying hour, our lips repeat them,
Our hearts forget them. We see thy hand, it leads us, it supports us,
We hear thy voice, it counsels and it courts us,
— And then we turn away,—and still thy kindness
Pardon our blindness. And still thy rain descends, thy sun is glowing,
Fruits ripen round, flowers are beneath us blowing,
And, as if man were some deserving creature,
Joys cover nature. O, how long-suffering, Lord! but thou delightest
To win with love the wandering,—thou invitest
By smiles of mercy, not by frowns or terrors,
Man from his errors. Who can resist thy gentle call, appealing
To every generous thought, and grateful feeling,
That voice paternal, whispering, watching ever?
My bosom, never. Father and Saviour! plant within that bosom
These seeds of holiness, and bid them blossom
In fragrance and in beauty bright and vernal,
And spring eternal. The Sabbath in England.
By T. W. B.
Correspondence of the SABBATH RECORDER
London, Nov. 1858. The question of the Sabbath has become one of the great topics of discussion of the day, every paper, political or religious, takes up the subject, and discusses it from every point of view; pamphlets are constantly issuing from the press, and large works are published, rendering it quite impossible to know all that is said on the subject. The Times in a recent article, condemns the strict observance of Sunday as a Jewish Sabbath, being quite satisfied with the English mode of keeping the day, as frequently condemned by foreigners, and thinks that the means afforded for those who desire recreation is ample, and that for those who desire a strict observance of the day, the law compels an outward decorum by the maintenance of order and the closing of shops. The Daily Telegraph is of opinion that the reader of the New Testament cannot find “a single word therein enjoining him to set apart any particular day or hour for attendance on public worship, and a little reflection leads him to discover that he has hitherto been made the ‘dupe of a Roman Catholic tradition.’” The Morning Star advocates the same opinions, and many others too numerous to be mentioned here, while the Record, the high-church organ, is disgusted at the blasphemous notions (as it terms them,) which are being instilled into the minds of the people. A great struggle is thus going on between the strict and lax observers of the first day, each party trying its utmost to promulgate its views. The subject is so much agitated that thinking and candid men are obliged to confess the first day has no authority, and then they fall into the error that there is no Sabbath under christianity. A recent anonymous writer says, “a positive command was given of God to keep the seventh day as the Sabbath, and it is quite clear that no command whatever was given to Jew or Gentile to keep the first day. I would then ask the first day Sabbath advocates, is it to be supposed that such continued injunctions were given to the people of Israel under the Mosaic economy to observe with the utmost rigor the seventh day as the Sabbath, and yet, when under the higher and more glorious economy, no command whatever should be given to keep the first day as the Sabbath? Not one single portion of the Scriptures of the New Testament can be found to prove this! The only argument used by this section is, that Christ was raised from the dead on the first day of the week, and that the apostles met on the first day of the week—very good; and so they met and preached on the seventh day, the Sabbath.” He then quotes all the passages mentioning the observance of the seventh day Sabbath by the apostles, and further says, “If the first day Sabbath advocates think that they have sufficient proof without a direct command, but simply from the circumstance of Paul’s preaching on the first day of the week, and of his directing believers in Christ at Corinth to lay up in store for charitable purposes on the first day of the week, how much more have the seventh day advocates to maintain the seventh day as the Sabbath, according to the primitive and positive commandment of God.” The strict observers of Sunday are endeavoring to enforce the Sunday laws against work. In a country town, recently, several bakers were fined for working. A farmer and his laborers were also convicted in another place of harvesting, and fined; but in another case, the magistrate dismissed the summons against some laborers who were at work on a railroad, upon the evidence of several witnesses that the line was in a dangerous condition. While these laws are being enforced, the promoters of the League are considering the advisability of having them repealed. The supporters of the League, which is only in the third year of its existence, have commenced their winter campaign by delivering lectures all over the country in favor of Sunday as a day of rest and innocent recreation, always insisting that “no divine command can be shown for the observance of the first day of the week, nor any proof of the transference of the obligation from the seventh to the first.” Challenges are given for public discussions on this subject, but no one has yet come forward publicly, since Mr. Maguire last year. The Signs of the Times.
By Editor
ONE of the Cincinnati papers says: “For the last two months our city may be said to have been earning to herself a reputation that is not much in accordance with the law and order principles we have, in past times, claimed as her just meed. During the past month, we have averaged at least one murder per week openly known to the public, how many yet undiscovered we cannot say, while minor affairs in the same catalogue, such as knock-downs, stabbing, wife-whipping, &c., have been mere matters of after supper recreation, to be indulged in whenever the opportunity is afforded and the inclination of the participants tend to such amusements. “In one case a man shoots his companion on the highway, because he simply thought proper to disagree with him; in another, a husband murders his wife, from no reason whatever, so far as has yet been ascertained; in another still, a rowdy slaughters a citizen while in the discharge of his daily duties, from no other cause than he is in want of a little excitement, and must have it, no matter at what cost. The latest feature in the catalogue is that of Saturday evening last, wherein a young woman is basely slaughtered in her own home, simply because she thought proper to defend herself against the attack of those who brutally assaulted her.” We will say nothing of similar crimes lately committed in Louisville and Baltimore; let us be silent about minor crimes with which the columns of the press teem; let us only mention two more crimes black as pitch, one in New York, where a young man commits any murder Satan himself can scheme, and ends with cold-blooded, preconcerted suicide—and one in Canada, where two bullies disgraced human nature in the presence of a vast concourse of devils in human shape, who, on returning from the disgusting scene committed any and every outrage of which such fiends are capable, still none of the perpetrators is reached by the arms of justice. The telegraphic wires must carry the news of a prize fight into every town, must speak of the defiance of the law, the outrage of public morals, a pasquil on humanity, and then again the press must publish a card of the beaten rowdy to save HIS HONOR (!!!) Is there any philanthropist who can look upon these crimes, and not feel his countenance mantled with shame, his heart mortified and disgusted; can any man look on all this without weeping a tear over the mourning goddess of humanity, and looking pain-stricken and sorrowful into the future of this country? One might well exclaim with the prophet Isaiah, “How hath she become a prostitute, the faithful fortress, justice once dwelt in her and now murders.” Every honest man must confess, this is truly alarming; the signs of the times are ominous, terrible. But we did not sit down to repeat the lamentations of Jeremiah. It is our intention to investigate into the causes which produce the deplorable effects. Most of the public papers are apt to ascribe this state of depravity to the frequent use of liquor, and charge the whole account of crimes to the rum sellers. But they change cause and effect. The frequent use of intoxicating liquors is already the effect of moral depravity, a want of self-dominion and self-respect, a relaxation of the moral energies which allows man to indulge in the very thing which maddens his brains and renders him brutal. The same is the case with the gambling houses. Only depraved and immoral men set down at the gambling table. Rum shops, gambling houses and houses of prostitution are dens of vice and schools of crime, but not the cause thereof; for they are frequented only by demoralized men. It appears that some men lack the moral courage to despise the drunkard and gambler, to condemn those who frequent houses of prostitution, to let them know and feel their contemptible and vicious character; because degeneration has deprived man of their own moral firmness, and weak as they are, they find an excuse for every man’s faults. Whoever knows that his neighbor gambles, drinks and goes into houses of ill-fame, admonishes him not to stop his vicious course of life, contemns him not if he does not stop, and lets him not feel on every proper occasion the just aversion and disgust he feels for him, is nearly as weak as his sinful neighbor, and a cause of his downfall. Yes, those silent sages, who excuse every man’s faults and again associate with the depraved, are the cause of depravity. There is no public opinion powerful enough to chastise the vicious man; to put those to shame who indulge in less conspicuous vices. Therefore minor vices grow into deep-died crimes.—Israelite. W ISDOM, a royal feast hath spread,
I nvites the starving to be fed;
S he is a cherub, full of love;
D own she descended from above:
O haste away and taste, she cries,
M y food, ye simple, and be wise.
S. ELMER. Luther’s Prayer for Melancthon.
On a certain occasion a message was sent to Luther to inform him that Melancthon was dying. He at once hastened to his sick bed, and found him presenting the usual premonitory symptoms of death. He mournfully bent over him; and, sobbing, gave utterance to a sorrowful exclamation. It roused Melancthon from his stupor—he looked into the face of Luther, and said, “O, Luther, is this you? Why don’t you let me depart in peace?” “We can’t spare you yet, Philip,” was the reply. And turning round, he threw himself upon his knees, and wrestled with God for his recovery for upwards of an hour. He went from his knees to the bed, and took his friend by the hand. Again he said, “Dear Luther, why don’t you let me depart in peace?” “No, no, Philip, we cannot spare you yet,” was the reply. He then ordered some soup, and when pressed to take it he declined, again saying, “Dear Luther, why will you not let me go home and be at rest?” “We cannot spare you yet, Philip,” was the reply. He then added, “Philip, take this soup, or I will excommunicate you.” He took the soup; he commenced to grow better; he soon regained his wonted health, and labored, for years afterwards, in the cause of the Reformation. And when Luther returned home, he said to his wife with joy, “God gave me my brother Melancthon back in direct answer to prayer.”—Sel. God’s Providence.
By Rev. B. Boucher.
I BELIEVE the Lord has always, ready provided, some kind Samaritan, journeying, as if by chance, on the very road where the wounded traveler lies, and who arrives just at the very moment when “oil and wine” are especially needed. I believe, too, that the Lord, in the workings of that providence which is over all his works, and which suffereth not a sparrow nor a hedgeling to fall to the ground unpermitted of him, whenever he has a bruised and torn one of his flock needing a tenderer hand than usual to nurture and to heal it, has that hand ready to stretch out and help—has one close at hand to supply the want—one whose own heart has been, perhaps, touched and prepared by sorrow for the especial work of sympathy with some other torn and sorrowing one of the family. We are apt to say of such apparently accidental circumstances, “How very fortunate!” but faith lifts up the curtain and sees God’s hand at work, and cries out, “It is of the Lord’s mercies!”—Rev. B. Boucher. I PRAY in my closet daily. I honor religion in my intercourse with men. I give of my substance to the poor, relieve the oppressed, and aid in every good work. Will I not be guiltless then if I omit just this one duty? I often speak a word of warning to the impenitent, a word of encouragement to the christian. I supply my house with religious books and papers. Is it a sin, if I just pass over silently family worship. Christian father, this suggestion comes from the evil one. He knows and dreads the power of the family altar, therefore he whispers excuse after excuse to free you from that duty. Husband, father, brother, friend, defeat this deep-laid plan of the adversary. Say, ‐Get thee behind me, Satan.‐ This victory you must gain. Upon it depends more than you think. Family prayer! How salutary, how powerful, how wide-reaching its influence! It is the brightest, the purest link of that early train of events that throws a hallowed sweetness, an irresistible power, over the memories of childhood. How many a youth cast on the wide world has been kept from vicious companions by home remembrances. How many others, rearing families of their own in the fear of God, have kindled the sacred fire at the same altar, where parents and children, guests and servants, all listened to the word of life from the old family Bible, all bowed the knee together as the wants of each were presented at the throne of grace, and the offering went up as sweet incense. Christian father, the center, the bond, the guide of that loved circle, is it possible that in your house this one thing is wanting? Let me plead with you, or rather, let those who are dearer to you than life, the prattlers on your knee, the olive-plants growing up around your table, plead with you as I cannot. Does this seem to you like a great cross? For their sakes take it up. In the presence of those into whose hearts your words sink, daily call down upon them the blessing of Almighty God. Say not to-morrow. To-day begin. Another day. Ah! what may happen? The last waking hour of a christian father was spent at the family altar. The next morning's sun beamed sadly upon his orphan children, while his own form lay crisped and bruised beneath the smouldering ruins of that fallen wall. A few months passed, and more than one of those children for the first time approached the sacramental table. Who can tell the influence which the time-honored practice of worshiping God in that family, in connection with that last prayer, exerted in leading them to give themselves to the service of the God of their father? ‐Work while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work.‐—Sel. As many baskets as there were apostles. Perhaps one was assigned to each of them, a sufficient provision for their sustenance for several days to come. The public miracle had made its impression on their minds. They had officiated as servitors at the miraculous supper, first seating the multitude in orderly ranks, and then conveying to them, from their Master's hands, the marvelously multiplying food, as he blessed and broke and delivered it. What amazement must have filled their minds, while they made this distribution! What awe of their Master's power! But he will have them reflect more calmly upon it, after the excitement of the public occasion is over. So he causes each to carry away a basket full of the fragments. Could one of them carry his basket full of that miraculous product, and take his food from it for successive days, without having the impression of the miracle deepened, and the recollection of it fixed more firmly? The quiet, private meals of those following days had none of the excitement of that public scene at the working of the miracle; but they may have been no less profitable. The apostles may have felt as solemn impressions of the miraculous power which provided the food, and as they ate it, and silently meditated, the great lessons of the miracle may have sunk more and more deeply into their minds. The Saviour had taken care, had required them to take care, that the fragments should not be lost. He seasonably checked the tendency to remit the ordinary care for ordinary provision, which might naturally arise from so extraordinary experience. He taught them that special divine bestowments were to be thankfully received as gifts of sovereign bounty, but not presumptuously relied upon. Labor and diligence and care are not at all to be remitted by reason of them. Such was the economy of our Saviour's miracles, and similar is the economy of his grace. He sometimes lets his people, sitting together in his house—perhaps at his table—witness, and experience a marvelous display of his divine excellence. Vividly, thrillingly, is he made known to them, in the breaking of bread. Beautiously, graciously, lovingly, does his countenance beam upon them. Each ravished soul beholds the King in his beauty, the Lord in the glorious fullness of his grace and truth; and each receives a portion in season of the divinely dispensed provision. Let each favored disciple, as he goes away, take heed that he go not to lose the sweet memory of his Master's manifested grace. Let each one take his basket full of fragments—the privilege is not restricted to the twelve—and let him, on the following days, by studious reflection, by prayerful meditation, feed upon the excellent, sweet food, and "go in the strength of it" to the faithful discharge of duty, the cheerful daily service of the Master. Let there be no thriftlessness, no extravagance, no waste of the provisions of grace. Gather up the fragments; let nothing be lost.—Sel. Repentance and Faith
By Mason
REPENTANCE AND FAITH.—Repentance begins in the humiliation of the heart, and ends in the reformation of the life. He that repents of sin as sin, doth implicitly repent of all sin. You cannot repent too soon. There is no time like to-day! Yesterday is gone; to-morrow is God's not your own. And think how sad it will be to have your evidences to seek, when your cause is to be tried; to have your oil to buy when you should have it to burn! If we put off our repentance to another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in. Let the hopes of mercy encourage to the exercises of repentance. Turn to God, and He will turn to you, and then you are happy though all the world turn against you. If we think amiss of Christ, we shall never believe; if we think well of sin, we shall never repent. If we study to honor God, we cannot do it better than by confessing our sins, and laying ourselves low at the feet of Christ. Reliance is the essence of faith, Christ is the object of faith, the faith is the food, and obedience the proof; so that true faith is depending upon Christ for salvation in a way of obedience, as He is offered in the Word. Justifying faith is always attended with universal obedience. [Mason, 1676.] THE mount of Olives, or mount Olivet, was a ridge running north and south, on the east side of Jerusalem. Its summit was about half a mile from the city wall, and was separated from it by the valley of the Kidron. It is composed of a chalky limestone, the rocks everywhere showing themselves through the thin soil. The olive-trees that once covered it and gave it its name, are now represented by only a few trees and clumps of trees which ages of desolation have not destroyed. There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these, the southernmost and lowest is known as the "mount of Offence," formerly the "mount of Corruption," because Solomon defiled it by idolatrous worship. 1 Kings xi, 5-7; 2 Kings xxii, 13. Across this ridge lies the usual road from Jerusalem to Bethany and Jericho. In the rocks on the west side of the mount are many excavated tombs, now in ruins. The central elevation rises 200 feet above the city, and presents a fine view of the whole, as well as of the mountains of Ephraim towards the north; while from the east side may be seen the valley of the Jordan, and a part of the Dead sea in the south-east, with the mountains of Moab beyond it. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so fine a view, with so many memorials of the most solemn and important events. Over this hill our Saviour often climbed in his journeys to and from the holy city. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and Bethany was on its south-eastern slope. Matt. xxiv, 3; Mark xi, 3. A Romish "church of the Ascension" now occupies the summit; but it was not from this spot that Christ ascended to heaven. The spot must have been near Bethany, east of the summit. Luke xxiv, 50; Acts i, 12. From this mountain, five days before his death, Christ beheld Jerusalem and wept over it in view of its approaching ruin—one of the most impressive scenes recorded in the gospels—Sel. It is out of a broken heart that all truly holy affections do flow. Christian affections are like Mary's precious ointment that she poured on Christ's head, that filled the whole house with a sweet odor. That was poured out of an alabaster box; so gracious affections flow out of a broken heart. Gracious affections are also like those of Mary Magdalene, who also poured precious ointment on Christ, out of an alabaster broken box, anointing therewith the feet of Jesus, when she had washed them with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. All gracious affections, that are a sweet odor to Christ, and that fill the soul of a christian with a heavenly sweetness and fragrance, are broken-hearted affections. A truly christian love, either to God or men, is a humble broken-hearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires; their hope is a humble one; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble, broken-hearted joy, and leaves the christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behaviour. Edwards on the Affections. In the agitations of the present life, beset and perplexed as we are with troubles, how natural it is to seek earnestly some place of rest. And hence it is that we so often reveal our cares and perplexites to our fellow men and seek comfort and support from that source. But the sanctified soul, having experienced the uncertainties of all human aids, turns instinctively to the great God. And hiding itself in the presence and protection of the divine existence, it reposes there, as in a strong tower which no enemies can conquer, and as an everlasting rock which no floods can wash away. It knows the instructive import of the sublime exclamation of the Psalmist, (Ps. lxii. 5,) "My soul, wait thou ONLY upon God; for my expectation is from him."-Sel. TRUE RICHES.
By Dr. Gurnell
Though a man were poor even to a proverb, yet if a vein of true godliness, sincere grace, be but found running in his heart, here is a rich mine that will lift him up above all the world's contempt. Such an one may possibly say that he hath no money in his house; but he cannot say he hath no treasure, that he is not rich, and speak true. He surely is rich that hath a key to God's treasury. The sincere soul is rich in God: what God hath is his: all is yours; ye are Christ's.—Dr. Gurnell. RESPONSIBILITY. I confess (said a faithful servant of God) that I seldom hear the bell toll for one that is dead, but conscience asks me, What hast thou done for the saving of that soul? There is one more gone into eternity, what didst thou do to prepare him for it? And what testimony must he give to the Judge concerning thee?—Baxter. BIGOTRY. Show me the man who would go to heaven alone if he could, and in that man I will show you one that will never be admitted into heaven.—Feltham.