Earlier text: WHY WE DO NOT ENJOY MORE OF THE SPIRIT“Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.” Again: “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” Truly the promises of God are being verified, and we have had reason of late to be greatly encouraged by the good and cheering letters received. We believe the hand of God is in the work, and that he is blessing our feeble efforts in trying to scatter the good seed broadcast over the earth. To him be all the honor and praise. A Presbyterian from Alabama writes: “I feel grateful, and make acknowledgments of your kindness in sending me reading of such importance. The tract you sent me upon ‘present truth’ contained sound and reasonable arguments. It is an awful truth, but at the same time it is glorious. All the reading you may be so kind as to send me will be highly appreciated. Please send me some comments upon the prophecies, signs of the times, etc. If God is in the work, I desire to get into it too. I wish to examine your publications, and to compare them. I am a Presbyterian by profession, though I am willing to give you a fair, unbiased hearing. I shall expect your kindness to continue in this matter until I may be able through serious examination to comprehend the present truth, and whether all these things be so.” A few words from the colored students of Divinity School, West Philadelphia, Pa., who are preparing for a foreign mission in Africa: “Your favor of the 17th inst., and the papers sent at different times, are gratefully received. They have been carefully read by all of us. We are here for knowledge, and whatever tends in that direction is gladly welcomed.” A school-teacher writes from North Carolina:— “I have just received some reading matter, for which I feel under obligations to you. I am deeply interested in the doctrines peculiar to the Second Adventists. I prize the Signs highly, and would be glad to receive it weekly; but my circumstances are such that I am not able to pay for it. Should any one be kind enough to send it or any other reading matter to me, be assured it will be highly appreciated. I see many publications advertised in the Signs and Review, which I would like very much to have, were I able to purchase them; but poverty forbids it. I follow teaching, but times are so hard that I get very low wages. I have a family to support, and have been a cripple for twenty-three years. Send what reading matter you can, and I will read and distribute among my friends.” Bro. Hodges writes from North Carolina: “Our little company of Sabbath-keepers is still rooted and grounded in the faith. I have an item of good news to tell you. Yesterday I received a letter from a brother in Wilkes Co., N. C., to whom I have been sending reading matter. He likes the papers and tracts well, and says they are the ablest he ever saw. He thinks our position on the Sabbath is sound, and according to Scripture. Sends me the names and addresses of seven individuals to whom he wishes our publications sent. The South is a wide field for usefulness, but the laborers are few. May we each use what talent we have in working for the Master.” From Eld. Hawser, Methodist, of Georgia: “Last week myself and wife were talking of you, and lo! immediately the mail brought us a copy of the ADVENT REVIEW, and a fine bundle of tracts, pamphlets, etc. Thank you most heartily for all. You request my opinion of the publications you have sent. I have read the Sanctuary and the United States in Prophecy, but have not yet had time to read the rest. I like Andrews and Smith. They are clear-headed, able men, and most admirable Biblical scholars. I have read both of these books with pleasure and profit. Just before they came, I had read in the Oakland Signs, Eld. Andrews’ article on the covenant. It is so good I was prepared to read his Sanctuary, and to profit by it. U. Smith’s United States in Prophecy is valuable statistically—the most valuable condensation of United States statistics I have seen. He argues well. I like the calm, mild Christian spirit in which these gentlemen write, even when I cannot agree with them perfectly. I do not say that they are wrong in their opinions, I only say that sometimes I differ with them. But more grace in my heart—enough to bring me where I wish to be—will enable me to say, ‘Thy will be done.’” Sister Addie Stafford, of Adams Co., Wis., says:— It seems strange to me, when I read such passages as that found in 1 Cor. 15:18, that those who make the Bible a daily study, and note such passages as this, can believe in the immortality of the soul. If “to perish” means to live on in eternal joy or misery, then I do not understand the meaning of the word. I once believed in the traditions of men; but, thank God, light has sprung up, and I now rejoice in the precious truth. Bro. James K. Foote, who, with his wife, embraced the truth at the Sherman City (Kan.) camp-meeting last November, but is at present residing in Orange Co., Ind., writes as follows:— I have been distributing tracts among our neighbors, and most of them are willing to read, and a few are interested and say we have the truth. I would be glad if the third angel’s message could be preached in Orange Co., Ind., this season. The people here have never heard a Seventh-day Adventist preach, and I think if a minister could come here, good would result. I have completely overcome the habit of using tobacco, coffee, tea, and swine’s flesh, and think myself much better off without these things. —THE BEY of Tunis has opened an Arabic printing house. —THE RUSSIANS contemplate adding 150 battalions to their army. —THERE are 144 ordained Presbyterian ministers and missionaries in India. —NEW ORLEANS has been made accessible to the largest sailing ships and steamers. —A DECREE has been issued forbidding evangelical work in the Austrian empire. —ON Sunday, April 20, President Grevy was to sign the pardons of 800 French Communists. —THE ALBANIANS, in their retreat from Kurshumlic, carried off a wounded Servian, and roasted him alive. —A DISPATCH from Constantinople says that the inhabitants of one of the districts in Crete have risen in arms. —A PLAN has been proposed in England that meets with favor, of forming a company to insure its members against blindness. —BISMARCK has conferred with the Russian Ambassador on the expediency of adopting common measures against the Socialists. —ONE sign of the hard times in England and Wales is the falling off in marriages. Only 189,657 were registered in 1878; in 1876 there were 201,874. —DURING 1878 there were 879 novels and other works of fiction published in Great Britain, being about a sixth of the entire number of new issues. —It is now Russia's turn to suffer an inundation. At Panza 500 persons have been rendered homeless, and traffic on trains in the vicinity of Moscow has been suspended. —SIX THOUSAND blacks have reached St. Louis, and they are still arriving, but in diminished numbers. The result, of course, will be that some one will pay the bills and send them where they want to go. —PRINCE TORLONIA of Italy, after expending 24 years and $10,000,000, has succeeded in draining off the waters of Lake Fucino in the Apennines, 2,000 feet above the sea, and has thus added 35,000 acres of the richest land to his valuable estates. —THE beautiful villa at Baveno on Lake Maggiore, where Queen Victoria has been rusticating, belongs to Mr. Henfrey, who amassed his great riches as a railway contractor in Manchester. It is a stately palace, supplied with every convenience and luxury that wealth could furnish. —THE Republican meeting called by General Garibaldi in Rome April 21, and was presided over by the General. It was resolved to agitate for universal suffrage, and for the abolition of the deputies' oath of allegiance. General Garibaldi says Italy must be armed, and ready to claim her unredeemed provinces. —The Presbyterian argues that “the anti-Christ, the man of sin which is to be revealed,” is not popery, but the bloody-handed monster represented in Nihilism, Internationalism, Communism, Molly Maguirism, and Red Republicanism, that is ready to make common cause against God and all religions, Protestant as well as Papal. —REV. F. L. PATTON, D. D., LL. D., Professor of Systematic Theology in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Chicago, has been unanimously and very cordially elected to the Professorship of Apologetics in the Presbyterian College of London. This is the second professor England has called from Chicago within two years. —GENERAL GARIBALDI has opened a subscription for the purchase of a million rifles to arm the Italian nation, and has sent an address to the inhabitants of Istria, Trieste, and Trent. The General declares he will sacrifice everything to the accomplishment of the national task. This doesn't look much as though he came to Rome to die. —The scheme is revived to recover the treasures which are believed to have been buried for ages in the mud of the river Tiber at Rome. It is proposed to drag its bed in the hope of finding the golden candlestick from the temple at Jerusalem, and the statues, coins, and valuable ornaments from the Roman palaces that tradition says were thrown into the river. —OURS is not the only country where John Chinaman proves a disturbing element. The Dominion Parliament of our northern neighbors is disturbed by the question that has so recently excited our Congress. And reports from Australia show that the advent of the Orientals, who seem to be competitors for the world's work, has seriously disquieted the labor market there. —The reign of terror goes on in Russia, and hundreds of “suspects” are banished daily to Siberia, or locked up in the prisons, without form of law or trial; the German social and political association favors a moderately protective and retaliatory tariff; French and English men of war have been ordered to be in readiness to go to Alexandria to bring the Khedive to his senses. —It is stated that a plan is on foot for the establishment of a colony of 3000 Italians on the south coast of New Guinea. The arrangements have all been completed, and a subscription of $6,000,000 already received. Communication with North Australia is to be maintained by a telegraphic cable. Every rank of life except lawyers is represented. Quite a number of men of science have enlisted. —THERE are 61 graduates of Yale College, 35 of Princeton, and 30 of Dartmouth, occupying clerkships and other positions in the government service at Washington, and an equally strong representation from the other leading colleges of the country. A Yale professor, on being told the number of Yale graduates in the departments, exclaimed, “Bless my soul! is it the mission of Yale to graduate scholars to occupy $1200-clerkships in Washington?” —The Inter-Ocean of April 21 says: “A body of two or three thousand men, half of them armed and uniformed, parading the streets on the Sabbath [Sunday], and flaunting red flags and incendiary mottoes in the face of the public, is not a pleasant spectacle, but that is what was witnessed in Chicago yesterday. . . . The Inter-Ocean has no objection to parades that are not intended as threats; but some one is leading these men into dangerous fields, where, unless checked, they will sooner or later involve themselves in serious trouble.” —REV. A. BARNARD, of Traverse City, Mich., is engaged in a translation of Moody and Sankey's Gospel Hymns for the Indians. Some time ago he completed a first edition, but this is exhausted, and now he proposes a larger and more perfect work. It will contain the songs in English and Ojibwa. Mr. Barnard has a small printing press upon which he does his own work, setting his own type and performing all the labor himself. The Indians curiously and anxiously watch the progress of the work in which they are so much interested. —Of the five million acres of land under cultivation in Egypt, the Khedive has managed to become the owner of one-fifth. And this is cultivated by forced labor, in very much the same way that the Pharaohs of thirteen hundred years before Christ made brick at the hands of the cruelly-tasked Israelites. But nearly all the industrial speculations of this enterprising enough autocrat have failed. Even his intended, “reforms” are sterile of any good results. The country has to pay $40,000,000 as interest to her foreign creditors. Bankruptcy proceedings seldom create new friends, as this autocratic financier is finding out. The present Egyptian crisis is one which must soon become, as Mr. Edward Dicey in the Nineteenth Century remarks, a struggle between Egypt and Europe, between the East and the West. The issue is predetermined; the West will prevail. Items of Interest.
By Bettie Coombs
A GENTLEMAN IN Nova Scotia writes: “Your card came duly to hand. In reply I would say that the papers mentioned were also received, and read with interest. As I have received the Signs from time to time, my curiosity has been aroused to know to whom I am indebted for this great favor. As I now have your address, I hope to hear from you again at no distant date.” The following is from a noted physician of Kentucky: “I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of several copies of the Signs, for which I am very thankful. I cannot concur in all their teachings, though they contain some very strong and pointed arguments.” A lady of Kentucky writes: “I am much interested in the Signs and REVIEWS, which you have so kindly sent to me.” A Missionary Baptist minister of Minnesota writes from Craigsville, Ky.: “I have long been convinced that I was not keeping the right day. I can find no Scriptural authority for a change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. Accept my sincere thanks for the tracts. I have perused the first, second, and third messages of Rev. 14 with the deepest interest. They have created within me a new zeal to openly and publicly advocate the principles they inculcate.” I could give others equally as encouraging, but this will suffice for the present. Nolin, Ky. BETTIE COOMBS. The Russian government has often been spoken of as a form of “despotism tempered by assassination.” The saying never before had more truth in it than now. Between the secret terrors of Nihilism and the brutal horrors of relentless absolutism, the struggle is deadly and desperate. The six chief cities of the empire, with the territories adjacent, St. Petersburg, Charkoff, Odessa, Moscow, Kieff, and Warsaw, have been placed under martial law, in charge of the six leading generals of the army. To these Governors General is given the most unlimited power. No Asiatic despot could ask for greater. Not only is the civil administration committed to them, but the control of all educational establishments. They are authorized summarily to remove from their respective districts all persons whose continued residence may be considered dangerous; to order the arrest of any person whatsoever on their own judgment and responsibility; to suppress temporarily or permanently any newspapers or periodicals, should they appear to follow subversive tendencies, and generally to adopt such measures as they consider necessary for the preservation of the public peace. A London paper, referring to the Czar’s proclamation, says: “We cannot attempt to forecast the result of the duel between Nihilism and Militarism to which this proclamation seems to be the challenge. It is an attempt to meet disturbers with something like their own weapons, and to put down lawlessness by suspension of law. For the time during which this ukase lasts, and in the wide and important districts to which it is applied, Russia ceases to be what she has recently been, and relapses into a condition of practical barbarism at once. And, without even a form of anything that can be called a trial, any man’s life or fortune may be taken from him in these six great cities and their dependencies. Perhaps this evil state of things would not be too much to bear if it were likely to relieve the country of the malignant political disease from which it appears to be suffering. But if such relief were to result from such measures, it would be for the first time in history. The military tribunals of the Six Governments may punish swiftly and savagely, but they will neither prevent nor cure.—” Advance. The recent threats against the life of Queen Victoria should she visit Italy, and the actual attempt to assassinate the Czar, following so quickly similar plots against the lives of the Emperor of Germany and the King of Italy, show the demonic purpose that is infuriating the advocates of the doctrine of modern Socialism. It is easy for its orators and editors, in legislatures and public journals, to disclaim and repudiate the natural and terrific outgrowth of their principles, but if fruit is not desired, its seed must not be planted. The fact is too evident that they have disciples who do not shrink from carrying out their principles to their logical conclusion. The spirit of the red-handed Communists of Paris still lives, and bides its time for repeating its excesses. At the recent celebration in Bologna, Italy, of the anniversary of the Commune, eighty Socialists, of whom twenty were women, drank toasts to “the next revolution, which will set all Europe in flames!” What must the doctrine be that can thus transform men and women into fiends!—Christian Weekly. ON account of the impassable condition of the roads at present, the New England quarterly meeting has been postponed. It will be held June 7, 8, at Amherst, N. H. All come who can. Come to seek God. Let the Sabbath-schools be all represented, either by delegates or letter.
D. A. ROBINSON. POSTPONED.—The meeting for Jericho, Vt., will be held May 17, 18, one week later than previously noticed.
A. S. HUTCHINS. IN the providence of God, the Nebraska State quarterly meeting will be held May 17 and 18, at the place of worship of the church six or eight miles south-west of Weeping Water. A Sabbath-school Convention will be held in connection with the State T. and M. meeting. The interests of the church will be made a specialty, and an opportunity for baptism will be afforded. Dear brethren, the Sabbath-school and the T. and M. Society are the strong arms of our young Conference. Let all who have access at the throne of grace, whether present or absent, make the interests of this meeting a specialty.
CHAS. L. BOYD. Philosophical Department.
Bro. S. W. Armor, corner Arch and Meadow Sts., East End, Pittsburg, Pa., requests any S. D. Adventist passing through the place to give him a call. Will some one who has old German and French tracts or papers that are yet readable, and wishes them judiciously distributed, please send a few of them to J. K. Cartwright, 281 Cedar Street, Nashville, Tenn.? Clinton Owens, Director. Will Bro. L. J. Hall, of Weybridge, Vt., now in Nebraska, please send his address at once to Mrs. H. T. H. Sanborn, North Scituate, R. I.? Will Mr. and Mrs. Frank Crandall please send their P. O. address, without delay, to F. E. Ferrin, State Center, Marshall Co., Iowa? J. W. Harson, Franklinville, Catt. Co., N. Y., would like to find a place with some Sabbath-keeper, to learn the blacksmith trade, or to work on a farm or in a saw-mill. J. J. Gilding, postmaster at Weldon Creek, Mich., writes that good, honest people who want cheap homes with healthful climate, in the Michigan fruit belt, and where they can get work the year round, can find them there. Bro. O. M. Olds, of Marshalltown, Iowa, wishes us to say that he offers for sale his large prophetic chart for $10, and a papyrograph machine which cost $45 for $25. For further particulars address him as above. J. Dilverness would like to dispose of his farm of 80 acres in Vernon Co., Wis., in order to be free to work in the cause. Address him at Maguire's Store, Washington Co., Ark.; or Wm. Conner, Liberty, Vernon Co., Wis. Wanted, a S. D. Adventist that understands making boots and shoes, both sewed and pegged. Address, A. A. Cross, Glen Sutton, P. Q. The permanent address of M. M. Kenny is Givin, Mahaska Co., Iowa. Notice.—A blue cross opposite this note indicates that your subscription will expire in two weeks. Please renew at once, as we shall be obliged to stop the paper unless we hear from you in that time. Notice.—The change of figures on the address labels will be in all cases a sufficient receipt for money sent for the paper. If these changes do not in due time appear, and if books ordered by mail are not received, notice should be given. All other business is acknowledged below. John Sprinkle $4.00, L G Moore 1.45, W Reynolds 18.90. Geo A King $30.00, Ind Conf Fund J K & L J Foot 1.00, M B Miller 3.00, Cal T & M Society 120.00, N Y T & M Society 26.00, Vt T & M Reserve Fund (Abbie J Hutchins 5.00, F Camp 50c), Dak T & M Society per D T Biggs 31.94, S B Whitney 17.56, Ill T & M Society per L S C 160.00, Jas A Ashbaugh 10.00, Iowa T & M Society per Mrs J N Sylvester 5.00, Vt T & M Society per A S Hutchins 3.45. Elmwood per N Lawrence $12.24, Bunker Hill 20.00, Ransom Center per M B Miller 12.50, Sheridan O Soule 1.50, H M Kenyon 30.00, Green 5.85. Dist 16 Rochester per R J Lawrence 13.74, Dist 5 per J S Wicks 56.00. H L Colby $1.00, W H Hall 100.00, Mrs C L Evans 1.00. J & D Long $5.00, Peder Chr Jensen 3.00, Herman Hanson 10c, Mrs Swanson 1.00, Mrs Russell 25c, Mrs Crawford 10c, F D Dunn 25c, Mrs C R Blair 10c, Mrs I S Stevens 25c, Mrs Dixon 25c, Mrs Herrick 10c, Mrs Stow 10c, Mrs Teel 10c, Mrs M Wright 25c, Mrs L A Walter 10c, Mrs C S Andrews 50c, Mrs P L Eckles 15c, Ruby R Page 5.00, John Deedon 5.00, Frank Reynolds 1.00, Anna Lilja 3.00. Prudence Stillman $10.00, A C Woodbury per H W Decker 30.00, J & D Long Italian 5.00, Ruby R Page 5.00, Benj Hostler 10.00, Darius Reynolds & wife 20.00, Inez L Squire 1.00. Sarah J Proctor $1.00, Marcene A Hicks 5.00. Issued by the S. D. A. Publishing Association,
and for Sale at this Office. History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week for the period of 6,000 years. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 528 pp. $1.00. The Sanctuary and the 2300 Days of Dan. 8:14. By Elder U. Smith. This question has developed the people known as the Seventh-day Adventists, and is the pivotal doctrine upon which their applications of prophecy largely depend. 352 pp. $1.00. Thoughts on Daniel, critical and practical. By Elder U. Smith. An exposition of the book of Daniel, verse by verse. 384 pp. $1.00. Thoughts on Revelation. By Elder U. Smith. This work presents every verse in the book of Revelation with such remarks as serve to illustrate or explain the meaning of the text. 352 pp. $1.00. Life of Wm. Miller, with portrait. This book gives interesting sketches of the Christian life and public labors of this pioneer in the Advent movement in this country. 416 pp. $1.00. The Biblical Institute. Containing a synopsis of the lectures given at the Institute held at Oakland, Cal., in April, 1877. These cover the main points of our faith, giving facts and dates. 352 pp. $1.00. The Nature and Destiny of Man. By Elder U. Smith. This work treats on the great questions of the condition of man in death, and his destiny beyond the resurrection. 356 pp. $1.00. The Spirit of Prophecy; or the Great Controversy between Christ and his angels, and Satan and his angels, in four volumes. By Mrs. E. G. White. These volumes cover the time from the fall of Satan to the destruction of sin and sinners at the close of the one thousand years of Rev. 20. Each 400 pp.
Vol. I. Old Testament Facts to Christ. $1.00.
Vol. II. Life and Ministry of Christ. $1.00.
Vol. III. The Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ, with the Lives of His Apostles. $1.00.
Vol. IV. (In preparation). $1.00. The Constitutional Amendment: A discussion between Elder W. H. Littlejohn and the editor of the Christian Statesman, on the Sabbath. $1.00. The Bible from Heaven. By Elder D. M. Canright. An argument to show that the Bible is not the work of men, but is in deed and in truth the word of God. 300 pp. 80 cts.
Revised edition (in preparation). $1.00. The United States in the Light of Prophecy; or, an exposition of Rev. 13:11–17. By Elder U. Smith. Dealing with our own land and applying to our time, this is a portion of prophecy which should possess surpassing interest for every American reader. 200 pp. 40 cts.
Paper covers, 20 cts. Thoughts on Baptism. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. A careful examination of the subject of Christian baptism in the light of history and the Bible. It presents strong arguments against the notion of Trine Immersion. 186 pp. Bound in flexible cloth, 35 cts.
Paper covers, 25 cts. The Nature and Tendency of Modern Spiritualism. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 184 pp. 20 cts. The Atonement. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. An examination of a remedial system in the light of Nature and Revelation. 168 pp. 20 cts. The Ministration of Angels, and the Origin, History, and Destiny of Satan. By Elder D. M. Canright. 144 pp. 20 cts. Our Faith and Hope. Sermons on the coming and kingdom of Christ. By Elder James White. 182 pp. 20 cts. The Spirit of God, its gifts and manifestations to the end of the Christian Age. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 144 pp. 15 cts. The Three Messages of Revelation 14:6-12. Particularly the third angel's message and the two-horned beast. By J. N. Andrews. 144 pp. 15 cts. The Two Laws, as set forth in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. By Elder D. M. Canright. 104 pp. 15 cts. Matthew Twenty-Four. A clear and forcible exposition of our Lord's discourse upon the Mount of Olives. By Elder James White. 64 pp. 10 cts. The Sunday Seventh-Day Examined. A refutation of the teachings of Mede, Jennings, Akers, and Fuller. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 88 pp. 10 cts. The Seven Trumpets. An exposition of the subject, as set forth in the eighth and ninth chapters of the Revelation. 96 pp. 10 cts. The Truth Found. The nature and obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 64 pp. 10 cts. Vindication of the True Sabbath. By Elder J. W. Morton, formerly missionary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, to Hayti. 68 pp. 10 cts. Sermon on the Two Covenants. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 48 pp. 10 cts. Hope of the Gospel. By Elder J. N. Loughborough. 80 pp. 10 cts. Refutation of the Age to Come. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. This is a most decisive refutation of the view that men may find forgiveness of sins after the Saviour has closed his work in the Sanctuary above. 168 pp. 20 cts. The Morality of the Sabbath. By Elder D. M. Canright. 96 pp. 15 cts. Christ and the Sabbath; or, Christ in the Old Testament and the Sabbath in the New. By Elder James White. 56 pp. 10 cts. Redeemer and Redeemed. By Elder James White. This work sets forth the plan of Redemption in its three stages. 40 pp. 10 cts. Systematic Benevolence. Setting forth the Bible plan of giving for the support of the ministry. 64 pp. 10 cts. The State of the Dead. By John Milton, author of “Paradise Lost.” This work shows that Milton was a decided believer in, and an able defender of, the doctrine that in death man is unconscious. 32 pp. 5 cts. Address, REVIEW & HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich. AN END OF WICKEDNESS.
By R. F. Cottrell
“Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end.” Ps. 7:9. This prayer was indited by the Holy Spirit. As a consequence, the petition will surely be granted. It is a prophetic prayer; and as a prophecy it is certain to have its fulfillment. Therefore it is certain that wickedness will come to an end. The only question remaining is, How will this result be reached? There are but two ways possible for this to be accomplished. 1. The first is, by the conversion of all the wicked, including the devil and his angels as well as all the wicked of the earth. Have we any proof that all the wicked will cease their wickedness—that all will become holy and happy in immortal life? If there is no evidence to prove that all the wicked in the universe will be converted, the only alternative is— 2. That all the wicked will be destroyed—will cease to exist—and so their wickedness will come to an end. Is there any proof of this? There is. We cite another prophetic prayer as proof. Ps. 104:35: “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more.” This prayer will be answered; and when it is, the wicked will no longer exist; for “to be” means to exist. And in the prospect of that happy time which shall follow the destruction of all the wicked, when all in Heaven and earth shall be heard saying, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever” (Rev. 5:13), the inspired writer immediately exclaims, “Bless thou the Lord, O my soul! Praise ye the Lord!” JACOB: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant.” Gen. 32:10. JOHN: “Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.” Matt. 3:11. THE CENTURION: “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof.” Matt. 8:8. THE PRODIGAL: “I am no longer worthy to be called thy son.” Luke 15:19. PAUL: “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle.” 1 Cor. 15:9. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints.” Eph. 3:8. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Tim. 1:15. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded.” Rom. 3:27. We learn that there is a man operating in Northern Michigan by the name of Sterling Hardin, who it seems ought to have his name transposed to Hardly Sterling. He has been published in the papers as a Baptist preacher, but now, we believe, claims to be a Seventh-day Adventist. All the credentials he can show is a copy of the Signs of the Times, which he has picked up somewhere. The trouble with this man is that he already has five wives living, or five women to whom he has been married, and whom he has without cause abandoned; and he succeeds in working up material for about as many more wherever he goes. There is no such minister belonging to our people. Beware of him. No S. D. Adventist ought to be in a condition to be imposed upon by any one who can show no credentials but a floating copy of a newspaper. A MISTAKE.
By G. V. KILGORE
The Marshall Times calls John Haughawout (the man that the newspapers expose as being at the bottom of “the Gifford tragedy”) “a Seventh-day Adventist minister.” This is a mistake. He is a Restitutionist, or Age-to-come minister. His guilt is said to be in keeping company and corresponding with a young lady, whose lover, on the account, was so jealous that he shot her dead, and also shot himself. This man has never had any connection with Seventh-day Adventists.
G. V. KILGORE. “THERE SHALL COME IN THE LAST DAYS SCOFFERS.”
ONE [Ingersoll] was here in Chicago the other day, and one of our large theaters was filled to overflowing to hear him at fifty cents admission. Fifty thousand copies of his lecture—which, to use a mild expression, was indecent from one end to the other—were sold in a few days. It did not contain the shadow of an argument, and hardly the semblance of a truth, and it is a sad indication of the times in which we are living that such a lecturer can be thus honored. If the veritable “last days” produce any worse scoffing than this, we pity those who live at that time. Meantime, the fact that such a scoffer is thus fondly received will remind some of the words of our Lord, “Be ye also ready.”—Faith’s Record. More Ritualistic Troubles.
The English papers, secular and religious, are engaged in discussing the Akenham burial libel suit, which is another of the many collisions between Churchmen and Dissenters. The action for libel was brought by the Rev. George Drury, rector of Claydon and Akenham, against the editor of the East Anglian Daily Times. Mr. Drury had been asked to bury the child of a laborer, but, ascertaining that it had not been baptized, refused, as the law of the State Church requires him to do. It has been the practice in the parish to bury unbaptized persons in the north side of the church-yard; the spot, whether correctly or incorrectly, is usually described as unconsecrated ground. A Dissenting minister, the Rev. Mr. Tozer, was asked to perform the burial service, which at the appointed time he undertook to do, in a meadow outside of the church premises. Here he was interrupted by Mr. Drury, and a violent altercation ensued between them in the presence of the child's parents. A highly colored account of these proceedings, published in the East Anglian Times, constituted the libel. Instead of £2,000, the jury gave Mr. Drury forty shillings damages. Public opinion has condemned his interruption of the religious services, held on a spot over which he had no control, as monstrous and inhuman. It came out in the trial that Mr. Drury derives over £250 from the living at Akenham, and seldom or never holds service there, the church being so dirty that no decent person can sit down in it. The people dislike Mr. Drury's ritualism, and refuse to attend the church.—Harper's Weekly.