My Sister Anna sleeps in Jesus. She died of Consumption November 30th, 1854, in the 26th year of her age.
Several years since, her health became much impaired by over exertion in pursuit of an education. From this she had never recovered. About two years since Anna came to this city, accompanied by my Bro. Nathaniel (who fell asleep May 6th 1853,) to spend a few months, with the hope of recovering her health. She was then very feeble. But her health gradually improved up to last Spring. From that time she began gradually to decline, which brought sadness into our family. And as she grew more feeble and helpless, darker and heavier seemed the mantle of gloom that was thrown over us. It was indeed painful to see her fast sinking away from the surface of the sea of life; yet there was one hope, and but one, that lit up the future, as we stood around her sick and dying bed. It was the "blessed hope," that those who sleep in Jesus will be raised incorruptible at the soon coming of the Son of man.
At the age of 6 years, Anna manifested true repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ, and although young, was a consistent and decided Christian. Living in the enjoyment of the Saviour's love, she was prepared to receive with joy the doctrine of Christ's speedy coming. And during the period of declension she maintained her profession.
Soon after coming to Rochester, Anna examined the subject of the Sabbath, and reviewed the evidences for the soon coming of Christ, and came out decided and happy on the side of truth. About one year since, with a heart full of love for the Young, she took charge of the YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR, but was soon forced to leave the work in which she desired to spend her life. In her last sickness, she manifested great desire to be ready for her last change, and then submitted herself fully to Christ, in whose arms she seemed to breathe out her life.
A few hours before she fell asleep she repeated, "As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons of men." "He is the chief among ten thousand, the one altogether lovely."
The services of the funeral were conducted by Bro. J. N. Andrews, who preached a clear and comforting discourse from 1 Thess. iv, 13-18.
We place dear Anna beside Bro. Nathaniel, in Mount Hope Cemetery, there to rest till both are called forth to receive crowns of immortal glory.
Jesus, the life-giver, tasted death, lay in the tomb, arose from the dead, and in triumph brought away the keys of death and the grave, and ascended on high. "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades, the grave] and of death." Rev. i, 18. Jesus lives. With the keys of the grave and death, he is coming to open the graves of the just and call them forth to life eternal. JAMES WHITE.
Death of Eliza Vandyke
By P. Vandyke
My Dear Companion, Eliza Vandyke, aged 32 years, departed this life Sept. 4th, after an illness of about four weeks, which she endured with Christian patience and resignation. She embraced the present truth abou two years since, and continued firm in the faith until death closed the scene. The law of God and the faith of Jesus were her chief delight.
It was her request that Bro. M. E. Cornell should preach her funeral sermon, which in consequence of duties that prevented his visiting us before, was delayed until Nov. 16th.
For our consolation, Bro. Cornell described the reward that awaits those who "sleep in Jesus," and contrasted the "temporal" with the "eternal" state.
We sorrow, but not without hope, and look forward to the resurrection of the saints with a blessed anticipation, and are comforted.
I am left with six children to journey through this vale of tears, and although we feel the loss of a faithful companion and mother, yet we are consoled with the prospect of a speedy re-union, where death can never come. P. VANDYKE.
Conway, Livingston Co., Mich.
I Hope to be a Christian.
You do! Why then do you not seek to be a Christian? "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart."
Are you seeking for God with all your heart? No man ever yet escaped from the thraldom of Satan who did not struggle to be free; no man ever entered the strait gate who did not agonize to accomplish that glorious end. Carelessness and inattention afford no foundation for a hope that you are to become a child of God.
You hope to be a Christian! Why then do you not give up your sins, renounce the world as your portion, and cheerfully surrender yourself to Him who is the way, the truth and the life? He is ready and willing to receive you. He gave his life a ransom for sinners; he freely gives his Spirit to all who earnestly ask him; he has filled his revealed word with invitations and encouragements to those who desire his grace; he has long been knocking at the door of your heart for admission. How then can you hope ever to be a Christian?
You hope to be a Christian! When? Not now. You are too busy, or have something in view which must first be accomplished, or are so indisposed to give yourself to the work, that this is not felt to be the "convenient season." After a while, when you have accumulated a fortune, or passed the period when you can partake in the world's pleasures, or when there is a revival of religion, or at furthest on a dying bed, you hope to be a Christian. But God's commands and promises are for the present. He gives no encouragement to wait for a future season. You have no assurance that there shall be any season beyond the present.
You hope to be a Christian! So multitudes of others like yourself, who are living in sin, have hoped, but where are they now? Long ago have they been cut down as cumberers of the ground. Their day of grace and day of life have closed. They lived without Christ, and they died without him; they trifled away their precious time on earth, in the delusive hope that some day or other they would be Christians. That day never came to them, and never will come. "The harvest is past, the summer is ended," and their souls are not saved.—Presb.
COMMUNICATIONS
By J. Hamilton
From Bro. Hamilton.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I desire to say a few words to all who are striving to keep all the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. I doubt not that you all have felt with myself that this is a great point in our pilgrimage to attain unto; but as great as it is, John saw a company that had arrived at that point, and we find they alone are not required to drink of the wine of God's wrath, which we all profess to believe is soon to be poured out upon all who are found with the mark of the beast upon them, as shown by the Revelator.
Dear brethren and sisters, we can see the necessity as we near the great day of the Lord, that we examine ourselves that there may be no spot or wrinkle found on our garments; for if there is we shall not be prepared to stand with that holy company. Ever since I took God's word alone as my guide, and tried myself, my hope, my faith, by that, I have discovered many errors in both faith and practice and I have by the grace of God assisting me, laid one after another aside, and rejoiced in God that I had seen and gotten the victory over them. When I look back upon the path that I have traveled, although crooked, I can see it strewed with the old filthy rags of tradition and creeds of men, and my earnest desire and prayer to God is, that I may be stripped of every error that the truth alone may be my shield and buckler.
Dear brethren and sisters, this must be the case with us all before we can see eye to eye in the truth, before that memorable prayer of our Saviour can be fulfilled in us, that we can be one as he and the Father are one. Brethren and sisters, do you think this prayer will ever be fulfilled in us? If not, can we be the subjects of that prayer? O may we all strive for the unity of the Spirit, and for the bond of peace that we may have the evidence in our own hearts that we are those for whom Christ prayed; for we certainly have through the merciful direction of the Holy Spirit been led far in the advance of many, to say the least, in the knowledge of the glorious plan of salvation; and as we increase in the knowledge of the truth, should we not also in love and good works? for we are told that love is the fulfilling of the law. How rational, while God who made the law is love, that love alone can fulfill it. Well might Paul say, that all other good traits were good for nothing without love; and we can see that love is the foundation and the topstone of God's plan of salvation; therefore we cannot love God as we ought, without loving our neighbor as ourselves. By this we can see whether we are fulfilling the law. I fear that here I often fail, by not loving my neighbor as myself. My desire and prayer is that I with you may be able to fulfill the law.
I have been much benefitted by reading the writings of my brethren on holiness of life. Speak often one to another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
Yours, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.
J. HAMILTON.
Dec. 4th, 1854.
The World as Our Portion
It is a happiness of many to have a portion of the world; but to have the world for our chief portion is a misery.
The Refining of God’s People
By Lois J. Richmond
From Sister Richmond.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I feel a deep and increasing interest in the cause of God and his truth, and an ardent desire to be wholly consecrated to him and to come up to the high standard of true happiness without which I shall not be able to stand in the trying time that is before us. The conflict is coming. God's people must go through the furnace. The dross must be consumed in order to be fitted for the Paridise of God; and I often feel to exclaim, Who will be able to stand. God will have a holy people. The wheat he will gather into the garner, but the chaff he will consume. Those that are not willing to deny self but choose to cling to their errors will be shaken out from among God's people and consumed with the wicked. Solemn indeed is the time in which we live.
Yours striving for holiness of heart,
LOIS. J. RICHMOND.
Nov. 25th, 1854.
FOREIGN NEWS.
When after the long delays of Gallipoli and Varna, it was at last decided that the allies were to go to the Crimea, while Austria maneuvered into the Principalities, there were only two men in England who in the strongest terms denounced the intended expedition. Kossuth, in Glasgow, said to his audience that if the English went to the Crimea, they would be beaten, as their force was insufficient, and their cavalry would be destroyed by the Cossacks, since the Austrian occupation of the Principalities would enable the Czar to concentrate his forces around Sevastopol. Urquhart, in still stronger terms, said: "Not one of the soldiers who are going to the Crimea is ever to return." Both these statements were received with the credulous self-reliance of the English, who easily believed that they were invincible.
Even after the Eastern hoax of the capture of Sevastopol had exploded, it was still boldly asserted that the fortress of Sevastopol would soon have to yield; but the tidings became, little by little, gloomier, and now it cannot be longer denied that the allies are in a rather critical position.
If the contest goes on at its present rate, the forces now in the Crimea will be destroyed somewhere about New Year's day, and the allies will have the doubtful satisfaction of knowing that the Russians have lost twice as many, but are at last masters of the field.
SIEGE OF SEVASTOPOL—INCIDENTS.
November 3d.—It was expected in the French camp that an assault would be made on the 5th inst., and probably would have been, had not the Russians attacked the allied positions. Eight thousand French-men offered themselves as volunteers, but only 4,000, under Prince Napoleon, were selected. The first attack was to be on the Cemetery.
Apparently the assault was prevented by Menchikoff's attacking the camp on the 5th.
November.—The firing was slack on both sides. Preparations were being made for the assault, and scaling-ladders had been ordered up. Four Russian ships in the harbor had been sunk by the allies' fire. One of these ships was the "Twelve Apostles." Typhus had broken out in the city, from the number of unburied dead. Conflagrations are continually occurring from red-hot shot. Water is exceedingly scarce. The Russians are preparing for street-to-street fighting. They are posting cannon to sweep the streets, and fortifying houses.
HORRIBLE OCCURRENCE.
An occurrence of the most horrible nature has taken place. The great Hospital, in Sevastopol, was set on fire by the shells of the allies, and was burned to the ground, with all its inmates—two thousand sick and wounded.
In the battle of the 5th, the English had 2,000 killed and wounded. The loss of the French is not accurately known. The Russian loss is between 7,000 and 8,000.
The attack on the 5th was made by 40,000 of the enemy. The redoubts were taken and retaken. The French lost 1,500 killed and wounded.
The Russians had left the heights of Balaklava, and were expecting re-enforcements.
The typhus fever is raging at Sevastopol. The allies are continually re-enforced.
The steam frigates have arrived at Batoum to convey 4,000 troops to the Crimea.
Letters from Constantinople of the 6th, state that 5,000 French troops had sailed from the latter place for the Crimea with a favorable wind.
Striving for Victory Over Sin
By Elizabeth Cray
From Sister Cray.
Dear Bro. White:—I have been striving though in much weakness to keep all the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus for nearly three years, and your excellent paper has come as a very welcome messenger laden with rich treasures. How often have the tears flowed when I have read over the letters from the dear brethren and sisters and heard what the Saviour is doing for his people. My heart is with you, and O that I was altogether what I should be: filled with all the graces of the Spirit.
I have not seen any of the brethren for near twelve months. I often feel lonely, and contemplate the joys of the righteous. O what a mighty shout of victory will there be, when Christ is crowned upon his throne! I often ask myself, Shall I be there! With joy I read of the cause, and how God does stand by his people, and the prosperity of Zion, and of the work in Plattsburg, my native place, and in Champlain, where I have often been blest. O brethren, let us strive to get the victory over every sin. I am often astonished to see those professing godliness that cannot discern the signs of the times and see the claims of the holy Sabbath which are so plainly taught in God's holy word.
Your unworthy sister, striving to overcome.
ELIZABETH CRAY.
Nov. 5th, 1854.
Holding Fast to Present Truth
By S. Treat
From Bro. Treat.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:— I am determined by the grace of God to hold on to the present truth untill I can find something better from God's holy word. While others teach the law of God nailed to the cross and done away, I must believe that the "law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul;" and while others contend that all days are alike, I must remember the Sabbath day, and try by the grace of God to keep it holy; and while others say that the law of God is still binding, and that the world is actually keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, I must dissent from it; for it looks like a device of Satan without the least foundation from the Bible to sustain it; and yet I believe that this delusion has done more in the state of Maine to lull the advent people into carnal security in regard to the Sabbath than everything else that has been devised. I praise the Lord that he has kept me from running after the delusions of this bewildered world, it is all of God, glory be to his heavenly name forever and ever. I have moved into a wicked place, and have none of like precious faith but my companion to unite with me on the Sabbath; and therefore I feel the need of the prayers of God's saints that I may be kept in the midst of the delusions of the world, and the temptations of the adversary.
I met with the brethren at Brewer last week, Bro. Barr was there: we had a good time, I think there is an increasing interest in that place and has been for some time past.
Yours in the blessed hope of immortality through Christ,
S. TREAT
Dec. 3d, 1854.
“THE BIBLE EXAMINER”
By Editor
Is a Semi-monthly Periodical, of 16 pages, royal octavo, devoted mainly to the topic of
“NO IMMORTALITY NOR ENDLESS LIFE, EXCEPT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST ALONE;”
or, that man is not constitutionally immortal; hence apart from Christ, he will cease to be. There is no endless sin or suffering. GEORGE STORRS, New York, Editor and Proprietor. Published at 140 Fulton Street, at $1 for the year, commencing in January. No subscription for a less time. Payment always in advance.
THE EXAMINER has been published for nine years past; and the theme on which it treats is increasing in interest. The tenth volume commences with a semi-monthly issue, January 1st, 1855,
THE EXAMINER for 1854 contains a Discussion of the question—"Does the Bible teach that the Creature Man—which the Lord God formed of the dust of the ground—has a superadded entity called the soul?" PROP. H. MATTISON, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, affirms, and the EDITOR denies. The bound volume for that year can be had for $1: in sheets 75 cents.
Various books and pamphlets are for sale by Mr Storrs on the same subject, among which are, the "Bible vs. Tradition;" 75 cts: "Dobney Abridged, or Part Second" of "Dobney on Future Punishment;" 25 cts: "Unity of Man," being a "Reply to Luther Lee, by Anthropos;" 15 cts.
"Six Sermons on the inquiry, Is there Immortality in Sin and Suffering? By George Storrs." To which is prefixed a Biographical Sketch of the Author," and a Portrait. Also, added, a Sermon entitled—"Christ our Life Giver: or the Faith of the Gospel,"—the whole making a neat 12mo. volume of 168 pages Price, well bound, 63 cents. In full gilt, binding, $1. These sermons are on the basis of the "Six Sermons," first preached in 1842—about one hundred thousand of which have been circulated—but now thoroughly revised and much enlarged, and in a large, clear type. Address, in all cases, "GEO. STORRS, Bible Examiner Office, New York.
Letters.
By Editor
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Appointments and New Publications
By Editor
The late storm prevented Bro. Loughborough from filling his appointment at Oswego. He intends to be there next Sabbath, and at Lorain the week following.
Bro. Stephenson's work on the Atonement is completed.—Price 15 cts—postage 2 cts. We can send 6 copies and pay the postage for $1.
Bro. Hall's work on Immortality will probably be ready in one week.
The first Volume of our Tracts, (embracing those on the Sabbath and Law of God,) will be ready for delivery in about one week. The second Volume we hope to complete by the first of February.—Price 50 cts for each Vol.