WE have learned from such of the early fathers as mention first-day observance, the exact nature of the Sunday festival, and all the reasons which in the first centuries were offered in its support. Very few indeed of these reasons are now offered by modern first-day writers.
But some of the fathers bear emphatic testimony to the perpetuity of the ten commandments, and make their observance the condition of eternal life. Some of them also distinctly assert the origin of the Sabbath at creation. Several of them moreover either bear witness to the existence of Sabbath-keepers, or bear decisive testimony to the perpetuity and obligation of the Sabbath, or define the nature of proper Sabbatic observance, or connect the observance of the Sabbath and first-day together. Let us now hear the testimony of those who assert the authority of the ten commandments. Irenæus asserts their perpetuity, and makes them a test of Christian character. Thus he says:499"For God at the first, indeed, warning them [the Jews] by means of natural precepts, which from the beginning he had implanted in mankind, that is, by means of the DECALOGUE (which, if any one does not observe, he has no salvation), did then demand nothing more of them."
This is a very strong statement. He makes the ten commandments the law of nature implanted in man's being at the beginning; and so inherited by all mankind. This is no doubt true. It is the presence of the carnal mind or law of sin and death, implanted in man by the fall, that has partially obliterated this law, and made the work of the new covenant a necessity. He again asserts the perpetuity and authority of the ten commandments:—
"Preparing man for this life, the Lord himself did speak in his own person to all alike the words of the Decalogue; and therefore, in like manner, do they remain permanently with us, receiving, by means of his advent in the flesh, extension and increase, but not abrogation."
By the "extension" of the decalogue, Irenæus doubtless means the exposition which the Saviour gave of the meaning of the commandments in his sermon on the mount. Theophilus speaks in like manner concerning the decalogue:—
"For God has given us a law and holy commandments; and every one who keeps these can be saved, and, obtaining the resurrection, can inherit incorruption."
"We have learned a holy law; but we have as Lawgiver him who is really God, who teaches us to act righteously, and to be pious, and to do good."
"Of this great and wonderful law which tends to all righteousness, the TEN HEADS are such as we have already rehearsed."
Tertullian calls the ten commandments "the rules of our regenerate life," that is to say, the rules which govern the life of a converted man:—
"They who theorize respecting numbers, honor the number ten as the parent of all the others, and imparting perfection to the human nativity. For my own part, I prefer viewing this measure of time in reference to God, as if implying that the ten months rather initiated man into the ten commandments; so that the numerical estimate of the time needed to consummate our natural birth should correspond to the numerical classification of the rules of our regenerate life."
In showing the deep guilt involved in the violation of the seventh commandment, Tertullian speaks of the sacredness of the commandments which precede it, naming several of them in particular, and among them the fourth, and then says of the precept against adultery that it stands "in the very forefront of the most holy law, among the primary counts of the celestial edict."
Clement of Rome, or rather the author whose works have been ascribed to this father, speaks thus of the decalogue as a test:—
"On account of those, therefore, who, by neglect of their own salvation, please the evil one, and those who, by study of their own profit, seek to please the good One, ten things have been prescribed as a test to this present age, according to the number of the ten plagues which were brought upon Egypt."
Novatian, who wrote about A. D. 250, is accounted the founder of the sect called Cathari, or Puritans. He wrote a treatise on the Sabbath, which is not extant. There is no reference to Sunday in any of his writings. He makes the following striking remarks concerning the moral law:—
"The law was given to the children of Israel for this purpose, that they might profit by it, and RETURN to those virtuous manners which, although they had received them from their fathers, they had corrupted in Egypt by reason of their intercourse with a barbarous people. Finally, also, those ten commandments on the tables teach nothing new, but remind them of what had been obliterated—that righteousness in them, which had been put to sleep, might revive again as it were by the afflatus of the law, after the manner of a fire [nearly extinguished]."
It is evident that in the judgment of Novatian, the ten commandments enjoined nothing that was not sacredly regarded by the patriarchs before Jacob went down into Egypt. It follows, therefore, that, in his opinion, the Sabbath was made, not at the fall of the manna, but when God sanctified the seventh day, and that holy men from the earliest ages observed it.
The Apostolical Constitutions, written about the third century, give us an understanding of what was widely regarded in the third century as apostolic doctrine. They speak thus of the ten commandments:—
"Have before thine eyes the fear of God, and always remember the ten commandments of God,—to love the one and only Lord God with all thy strength; to give no heed to idols, or any other beings, as being lifeless gods, or irrational beings or dæmons."
"He gave a plain law to assist the law of nature, such a one as is pure, saving, and holy, in which his own name was inscribed, perfect, which is never to fail, being complete in ten commands, unspotted, converting souls."
This writer, like Irenæus, believed in the identity of the decalogue with the law of nature. These testimonies show that in the writings of the early fathers are some of the strongest utterances in behalf of the perpetuity and authority of the ten commandments. Now let us hear what they say concerning the origin of the Sabbath at creation. The epistle ascribed to Barnabas, says:—
"And he says in another place, 'If my sons keep the Sabbath, then will I cause my mercy to rest upon them.' The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: 'And God made in six days the works of his hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.'"
Irenæus seems plainly to connect the origin of the Sabbath with the sanctification of the seventh day:—
"These [things promised] are [to take place] in the times of the kingdom, that is, upon the seventh day, which has been sanctified, in which God rested from all his works which he created, which is the true Sabbath, in which they shall not be engaged in any earthly occupation."
Origen, who, as we have seen, believed in a mystical Sabbath, did nevertheless fix its origin at the sanctification of the seventh day:—
"For he [Celsus] knows nothing of the day of the Sabbath and rest of God, which follows the completion of the world's creation, and which lasts during the duration of the world, and in which all those will keep festival with God who have done all their works in their six days."
The testimony of Novatian which has been given relative to the sacredness and authority of the decalogue, plainly implies the existence of the Sabbath in the patriarchal ages, and its observance by those holy men of old. It was given to Israel that they might "RETURN to those virtuous manners which, although they had received them from their fathers, they had corrupted in Egypt." And he adds, "Those ten commandments on the tables teach nothing new, but remind them of what had been obliterated." He did not, therefore, believe the Sabbath to have originated at the fall of the manna, but counted it one of those things which were practiced by their fathers before Jacob went down to Egypt.
Lactantius places the origin of the Sabbath at creation:—
"God completed the world and this admirable work of nature in the space of six days (as is contained in the secrets of holy Scripture) and CONSECRATED the seventh day on which he had rested from his works. But this is the Sabbath day, which, in the language of the Hebrews, received its name from the number, whence the seventh is the legitimate and complete number."
In a poem on Genesis written about the time of Lactantius, but by an unknown author, we have an explicit testimony to the divine appointment of the seventh day to a holy use while man was yet in Eden, the garden of God:—
"The seventh came, when God
At his work's end did rest, DECREEING IT
SACRED UNTO THE COMING AGE'S JOYS."
The Apostolical Constitutions, while teaching the present obligation of the Sabbath, plainly indicate its origin to have been at creation:—
"O Lord Almighty, thou hast created the world by Christ, and hast appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof, because that on that day thou hast made us rest from our works, for the meditation upon thy laws."
Such are the testimonies of the early fathers to the primeval origin of the Sabbath, and to the sacredness and perpetual obligation of the ten commandments.
J. N. A.
THE FIRST AND THE LAST.
By James White
THE Coming One declares himself to be the first and the last. "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." Rev. 22:12, 13. In creation the Father is first. God made worlds by his Son. Heb. 1:1, 2.
But in the execution of the plan of redemption, Christ is the first and the last. He is the only source of redemption from sin, from paradise lost to paradise restored. When the plan of redemption was first opened immediately after the fall, as the representatives of the race stood trembling with guilt and shame at the gate of paradise, Christ was there. The holy angels, his representatives, were present with offers of pardon and hope on conditions of repentance and faith.
Before the transgression, man talked with God, and Christ, and angels, face to face. In his confiding innocence in holy Eden, he walked by sight. But when all was lost and moral darkness, like the pall of death, rested upon a ruined world, the star of hope arose in Christ.
In humiliation, obedience, and faith, there is hope in Christ for the repenting sinner, while by the comparatively dim light of the spirit of prophecy he walks by faith. Christ opens this door of hope for fallen man. Christ instituted the path of faith that leads from sin to holiness, from earth to Heaven. He is, in this sense, the author and finisher of the faith of the gospel. Christ, as the author of our faith, commenced the work of redemption from sin as early as the representatives of the race stood beneath the burden of guilt outside the gate of paradise. His work reaches forward, embracing all dispensations of human probation, to be finished at his second coming and the resurrection of the just, when faith shall be lost in sight, and hope in glad fruition.
"I am the first and the last," says our adorable Redeemer. The plan of redemption is one plan, reaching through the Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian ages. Christ is the only Saviour of sinners in the first dispensation of divine grace, in the second, or Jewish, and in the last.
"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling," says Paul, "consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house." Heb. 3:1, 2. The relative position of Christ and Moses is the subject here introduced for our consideration. The apostle continues,—
"For this man [Christ] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house." Verse 3. Paul here uses the figure of a carpenter and the house he builds to illustrate the relation of Christ to the Jewish system which Moses represented. The carpenter builds the house. Christ builds Moses. The figure was not designed to teach that Christ built, or created, the physical form of Moses. Paul's subject is the two houses, the two priesthoods, the two churches, the two dispensations of the Israel of God. The carpenter brings the house into existence; Christ brings into existence the typical system which Moses represented. He is the author of the Jewish system as verily as he is the author of the Christian system. And those who hold the two in wide contrast, array Christ against Christ.
Speaking of the typical law of the Jewish system, the apostle represents it as "having a shadow of good things to come." Heb. 10:1. The good things of the Christian age cast their shadow back into the Jewish age. And as the shadow does not exist independent of the body that casts it, so the Jewish system existed because in God's great plan of redemption the Christian system was to exist. As the men who built the monument at Bunker Hill, in the very act of building brought into existence the shadow which the monument casts, so Christ, in becoming the author of the Christian system, also becomes the author of the Jewish system. J. W.
THE ANGEL ON LAND AND SEA.
By Uriah Smith
WITH our last paper we closed the examination of the prophetic periods. We have seen that they are all finished and in the past. Before passing to the events to which they brought us, we wish to notice briefly the movement among the people of God which marked this important period, and the prophecies which foretold it.
John saw, as we are informed in the 10th of Revelation, a mighty angel come down from heaven. . . . And he had in his hand a little book open, and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth. . . . "And the angel which I saw," says John, "stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and swear by him that liveth forever and ever, . . . that there should be time no longer. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."
Let this angel and his testimony be particularly noticed: 1. He swears to time. 2. He has in his hand a little book opened. 3. He stands with one foot on the sea and the other on the land.
1. He swears to time, and declares that it should be no longer. To what kind of time does he refer? It must be one of three kinds: literal, probationary, or prophetic. But it cannot be literal time as measured off by months and years, for the angel immediately after speaks of the days of the voice of the seventh angel; no doubt meaning years, as in other prophecies. And we have further a period of 1000 years measured off, even after the resurrection. Rev. 20. It cannot therefore be what we understand by literal time. But does it not mean probationary time? We answer, No; for the angel declares to John, who doubtless personates the church, that he must "prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. Probation then still lingers after this angel utters his oath. These considerations compel us to the conclusion that it is prophetic time to which he refers. In other words, he declares that with his testimony the prophetic periods end. Look carefully, reader, at this subject. Walk all around it. Look in every direction and see if you can find an avenue to any other conclusion than is here presented. An angel swears that time—some kind of time—shall be no longer. He immediately speaks of days (years) to succeed; and he tells John, and through him the church, to prophesy again many peoples, showing that there is yet mercy for them, and yet room to receive them. Now as it is certain that some time, according to the angel's oath, and as it is certain that only one of three kinds can be referred to, and as the angel by his testimony settles the matter in regard to two kinds, that he does not refer to them, it is certain that he must refer to the only other kind remaining, and that is prophetic time. This will appear further as we consider the next item.
2. He has in his hand a little book open. As his testimony relates to prophetic time, it must be based on that portion of the word which treats of prophetic time, and that is pre-eminently the book of Daniel. But what did the angel tell Daniel concerning his book? Said he (Dan. 12:4, 9), "Shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end. . . . The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." But the angel has in his hand a little book open. This little book doubtless represents the book of Daniel's prophecy, which contains the very points concerning which the angel testifies, and as it is open when he bears his testimony, we have a clue to the chronology of his work. We know that it is in the time of the end that he proclaims his solemn message from land and sea; for not till then is the book opened and the prophecy unsealed. But when is the time of the end? This may be easily ascertained by comparing Dan. 7:25 with chap. 11:35. The tribulation of the saints in this last quotation is evidently the same as their oppression by the little horn, the man of sin; and they were to be given into his hand until a time, times, and the dividing of time, which we have already shown to be 1260 years, commencing in 538, and terminating in 1798. This date therefore marks the commencement of the time of the end; and since that period we must locate the angel on the land and sea.
In Rev. 14, an angel is also brought to view who has a message of time, based upon the same foundation as the proclamation of chap. 10; namely, the time of the end and the unsealing of the prophecies. He is thus introduced by John (14:6): "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, saying, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come."
This is called "another angel," because John had before seen an angel flying through heaven, after the fourth angel had sounded, announcing three woe trumpets to come. We call him the first angel, because he is the first of the series of the three angels of the 14th chapter; and his message, therefore, is designated as the first angel's message. He has the everlasting gospel to preach, which we understand to be the same as the "gospel of the kingdom" mentioned by our Saviour in Matt. 24:14. But it is not in the order of God to employ literal angels to preach the gospel. This has been committed unto men. This angel must therefore be a symbol of the church; and his message must be a special proclamation by God's people, the true church, to be made at the point of time where this message is located.500
Upon its chronology, we shall offer but a word. We remark, 1. That such a message as this was not given by the apostles. They did not preach that the hour of God's Judgment had come, or was coming in their day; but they reasoned of a Judgment to come. See Acts 17:31; 24:25; 2 Thess. 2:3. 2. It was not given to the Reformers. They did not preach the hour of God's Judgment is come. Martin Luther placed the Judgment about 300 years in the future from his time. 3. Being a message of time, it must be based on the prophetic periods; but no message based on the prophetic periods, can be given till the book containing those periods is unsealed, and the book was unsealed, according to the testimony of the angel to Daniel, till the time of the end, the commencement of which the prophecy locates in 1798. We cannot therefore look for the angel with the judgment-hour cry, till subsequent to that date. And this makes the chronology of this angel the same as that of the angel in chap. 10. And since their work is also the same, and based upon the same foundation, and there cannot be a double fulfillment of the same work at the same time, we conclude that the angels of chap. 10, and 14:6, are identical.
We have already seen that the prophetic periods cannot extend beyond 1844; and we have now the fact, before us that the time of the end, to which the book containing those periods, was closed up and sealed could not commence earlier than 1798; between this point, therefore, and 1844, we must listen for the oath of the mighty angel, that time should be no more, and the solemn message that the hour of his Judgment is come. Has such a message gone forth? and in the right time? We answer, Yes; and testimony on this point, brings us to the remaining item to be noticed in reference to this angel; namely,
3. He had one foot on the sea, and the other on the land. That just such a movement as has of late years taken place on the Advent question, is contemplated in the prophecy, we cannot doubt. If any are disposed to question this conclusion, let them consider the matter, and tell us what kind of a move they would expect in fulfillment of those prophecies. Let them tell us how a proclamation of the close of the prophetic periods, and the coming of God's Judgment hour, would differ from the work there brought to view. But a proclamation has gone forth embodying both these particulars. A mighty movement has taken place, based upon the evidence that the prophetic periods were about to close. It came up at the right time, being subsequent to the unsealing of the book, in the time of the end. It commenced years previous, but culminated in 1844. The advent movement! The world witnessed it; and the world has not forgotten it. In the city and in the country, in the towns and in the villages, in the quiet districts, and in the crowded marts, in cars and coaches, and in ships and steamers, as they coursed in every direction over the mighty deep, the sound was going forth, The hour of his Judgment is come. It sped on till it encircled the globe. Truly the angel had one foot on the sea, as well as on the land. It has been stated that there was not, at that time, a missionary station on the globe, to which the message did not penetrate.
It will be no infringement upon the design of these articles not to speak particularly of the second angel of Rev. 14, after referring the reader to the above work. Suffice it to say, that he follows the first with a solemn announcement. "Babylon is fallen," is the cry that is heard from his lips. This also has been fulfilled in our day. It is a fact that the confused sects of the present day, which we think the Holy Spirit here designates by the term Babylon, mixture, confusion (since it is true of them in fact), did by the rejection of the doctrine of the Lord's speedy advent, whom they profess to love, and whose appearing they ought therefore also to love;—it is a fact, we say, that by the rejection of this truth they did meet with a moral fall, a declension in every department of religion, piety and virtue. Although all may not agree with us in the cause, the fact of this change is no assertion of our own. Out of their own mouth we judge them in this respect. It has been acknowledged and deplored by almost every organ of the religious world. As a result of this movement in 1844, it has been computed that fifty thousand left her communion. And we verily believe that a testimony is now ripening, which, in fulfillment of Rev. 18:1-4, will bring from her ranks every child of God.
We have thus briefly noticed the move that took place, and such as we might expect would take place to mark the close of the prophetic periods. The days have ended, and a mighty angel has sworn to the fact. No man may undo his testimony. By this we are brought to the autumn of 1844. The testimony that centers upon this point from the infallible witness of the word is this: Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed: then is the hour of God's Judgment come; and it has not failed in any particular.
U. S.
The Missionary Spirit of the Wesley Family
Is no family has the missionary spirit been more fully developed, from one generation to another, than in the Wesley family. Hence, missionary operations were largely interwoven with the early history of the Methodist denomination. John Wesley, whose name is so prominent as one of its founders, said: "The world is my parish;" and his life was in harmony with this sentiment. His maternal ancestors, as well as those on his father's side, were distinguished for the zeal, self-sacrifice, and firmness, which they manifested in the support of what they considered Bible truths.
It is the manner in which the light of God's word is received, cherished, and exemplified in every-day life, and not the amount of light which shines upon our pathway, which secures the favor of God. Hence it is that many living in the dark ages of the past, and cherishing many errors, have enjoyed the blessing of God in a greater degree than others more highly favored in respect to Biblical knowledge and religious privileges. Upon this principle, the declaration of Christ to his professed people, that publicans and harlots should go into the kingdom of God before them, is made plain.
Bartholomew Wesley, the distinguished John Wesley's great grandfather, was a dissenter from the established church of England, a Puritan. On this account, he became a persecuted outcast, and was not allowed to approach within five miles of any of his former parishes, or any borough town. Notwithstanding this, he continued to preach as he had opportunity, until his death.
His son John, the grandfather of John Wesley, possessed the same independent, and vigorous character as his father, and was alike distinguished for his religious zeal. Not conforming to the church in the matter of ordination, he was cited before the Bishop of Bristol, to whom he vindicated his preaching by its good results, the approval of good men, and his entire devotion to it, upon which his lordship promised not to molest him. "Here," says Clark, "was a kind of epitome of Methodism." Here was planted its slowly vegetating seeds in the original members of the Wesley family.
Notwithstanding the good impression made by John Wesley upon the Bishop of Bristol, he was soon imprisoned, and the remainder of his history was a series of affecting sufferings, which he bore with intrepid steadfastness. He was released from prison only to be re-imprisoned, fined, and driven from place to place, with his family, having no means of support but the charities of dissenting churches. Four times he was thrust into prison, and seven times he fled before his persecutors. But all this did not silence him. He still continued to preach to the people, until under his many trials he sunk into the grave, at the early age of thirty-four. Although a devout and able theologian, he was hunted to obscurity, his spirit crushed, and his lamp which had been lighted by divine rays was quenched by the triumphant spirit of persecution. A burial in the church was denied him, and not even a stone records his worth, or marks the place where he rests. His son, Samuel Wesley, father of Charles John Wesley, also inherited the ancestral spirit of his family. When a young man, without acquainting any one with his design, he set out on foot for Oxford, and entered Exeter College as a "poor scholar." On his arrival, he had but
two pounds and five shillings in his possession. During his collegiate course, with the exception of one crown, he received no assistance from his friends, but supported himself by his pen, and by instructing others. Notwithstanding he was noted for his liberality to the poor, he left college with ten pounds in his pocket. He was laborious, devout, and not forgetful of those whom the church of the day seemed most inclined to forget—prisoners, and the wretched poor. He visited the former in the Castle, relieving their necessities, and ministering to their souls. When his sons became distinguished at Oxford for similar labors, he was able to write to them, "Go on, in God's name, in the path which your Saviour has directed you, and that wherein your father has gone before you." Later, his missionary spirit developed itself more fully in a gigantic missionary scheme, which comprehended St. Helena, India, and China, reaching even to Abyssinia, which he offered to attempt in person, if the government would sanction it, and provide a humble subsistence for his family. This offer, it seems, was not accepted.
Samuel Wesley was the author of several books of merit, the most of them of a poetical nature. Meanwhile, he performed faithfully his parish labors. He was acquainted with all his parishioners, and visited them from house to house, keeping a record of his visits. His preaching was pointed, and he quailed not when it gave offense. He made no compromise with what he considered wrong; and his boldness in reproving it, subjected him to the ill-will of evil-minded persons, who frequently drummed, shouted, and fired arms under his window at night, besides injuring his cattle, and twice setting fire to his house. Once, upon some slight pretense, he was arrested, and imprisoned three months in Lincoln Castle. Here he immediately became a volunteer chaplain to his fellow-prisoners, with whom he labored daily.
A prophetic anticipation of the approaching revival of the Protestant faith seemed to linger in this good man's mind, down to his last hour. When dying, he repeatedly laid his hand on the head of his son Charles, saying, "Be steady; the Christian faith will surely revive in this kingdom; you will see it, though I shall not." He said that after his death God would begin to manifest himself to his family.
THE MISSION IN SWITZERLAND.
ELD. J. N. ANDREWS reports very encouragingly concerning the work in Switzerland. As stated in his report last week, their principal missionary work is sending out copies of Les Signes des Temps, a French paper published by the mission in Bale, Suisse. From Aug. 24 to Sept. 27 he says that 7,712 copies of Les Signes have been mailed from the office there; also 523 copies of the Stimme der Wahrheit, a German paper published at Battle Creek, Mich. In reply to letters accompanying the papers, they have received 40 very interesting responses. The following from a gentleman in Zurich is a good example of what has been received:—
“For a long time I have heard the Sabbathists spoken of, that is, the Christians who keep the seventh day of the week. I have never met any of these persons; but recently, making a journey through French Switzerland, I saw for the first time some numbers of your journal, Les Signes des Temps. I read these with attention, and became thoroughly convinced that I had been deceived with respect to the doctrine and character of those who keep the seventh day; for I had been told that they were Mormons. Will you therefore give me an outline of the doctrines which you teach? [This has been done in a private letter and in the last number of Les Signes.—J. N. A.]
“I will not hide from you the fact that the question of the change of the Sabbath has often troubled me, because I cannot find any place in the Scriptures where the fourth commandment of the law of God has been abrogated. I remark, on the contrary, that Christ has declared that he did not come to abolish the law, but to accomplish it. I also observe that the apostles have changed nothing in this divine order, and that they have shown, on the contrary, the example of sanctifying that day by assembling at the synagogue. This is without doubt a question to be studied in the spirit of prayer and with the word of God in our hand. Certainly if I become convinced of this truth, I will believe and submit to it without501delay, and labor for its propagation. Being attached to no congregation, I love all the children of God from principle, and I wait in silence the manifestation of the glorious day of Christ, when all the redeemed shall be united in the same love. I love to meditate upon the words of the holy apostle, ‘The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.’ Let it be thus with all those who in truth call upon his name.”
AT THE FEET OF JESUS.
By Theo. L. Cuyler
THERE are a great many times in our lives when our "strength is to sit still." Motion is good in its time, but so is meditation, so is quiet study, so is a patient waiting on God. If a bucket is to be filled from a spout of water, the best place for that bucket is to keep it under the stream until it is full. We soon run empty of grace, and need replenishing, and need to be filled unto all the fullness of God.
The cry of the hour is for more work. But genuine work consumes strength. The most laborious farmer must halt his team occasionally at the plough and rest: he must go in from the hot harvest-field and sit down at his table and refresh his weary frame. An army is never in so good trim for service in battle as after a sound sleep and a morning meal. So every servant of Jesus must often recruit his spiritual strength by sitting down at his Master's feet, in prayer, in meditation, in reading Christ's words and thinking about them. The disciples were not losing time when they sat down beside their Master and held quiet converse with Him under the olives of Bethany or by the shores of Galilee. Those were their school-hours; those were their feeding times. The healthiest Christian, the one who is best fitted for godly living and godly labors, is he who feeds most on Christ. Here lies the benefit of Bible-reading, and of secret prayer.—Theo. L. Cuyler
"THERE SHALL BE LIGHT."
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
It is not always night,
Although the gloom be deep;
Clouds do not always veil the light,
Nor shadows round us sweep.
The darkness shall give way
Like mist before the sun,
And the clear flowing beam of day
Break through the shadows dun.
After the night comes day,
So joy doth follow fear;
Behind the cloud, the sun's bright ray;
In doubt, hope draweth near.
Though sorrow claims the night,
Yet in the morning, joy;
Then grief shall hasten to its flight,
And hope bear no alloy.
THE WESLEY FAMILY.
BY ELD. S. N. HASKELL.
In a family has the missionary spirit been
A SAFE BRIDGE.
We believe in temperance in all things; but we also believe that total abstinence is the true temperance in regard to intoxicating liquors.
The man who never drinks will never become a drunkard, nor by his example cause another to become a drunkard—that is certain. It is a safe rule for all. It is the only safe rule for many. There has latterly been a revival of the old quibbling with words over the matter, and men whose vocation, position and character should make their every word emphasize the danger of the drinking habit, have been placed before the public in the equivocal attitude of sanctioning if not commending a "temperate use" of all the good things of life, including "good" liquor.
There are no good liquors; the only degrees are bad, worse, worst. And the least bad will make drunkards, or excessive drinkers, of seventy-five per cent of those who habitually use them, just as surely as the superlatively bad. Fire burns and alcohol blights, without much regard to the fuel or the form. The difference is in degree, not in kind. Men should abstain, not only because there is peril in moderation, but because there is no good reason for indulgence at any time. Nothing is better established than the fact that to produce and maintain the highest physical condition, and to fit men for the utmost endurance of what they are capable there must be no liquor used.
What is true of the body is even more true of the mind. The illusion that made a connection between gin and genius was long ago dispelled. Alcoholic fumes breed instant disorder in the brain. Even the poets who have sung the praises of wine have done their writing with clear heads. They learn from experience that they must sing first and drink afterwards. The rational conclusion is, therefore, the one reached by Col. Higginson—that as "men are habitually better off without alcoholic stimulants, it is better to go without them all the time." Abstinence is the safe bridge. It carries men over temptation and all the perils incident to a habit that is, however we may prate about "moderation," confessedly the monster evil of society.—Golden Rule.
DAYTON, WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
By G. W. Colcord; A. T. Jones
Our good State quarterly missionary meeting is closed. Excepting the last day, the weather was fine. The three directors and three librarians attended. Each church was represented. A few family tents were pitched, and the meetings continued into the fifth day. Six meetings were held in the interests of the T. and M. work; four of these were missionary schools.
This church has just completed a nice house of worship, 24x36. Only a small debt remained unpaid, and the friends became responsible for this before it was dedicated to the Lord. Dedicatory services were held on First-day, Oct. 21, at 11 A. M. This is the third house of worship erected by our people in this young Conference. The fourth is already inclosed. There are some hopeful features in other parts of this field; but perhaps we would better wait until "hope shall change to glad fruition," before mentioning them.
We are unworthy, but hopeful in God.
G. W. Colcord.
A. T. Jones.
ST. LOUIS, MICHIGAN.
By A. O. Burrill
It is eight weeks since we put up the tent here, and two since we moved our meetings into a building. From the first, we have had many obstacles to overcome; but the Lord has gone out before us to open the way. The campaign speakers have kept the town all alive with the political issue, and sometimes we have been obliged to stop our meetings on that account. We are now, Oct. 18, able to count twenty new Sabbath-keepers, and still more who are deciding.
The new meeting-house at Alma is progressing finely, and it is now expected that it will be ready for dedication the first Sabbath and Sunday in December. It will be the best church structure in the county. It seems now that we shall be obliged to remain some time longer to bind off the work here. A. O. BURRILL.
EVART, OSCEOLA CO., MICHIGAN.
By D. A. Wellman; G. H. Gilbert
We have taken down our tent here, after having given sixty-five discourses. There were six of our people here when we came, and as the result of these meetings eighteen others have commenced to observe the Sabbath. The people were very liberal, and fully met our expenses. We have rented a hall, and are preparing it for the regular Sabbath meetings. Sept. 25 a Sabbath-school of over thirty members was organized; it is supplied with Instructors, records, etc. The organization of the church was postponed till after the camp-meeting.
D. A. WELLMAN.
G. H. GILBERT.
SPRINGFIELD, DAKOTA.
By S. B. Whitney
Our meeting closed successfully, with a baptism after the evening meeting, Sept. 12. Four were baptized, and we had a very pleasant time. Eight signed the covenant at Tyndall, and twelve at Springfield. A Sabbath-school was organized at each place. Tithing was also adopted, and an interest was manifested in the T. and M. work.
S. B. WHITNEY.
MISSOURI CONFERENCE
The fifth annual session of the Missouri Conference was recently held at Warrensburgh, Mo. Fourteen delegates were present, representing eleven churches. The church at Emporia was received into the Conference. Credentials were granted to J. G. Wood and C. H. Chaffee, and licenses were granted as follows: D. W. Reavis, N. W. Allee, H. Woodruff, H. Wren, J. W. Watt, R. S. Donnell, D. C. Hunter, and D. T. Jones.
The officers of the Conference for the coming year are as follows: President, G. I. Butler; Secretary, D. C. Hunter, Nevada, Mo.; Treasurer, Wm Evans, Hamilton, Mo.
Seek Opportunities to Do Good
Stay not till you are told of opportunities to do good—inquire after them.