Or the Sunday, The Sabbath, The Change, and the Restitution.
No. 2.
Turning from the secular phase of this subject, let us regard it for a moment from the religious standpoint.
Is there anything in the purpose itself which is worthy of the cost at which alone it can be realized? In other words, since the object aimed at is ostensibly that of bringing the nation up to the point of a general regard for the first day of the week as a Sabbath, would such a result be one which should be profoundly desired?
We reply, that this will depend altogether upon circumstances. In this case, as in the first, mere cessation from labor on that day, which is not prompted by a regard for the will and approval of Jehovah, could afford no relief to a nation which is seeking to avert divine displeasure, since there is no element in the act itself calculated to recommend it to the favor of Heaven. To illustrate: The individual sentenced to solitary confinement in the State’s Prison is precluded from the possibility of laboring on the Sunday; will any one therefore argue that there is any merit in his inaction on that day? Again: the heathen nations, in common with the majority of the Christian world, have many of them regarded the Sunday as a sacred day; should we presume, therefore, that they are looked upon by the Almighty more complacently on this account? You answer, No; and urge, as a reason for this reply, that they have been engaged in a false worship, and have not been actuated by any regard for the true God. Where, then, is the line? Manifestly right here; the men who honor God by the keeping of any day, must be prompted by the conviction that they are doing it in strict and cheerful obedience to a divine command.
Here, then, is the crucible in which we will try the metal of this modern movement. If, when their grand design shall be accomplished—as the result of many labors and toils—and even though before their purpose is attained, it shall be found necessary for them to reach their object through a conflict intensely bitter and impassioned on the part of the opposition—we shall witness the spectacle of a nation bowing submissively to the law and will of God in the humble and fervent observance of a weekly rest of divine appointment, it will be the grandest triumph which history has recorded. No treasure of gold—we were about to say no sacrifice of life—would be too great a price to pay for so glorious a victory. Let it be understood, however, that this must be a voluntary and intelligent worship on the part, at least, of the great mass of the people.
But will this be true, should our friends compass the great object of their ambition? Let us inquire once more after their intentions. What is it they advocate? The answer is, A universal regard for the first day of the week, as the Sabbath of the Lord.
But what is the authority upon which the majority of them rest their argument for the proposed observance? Is it merely pecuniary advantage? No, say they, it is out of a sincere regard for the God of Heaven, and a conscientious desire to fulfill his law. But this implies religious duty. So far, so good. It also clearly sets forth the fact that God has a law, and a Sabbath which it enforces. The appeal, therefore, must inevitably be to that law, as the proper instrument from which to instruct the people.
To that they must be brought again and again. Its import must be patiently taught, its sacredness must be thoroughly inculcated. Let them but be satisfied by sound logic that the divine statute is explicit in its demands for a strict observance of the first day of the week, let them be thoroughly educated into the idea that they are under its jurisdiction, and let them be instructed that this whole movement proceeds upon this religious conviction, and you have laid a foundation which will uphold a structure of imposing dimensions and enduring character, the corner-stone whereof is the fear of God, and an acknowledgment of his presence in the affairs of men. But how is it in the case in question? Is the commandment of a nature such as to support, in every particular, the tenets presented by the reform under consideration? This is really the vital point. Let it speak for itself. It is the fourth of the decalogue which is urged. “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” If this is not a Sabbath law, then there is none in existence. For, mark it, this is the only instance in all the Scriptures in which it will be claimed by any one that we have a positive command for the observance of the Sabbath. So far, therefore, as the first day of the week is concerned, its friends have this advantage, that, if they but succeed in resting it upon this commandment, their labor is ended; for it—i. e., the commandment—has no rival. All that is needed, consequently, is a clear, pointed exegesis, showing that the day in question is the one the observance of which the divine Law-giver has required. But unfortunately such an exegesis would be beset with difficulties. To begin with, who shall be able to harmonize the declaration which the commandment contains in these words, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,” with the utterance of those who, on the contrary, say that the first day is the Sabbath of the Lord, and must be observed as such. The divine Law-giver—as if determined that there shall be no room for debate in regard to the day which he had in his mind—has identified it in a manner such as to leave no room for dispute. In the first place, he announces his willingness that six days of the week should be devoted to secular employment, “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work;” then follows the disjunctive, “but—the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” Here it is made plain that it is the “Sabbath of the Lord” upon which we are to rest. Again; passing over the intermediate space, we come to the close of the commandment, in which he sets forth three important transactions by which that was constituted the Sabbath, and by which it may ever be recognized. He says, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” That is, the day which we are to keep as the Sabbath of the Lord is the one upon which he rested, which he blessed, and which he hallowed. Therefore, before the first day of the week can, with any show of reason, be kept in fulfillment of this commandment, i. e., before it came to be regarded as the “Sabbath of the Lord,” it must be shown that, at some time God has rested upon it, blessed, and hallowed it. But this would be a difficult task; for not only are the Scriptures silent, so far as the affirmation of this fact is concerned with reference to the first day of the week, but, on the contrary, they positively declare that it was the very day upon which Jehovah entered upon the stupendous undertaking of making a world. Should additional evidence be required on this point, i. e., that the last day of the week, and not the first, is the one which Jehovah intended to sanctify—we have but to cite the intelligent reader to the fact that Moses, the prophets, the Lord himself, the holy women after his death, and the whole Jewish nation—in whose language the decalogue was given—are, and have been, unanimous in placing this construction upon the Sabbatic law.
Should any, however, perceiving the dilemma into which they are thrown by the effort to enforce their view in the use of this law, as it was originally given—seek relief in the position that it was so far amended in the days of Christ as to admit of the substitution of the day of his resurrection for that of God’s rest at the end of Creation week, we reply: If such a fact can be clearly made out, it would certainly furnish the very help which is needed just at this juncture, and without which confusion must inevitably characterize the movements of those who feel the necessity of a Sabbatic law for the keeping of Sunday.
Let us therefore carefully investigate this most important point. Is it true that the Son of God did so change the phraseology of the commandment of the Father, that from his time forward its utterances have not only justified the secularizing of the last, but have also enforced, by the penalty of eternal death, a strictly religious regard for the first day of the week, on the part of both the Jewish and the Gentile world? Now this, if accomplished, was no trifling affair, and could not have been done in a corner; since it involved the guilt or innocence, the life or death, of countless millions of men and women, whose condemnation in the day of Judgment for the violation of Sunday sanctity would turn, of necessity, upon the words of one who both had the power to change, and had brought the knowledge of that change clearly before them. Certain it is, therefore,—since God does not first judge, and legislate afterward—all the light which is necessary for the proper elucidation of this subject is now to be found in his written word. To this, then, we turn; and with a profound conviction that the language of Christ was true in its largest sense, “If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine,”—we inquire, Where is it stated, in so many words, that God made the amendment in question?
Should the response be returned—as it certainly must be—that such a statement is not to be found within the lids of the Bible, we answer that this is a concession which, most assuredly, will greatly embarrass our friends in the proposed reform. Sagacious men will not be slow in discovering its bearing upon the subject, and it will be very difficult to explain such an omission to the satisfaction of cautious and reflecting minds. Should it be suggested, however, that—notwithstanding the fact the change has not been set forth in so many words—it has nevertheless occurred, and is therefore binding, we answer: Although the transaction upon the face of it, to say the least, would be a singular one, if an alteration has really been made, the next thing to be ascertained is its precise nature. We have already seen that the first law was very explicit in its statements, and all are conversant with the fact that to it was given the greatest publicity, and that it was uttered by the voice, and written by the finger of God, under the most imposing circumstances. Now if Christ—whose power to do so we shall not question here—has really undertaken the task of adding to, or taking from, this most sacred precept, will some one furnish us with an authentic copy of the statute, as amended? Now this is a reasonable and just request. To declare simply that a change has occurred, without making known precisely what that change is, is but to bewilder and confuse. Conscious of this fact, the State is always extremely careful to give to its citizens—in the most public manner—every variation which is made in its enactments, lest the loyal man should be incapable of proving his fidelity by obedience, or the disloyal justify his violation upon the plea of necessary ignorance. Shall man be more just than his Maker? Shall Christ—who in every other respect, has in matters of duty furnished us with line upon line, and precept upon precept—be found at last, upon this most important point to have been unmindful of the highest interests of his followers? Most assuredly not. He that never slumbereth nor sleepeth, He that knoweth the end from the beginning, He who hath said, “Where there is no law there is no transgression,” has certainly never required his people to occupy a position in the face of their enemies so extremely embarrassing as that in which they would be compelled to ignore the plainest dictates of reason and Scripture, by seeking to condemn in the world a practice which is not necessarily immoral in itself, and against which there is no explicit denunciation of the Bible. Who then, we inquire again, will furnish us from the sacred page the precept so remodelled as to meet the exigencies of this case? Is it larger or more condensed than before? Does the first clause read, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”? If so, it is well. Is the second in order expressed in these words, “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work?” This, again, is good. But how is it with the third, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt not do any work?” Here, unquestionably, the change must begin. Who among us therefore can produce the divine warrant for a reading of this passage which shall make it harmonize with the keeping of Sunday? Who dare declare, upon his veracity, that he has ever discovered in the sacred word an instance in which it has been re-written as to read, “But the first day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.”
Furthermore, passing over the instructions in regard to sons, daughters, servants, the stranger, etc., what has the pen of the divine remodeler done with the reason of the commandment as found in the words, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it?” Has that been stricken out altogether? Or, is there a glaring inconsistency in the remodelled statute, by which it is made to state that the first day of the week, instead of the seventh, is now the Sabbath of the Lord our God, because of the fact that in the creation of the world, God rested upon, blessed and hallowed, the latter? These are weighty questions. Upon them virtually turns the issue of an amended law. For, to amend, is so to change or alter as to vary the duty of a subject; and if no one is capable of informing definitely and particularly in regard to the precise variations of the phraseology, then of course no one is able to decide just how far our course of action should deviate from what it has been hitherto, in order to meet the demands of the divine will as now expressed, in a rule which has never been seen, and which no hand would venture to trace with any claim to exactitude. Who, then, we inquire again, is sufficient for this task? Not one among the millions of Protestants who are so earnestly clamoring for the sanctity of the day in question, will seriously lay claim to the ability to perform that which would at once elevate him to a position—in view of the relief which it would bring to thousands of troubled minds—more exalted than that of any saint or martyr who has ever lived.
Nor is this all; behind all this pretentious claim for an amended law, are very many indications of a widespread conviction—though undefined and hardly recognized by the individuals themselves—that the fact upon which they place so much stress is, after all, one in regard to which there are serious doubts in their own minds. As an illustration of this, we have but to call attention to two things. First, on each Lord’s day, so called, thousands of congregations—after devoutly listening to the reading of the fourth commandment of the decalogue—word for word, syllable for syllable, letter for letter, precisely as it was written upon the table of stone by the finger of God—are in the habit of responding with solemn cadence to the utterances of the preacher, “O Lord, incline our hearts to keep this law.” Now this prayer means something, or nothing. It is either an expression of desire, on the part of those employing it, for grace to enable them rightly to observe the commandment as it reads—seventh day and all—or else it is a solemn mockery, which must inevitably provoke the wrath of Heaven. These people, therefore, judging from the most charitable standpoint, are witnesses—unconscious though they may be of the fact—of a generally pervading opinion that the verbiage of the fourth commandment has not been changed, and that it is as a whole as binding as ever. Second, nor is it simply true that those only who have a liturgy, have committed themselves to this idea. It is astonishing to what extent it has crept into creeds, confessions of faith, church disciplines, and documents of a like nature. But among the most striking of all evidences of its universality, when properly understood, is the practice of nearly all religious denominations of printing, for general distribution among the Sunday-school scholars, verbatim copies of the decalogue, as given in the 20th chapter of Exodus. Yet this practice would be a pernicious one, and worthy of the most severe censure, as calculated to lead astray and deceive the minds of the young, if it were really true that this code, in at least one very important particular, failed to meet the facts in the case, as it regards present duty.
In view of these considerations, a change of the base of operations becomes indispensable. A commandment, altered in its expressions so as to vary its import, and yet no one acquainted with the exact terms in which it is at present couched—and all, in reality, being so skeptical upon the point that even its most ardent advocates reason as if it had never occurred—would certainly furnish a foundation altogether insufficient for the mighty superstructure of a great reform, which proposes, ere the accomplishment of its mission, to revolutionize the State.—W. H. L., in Christian Statesman.
(To be Continued.)
News and Miscellany.
“Can ye not discern the signs of the times?”
Facts for the Times.
The following from the Advocate of Christian Holiness on wearing earrings is certainly appropriate at this time, when there seems to be so many disregarding the instructions of Paul: “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.” 1 Tim. 2: 9. C. H. Bliss.
EARRINGS.
“It has been a custom in all ages for stock-growers to put the mark of their ownership on the ears of their animals; and the Beast, Satan, very early in the history of the world, soon after Eve was driven out of Eden, managed to put his mark on the ears of woman.
“We read that when Jacob went up with his household to Bethel, to build an altar unto God, that, at his command, ‘they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hands, and all the earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.’
“The controversy thus successfully inaugurated by Jacob, 616 years after the flood, against this Satanic and barbarous custom, has been kept up till the present day. But Satan still holds women by the ears; and the more degraded and besotted a nation or a tribe, the heavier the badges of his power in the ears of their women.
“This relic of barbarism has come down to us, and many of our women bear the marks of the beast, and display the badges of his ownership; and their ears, the perfect and beautiful creation of the divine hand, are pierced, and mangled, and dragged out of shape, and despoiled of their beauty.
“‘But,’ say some, ‘I have weak eyes, and my physician advised me to have my ears pierced.’
“Looking around us, we might suppose that we had a nation of weak-eyed women; for most of the ladies we have spoken to on the subject claim to have weak eyes. Better get a box of eye-salve; for this remedy is a humbug, unless the ears are kept sore and discharging; and we observe that most ladies heal them as soon as possible; and, indeed, it would be a pitiable sight to see one-half or two-thirds of our women going about with sore ears.
“‘But the fact is, young girls want to look womanly, and old women want to look girlish; and women with round faces want them to look long; and peaked-faced women want theirs to look broad; and many women want to look beautiful; and, like the women of heathen lands, who color their teeth, and paint their eyelids, and tattoo their faces, and imagine they look beautiful, our women think that they are adding to their personal beauty, when, in truth, they are only making themselves ridiculous in the eyes of men and angels. Away with this relic of barbarism.”
A Short Appeal
TO THE BRETHREN IN MINNESOTA.
Dear Brethren:—God has smiled upon us, and given a bountiful harvest to Minnesota of which few other States can boast.
And now, brethren, what are we going to do with this blessing? Are we selfishly going to heap the avails into our own bosoms? Have we houses and barns to build? Do we need things more convenient? Are there so many necessities that we hardly know which way to turn first? Must many debts be paid? All this is true more or less with all, no doubt. But I wish to say in regard to buildings, There is a building above, “a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” and it is so arranged that man can have a building there, and we do not want to build too much here. As to things convenient, what is more convenient than to know that one has a title to the eternal inheritance. And please tell me what is, or will be, more necessary than a covering in the day of God's wrath? And what debt is to be compared with the debt we owe for the price that was paid for us, even the price of the blood of God's dear Son? and not only this, but the vows we vow to God.
Now, dear brethren, look about you, and in your decisions of this subject do not be selfish. I would not use this term were it not a fact that the human heart is deceitful above all things, and very selfish.
It is not that the cause of God is languishing for means that we urge upon you the necessity of doing something, for the Lord will not forget the needs of those who labor for him; but we “desire fruit that may abound to your account.” We cannot expect to share in the eternal riches unless we are faithful in what is here committed to our trust, and the more we can transfer to the bank of Heaven the better.
Now there is considerable labor bestowed in Minnesota this season. Bro. Canright is laboring with all his might. Bro. Grant is doing no less. There are Bro. Russell and Eld. Long, who have helped us. Bro. John Matteson has done a good work among his
A PHENOMENON.
“The Albany Times has the following account of what it justly calls a phenomenon: ‘It was seen on Wednesday [Aug. 28], about six miles from Albany, beyond the old McKown woods. During the storm which prevailed, a cloud, funnel-shaped, descended from the heavens, extending apparently from the clouds to the ground. The tail was near the ground, and within this peculiar shaped mass, smoke and fire were seen to prevail to a degree which caused general alarm among the residents in that locality, being impressed with the idea that Plantamour’s comet had been delayed and come at last. The funnel-shaped mass would separate, occasionally, when the flame was plainly visible. This continued ten minutes, and was witnessed by a number of persons, all of whom agree as to the circumstances referred to. After the funnel-shaped cloud had disappeared, it was discovered that the corn and other produce on the farms in the locality where the tail of the funnel apparently rested, were all burned off even with the surface of the earth. By this, a great deal of property was destroyed, and no little alarm occasioned. What produced the phenomenon is more than any one in that locality could determine, and it would be well if some scientific gentleman could make an investigation and report the result.’”
Appointments for Tract Society and General Meetings
Appointments.
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
The next quarterly meeting of the Tract and Missionary Society in District No. 2, of New England, will be held in Boston, Sabbath and first-day, Nov. 2 and 3.
The next annual meeting of the New England Tract and Missionary Society will be held at New Ipswich, N. H., Nov. 9 and 10. This will be as important a meeting of the Tract and Missionary Society as has ever been held in this Conference. There is Conference business also to come up at this meeting; therefore a general attendance is expected. The quarterly meeting of District No. 3 will be held at this time and place. S. N. Haskell.
While stopping at home in Iowa for a few weeks, I shall esteem it a privilege to have a general meeting of the friends of the cause in Osceola, Iowa, Nov. 9 and 10, meetings to commence with the Sabbath, and close Sunday night. I shall esteem it a great privilege to have a general attendance of my old friends from all that section of country. Geo. I. Butler.
A general meeting of the S. D. Adventists of Tuscola County, Mich., will be held at Vassar, beginning Friday evening, Nov. 8, 1872, and continuing over Sabbath and Sunday. On Sunday, the 10th, at 10:30 A. M., the dedication services of their new meeting-house will take place. Brethren and sisters from other places are cordially invited. I. D. Van Horn.
In connection with Eld. Downer, I will commence a protracted meeting in the new meeting house at Mt. Hope, Grant Co., Wis., commencing Sabbath morning, Dec. 7, at half past ten A. M. Dedication sermon Sunday morning following, at half past ten A. M. I. Sanborn.
Monthly meeting for Oakland, Little Prairie, Raymond, and Johnstown, will be held at Johnstown, Wis., Nov. 2 and 3, 1872. Can Bro. Sanborn or some other minister meet with us? D. B. Staples, Clerk.
Quarterly meeting of the Greenbush church at the Colony school-house in Duplain, Mich., Nov. 9 and 10. Preaching is expected. O. B. Sevy, Clerk.
Quarterly meeting of the Waukon and West Union churches, at West Union, Iowa, Nov. 16 and 17. Bro. H. Nicola is invited to attend; and if the time appointed does not suit his convenience, he is at liberty to change it. Nason Hoyt.
The quarterly meeting of the Tract and Missionary Society for district No. 9 will be held at East Otto, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., Nov. 9, 10, 1872. The monthly meeting for that county will be held in connection with it. Those going by the E. R. R. should stop at the Cattaraugus Station, where teams will await them at 12 o’clock Friday. District No. 10, at Wiles Hill, Alleghany Co., Nov. 2 and 3.
District No. 2, at West Monroe. Failing to hear from the other Directors, I am unable to make appointments for the eastern and northern districts; but, as I now expect to attend them myself, due notice will be given. P. Z. Kinne, { Pres. N. Y. and Pa. T. and M. Society.
The next monthly meeting of S. D. Adventists of Erie Co., N. Y., will be held at Lancaster, Nov. 9 and 10. All come that can. Z. Brooks.
Providence permitting, I will meet with the following Districts in Tract and quarterly meeting:
District No. 9, at Ithaca, Nov. 2, 3.
“ “ 6, “ Alma, “ 4.
“ “ “ “ Jay, “ 5.
“ “ “ “ Watrousville, “ 7.
“ “ “ “ Tuscola, “ 8.
“ “ 11, “ Vassar, “ 9, 10.
“ “ 10, “ St. Charles, “ 12.
“ “ “ “ Chesaning, “ 13.
“ “ “ “ Holly, “ 14.
“ “ 12, “ Lapeer, “ 16, 17.
“ “ “ “ Memphis, “ 18.
“ “ “ “ Oakland, “ 20.
“ “ “ “ Genoa, “ 22.
“ “ 13, “ Alaiedon, “ 23, 24.
Meeting to commence at 7 o’clock P. M., except Sabbath. We hope that our brethren will come prepared to seek God and help advance his cause at all these meetings. E. H. Root.
Monthly meeting of the Jackson church, at Jackson, on the first Sabbath in November. Cannot a minister meet with us, as we would like to have the ordinances? By request of the church, E. P. Giles, Elder.
Advance Pay System.
By James White
The Trustees of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association determined to bring about the strict pay-in-advance system on the REVIEW AND HERALD, the Health Reformer, and the Youth’s Instructor, at the commencement of new volumes at the first of January, 1873. Timely notice is hereby given to all delinquents to pay up.
The only proper and just course to take in this matter is to pay up, and save the Tract and Missionary Societies in the several States, the trouble of collecting these dues. The sum of two dollars, or less, in United States currency, properly enveloped, in any one letter, and addressed, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich., may be forwarded at the risk of the Association. If larger sums in currency be sent in any one letter, it must be at the risk of the sender.
Those who cannot conveniently obtain Drafts or Money Orders, can forward currency, not exceeding two dollars, in a letter, and when they see that received, if they are still in arrears they can forward another, and still another, until they have paid one year in advance on the REVIEW, Reformer, and Instructor. Should any of these small sums be lost, the amount will be credited to the sender, the same as if received. We give definite explanations, and make the terms easy, and shall expect all to pay up immediately.
Tract and Missionary Societies are hereby notified that it is expected of them to see that all these accounts are settled as soon as possible. Special directions how to proceed in the case of delinquents, can be obtained by letter from the REVIEW AND HERALD Office. Send immediately.
James White, Pres. S. D. A. P. A.
To the Churches
By Convention Committee
OF THE N. Y. AND PA. CONFERENCE.
DEAR BRETHREN:—You doubtless remember that at our last Conference it was resolved that we have a more thorough system established in our financial affairs, and especially in regard to Systematic Benevolence. Now, in order to bring this about, it will be necessary for each person to pay his pledge for this quarter, on or before the first of November next, to the treasurer of the church of which he is a member, then it will be the duty of the treasurer to forward the whole amount (in a draft) to E. S. Lane, Locke, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and send a report of the same to Eld. S. B. Whitney, Keene, Essex Co., N. Y.
The necessity of prompt action in this will be apparent when you understand that we do not design to give ministers orders on church treasurers as in some instances heretofore, but directly on the conference treasurer. If this plan is carried out (and we hope it will be) it will place the means of the conference where it will be available at any time, save trouble in making out reports, and what is not least, avoid very much labor and care at the time of the Conference.
Brethren, let us be faithful in these things as dealing with God. CONV. COMMITTEE.
Kirkville, Oct. 24, 1872.
A Wonder.
By A. Smith
“I WILL show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.” Joel 2:30.
The above scripture was brought forcibly to my mind while recently reading in a secular paper the following account of a strange phenomenon, and while, perhaps, none will be able to account for the wonder on any known law of nature, a few will attach to it significance, as a sign of the “day of the Lord.”
I copy the article in question from the Owego (N. Y.) Times: A. SMITH.
The Pope’s Infallibility.
THE pope was declared infallible on the 21st of July, 1870, by a vote of 538 against 2 of the Ecumenical Council at Rome.
Proposed World's Prayer Meeting at the Boston Coliseum
A PROMINENT Massachusetts pastor suggests, that at the close of the Boston Jubilee; the great Coliseum building be used for a series of religious meetings. He says: “Let us have a World’s Prayer Meeting for three days. Invite the multitudes gathered there to remain, and telegraph to all accessible points of Christendom to send, as far as possible, large delegations to a great meeting to pray for the conversion of the world.”
Shopkeepers' Riots and Order Restored in Madrid
TROUBLE IN MADRID, OCT. 8.—After the shopkeepers’ manifestations yesterday, which temporarily subsided on the promise of the Alcalde that the tax on shop bills shall be reconsidered, crowds again collected on the streets, hissed the members of the city government who were trying to allay the excitement, and assailed the police with clubs and stones. The civil force being unable to suppress the disorder, and the rioters becoming more violent, a battalion of National Guards was called out and cleared the streets. Several persons were injured, but none killed. Order was restored, and the city to-day has been quiet.
Look to Your Cellars.
Those who have in charge the care of the household should frequently think of their cellars. No vegetables, except potatoes, should be stored in the cellar. Especially should cabbages, beets, celery, and turnips be excluded. A cellar should be thoroughly whitewashed at least once a year, and swept and put in order twice a month. The air in a properly kept cellar will not become impure when the weather becomes sufficiently cold to render necessary the closing up of the open windows, while on the other hand, the air of a cellar so closed up, which is untidily kept and filled with vegetables, some of them in a decayed state, may be well imagined. All cellars, however, should have the outside doors thrown open for an hour or two in mid-day, upon clear days, when the temperature is above the freezing point.
An excess of water, or too much dampness, in some instances arises from surface water, and in others from spring veins that crop out in the cellar. Sometimes the bottom of the cellar will often be covered with water.
The correct way to avoid a wet cellar is to lay a tile drain entirely around the outside of the excavation, nearly a foot lower than the bottom of the cellar, before the foundation walls are laid. But after an edifice has already been erected, and water appears on the cellar bottom, the most satisfactory way to render the bottom dry is to sink the channel nearly a foot deep entirely around the cellar close to the wall, and a course of drain-tiles in the bottom, which will cut off all water-veins, and thus render the cellar quite satisfactorily dry, by conducting the water into the tiles before it can work along toward the middle of the cellar.—Scientific American.
Annexed to each receipt in the following list, is the Volume and Number of the REVIEW & HERALD TO which the money receipted pays—which should correspond with the Numbers on the Posters. If money to the paper is not in due time acknowledged, immediate notice of the omission should then be given.
$2 00 EACH. Albert Greene 42-8, J T Orton 41-21, E A Woodruff 42-19, Cynthia McCoy 43-1, Thompson Lowry 42-17, Richard Martz 42-16, A Powers 42-1, B Lucas 42-18, John Stone 43-2, E Parks 43-1, Rufus Baker 43-1, R S Tyler 42-10, John E Davis 42-7, J F Sindlinger 42-4, John Rogers 42-6, A Stranahan 42-6, Thomas Lindsay 42-14, S Hastings 42-18, Samantha Lyon 41-1, James Hanson 42-17, Mrs Phebe Perry 42-20, Mahala Jackson 42-19, N C Walsworth 42-11, H C Watkins 42-9, Mrs L J Belnap 32-14, Simon T Beck 42-20, Kate V Temple 42-11, Geo Field 42-20, B W Caswell 42-16, L Reynolds 42-14, James Breeze 45-1, J M Jeserull 42-20, David Robins 42-4, A A Foss 43-1, L H Densmore 42-11.
$1.50 EACH. Miles Curry 42-19, Capt T C Alvord 42-19, I N Van Gorden 40-16, Silas Fosdick 42-19, George Dade 42-20, David Fulton 42 20, Eld D P Curtis 42-20, S W Whitelock 42 20, Walter Pepper 42-20, A D Perdee 42-20, Seth Woods 42 20, James Viers 42-20, R F A for S C Brinkerhoof 42-18, R F A for Jane Manson 42-18, Charles Magnuson 42-20, John H Totman 42-20.
$1.00 EACH. Dr T Stringer 41-14, J H Whitmore 41-19, Wicey Holland 41-19, E A Nutting 41-3, B M Smith 40-17, Mrs N Calowell 41-20, D W Crandall 41-1, L Lunger 41-19, P Lightner 41-20, M E Moulton 41-4, G B Sarchut, George Poulson 41-18, Z Z Brooks 41-17.
Miscellaneous. Polly Conklin 50c 41-1, A Conklin 50c 41-9, N Sargent $2.50 42-14, E A Beale 3.60 40-20, A P Williams 75c 41-20, M Gould 2.50 42-1, A Gregory 75c 41-20, E Carpenter 3.00 42-1, G G Green 2.50 41-15, H C Crumb 5.00 41-12, Ann Needy 50c 40-22, H Bingham 1.12 45-1, A C Woodbury 3.00 43-1, Mariah Harper 5.00 40-23.
Books Sent by Mail.
James Hanson $2 00, Peter Vogel 50c, D T Bourdeau 3.39, Emma Beebe 1.20, S D Waggoner 1.00, H A St. John 2.00, J P Smith 30c, A P Taggart 20c, Emma E Stone 1 00, Geo W Washburn 75c, J A Killingsworth 2.00, Theodosia Terry 50c, Miss Cornelia Walker 1.10, D M Canright 25c, A Rasmussen 25c, C W Armstrong 1.50, Sarah Clark 50c, Jesse Dorcas 2.25, B M Caswell 25c, D H Maxham 25c, D Ticknor 20c, D Malin 3.00, M Hicks 40c, James Breeze 50c, M C Knight 20c, L Richer 50c, J C Eller 60c, S R Wells 3.40, J W Snyder 1.00, J M Wilkenson 50c, Clara Bryant 1.50, J M Butchee 50c, Mrs Wm Earl 45c, S F Potts 25c, S Kennedy 20c, Dr A Wetmore 1 00, D Bowe 1.00, H S Smith 20c.
Books Sent by Express.
J O Corliss, Clare, Clare Co., Mich., $5.63, R F Cottrell, Cattaraugus, N. Y., 4.13, R M Kilgore, Washington, Iowa, 15.00.
Books Sent by Freight.
D M Canright, Dassel, Meeker Co., Minn., $36.00, P Strong, Pine Grove Station, Van Buren Co., Mich., 75.83.
Cash Received on Account.
J N Loughborough $150.00, R F Andrews 2.00, P S Thurston 3.00, E Goodrich 65c.
Shares in S. D. A. P. Association.
James Hanson $10.00, Hannah Soule 10.00, Addie Bartholf 10.00.
Michigan Conference Fund.
From the Danish brethren in Montcalm Co., $18.40.
Review to the Poor.
A friend $500.
General Conference Fund.
Erastus Elmer $2.00.
Book Fund,—$10,000 Wanted.
Amount previously acknowledged—$5,560.93.
Five dollars each—Ellen E Armstrong, Nancy Collins.
Miscellaneous.—James Hanson $3 00.
The Review and Herald.
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H. F. PHELPS
By H. F. Phelps
people. And now have we not a thank-offering to present? At least, have we not made up our minds to pay up our Systematic Benevolence? There is about one thousand dollars due the Conference from the different churches in this Conference. Now it is the small sums that make up this larger one. And we do most earnestly hope, and we would urge and beseech you, dear brethren, to pay your vows unto the Lord.
Now, we do not expect that God's cause will suffer if you do not pay one cent of this sum. But you will certainly suffer a very great loss, both here and in the world to come. For as the word of the Lord is sure, so sure his curse will follow those who profess to follow in this Heaven-ordained plan, and yet fail of coming up to the work. Now, shall next Conference find us with a clean record? It is possible. Or shall this terrible blot stand, with all its discouraging influence, upon your Conference records? One quarter of the year is passed and the debt is increasing. Three-quarters are yet in the future, during which time we may clear the account. Shall it be done?
It is but justice to our brethren of the Danish church to say that they never fail of keeping a clear account. Let us imitate their example in this respect, and try, by working, to get nearer to the Lord.