Earlier text: BOTH SIDES OF THE SABBATH QUESTIONThis Week’s Review
By Editor
THIS WEEK'S REVIEW.—With no small degree of interest Bro. Smith will be read this week, as he follows Eld. Preble in his wandering course. As our opponents on the Sabbath question have no harmonious system of truth on the subject to present, they can wander from the Sabbath to washing the saints' feet, or anywhere else, without departing from the character of their work, which is to cast doubt over that which in itself is plain, confuse and tear down. They may contradict themselves in every other paragraph, and no matter for that, as they have no system of truth relative to the Sabbath question to suffer by these contradictions. Their work is easily done, because it is all tearing down. The reason why it is sometimes laborious to discomfit them, is because they have nothing to defend. Their work is simply to stand off and throw fire-brands into the camp of the saints. One incendiary can burn buildings faster than one hundred men can build them. One man can tear up more railroad track than ten men can put down. Let it be borne in mind that while Bro. Smith fully meets his opponent, and exposes his contradictory positions, he also presents a harmonious system of truth, showing the agreement between the law and the gospel in the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Forget not this fact, that Bro. Smith accomplishes a two-fold work: first, of meeting Eld. Preble's objections to the Sabbath; and second, of showing the relation which the law and the gospel sustain to each other in the salvation of sinners. It is a matter to be deeply regretted that Eld. Preble did not send his note of correction to the Crisis Office. That correction would have appeared admirably well in the columns of the same paper which had borne his egregious misstatement to its thousands of eager readers. In fact Eld. Preble should have read up upon all such vital points before taking upon his hands the responsible work of disposing of a question relative to one of the commandments of the great God. The Crisis for the 20th contains Eld. Preble's concluding article. He winds up with a challenge for discussion with any man Sabbatarians may select, who is qualified to handle the subject. When Bro. Smith is through with him, if he is not then satisfied, Bro. Loughborough or Bro. Cornell may, at a proper time and place, favor him with an opportunity of oral discussion. The experience of Bro. Moon of California is like that of hundreds of others who have been led to see the harmony of present truth from reading a few copies of the Review, or a few tracts and pamphlets. Yet many of our people seem to have no interest in casting bread upon the waters in this way. Astonishing stupidity holds many in inaction. Our increase of subscribers averages only about fifty each week, when it should be hundreds at such a time as the present. Our people in the East have called for help. And now that two of our most efficient missionaries are in the East, and the writings of an Eastern opponent, published in an Eastern paper, are being ably reviewed in our paper, these Eastern brethren should be awake. Will they be content with their penury sum of Systematic Benevolence, and make no sacrifice beyond this to spread the truth? There should come pouring in from New England, weekly, hundreds of new subscribers to meet other hundreds from all other portions of the field. Brethren, you can have the Review sent to your friends, from Maine to California, one year, for the small sum of one dollar of our depreciated currency. Will you not awake to your duty in this respect? God bless Bro. Cornell. His friends in Michigan and elsewhere are happy to hear that he is meeting with his usual success. One man who chooses to wear out, is worth forty who are willing to rust out. With the armor kept bright, sister Cornell laboring by his side, can add one-half to the good accomplished. May these pilgrims rejoice, when the final gathering comes, to see many precious souls gathered from old Maine as the fruits of their labors. We want more articles, short, and to the point, like Bro. Gurney's, and sister Lawton's appeal to the youth. Don't trouble the reader with a long, prosy introduction; but come right to the subject of living interest, and when you are done, stop writing. Bro. Clarke says, Report. That is right. Ministers should report. They need not give all the particulars how they left home, and how they proceeded on their journey. We want the points of religious interest in a spirited style, with as few words as will fully express them. Let the brethren and sisters report their holy and instructive thoughts. Items of experience are very precious. We go for a reform in the Review. We desire to see it rise in interest, in instruction, and in spirituality, so that our brethren will wish to send it to their friends everywhere. So much for the Review this week. We hope to have a better paper next week. Opposers of Truth Should Have a Good Memory.
By R. F. Cottrell
ThE truth is ready made at our hands; and the arguments which support it are in harmony with it and themselves. No two truths contradict each other, therefore it is easy to tell a straight story in defending the truth. Though memory may be poor, and the mind cannot comprehend the whole range of the arguments which sustain it, yet if any one argument be presented, there is no danger that it will conflict with any other. But in opposing the truth, a man should have the very best memory, or he will contradict himself. Yet men of bad memory will undertake it. The law of God is the truth. Says David, "Thy law is the truth." Each separate commandment of that law is the truth. "All thy commandments are truth." And when men oppose the law or the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, they oppose the truth. Those who undertake it, having no knowledge of the evidence on the side of the Sabbath, are rash; those who do so knowing these evidences are short-sighted; and their memory always proves to be very treacherous. They will tell you that they esteem every day of the week alike in this dispensation; but soon they will tell you that the first day of the week is set apart to be observed in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ. They fear for us, as Paul did for the Galatians, because we "observe days," while they observe as many days, in the course of fifty-two weeks as we do. At one breath they assure us that it is a matter of perfect indifference whether we observe the Sabbath or not, that if we regard it to the Lord, it is perfectly right to do so; and in the next, they will apply the curse to us for preaching another gospel, and tell us that to neglect the first day and to keep the seventh, is to reject Christ. They tell us that the Sabbath institution is indefinite as to the day, that it requires one day in seven and no day in particular; and all this with the very serious and candid object in view, and to lay the foundation to prove that the Sabbath has been changed from the definite seventh to the definite first day of the week! I wish some one versed in logic would state this argument in the form of a regular syllogism. I will make the attempt, but I may not be correct: The Sabbath commandment requires the observance of one day in seven, but no definite day. But the ancients obeyed it by keeping the definite seventh day, and this they were required to do on pain of death; and we moderns keep the definite first day on pain of excommunication. Therefore, there is no need of any scriptural testimony to prove that the Sabbath has been changed. Again, our friends of short memory tell us that the reckoning of time has been disarranged, so that we cannot possibly tell which day of the week is the seventh day; but that the next day after the Sabbath, when the disciples came to the sepulchre of Jesus and found he had risen, has been weekly observed, to commemorate the resurrection, from that day to the present. In one part of a conversation they will tell us that the seventh-day Sabbath was a shadowy institution and abolished by Christ, and if we keep it now, we deny Christ and fall from grace; but before the conversation is done another lucky thought will come into their mind, and they will tell us that they believe that Sunday is the true seventh day and ought to be kept. No fears of falling from grace by keeping the seventh day, provided it comes on Sunday. They tell us that we cannot keep the seventh day, because the earth is round and turns on its axis, causing the day to begin at different times in different places, and that the inclination of its axis to the plane of its orbit makes it six months day and six months night at the poles, and that sailing round the earth we either gain or lose a day; but none of these form any objection to the keeping the first day—they all vanish into thin air with respect to that day. The decalogue with the Sabbath in it, to them is a curse—a yoke of bondage; but remove the Sabbath and insert the first day of the week in its place, and the yoke is easy and the burden is light. In short, they can never succeed in their argument, unless their memory can be improved; and if by some system of mnemonics this can be done, their theory will be spoiled. Oh, that they had a better memory! THE last has been another good Sabbath to the church at Battle Creek. Again we went down into the waters of the Kalamazoo and baptized nine. There are others to go forward soon. A most blessed work of grace has been in progress in this church for several weeks. It has not been the result of revival preaching. Sabbath after Sabbath the church has been without preaching, but there has been a good influence in the church. One of the principal agents in this good work has been a regular prayer-meeting held by some of the sisters. As those who were baptized have recently come to Battle Creek, several of them to attend school, we will give their names and the States from which they came. Rosette R. Abbey, Hattie Lowrey, Permelia Hilliard, Jane Hearns, New York. Sarah Sanford, Minnesota. Aurelia Casey, Wisconsin. Cyrinthia Bodley, Indiana. Laura White and Eleanor Lewis, Michigan. Report from Bro. Cornell.
By M. E. Cornell
BRO. WHITE: I have now given six lectures here. The going is bad, but the interest is good. They never heard lectures on the charts before. Books are taken freely. I have commenced to plead for our good papers, and received six subscribers yesterday, and four more this morning, for the Review. Spiritualism was flourishing hereabouts, but I hope we are in time to save some from the awful snare of these seductive spirits. I remain here and hold meetings evenings through this week. Brn. Stratton and Goodrich will be with me over next Sabbath and first-day. A brisk investigation has commenced, and I confidently anticipate an encouraging result. There are many openings here. Who is sufficient for these things? I sometimes wish I could be in twenty places at once. I hope a united prayer will go up for more laborers, whom the Lord can send, and the church approbate. Spiritualism is spreading faster now than usual. How necessary that a timely warning be given. Brethren, pray for us, that the word may have free course, and cause many hearts to rejoice. Cornville, Me., April 25, 1864. God's Love.—It stands unrivalled and unparalleled in the annals of the world. It smiles on all the good, it sympathizes with all the afflicted, it soothes the sorrows of all earth's suffering sons and daughters. It is boundless and free, and embraces all classes and conditions of mankind. It is high as Heaven, broad as the universe and lasting as eternity. Our Usefulness
By Jos. CLARKE.
DOES not depend upon our position merely, but upon our fitness for the discharge of duty. It is not necessary for one to rise up to some lofty height of preferment, or to occupy a very responsible station in order to be useful; for usefulness is something different from display. To be useful one must get in close union with the one who guides the hearts of his people, and controls the waves. Without this, the effort to benefit our fellow men will be useless, or if for a time it may seem to prosper, in the end it will prove its want of life and permanent strength and often end in fanaticism or its opposition. One may without any particular preparation render himself useful in society in various ways, as in kindness to the sick and to the poor, &c., but the usefulness to which I refer is that of labor in the cause of truth and Bible holiness; and I do not separate these, for a rightly informed mind will see that although kind acts do not always give proof of a holy life, yet a holy life will invariably produce kind acts. To be useful, three things are indispensable: 1. A right frame of mind to perform the useful and holy act of saving a sinner from death. 2. The approbation of Him without whose Spirit the heart cannot be moved; 3. The confidence and esteem of the sinner you would save. Other qualifications might be mentioned, but I think all might come under the scope of these three divisions. Thus you cannot benefit your child if he thinks you are unjust, or if he is alienated from you. The husband cannot benefit the wife whom he has treated with contempt and scorn and tyranny; nor can that woman who neglects her husband's interests, and sets up her own will in opposition to his, and frets at his earnest desires for her improvements, and who disobeys his directions, expect to have much influence over him. You cannot expect God will give his Spirit to set home truths spoken by you, while you inwardly seek the praise of men. If he should, it would be your ruin; for you would, like Herod, take all the glory, and if your heart is not right it is a mercy to you that he leaves you barren until you see your error. Some score or more years in the past, while yet the light shone in the churches of America, Dr. — of F —, was a useful minister and much good was effected by his labor. After a time it was whispered in the religious circles, that Dr. —, had lost his spirituality! Why did people think so? Because his preaching had lost its power to affect the mind. He was still eloquent, but the spirit of God did not follow and give edge to the truth. Here was the way people reasoned then, and they reasoned correctly. In all the history of the church there have been the useful men and women whose hearts were fitted to appreciate the value of the truth, those who bowed under its teachings and trembled at the thought of giving ground to the enemy. It has been those who maintained a close walk with God, and lived in his light, those who were conscientious and discreet, and who strove to fit themselves for usefulness, and to glorify God, whom God has used as instruments to save souls. Can a man sow daily the seeds of unhappiness and sorrow and yet occasionally stand out in defense of truth? Can a man be bitter at home toward offenses, and yet assume a different phase abroad? Can I be bitter toward a friend or brother and yet cloke it while I love all the other brethren? No, thank God! I must be thorough, for that all-seeing eye knows the heart, and He is without variableness or shadow of turning. It is a high and holy mission to be empowered of God to be fellow-worker with Him, and his glory is above all. Let us seek his favor, who can give us favor, and a good influence. The use of tobacco works against the principle of piety, and therefore tends not to the glory of God. There is nothing in common between the vicious principle of tobacco and the holy principle of piety. The two forces are antagonistic in their nature. No sensible man can fall down on his knees and ask God to bless the use of tobacco. This shows what it is. It is outside of all religion, and consequently outside of all prayer. What a sight it would be to behold a smoker, chewer, and snuffer thanking God for his kindness in providing him with the means of injuring body and soul! Certainly no one would thus trifle with the Most High. Yet what a dark fact stands before us, that an accountable being will continue a practice for which he cannot pray! It is quite clear that piety allows of no sensation of pleasure that is generated at the expense of order, purity and strength. The pleasure here is the result of absolute lawlessness. There is not a single law that is kept by the habit. It is therefore wrong. Religion cannot tolerate any kind of pleasure that follows from evil. It says, Have happiness to the full extent of well-being and well-doing, but neither more nor less than this. The use of tobacco is nothing short of intemperance. Man was never made to use tobacco. The whole practice is unnatural. It is not in a line with the common wants of the system. It is something superadded. You cannot call it food; you cannot call it drink. It is an unmistakable invention of man, forced upon nature while nature has no preparation for it. It is therefore intrinsically a great evil, having not the least good to recommend it. We live in a most momentous and most remarkable age. And the present point of time seems more remarkable than any which has preceded it. There was never such a war as the present. People of the same language and blood are contending fearfully against each other. It is truly a war of subjugation, full of blood and suffering. American soldiers during the last three years have been counted by millions. Physical movements and physical destruction and consumption have been more than ever before. The martial excitement of the whole people is new and excessive. It is universal and intense. But the moral excitement among those who are not in the army is also equally intense. In many States the foundation of our civil institutions is destroyed. The body politic is lacerated and wounded and scarred from head to foot. In the States too where the civil institutions remain entire, there is much that is abnormal and unnatural. Extravagance characterizes the people. They are extravagant in their modes of living. The luxury now manifest is alarming, and begets many other vices. Popular amusements are patronized to great excess. All this too in a time of civil war. Other countries, in times of distressing war have acted very differently, and so did our own during the Revolution. Self-control is lost and selfishness holds sway. The anchors of society are loosened, and there is danger of greater disorder, the longer the war continues—danger of disruption and social chaos. We have all felt that there would be great advantages growing out of this war. But many have seemed to think that there were no very great disadvantages except a temporary check to the population of the country, some derangement of commerce and industry and a heavy national debt. All these are calamities indeed, but there is reason to fear that they are far less than some of the other results of the rebellion and the war carried on to suppress it. There is a want of honesty manifest throughout the country; a disposition to overreach and cheat each other which is appalling. Men do not mind appropriating the money of their fellow men to their own use. They do not scruple to cheat and overreach wherever they can. The amount of public patronage has been immense beyond all precedent and the corruption and depreciation of public morals has been just what we might expect it to be. Sometimes we almost fear that the streets of every city in the Union may yet run blood, as did those of Paris in the days of her revolution. There have never been so fearful indications among us of something of this sort before. Just now it is hard to tell how much of conservative virtue and morality may yet remain among us. Another feature of the times is a want of respect among the people for personal character. Politicians are sharper than usual in their attacks upon each other. Partisans are more intense and bitter than usual. There is a spirit of destructiveness manifest; everywhere is a kind of moral epidemic that rages in various neighborhoods and communities like a fatal and contagious disease. Men are reckless in what they say, as well as what they do, against others. Excitements sweep over communities just as storms sweep over the land. Destructiveness is one of the182 most active principles now operating in human society. Men seem to take delight in scandal. Relatives and kindred seem to have lost their wonted affection for each other. The sanctions of religion are weaker now than a while ago. The Christian and the moralist are amazed at this new order or rather disorder of all things moral and social. It is high time that we were aroused to a consciousness of our social and political dangers. If we do not awaken now it may be too late to save a country not only convulsed and shattered, but made an absolute wreck. Report of Meetings.
By Wm. H. Brinkerhoff
Bro. White: On March 17th I commenced meetings seven miles west of Oceola, Iowa. Had good meetings. The brethren felt the need of help, and hence were willing to be helped. In the evening after the Sabbath the brethren proceeded to the work of organization, and a church of fifteen members was established. These brethren have been neglected in times past, and felt as though they would not be cared for; but they now feel determined to go forward. May the Lord help them so to do. I also held a meeting with the Sandyville church. There is a spirit of investigation in the vicinity around Sandyville, and great responsibilities rest upon that church. Oh, that they may live in such a way that they may honor the cause of present truth, and not cause the truth to go trailing in the dust. Also attended the monthly meeting at Knoxville. Quite a goodly number of brethren present. The brethren have a desire to be overcomers so as to meet Jesus with joy and gladness; but they need a little more spiritual vitality, so as to work by principle more, and not so much by feeling. I shall visit some of the churches up north soon. I am now at home preparing things so that I will be ready to go where the Lord may direct. Lisbon, Iowa, April 22, 1864. To the Youth.
By A. P. Lawton
I FEEL much for the dear youth. They have fallen indeed on an evil time. Satan would keep them from professing Christ, and if they do, he, if possible, will induce them to bring a reproach upon the cause by making them content with profession. Your friends may tell you there is no harm in your former amusements and associates. Satan uses them to ruin you; but they do not know it. Treat your former associates with the greatest kindness; but seek not their company unless you are very sure that you can exert an influence over them for good. You will control them, or they you. Sit not in the seat of the scornor. The words, life, looks, dress and associates should be chaste, modest, refined and subdued. The gaudy, worldly dress should not be worn. God cannot commune with a heart devoted to dress, vain company and vain amusements. There is no time for these things. There is little time enough to get our hearts subdued, and prepared to meet Jesus. He is surely coming, and there is great danger of our being like the foolish virgins. May the Lord save us from their fate. If sinners entice thee to sin, consent thou not. Be not ashamed of your profession. Be familiar with the Bible, with your own hearts, and our faith, that you may be able to give a reason of the hope that is within you with meekness and fear. If we cherish a desire in our hearts for the world, we need not wonder if we are not blessed of the Lord, and happy. Go to God for yourselves. Your parents may do much for you, but you must be in earnest for yourselves, or you are lost. Time is closing. There is no time to dally. If you do not possess sister White's testimonies to the youth, and the Appeal to the Youth, in which are her letters to her children, get them, if you do without something else you need. Nothing can be of more service to you. Make them a part of your library. Lay them with your Bible. Read a portion of them daily, and be familiar with their contents. The sciences and civilities of life are desirable and innocent; but our closets, our intercourse with God, and our own hearts, must not be supplanted by any of these things. Simplicity dignifies the Christian character, and humility elevates it. "CHRIST has a service for all his members," said James Therrall, an old carpenter in a village on Salisbury Plain, to a young Christian who complained that she was unworthy to work for the Lord. "Let not one of the members say, 'The Head has no need of me.' I used to think as you do long ago, but he taught me otherwise by a crooked stick." "One day my son went to a sale of timber, and in the lot was a stick [or piece] so twisted and bent, that I spoke sharply to him, saying: 'You have a bad bargain there, lad. That crooked stick will be of no use to any one.'" "It's all timber, replied my son, not the least vexed by my reproof. 'I paid the same price for it as the rest. Depend upon it, no tree grows for nothing. Wait a bit; don't fret, father; let us keep a lookout; there's a place somewhere for it.'" "A little time after this, I had a cottage to build, a queer bit of a house it was, and pretty enough when it was finished. There was a corner to turn in it, and not a stick in the yard would fit. I thought of the crooked one and fetched it. Many a hard day's work would have failed to prepare a joist like it. It seemed as if the tree had grown expressly for the purpose. 'Then,' said I, 'there's a place for the crooked stick after all!' Then there's a place for poor James Therrall. Dear Lord, show him the place into which he may fit in building thy heavenly temple. That very day I learned that what God gives me, he gives me for his glory, and poor and unlettered as I was, there was a work for me. There is a work for you. God has some—for you to do, and nobody else can do it." This village carpenter had neither the knowledge of the schoolmen, nor had he taken a degree at college, yet was he a teacher of divine truths, and he was wise in the wisdom of the children of light. Thus the warped tree had preached to him a sermon on true humility, and made him from that day an humble steward of the things of the kingdom.—Family Treasury. R. F. COTTRELL
By R. F. Cottrell
DEAR BRETHREN : Time is hastening us on to the advent of Jesus. That same Jesus is coming again to claim and receive the purchase of his blood. We have not followed cunningly devised fables, leading us to the conclusion that the great day of the Lord is at hand. Scripture prophecies, which have proved themselves true by the fulfillment of their every prediction, except their closing and crowning event, have led us with unerring certainty to the position that we occupy, and we know, without a doubt that that most fearfully momentous and solemn day is just before us. Are we making that advancement in the preparation which we ought? Do we realize the momentous truths concerning which the clearest and most decisive testimony has, as it were, compelled our belief? Have we a view of the vast work yet to be done, to prepare ourselves and others for the close of probation? For one, I fear I have not. Yet, by the help of the Lord I am determined not to yield, but to fight till the victory is gained. Victory will be the lot of the faithful; and it is a victory worth gaining. Eternal life, eternal joys, will crown the conquerors. Those who venture on the Lord and venture fully, who fight manfully and perseveringly, will, at length, hear the never-ending blessing pronounced, the well-done to the faithful servant. In the light of the day of retributions and rewards, how do the trials, the labors, the sufferings of this present time sink into insignificance! They are not183 worthy to be compared with those of the primitive church, and theirs, according to Paul's testimony, were not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in the glorified saints. My prayer to God is, that we may see things in their true light. That we may walk by faith, not by viewing the things that are seen, which are temporal, but the things that are not seen, which are eternal. May God help me to arouse and not sleep over the awful moments which are deciding the destiny of the present, vast generation. Brethren, pray for me, that I may have a spirit of discernment to understand my duty, and enjoy the indwelling of the Spirit of truth, to enable me to discharge my responsibilities to divine acceptance. I will remember you. If I forget Zion, let my right hand forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. I proffer you still my heart and my hand. The Lord help us to fulfill our vows. Light is for the righteous sown;
In our path it will be springing,
If, as journeying to our home,
W'ere ever found to Jesus clinging:
If meek and lowly at his feet,
We only wait to do his will,
Though called to pass through waters deep,
Light shall arise upon us still. Light is for the righteous sown;
Lonely pilgrim—cease thy weeping—
God will not forsake his own;
Those who are his precepts keeping;
Though the world with blinded eyes,
Stumbling, fall in darkest night;
Faithful ones—the Sun shall rise—
In your dwellings shall be light. Light is for the righteous sown;
Light of present truth! how cheering;
Darkness has before it flown,
Like the dew, at sun's appearing;
Oh, while onward still we go,
Meekly, in the way of right;
Brighten will our pathway grow,
Until dawns eternal light. THE other day I met one of our soldiers, a veteran; he was a — man, I will not tell the name of the State, but it is one I love, and it has given many brave men to the country. He was a fine looking man, intelligent too, and with an earnest face, but a little clouded, alas! as I now found, with that horrible curse, whisky. Somebody had been wicked enough to "put an enemy into his mouth, to steal away his brains." He talked of his battles and escapes; he was quite a veteran, and finally I asked him, "Do the men drink?" "I don't know what you mean by drinking," said he; "any soldier takes a glass of whisky when he can get it." And then, as he told me, I could hardly help repeating his question, "How could they help it?" Alone and sick and tired or wet, and cold and hungry. "You see, a man hasn't much, and then you see it lifts him right up." "Ah," said I, "to drop him down again lower than ever." "Yes, but he does not stop to think of that." And then I told him I knew of some that did not drink. He had never seen them. That I knew of officers who abstained, and kept their men from drink all they could. "I don't know any such officers." "Why you see," said he "the men drink when they can get it; but the officers can get it all the time, and they do drink terrible." This I could not gainsay, though I knew individual exceptions: and then he went on to tell me some sad tales. I knew the truth of some from other sources. You need not tell me they were soldiers' stories; I had proof enough. He told me of one officer drunk,—crazy drunk—who led his men to a desperate charge, at a terrible sacrifice of life. The enemy broke and fled; but his men might have been all cut to pieces, and so he saw when he came to himself—for, strange to say, he escaped unhurt. He told me of one regiment ordered forward, to its almost annihilation, by a drunken officer, who gave out and was carried to the rear, for the time getting the credit of a wound; and finally some junior officer bethought himself, and ordered the men back; but, there were the precious lives sacrificed. Who should restore them, or heal the hearts broken by their loss? Alas! there will be terrible reckonings for wasted lives, and they must share who make and sell the poison that takes away men's senses. OH, to be forgiven! It is enough to make a man leap—aye, to leap three times, as John Bunyan puts it, and go on his way rejoicing. Forgiven! Why, a rack becomes a bed of down, the flames become our friends, when we are forgiven. Justified! No more condemnation! Oh, the joy of that! The happiness of the slave when he lands on freedom's shore, is nothing compared with the delight of the believer when he gets out of the land of the enemy. Speak we of the joy of the poor captive who has been chained to the oar by the corsair, and who at last is delivered! The breaking of his chain is not one-half such melodious music to him as the breaking of our chains to us. "He took me out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and put a new song into my mouth, and established my goings." Talk not of the joys of the dance, nor of the flush of wine; speak not of the mirth of the merry, nor of the flashes of the ambitious and successful. There is a mirth more deep than these, a joy more intense, a bliss more enduring than anything the world can give. It is the bliss of being forgiven; the bliss of having God's favor and God's love in one's soul; the bliss of feeling that God is our Father, that Christ is married to our souls, and that the Holy Ghost dwelleth in us and will abide with us forever. Let the sweetness of the mercy draw thee, poor soul! Let the sweetness of the mercy, I say; entice thee.—Spurgeon. The Teachings of the Spirit.
MR. Carlyle says, in his new work of "Teaching Religion:" "Piety to God, the nobleness that inspires a human soul to struggle heavenward, cannot be 'taught' by the most industrious preaching and drilling. No, alas! no. Only by far other methods—chiefly by silent, continual example, silently waiting for the favorable mood and moment, and aided then by a kind of miracle, well enough named 'the grace of God'—can that sacred contagion pass from soul into soul. How much beyond whole libraries of orthodox theology is, sometimes, the mute action, the unconscious look of a father, of a mother, who had in them 'devotedness, pious nobleness'—in whom the young soul, not unobservant, though not consciously observing, came at length to recognize it, to read it in this irrefragable manner; a seed planted thenceforth in the center of his holiest affections for evermore!" ROWLAND HILL paid a visit to an old friend, a few years before his death, who said to him:—"Mr. Hill, it is just sixty-five years since I first heard you preach, and I remember your text and part of your sermon. You told us that some people were very squeamish about the delivery of different ministers who preached the gospel. You said, 'Supposing you were attending to hear a will read where you expected a legacy to be left to you, would you employ the time when it was reading in criticising the manner in which the lawyer read it? No, you would be giving all ear to hear if anything was left to you, and how much it was. That is the way I would advise you to hear the gospel.' " This was excellent advice, and well worth remembering sixty-five years. Many say they have no peace nor rest, but so many crosses and trials, afflictions and sorrows, that they know not how they shall ever get through them. Now he who in truth will perceive and take note, perceiveth clearly, that true peace and rest lie not in outward things; for if it were so, the Evil Spirit also would have peace when things go according to his will, which is nowise the case. Therefore we must consider and see what is that peace which Christ left his disciples when he said: "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." Christ meant that inward peace which can break through all assaults and crosses of oppressions, suffering, misery, humiliation, and what more there may be of the like, so that a man may be joyful and patient therein; and what was bitter to him before shall become sweet, and his heart shall remain unmoved under all changes, at all times.—Theologia Germanica. "Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another."
This department of the paper is designed for the brethren and sisters to freely and fully communicate with each other respecting their hopes and determinations, conflicts and victories, attainments and desires, in the heavenly journey. Seek first a living experience and then record it, carefully and prayerfully, for the comfort and encouragement of the other members of the household of faith. Died, in Chesaning, Mich., of brain fever, F. S., eldest son of I. O. and H. E. Thompson, Apr. 9, 1864, aged 8 years, 6 months, and 12 days. Also their second son, April 14, aged 5 years, 11 months, and 20 days. Disease, dropsy on the brain. Thus, in the short space of five days, were two lads of promise taken from this family; yet we buried them, sorrowing not as those that have no hope.
D. W. MILK. DIED, April 4, 1864, in Chesaning, Michigan, A. J. Bennett, youngest child of E. S. and M. J. Bennett, aged 6 years, and 8 months. Though young, he expressed a willingness to die, and sleep in the grave until Jesus comes to gather the lambs to his fold.
J. A. DAYTON. A California Adventist Embraces the Sabbath
By Richard Moon
BRO. WHITE: I and my companion formerly belonged to the Adventists in Berrien Co., Mich. We emigrated to California in 1857. Since that time we have scarcely seen any one of that faith. We knew nothing of the Seventh-day Adventists. I had often heard of Seventh-day Baptists, but never had conversed with any of them, but greatly desired to investigate the Sabbath question. I at last took the position that there was no Sabbath at all, for I could see no divine authority for keeping Sunday, and I reckoned the Sabbath as a part of the law which was done away by Christ. While I was in this position a Concordance providentially fell into my hands, published at your office. I saw at a glance what it was. The subject was not investigated in that book, but it referred me to your Office where other books were published. I immediately wrote to you to send me a catalogue of your books. You sent me Nos. 1, and 2, of the Sabbath Herald May 29th, 1860. I read them and they were like food to the hungry. I sent to you for several books. Among them was the History of the Sabbath. I would recommend it to every one who wishes to investigate the Sabbath question. It showed me how I stood. I saw plainly the difference between the handwriting of ordinances, which was nailed to the cross, and the commandments of God. We were convinced that the day ordained of God, from the beginning was the Sabbath. I sent for more Heralds of May 29, 1860, and have distributed them out among my neighbors. One a respectable member of the Presbyterian church has been convinced of the truth, and is keeping the seventh day with us. We have received three Nos. of the Review in 1864, and are well pleased with it, and especially with the testimony of the brethren. We feel greatly encouraged and strengthened to face the storm of persecution, knowing that great is the reward of those who are persecuted falsely for Christ's sake. Yours in hope of immortality when Jesus comes.
RICHARD MOON.