Earlier text: THE OLD YEAR AND THE NEW.REPORT FROM BRO. MATTESON.
By JOHN MATTESON
The meetings in Racine are closed at present. I could not have the court-house any longer, and I thought that it would be better to discontinue the meetings awhile. Prejudice is very strong against us, and the very ones who would be most benefited by the meetings are kept away. Six souls have taken a decided stand for the commandments of God, and several others are favorably disposed. I have labored here about three weeks and a half, and sold about $20.00 worth of books. We think that the Lord has many more people in this place, but at present there is no way to reach them. They are highly excited by their leaders and will not listen. Those who have come out will meet on the Sabbath and Tuesday evening for prayer-meeting. May the Lord bless them and help them to be faithful, that others may be gained by their good conversation. Oh, that they may get ready for the soon-coming of Jesus. I am now in Raymond, fourteen miles from Racine. I intend to labor here awhile and then go back to Racine. One family in this place has already embraced the commandments. Pray for us, that the Lord may work with us and bless the preaching of his word for Jesus' sake. Thompsonville, Racine Co., Wis., Dec. 18, 1867. From Sister Belnap.
By L. I. Belnap
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I believe the world is receiving the last message of mercy spoken of in Revelation xiv, and I am trying to learn of the true Witness, that I may be prepared for the time of trouble, which I believe is very near. I have passed through many trials and temptations, but the Lord has been my help. I feel resigned, because I know the Saviour has traveled there before me. “He knows what sore temptations mean; for he has felt the same;” and it is by trials patiently borne that we are to gain characters for that rest that remains for the faithful. I also believe that the health reform is from the Lord, and am trying to live it out as far as circumstances will permit, believing that to be patient we must be temperate. Let us be up and doing, taking heed to the admonitions and testimonies which we are weekly receiving, which I believe are meat in due season. I feel, in view of the shortness of time, to gird up the loins of my mind, and watch and pray, lest I be overcome by the cares of this life. It is time that we were watching jealously over our ways and words while in company with those that are not of our faith. They watch us and expect us to adorn our lives with a well-ordered life and a godly conversation. This will not be done until we get the truth not only in our heads but down into our hearts.43 I find great consolation in trusting in the Lord, who is able to help all that call upon him. I rejoice in the light that is now shining on the path of the little remnant. How good the Lord is to admonish such unworthy creatures, by leading us as he did Israel, by the path we know not. He is now trying and proving us, to know if we will overcome all our carnal desires. For one I feel determined not to stop short of a perfect victory. Let us not fear what man shall say, but look to the Lord and he will help in every time of need. I praise the Lord daily, for all his goodness and bearing so patiently until I learn his will. What amazing love! I have adopted the short dress and find it convenient, comfortable, and healthy. I am ready to meet all opposition in this direction. I know it is a step, dear sisters, calculated to humble us; but is this not in answer to our prayers? We certainly cannot expect to go through with pride in the heart. Let us rather rejoice that the Lord has a word for us, and as we advance willingly we shall feel the dross begin to consume, and the gold will begin to shine, and the Lord will lead us on, step by step, in the path of duty until all our own wills are subdued, and we become prepared for the latter rain, which will enable us to stand through the time of trouble, and at last see the King in his beauty. L. I. BELNAP.
St. Clair Co., Mich. I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MIND
By F. GOULD.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Heb. viii, 10. Previous to the above declaration, Paul was speaking in relation to the old covenant, which was faulty, and then in verse 8 says, “For finding fault with them [the people, because they did not continue in his covenant, the ten commandments], he saith, Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant [the ten commandments], and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.” We understand that the ceremonial law was added because of transgression until the promised seed should come. Christ being the seed of promise, that law expired at the cross by limitation, and was taken out of the way. At the beginning of the gospel dispensation, God changed the ministration of the ten-commandment law, and called it a new covenant. In the minds of all those who by faith yielded to the claims of God's law, and obeyed the principles which Jesus gave, he wrote his law. This was true with respect to the early church. They were a class of law-abiding and commandment-keeping Christians, such as God owns and approbates. During the wicked and oppressive rule of that Antichristian power, the Papacy, the work of God almost ceased, except with a few who were worried and hunted like the wild beasts of the forests, and even martyred for the word of God, and the testimony which they held. At such a condition of things, the prophet might well say, “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” Isa. lix, 14. God has promised a restitution of truth. Thy law is the truth. [Psa. cxix, 142.] The law will be restored to the people of God. This will be completed and finished under the third angel's message, which is now being proclaimed. When the third angel pronounced his solemn message to the world, and the awful threatenings of wrath upon those who worship the beast, and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, he further adds: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. xiv, 12. The work of God in writing his law in the mind, is progressive, and so far as his people live out the principles of the law, it being a transcript of the divine mind, so far they will be sanctified through the truth, and thus be fitted for translation. Christ will soon present to himself a glorious church, not having a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Dear reader, may you and I be numbered among those of whom it is said, “Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.” Isa. xxvi, 2. An earnest, faithful laborer in thy vineyard, Lord,
I fain would be,
Gathering and garnering with swift, willing hands
Rich fruits for thee;
Sowing broad fields with seeds of truth and righteousness;
Reaping blest harvests of immortal joy and peace;
Coming each eve with humble heart and penitence
For sins of mine,
And bringing such offerings as thou dost accept
With love divine. Once I believed that human love or worldly fame
Might yield pure joy;
But, testing these, I've found, alas! in each of them,
The base alloy;
Have found that love is but a fragile, fading flower;
Have found that fame, however bright, dies in an hour;
Have learned the vanity of pleasure, pomp and power!
All these have failed
To satisfy the aspirations of my soul;
But now, unveiled,
Mine eyes a fount of joy above them all behold! Now life's ambition is to add some sweetness to
Each cup of woe,
And over Doubt's despair, or Grief's deep-gathering glooms
God's light to throw!
God's blessed light, which, when my way was dark as night,
Because I would not “walk by faith,” but must have “sight,”
Illumed my soul with love, and led my feet aright.
I would now share
These gracious gifts with others—would have them also learn
Each cross to bear
With meekness, for the sake of God's dear Saviour Son? I would go forth each morn with eager, hope-shod feet,
And seek to find
Some proud, rebellious, faithless heart—most like my own—
Wretched and blind,
Groping its way through labyrinths of doubt and sin,
Searching in vain for good 'mid earthly pleasure's din,
Yet finding all without unreal, all corrupt within. I would go plead
With such a heart to cast away its stubborn pride,
And own its need
Of the Redeemer's all-atoning, precious blood. I would go tell the “weary,” “heavy-laden” ones
Who'll give them “rest;”
And breathe into the ear of waning, faltering faith,
Some promise blest,
And cheer the chastened ones with words of hope and love.
Thus would I labor, Lord, for thee, if thou approve. Yet am I all too prone to stray away myself;
Too weak and frail
To keep my wayward self “unspotted from the world,”
And e'er must fail
To lead a fellow-wanderer back to thee—
Unless, my Father, thou shalt aid and strengthen me,
And teach me how to teach of grace and pardon free. There had been a sad failure in our community. A prominent business man was obliged to suspend payment and give up his business. Investigation showed that he had not been prompt in his dealings. He never paid his little debts, and they at length so accumulated, that they brought on the sad crisis. A prompt business man speaking of the affair, said: “It is unpardonable. The man ought to fail. He should have paid his debts when he could. I always pay my debts as I go along, and so always know where I stand. I have not now a single debt,” he continued. A friend standing by, gently placed a hand on his arm, saying: “You mistake, Mr. H——; I know a debt that you owe.” “It is false,” was the quick reply; “I challenge you, or any one else, to lay a finger upon a cent that I owe.” “But I can do it,” continued the friend. “I know of One who lent you the fine house you live in, the money you have in the bank, all the riches by which you are surrounded, and call them your own. More than this, He gave you health and friends. How much have you ever paid Him?” “Ah! that is a different thing. I don’t think much about such things, but I always pay every cent I owe my fellow-men.” “You are like a merchant who pays all his little debts and lets the great ones go, and then boasts: ‘I always pay my debts.’” My friend, the great debt of gratitude is yet unpaid. Take care lest the Master cast thee into prison; thou “shalt not come from thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” A naval officer being at sea in a dreadful storm, his wife was sitting in the cabin near him, and filled with alarm for the safety of the vessel, was so surprised at his serenity and composure that she cried out: “My dear, are you not afraid? How is it possible you can be so calm in such a storm?” He rose from his chair, dashed it to the deck, drew his sword, and pointing it at the breast of his wife, exclaimed: “Are you not afraid?” She immediately answered, “No.” “Because,” rejoined the wife, “I know this sword is in the hands of my husband, and he loves me too well to hurt me.” “Then,” said he, “I know in whom I believe, and that he who holds the wind in his fist, and the waters in the hollow of his hand, is my Father.” Conference Department.
By W. T. Ernst
Exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. Heb. x, 25. This Department is designed to fill the same place in the paper that the Conference or Social Meeting does in the worship of God. Speak often one to another to comfort, edify and aid each other in the way of holiness and true Christian experience. DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: It is with great pleasure that I again converse with you through the Conference Department of our highly-prized Review. How thankful we should be that the Lord, amidst the perils of the last days, has given his people the means of communicating their thoughts to each other. How it cheers my drooping spirits to read the testimonies of the dear brethren and sisters. Although the forms and faces of most of you would be strange to me at sight, I know that if we prove faithful to the grace already given, we shall soon see the King in his beauty, and clasp glad hands of joy in the everlasting kingdom. Yes! fellow-pilgrim in this world of sin, soon, very soon, will Jesus with all the blood-washed throng stand on Mount Zion. Reader, will you be there? Shall I be there? Let us strive earnestly, make it a daily work to overcome our sins and set good examples before those with whom we associate; for precious souls all around us are perishing for want of the right counsels of God; and we shall have to give an account of our stewardship. Dear brethren and sisters, let us pray earnestly for the prosperity of the cause of truth. Let us take hold of this work as people of the world do worldly matters, and get all our energies to work. And let us follow on to know the Lord, whom to know aright is life, joy, and peace in the earth made new. God will hear and answer our prayers if we humble ourselves as we should, and stand ready to say, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth,” and then be willing to do the Lord’s bidding, whether it comes from the operations of his Spirit, or from his servants at the head of the work. Though we have a small gift, we are just as responsible if we do not use what we have, as if we had more. Then let us use our abilities in the fear of God. As God has given so let us distribute. If we can write a sermon, let us write; if an exhortation, let us exhort. If we can encourage by our testimonies, let us testify to the glory of God. If we are blessed with worldly means, let us give liberally, that the cause of our blessed Master may move onward. Then let the Review and Youth’s Instructor be filled with original matter and lighten the burden of the editors. And, above all, pray earnestly for more of the spirit of the blessed Saviour. W. T. ERNST. From Bro. Miller.
By J. S. Miller
BRO. SMITH: Again would I speak a word to the scattered ones through the Conference Department. While I find in my onward journey toward the “city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” a great many trials and crosses, I feel that I can say, as I compare them with the inheritance that we all hope for, “These light afflictions which are but for a season shall work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” My brethren and sisters, all who are under the third angel’s message, let us consider well wherein our strength lies. The apostle exhorts his Ephesian brethren to, “be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.” But how are we to become strong in the Lord? Simply by following the directions given; by putting on “the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the fiery darts of the enemy.” In these days is it especially necessary. The enemy has come in like a flood, and the promise is that the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard. Yes it is no ordinary foe with whom we have to do, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places.” The evil day is already upon us, and days of still greater evil are immediately before us. No silver-slipper religion is going to answer in these last days. We must be prepared to fight the good fight of faith. We must have our “loins girt about with truth,”—unalloyed truth. We must have on the “breast-plate of righteousness” to ward off the poisoned arrows of the adversary. And what is the breast-plate but the law of God written on the heart? Then we must have our “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” But there are two kinds of peace. There is a peace that results from compromising the truth. Shall we seek this kind of peace? Never! Then there is a peace that flows like a river—a righteousness that is like the waves of the sea. But this is attained to only when we keep all the commandments of God. Next comes the shield of faith. Yes we must have the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. It will not do to substitute the one for the other; we must have both. Then comes the helmet, the hope of salvation. Let hope ever be kept bright; it is the only safeguard against errors of the head. So long as the hope of salvation is bright, doubts and skeptical notions will find no lodgment there. Thus far we have only been preparing for defense. But having thus prepared ourselves we are now expected to fight. But where is our weapon? “Take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” Some people commence wrong end foremost in this matter; they grasp the sword by the blade instead of the hilt, thus wounding themselves. Getting some scripture that they think is pointed they “cut and slash,” but it simply has a tendency to disgust sensible people. It is not sufficient that we know how to quote scripture; we must have the Spirit of God to attend it, “praying always with all prayer and supplications in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Brethren and sisters, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. SISTER B. STROUT writes: I am determined still to hold on by faith. God's promises are yea and amen. He has promised that all they that put their trust in him shall be as Mount Zion that shall never be moved. I am very thankful for the sermons that come through the Review. They are all the preaching I have. I prize the paper, and endorse all the principles it advocates. BRO. L. MARTIN writes from Bennington, N. H.: I feel that we are living in a very solemn time. My heart has been made glad of late by reading in the Review that the Lord is reviving his work in the hearts of his people in many places; and if I am not altogether deceived, I should rejoice to see the work of the Lord prospering here in N. H. May the Lord hasten the time when some of his faithful servants will come this way, and proclaim the present truth in power. Wickedness is fast increasing. The world seems about ripe for destruction. God grant that I, for one, may realize the time in which we live, and strive to get ready to meet Christ at his coming. SISTER L. M. DAVIS writes from Niagara Co., N. Y.: As there is not another one of like faith in this place, and as it is eight miles to the nearest place of Sabbath gatherings, I do not very often have the privilege of the meetings. I therefore prize especially the sermons in the Review. I want to gird on the whole armor and breast-plate of righteousness, that I may be able to say when Jesus comes, Lo! this is my God; I have waited for him and he will save me. I see by the poster on my paper that some unknown friend has paid for it to volume 32, No. 1. May the Lord highly reward the person, whoever he may be, for so doing. SISTER MARY L. RANDALL writes: I have often wanted to say a few words through the Review to the dear brethren and sisters scattered abroad, more especially to the tried and lonely ones, as I am one of that number. I do earnestly desire to be found among the overcomers at the last, and I feel as if I could not neglect any known duty. I desire to thank our Heavenly Father that I have the privilege of reading the Review and of trying to live out the truths contained in it; and I am also trying to live out the principles taught by the Health Reformer. Although I have seen but few of like precious faith, yet I feel to take courage, and press my way on when I read the excellent sermons, and the many good exhortations contained in the paper. SISTER M. S. IRISH writes from Cattaraugus Co., N. Y.: I feel that I have great reason to be thankful to God for his mercies to me and my family, and at this time especially; for I have been raised from a serious illness of typhoid fever. I felt that I had rather live and suffer on a little while longer, if it was the Lord's will, than to leave my children with no one who would try to guide them to God and Heaven. Prayer was offered for me, and I believe that I was raised in answer thereto. Afterward two children were taken sick the same day, but the Lord was merciful; and one is now well, and the other nearly so. I will try to do the Lord's will. BRO. D. VAN LUVEN writes from Winnebago Co., Wis.: I have reason to thank and praise God for the Review and some other publications from Battle Creek, for what they have done for me. And now another family has come out, and are keeping the Sabbath of the Lord, and believe firmly in the third angel's message. They started about four months ago to keep the Sabbath. May the Lord help them to be faithful to the end. SISTER F. A. RUSS writes from Royalton, Vt.: I am one of the lonely ones, and desire the prayers of believers that I may endure to the end. How thankful we ought to be for the light that God has given us, I feel to thank the Lord day by day for what he is doing for me. I was very near the grave, but commenced to live out the health reform, and have been gaining ever since. From Bro. Denmon.
By Thos. Denmon
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: We are living in a grand and awful time! Satan is working with mighty power, and unless we cry mightily to God, we shall be overcome, instead of overcoming. We are receiving greater light now than God's people have been blessed with for eighteen centuries past, and the question for us to settle is, Are we living up to the light that we are receiving? Oh! how thankful we ought to be that there is so much light shed upon our pathway through the gifts that are in the church. Do you say that the way thus marked out is a straight way? Permit me to ask, Did Jesus shun the cross to save a ruined world? and did he not say that we must be baptized with the baptism? Are we seeking the applause and friendship of the world? Are we ashamed to be called the filth and offscouring of the world? Are we willing to live soberly, and not join in the parties of pleasure, in the jesting and joking, and dressing to please the world, and in eating and drinking with them to the same excess of riot? Let us be careful how we grieve the spirit of the Lord; for it is a very tender spirit; and if we love the world more than we do Jesus and his truth, we are unworthy of everlasting life. Unless we keep pace with the message we shall be left behind for the enemy to pick up. Solemn thought to be sifted out after professing the truth so long; better never have known the way, than to turn from the holy commandment delivered to us. There is no shunning responsibility. We are either for or against. Either advancing or retreating. Let us study well 2 Peter 1, 2-12, remembering that we must take the last step in the Christian graces in order to be prepared for the seal of the living God. Yours striving to overcome.
THOS. DENMON.
Port Andrew, Wis. From Bro. Hinton.
By W. T. HINTON
BRO. SMITH: I would say to the brethren scattered abroad, that I still love the precious truths of the third angel's message. I love the Review, and prize its weekly visits very highly. I am glad that the cause has so prospered as to require the first and second enlargements of the paper. I would now try to contribute my mite to make it interesting to others as it is to me, as I scan its truthful pages. I am here alone in this part of Iowa, tried and tempted, with none of like faith to meet with from Sabbath to Sabbath as many of you have. Still, by God's grace I am determined to make my way to Mount Zion. My hardest struggle is to conquer self, to crucify it to the world and to the lusts of the flesh. Oh! how I want to be made willing to do little, small errands for my Saviour. My heart is full of the pride of life; but I am determined to have it all eradicated, so that when Jesus comes, I can go with my dear brethren to the Christian's home in Heaven. I want to see Jesus and the holy angels, and the golden streets of the New Jerusalem, where we shall meet with no more of the conflicts of this life. I would say, I am a health reformer as far as it is my privilege to be, or as far as I can consistently be. I am a firm believer in the health reform, and would gladly enter into it. May God bless it to the good of all who can improve upon its blessings. Toledo, Iowa, Dec. 12, 1867. WORDS OF COMFORT.
By A. S. Hutchins
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” Those who believe in God and his beloved Son, and faithfully obey his word, find that sacred treasure, a never-failing source of “exceeding great and precious promises,” which through Jesus they may meekly claim as theirs, though passing through manifold temptations, and the dark night of discouragement and trial. Says David, “Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness.” And again, “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Have any fallen under the power of the enemy, and done that which is wrong; have they grieved the Holy Spirit, wounded the cause of their Heavenly Master, or injured the church, or reproached their brethren, and for this now sincerely repent? Let such remember the precious promise, “Whoso confesseth and forsaketh” his sins “shall have mercy.” And again the words of the beloved disciple, “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John ii, 1. For us he now intercedes. May we all zealously repent of our sins, heed his counsel to fallen man, and make him a welcome guest to our hearts. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.” Infinitely rich, unspeakably precious repast! Come in, O come in, blessed Jesus! We long to feel thee near to us, and to commune with thee. Earthly friends, perhaps, have no time to listen to our sorrow; but Jesus has. Or they may not know how to sympathize with us; but he does. And he knows how to “deliver the godly out of temptations.” “For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” “In every pang that rends the heart,
The Man of Sorrow has a part;
He sympathizes with each grief,
And to each sufferer sends relief.” Oh how blessed the reflection that there is a true and constant Friend, Jesus, the Son of God, to whom we may ever appeal for help and comfort! Believer, he bids you be of good cheer. “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Yes, and he will help you and me in the great work of overcoming. Then let hope revive, and we go forward with courage to meet the trials by the way. Again the children of God may be comforted with the thought that he is their refuge. “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deut. xxxiii, 27. On this point David says, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; the God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my Saviour; thou savest me from violence.” 2 Sam. xxii, 2, 3. “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in time of trouble.” Ps. ix, 9. The prophet, looking forward to the time of trouble, but a brief space in the future, when the seven last plagues shall be poured out, and thousands and tens of thousands shall fall, when the “slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even unto the other end,” in view of the protection and safety of the people of God in that awfully solemn and eventful day, says, “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” Ps. xci. Oh! how safe and secure the people who have God for their friend and refuge, when the storm of his wrath shall sweep over the earth. How bright and glorious the prospect as we contemplate the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the sleeping saints of every age and nation, and the change of the righteous living to immortality, and their final deliverance as they are caught up to meet their Lord in the air, and are borne to the Holy City of the New Jerusalem, and enter the mansions of all the redeemed host, to suffer and die no more. There they shout their sufferings o’er. “Hark! the choral strains are ringing,
Wafted on the balmy air,
See the millions, hear them singing,
Soon the pilgrim will be there.” In view of this soul-inspiring hope let us heed the apostle’s injunction, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. iv, 18. Health Institute, Dec., 1867. SELF-DENIAL.
By Phebe Ann Holly
How many can reflect upon the self-denying life of Christ without feeling a strong sense of condemnation resting upon them, as they must see a great lack of the spirit of self-denial in their hearts? A spirit of selfishness arises in many hearts when you speak to them of denying self. Oh! for a spirit of sacrifice and self-denial in us as a people. Still there are a few who realize that their lives should be lives of self-denial. They are trying to deny self, take up the cross and follow in the footsteps of our sacrificed Redeemer. There are others who look upon the health reform with a murmuring and complaining spirit, thinking it is costing too much to deny their lusts and desires, and to bring their unsanctified wills into subjection to the divine will. Let such, if they can, with their finer sensibilities benumbed under the effects of tea, coffee and tobacco, and other stimulants, let them remember the sacrifice of our glorious Redeemer in leaving the courts of Heaven where he ruled King of kings and Lord of lords, before whom the angels bowed and did homage. Behold the same lovely King resign all the glory of Heaven, and the society of pure and holy angels for a life of over thirty years of self-denial and suffering. Let the mind wander back to the scene when the sins of the whole world were upon him, when, in his agony, he prayed to his Father that if it were possible, the cup might pass from him, but if not (behold his submission) the will of his Father be done. Oh! let us feel ashamed to call it self-denial to give up some, even all, the idols of this idolatrous age. Let us feel that we are even repaid in this life for trying to live temperately. Let us not condemn the ancient people of God for murmuring and complaining as they traveled through the wilderness, when we, as a people, if tested as they were, would, perhaps, not even reach the promised land. Oh! let us be more zealous, strive more earnestly to walk in that way, that we may not deny his name, that, in the great and final day, we may endure the searching test, have the privilege granted us of sitting on the throne of our Redeemer, as he overcame and has set down on the throne of his Father. NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT.
By H. F. Phelps
As I sat by the fire one evening musing, feeling little disposition to read, and considering what to do to call my mind from the busy things of the world, the question proposed itself, Why don't you write for the Review, and the answer immediately came, I have nothing to write about. But why, continued I, have nothing to write about? God's mercies are abundant; his blessings innumerable; my daily wants are supplied. Truly I have enough to write about. But feeling an indisposition about the matter, I desired to know the reason. It is simply this: Being for sometime impressed45 with labors pertaining to things of this world, and allowing myself to be wholly occupied therewith, I had almost forgotten the injunction of the apostle, to “be temperate in all things.” I had been intemperate in work, but very intemperate, to my own loss, I find, in those things which pertain to my spiritual advancement. Temperate as to time for meditation and prayer, the reading of the word of God, searching my own heart, trying my own motives, and judging of myself by the light of God's word, till I find myself so very far behind what I might be, and, not to boast of my own attainments, somewhat behind what I have been, that I am ready to exclaim, “Oh! my leanness, my leanness!” and I see the necessity of making due diligence to retrace my steps, making haste to overtake those who are far in advance in the Christian race, and not to be satisfied with this even, but, pressing on, try to attain unto all that is in store for those who follow on to know the Lord. And thus I muse. And as I write, I begin to feel again the warmings of the Spirit of God on my heart, and again I feel those unutterable longings for holiness of heart, for purity of purpose, of desires, of motives, a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, which must be the earnest desire of every heart, if they would share in the refreshing which is just before us. And this desire must be followed by an individual effort. And I pray that in me, and all my brethren and sisters, this desire may be strengthened and an effort put forth that shall correspond with the solemnity of the times, and the end to be obtained, “Nearer, my God, to thee.” THE N. Y. JUDICIARY.
By Editor
We took up the following paragraph for the purpose of making a comment on it for the Review, but conclude it needs none. It is a description from an unquestionable source, plain enough to show to any one that we have reached the time when “judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter.” Such were the days before the flood, to be acted over again just before the coming of the Son of man. Of the N. Y. Judiciary, Henry Ward Beecher thus speaks:— “All the framework of society seems to be dissolving. On every side we find men false to the most important trusts. Even the judges on the bench are bought and sold like meat in the shambles. One must go into court with a long purse to obtain justice. The judiciary of New York stinks like Sodom and Gomorrah. Men say they hardly know a court in which to trust a case. It is no longer an honor to sit on the bench, for if the judge be an upright man his character will be contaminated by the great majority of his associates”
ALL OUT!—Recently, our small tracts have disappeared from the shelves like dew before the morning sun. At present, the editions of several are exhausted, so that we cannot supply until reprinted. We shall have to print immediately "Matthew Twenty-four," "The Transgressor's Fate," "What is Truth?" "Much in Little," and "Scripture References." We do not mention this to keep our friends from ordering, for they can all be re-produced almost any day, but rather to show the interest that is waking up on the subject of tract circulation. This is as it should be. These little tracts have been written by men of God, and are potent preachers in declaring the truth. Let the good work keep moving, brethren. And as the little waifs sally forth in a thousand different directions, in the great wide field now white for the harvest, may the prayers of the faithful be offered that these little leaves of truth, like seed flung from the hand of the careful husbandman may lodge in good soil, and bring forth fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold. A HOME IN HEAVEN.
By Mary E. Guilford
A HOME in Heaven! how it gladdens my heart,
To think of that realm where no sorrows invade.
Where storms never come, nor friends never part,
Nor joys, nor beauty, nor loveliness fade. A home in Heaven! how cheering the thought,
To meet there our friends who now sleep in the tomb;
A glorious change in our being wrought,
Mortality changed to immortal bloom. A home in Heaven! where sweet anthems of praise,
Will flow from our lips in unceasing strains;
Bright angels of glory their voices raise,
To join with us in the glad refrain. A home in Heaven! with Christ our king!
There to faultless bow at the heavenly throne!
O haste the glad day, when with joy we'll bring
Our tributes of praise to its peaceful dome. SCATTER TRACTS.
By JESSE HIESTAND
SCATTERING tracts was forcibly brought to my mind some time since, while waiting at the railroad depot for a train going east, when a train going west, stopped and a large, healthy looking man of Lancaster Co., Pa., jumped off the train and cried out, “Read! gentlemen, read!” and at the same time scattered tracts in every direction to perhaps a hundred persons eager to read. I picked one up, and found it was advertising Mishler’s Herb Bitters. It then occurred to my mind that if we were as energetic in spreading the last message of mercy to a perishing world, as others are in making money, and destroying souls with their drugs and nostrums, thousands more would soon be rejoicing with us in those glorious truths which we so much love. A partly torn, dusty tract, first brought light to my mind; and I have scattered more than twenty dollars’ worth of tracts in five years, and I am glad to say that some have received the truth as the result. Scatter tracts; they may enlighten the minds of some honest soul.
JESSE HIESTAND.