Earlier text: THE SEVENTH MONTH MOVEMENTTHE Psalmist prayed, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Did he comprehend the import of that prayer? Do we comprehend its import when in our most pious frames we repeat the petition? To come to the knowledge of ourself, to go down to the foundation of one's character and hopes, is a more serious and earnest matter when God answers the prayer than we imagine when we utter it. It is like descending the shaft of a mine; your first descent is by an easy flight of steps, and the novelty enlivens, the coolness refreshes you; but at the bottom of these you come to a narrow archway, through which you must creep to the next descent, which is by a slender perpendicular ladder that trembles beneath your weight; you grow dizzy and wish yourself safely out again; the air becomes more chill and damp, and you are wet and soiled with the drippings of the vari-colored strata through which you pass; again you crawl through a yet narrower passage, tearing your flesh at every motion, and now you are on the verge of a deep well into which you must be lowered by crank and bucket. You look down into the awful unbroken gloom. You cast in a pebble and listen nervously for the distant plash. You ask the guide, Are there ever explosions here? His affirmative answer does not nerve your courage. You ask again, Do rocks ever fall here? Again the answer is in the affirmative, accompanied by the details of a recent accident. Does the rope ever break? Yes, again. Your knees smite together as you launch into the abyss. The bottom reached, you here find countless avenues with mystery on mystery. Now your breath is stifled; now your frame is chilled; now your flesh is wounded; now your sight is gone; again and again you wish yourself at the surface, yet cannot brave the perilous ascent. Who would have imagined that under the smooth grassy mound, the fragrant clover, or the teeming orchard, such wonders and such dangers lay concealed. It is even so with the heart of man. Yet must we at times take the candle of God's word, and fathom its utmost depths. Though it chill our blood, palsy our nerves and sicken our brain, yet must we go down, down into the caverns of the heart. What find we there? Self-examination is apt to be an occasional and a very superficial work. We look into our hearts enough to see that evil is there, and in the gross we make confession of sin and purpose repentance; but we shrink from the details. To tell the number of our sins is an unwelcome task; we avert our eyes from them, we seek to cover them, we hope to outgrow them and feel assured at least that death will emancipate us from them. This is a wretched policy. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper." We cannot get rid of sin by any such process. It cannot be concealed; it will not die out; it cannot be outlived; death will not cancel it. Where sin is harbored in the soul, suffered to live on without repentance or correction, what is there in death to destroy it? Nay, the soul that comes to death with cherished sin must needs go to judgment without repentance and without pardon. Death works no such miraculous transformation. Let me not delude myself with such a thought. "Search me, O God!" Sometimes God searches us by an array of providences that expose us to ourselves; he holds up on every side a mirror, and whichever way we turn some phase of our own heart is reflected upon us. Sometimes he deals directly with the heart, and probes it gently to the quick; sometimes he tears it open with one gaping wound, and as it lies quivering in its black deformity we must look on while conscience, guided by his hand, lays bare this evil motive, this self-interest, this idolatrous affection, this impure imagination, this envious desire, till as in the chambers of imagery that Ezekiel saw, we discover within us every abomination. Such a searching is like the attempt to cleanse a well whose waters are turbid and foul. You draw out a few buckets, and give time for the pure water to flow in and settle; you then draw again, but to your surprise it is still turbid; you empty bucket after bucket till a deluge of slime is heaped around you; the pure water is flowing in, but so foul is the well that it is continually discolored; again and again must you empty it, before it will send up a limpid pail, and reflect the clear azure of the overhanging sky. Blessed be God, if in the heart blackened by sin there is a well-spring of life, that after all this wearisome and loathsome emptying of self, will bubble up pure, and from its placid depths mirror forth the light of his countenance. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Circulate the Review
By James White
If you have unreservedly given yourself to Christ, you have no reason to doubt that Christ gave himself for you.141 them. But what if it should not bring them all to embrace the present truth? You will have done your duty, and scores of cases might be referred to where the REVIEW alone, or a tract, has brought candid men and women to the truth. Again we say, Circulate the REVIEW. The providence of God has prepared the way to publish the truth. Let the silent messengers go everywhere shedding light. Don't hide your light under a bushel. By circulating the REVIEW, you can do your duty, enlighten many, and help sustain the paper. Consecrate a portion of your substance to this good object, and send in a list of names. And may the Lord add his blessing. J. W. Extracts from the Golden Treasury.
O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Psalm xliii, 3. Divine Answer. The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Prov. iv, 18. The wiser we are in our own conceit, the more negligent are we in prayer, the more destitute of true wisdom and faith; for the Lord gives sight only to the blind, and to the babes, who pray for it. Therefore the deepest humblings go before the greatest blessings. O my blessed Saviour; since I am always blind and ignorant of myself if I am not guided by thine eyes, I desire always to look up to thee, and do every thing under thy direction. Prevent me, lest I harbor pride,
Lest I in my strength confide;
Show me my weakness; let me see
I have my power, my all, from thee. Enrich me always with thy love,
My kind protector ever prove;
The signet put upon my breast,
And let thy Spirit on me rest. Assist and teach me how to pray,
Incline my nature to obey;
What thou abhorrest let me flee,
And only love what pleases thee. O may I never do my will
But thine, and only thine, fulfill;
Let all my time and all my ways
Be spent and ended to thy praise. To rely on grace, and desire to be saved only by free grace, is a sweet exercise; but so far from being practised enough, we have all need to learn the prayer of the publican better still, since the Pharisee is ever busy to creep in again. But care must be taken that we do not build our faith only upon the sweet enjoyments of the grace of God, as it is procured by Christ, and promised to us through Christ: for which reason God sometimes denies us sensible enjoyments, that true faith may begin to act like itself, and depend upon nothing but his free grace in Christ. And this we have also boldness to do, should we ever seem to fall short of the due measure of faith, godly sorrow, and repentance; for since there is no merit to be placed in these things, there is no certain measure and degree prescribed to all; but it is enough truly to hate sin, to desire grace and sincerely to enter upon the Christian race. SABBATH-KEEPERS' CHILDREN.
By James White
It is a fact that most young Sabbath-keepers are being drowned in the spirit of this world, instead of being imbued with God's holy Spirit. Their course is generally downward. In many, this backsliding is so gradual that it is hardly perceptible. But if you compare their present condition and course with their position when they first sought the Lord, then you can see a wide difference, a sad declension. The things of this life occupy most of their time and thoughts. And we inquire, What can be done to stop this tide of backsliding? What can save young Sabbath-keepers from perdition? What can wean their affections from the things of this life, and lead them to live in reference to Eternal Life in the kingdom of God? And we must here confess that our only hope for most of the children of Sabbath-keepers, is for their parents to first get this world out of their affections, consecrate themselves and their substance to the Lord, and live and use their means as though they believed the message of the Third Angel. Is it any marvel that children are worldly, when they see their parents living for this world? If parents labor to increase wealth, will not their children see it, and pattern after them? If parents bury themselves up in the cares and interests of this life, will not the children drink in the spirit of this world? If parents lead off in these things will not children follow? They will. They will. A speedy reform must take place with young Sabbath-keepers generally. We admit a very few exceptions, while we would faithfully point out their sad condition. Yes, a reform must take place. This will be admitted. But let those who engage in this reform commence at the right place. Let them begin with their worldly, and world-loving parents. That there are some consecrated parents, who set good examples before their children, yet fail to see them advance in the divine life, we admit; but we speak of them generally, and can safely say that most parents lead their children into the spirit of this world. They are so imbued with the spirit and love of this world, that they do not see the influence they have on their children. Some, shall we say, blindly stand in the gate of heaven to keep their children out. Hope for the youth among us, and our children, can be cherished only on the ground that the parents and older members of the church set them an example of sacrifice, consecration, devotion and zeal in the things of the Spirit of God. Parents lay plans for future years, and the children understand the whole story, and secretly inquire, Where is father's and mother's faith in the soon coming of Christ? The father gives his son a young colt, or a fine pair of calves; they are his, and as he pets them, he looks over long years in the future when they will be of service. These things are customs at this day which inspire in boys the spirit of this world, and cause them to love it at an early age. And many grow up selfish and covetous, loving this present world. But if parents wish to see their children consecrated to God, let them first consecrate themselves to the Lord. Do they wish to see their children placing their affections on things above, then let them cut loose from this world, and show by their acts that their interest in the kingdom of God is far greater than in the things of this world. Some parents spend their energies and time, precious time to be employed in forming characters for the kingdom of God, in laying up treasures in this world. They desire to have their children saved. They wish them to profess religion. They urge the servants of God to come and labor with them, hoping that their children will profess religion. Time and labor is bestowed on them, and, perhaps the object is gained. The children put on a profession. But the parents push on in the interests of this life, and their nominal professing children follow. What is gained? Verily nothing, only more young, worldly, hypocritical professors, destitute of the vitality of that religion they profess. Servants of God, commence your work at the right point. Convert these worldly professing parents. Get the standard raised high with them, then will the children be easily moved to come up to the same high standard. Then will something lasting be accomplished. But your labor is more than lost on these children while their parents fail to come up to a saving standard. We repeat it. Some parents stand in the very gate of heaven to keep their children out. And our only hope for the young is a thorough reform in the whole lukewarm church. O, ye Laodiceans, our mouth is open unto you. We as a people are almost powerless in consequence of the love of this world in the heart which keeps Jesus out. He still stands and knocks at the door of our hearts. He calls to us. He tarries still. Be not deaf to his calls. Steel not your heart against his entreaties. Well may it be said by this generation, that the Jews deserved wrath for rejecting Jesus. But our sin in slighting his testimony will be as much greater as we reject greater light. "I will come in" he says, "and will sup with you." This is as strong a figure as can be used to illustrate communion with Jesus. He offers to come in, but is shut out. The heart is filled with the love of this world. The door is shut against him. There is no room for Christ in many Sabbath-keepers' hearts. It is the world, the world, the world with them morning, noon and evening. When they rise up and when they sit down, when they go out and when they come in. It is the object of their affections. It is the deity to which they fall down and worship. Christ is neglected, slighted, shut out. Hark! hear his voice in tones of pity and matchless love, as he calls to those who have long neglected him. "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and open the door I will come in." Are you so deaf that you cannot hear his lovely voice? Is your mind so blinded by the god of this world that you cannot see that you have shut Jesus out? Is your heart so unfeeling that it will not yield and melt in view of this call to you from the soon expected Saviour? If so, woeful indeed is your condition. Christ will not long stand at the door of thy heart and knock. Not much longer! His locks are wet with the dews of night. He spilled his blood for you. He wants to wash you clean. He desires to come in and live in you. He will make you free, pure and happy. He will abide with you if you will turn out and keep out of your heart the love of this world. He will manifest his love and glory, to old and young, parents and children, if they will prepare the way of the Lord in their hearts and let him in. O, dear reader, Let him in! let him in! We solemnly believe that obedience to this message is the only hope of the church. A crisis is coming. A portion of the church—and God grant that it may be the largest portion—will rend their hearts and prepare them to receive Jesus Christ; while a portion will be spued out of his mouth. The true testimony from the word of God will show who will be wholly the Lord's. It will manifest the heart. And are there any reasons why it should be withheld? There are none. A delay when an alarm should be given, may prove fatal to some. While there is hope, then, let the servants of God, in the language of the prophet, "Cry aloud and spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isa. lviii, 1. Do the watchman see the sword coming upon a lukewarm church? Then let them give the alarm, and clear their own souls: And if souls still sleep on, then will their blood be upon their own heads. COUNSEL TO THE LAODICEANS.
By A. S. Hutchins
SAYS the faithful and true Witness, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. Rev. iii, 18." When the light first shone out on this subject, it was set home most powerfully by the Spirit of God, to the hearts of those who acknowledged and received its proper application. We felt indeed that we were wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked, and that there must be a speedy reform, a deep and hearty consecration to God. Many were zealous in the work of repentance. The sweet blessing of heaven rested upon the writer and the reader, the speaker and hearer as this subject was contemplated. Confessions were made around the fireside and in the church, attended with deep and solemn feeling. Parents confessed to their children, and children to their parents: brethren confessed their wrongs to each other, wrongs were made right, and wounds were healed. God smiled upon this course, and the cause received a new impetus and moved on gloriously. Praise God! How inexpressibly sweet were those meetings with the dear brethren and sisters who felt the force of the injunction (Joel ii, 12, 13.) "Therefore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God." Our assemblies were indeed "solemn" assemblies. But for a time past I have been led to ask the question, what has become of the counsel to the Laodiceans? Why is there so little said on this subject? and why no more feeling? We ask why? What means the stupor, the calm that has come over the people of God? Brethren and sisters are you getting discouraged? It seems to me some are. O, awake and arouse to action; eternal life is just before the overcomer. Says Jesus, "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 will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne." Are there not promises of the most encouraging nature here for you, who believe the promises of God? Arise therefore and be doing, and the Lord be with thee. "Be ye strong therefore and let not your hands be weak; for your work shall be rewarded." But some have never half heeded this counsel. Like one partially awakened from his sleep, they were in a measure aroused by its stirring notes of warning; but soon their slumbers seized them again! Such are yet "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked." And what greatly augments their deplorable situation is, they know it not. Reader, are you of this class? do you not fear lest you will yet be spued out of the mouth of the faithful and true Witness? O, awake and arise, and stand at your post. Now while standing upon the last crumbling sands of time, is the period when you must secure the crown of life. By your means, your prayers and testimonies, you can help spread the light and the truth. But in a little while it will be too late. The famine will be upon the sinner and ungodly. The last opportunity for presenting and urging the claims of truth upon the unconverted will have passed, forever passed. "Behold the days come, saith the Lord that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the North even to the East, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it." Amos viii, 11, 12. Men care but little about the word of the Lord now; it must be urged upon them, or they will not have eternal life. Upon the remnant rests the responsibility of bearing the last solemn message of mercy to perishing souls. And how can we expect that others will feel the importance of this work if we do not ourselves? And how can we feel its importance if we reject the very message given in mercy to prepare us for the coming struggle, and for final victory? O may the Lord help us to open the door of our heart and give the Saviour a place there. Round Grove, Ills., Aug. 28th, 1857. Our Charts are all sold. Those who have Charts and wish to dispose of them for their value, can send them to the Review Office. A larger Chart must be published soon. Who has $500 to spare without usury, till a good Chart can be published, and partly sold? "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another."
BRO. SMITH: I have received a letter recently, the object of which is to convince me of my error of keeping the fourth commandment. The writer, T. Wheeler, a stranger to me, styles himself a '43 Adventist, by way of introduction. He was moved to write me in consequence of reading an article previously written by me on the two laws. His article as summed up by himself contains fourteen declarations. As this is a sample of the position assumed by many who wish to evade the claims of the Sabbath commandment, I will give his declarations, verbatim, and reply. 1. "There is but one law, and this law includes the decalogue." In reply I would state that the Scriptures of divine truth have made a clear and marked distinction between the book of the law written by the hand of Moses, and the ten commandments written by the finger of God on the tables of stone and spoken with an audible voice from mount Sinai amid the cloud, the fire, and thick darkness. The one in a private manner, the other in the most solemn and public manner, to show its superiority. The ten commandments, as I proved, were deposited in the ark, [Deut. x, 5,] while the book of the law was placed by the side of the ark; therefore, when the ceremonial dispensation has passed, no mention is made of it by Paul in connection with the ark when he enumerates what it now contains. Heb. ix, 4. 2. "The law was given to a specific class of individuals, for a specific object and time." I have only to set over against this declaration the positive declaration of the Saviour himself. The Sabbath was made for man. Mark ii, 27. And we are informed that when a noun is used without an article it stands for or includes all the class specified; therefore the Sabbath was made for all mankind, from the days of Adam to the close of this dispensation; and more than this, will be kept in the new earth. Isa. lxvi, 23. 3. "It ceased by limitation." I answer in the language of the wise man, "I know that whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it, and God doeth it that men may fear before him." Did God write the ten commandments with his own finger? He did. Will they stand forever? Let David answer. Ps. cx. The works of his hand are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for a limited period. No! says David, You don't quote me right! They stand fast, for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. Well then, let us believe David, and adopt his language as recorded in Ps. cxix, 115. 4. "We are not under the law, but under grace." What a stone of stumbling this is for some. We inquire, Who are under the law? If I should take my neighbor's horse without his knowledge, and dispose of it to the third person, my neighbor becomes informed of it, the grand jury find a bill against me for horse stealing, I am remanded to prison; then I am to all intents and purposes "under the law." I have violated the eighth precept, that says, Thou shalt not steal. But suppose some good friend, considering my circumstances, pities and believes I may reform. He comes forward and procures a pardon and release. Has the law any more claim on me? Certainly not. I am now under grace or favor of that good friend, and at liberty to go where I please. So with every precept of the decalogue. The law was not made for the righteous. The good friend, it will be perceived, becomes the end of the law for me. For righteousness; thus does Christ our good and merciful High Priest become the end of his law to all that will obey the law and accept the blessed atonement; but those only can be said to be under the law that break it. If I should go to stealing horses again after I had been redeemed, or brought out of prison, every one would see that I was again under the law. So I conceive it to be with those that have kept the Sabbath once and given it up. They are under the law and fallen from grace, vainly expecting to make void the law through faith. I think it would be a poor plea for me to make the second time I stole, that I was under grace. If any do not, let them try it. 5. "There is but one Sabbath binding, in the Bible, (Saturday,) and that only from the exode to the cross." 6. "I," says T. W., "observe a worshiping day, but not a Sabbath; neither do you nor any other man." 7. "Man's first day corresponds with God's seventh day." I have put these three declarations together that their serpentine contradictions might be clearly seen. T. W. admits that what we call Saturday was the original Sabbath, then claims that man's first day is the same day as the original seventh which is our so-called Sunday which I suppose T. W. observes as a worshiping day. How this supernatural change came about he does not inform us; nor can he, nor any other man, as the records of all nations, which all agree, show us the fact that what is called Saturday is the seventh day, as originally kept by the peculiar people of God. Jews, Mahomedans, Christians, and Catholics all unite, so that there need be no doubt on the point in the mind of any. If no one keeps the Sabbath, or can keep it, then our position as a people is a sad one. While we are trying to repair the breach as commanded us by God through his inspired prophet Isaiah, and seal the law among the disciples, it is in vain that we try to turn our feet into all his testimonies, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, by not finding our own pleasure or speaking our own words. This is a grave charge, but no less so than that laid to our divine Lord. He was called a Sabbath-breaker, notwithstanding he had said, "I have kept my Father's commandments," and if they call the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more they of his household? 8. "The law of the ten commandments was faulty." 9. "There can be no law but what is positive, penal, and has temporal rewards and punishments." 10. "Law is arbitrary and pre-supposes stubbornness." 11. "From creation to Sinai, no law." 12. "From the cross to the end of this age, no law." 13. "The gospel says, do, in the sense of an invitation, the law in the sense of a command." 14. "To be under the law is to be under the rod." In the eighth declaration reference is made to Heb. viii; but on reading it closely it will be seen that God never found fault with his ten commandments, but the eighth verse reads thus, For finding fault with them, i. e. the people that did not keep God's covenant. No fault found with the law, by any means. In answer to the ninth declaration I would say, that the ten commandments have no penalties attached to them, but in the ministration of the law we find the penalties specified. "He that killeth a beast shall make it good," [Lev. xxiv, 18,] that is, give another in the place of it. To the tenth I reply, "The law is holy, just and good;" "great peace have they that keep thy law, and nothing shall offend them." The eleventh is as erroneous as the rest, for God says that Abraham kept his charge, his commandments, and his laws. Gen. xxvi, 5. He could not have done it very well if there had been none to keep; therefore the law did exist. To the twelfth it is not necessary to bring much testimony. If there is no law now, then sin cannot be imputed, and the world at large stand acquitted; for where there is no law there is no transgression; and sin is defined to be the transgression of the law. Then there are no sinners, no need of Christ's mediation for poor suppliants; but I conclude that T. W. is in darkness on this point, as nearly all the apostles have recognized the law, and spoken of it many years after the crucifixion. Not only so, but James says if any offend in one point he is guilty of all; that is, of breaking all the commandments. Then the Revelator in his benediction says, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, for they shall have right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates into the City." While the gospel invites us to come, I would exhort T. W. to take his place with the commandments-keepers before the wine of the wrath of God is poured out on all the wicked. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. This could not be said if the fact did not exist. With the last declaration of T. W. I must agree; and sore indeed will be the rod on those that are found at last under the law, violating any of its divine precepts. They will mourn at the last when their flesh and bodies are consumed, and cry, How have I hated instruction, and despised reproof! There will be the sad lamentation, "The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and I am not saved." The First Commandment.
By H. S. Boyd
THOU shalt have no other gods before me. Ex. xx. 3. These are the words uttered on mount Sinai by Him who saith, I am the Lord thy God. When these words were spoken the whole mount quaked greatly: God himself had descended upon it to give his statutes to man. His first command is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. It is not my purpose in this article to enumerate all the gods that we can have beside the true one; for there are lords many and gods many, but I would call the attention of the remnant to some that may take possession of our hearts almost unawares. Perchance Bro. A. has a fine farm. It is pleasantly situated, and really a good one. He thinks much of it and says it is his own. But brother, thou art mistaken. The earth is the Lord's. Bro. B. has a few thousands, or hundreds, at least, in cash or other property. This says he, is mine. I got it by my honest toil and savings of many years. But you too are God's steward. To him you must give an account; for not only is the earth the Lord's, but the fullness thereof. Bro. C. has a good house. It is not only good, but fine, fashionable, even stylish. We fail to find in the finish and furnish of this dwelling evidence that the builder expected that in a few days all these things were to be tried by fire. But dear brother, if the Bible taught you thus to build, thus to furnish and finish in these last days; if in all this your eye was single to the glory of God; if in it the lust of the eyes and the pride of life had no share; in short, if you have ever had the approving of God's Spirit, let others think or say what they will, go on in this painful duty, (for it must be a painful one to the true Adventist,) I say go on, be sure you are making a right use of your Lord's money, and with the good steward you will receive your reward. On the contrary, if you feel that it is God's Spirit that approves of what his word disapproves, remember that the many spirits which have gone out into the world are to be tried and tested by that word. Bro. D. has a great gift. He can exhort and pray better than his brethren. He is aware of all this. There is danger of his being exalted. But who maketh thee to differ from another? What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it why glory as if thou didst not receive it? 1 Cor. iv, 7. Some brother or sister may be tenacious with regard to some point of belief; for instance, have great faith. Do not be too sure you are right unless you are fully sustained by God's word, (and then you cannot be,) and should any one dare to differ from you then is a good time to shew forth the sweet Spirit of Jesus by your forbearance, patience, love and charity; by your willingness to have your life and doctrine tested by God's word. Charity will lead to all this, and without it St. Paul, though he were on earth speaking with the tongue of angels and with faith to remove mountains, would be nothing. I might go on to illustrate hundreds of ways that our hearts may be drawn from the true God, but a word to the wise is sufficient. O may it never be forgotten that just so far as our hearts are placed upon the perishable things of this world, (beyond what they should be,) whether it be property, honor, our own notions, goodness or gifts, just so far we have other gods besides the one we should worship. These are our gods in the same sense that covetousness is idolatry. And while we are consistently keeping the fourth commandment, let us not fail to also keep the first and last. I mean the new one that Jesus gave; [John xiii. 34;] and in all that we do have an eye single to the glory of God, and ever strive to imitate the dear Saviour, our true Pattern. Lyme, N. H., July 27th, 1857. Don't tell me of to-morrow!
Give me the man who'll say,
That when a good deed's to be done
Let's do the deed to-day.
We may all command the present,
If we act and never wait;
But repentance is the phantom
Of the past, that comes too late. Don't tell me of to-morrow!
There is much to do to-day
That can never be accomplished
If we throw the hours away.
Every moment has its duty—
Who the future can foretell?
Then why put off till to-morrow
What to-day can do as well? Don't tell me of to-morrow!
If we look upon the past,
How much that we have left to do
We cannot do at last?
To-day! it is the only time
For all on this frail earth;
It takes an age to form a life,
A moment gives it birth.—Sel. E. R. SEAMAN
By E. R. Seaman
Christ is able to help you, and as willing as he is able: prove him in every trial, put him to the test in your present distress. Bro. E. D. Place writes from La Porte, Ind., July 19th, 1857, Bro. Smith:—Though our numbers are small, yet we are trying to keep God's Law. We want some one to come here and preach to us. I think that much good might be done here if there should a way open for one to come, for like Simon the tanner, we want the truth. Thoughts Connected with the Practical Duties of Religious Life.
The hidden life, which God imparts to his accepted people, may flourish in solitudes and deserts; far from the societies of men and the din and disturbance of cities. From the cave of the hermit, from the cell of the solitary recluse, the fervent prayer has often arisen, which has been acceptable in the sight of God. But it would be a strange and fatal misconception, that religion, even in its most pure and triumphant excitations, can flourish no where else. The home of holiness is in the heart, irrespective of outward situations and alliances; and therefore we may expect to find it, if there are hearts adapted to its reception and growth, in the haunts of business as well as in the silence of retirement; in the palaces of Rome as well as in the deserts of the Thebais. It is a fatal mistake to suppose that we cannot be holy except on the condition of a situation and circumstances in life such as shall suit ourselves. It is one of the first principles of holiness to leave our times and our places, our going out and our coming in, our wasted and our goodly heritage, entirely with the Lord. Here, O Lord, thou hast placed us, and we will glorify thee here. In the agitations of the present life, beset and perplexed as we are with troubles, how natural it is to seek earnestly some place of rest. And hence it is that we so often reveal our cares and perplexities to our fellow-men, and seek comfort and support from that source. But the sanctified soul, having experienced the uncertainty of all human aids, turns instinctively to the great God. And hiding itself in the presence and protection of the divine existence, it reposes there, as in a strong tower which no enemies can conquer, and as an everlasting rock which no floods can wash away. It knows the instructive import of that sublime exclamation of the Psalmist, (Ps. lxii, 5.) "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." Delivered from Spiritualism
By Fanny Rogers
BRO. SMITH : I am a stranger to you in person, but I trust not in spirit, for I do love the principles you advocate in the Review. Although I have been a reader of its pages but a short time, I can truly say its weekly visits are very welcome indeed. I feel encouraged and strengthened while reading the cheering communications from those of like precious faith, scattered up and down through the land. I desire to add my mite and to testify to the goodness of God to me. My companion and myself have for several years past kept aloof from sectarianism. We found nothing in the religion of the popular churches of the day to feed the hungry soul, and at last left them entirely. There was such confusion among them, one sect spiritualizing the Bible one way, and another sect another way, that they formed a perfect Babel. They made the Bible contradict itself, so that we laid it aside almost entirely. God forgive me, for I scarcely perused its sacred pages from one month to another. When the first loud cry went forth, "Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come," I heeded the cry, and rejoiced in a coming Saviour until the time went by. Then I suffered the cares of this world to draw me from God and heavenly things. When Spiritualism came up in this vicinity I encouraged it. It came into my family; two of my children were mediums. I had dear friends that were dead, beloved parents, and dear children, who pretended to converse with me. I was honest and sincere, hoping I had found something to guide me through this unfriendly world and arouse me from the lethargy into which I had fallen. Having laid aside my Bible, the only sure guide, I did not know they were the spirits of devils; but after a while we began to detect them in various ways, and bade them depart. My dear husband and myself were like a storm-tossed vessel, without chart or compass to guide us over the sea of life, when God in his infinite mercy sent a dear brother this way to open to us the Scriptures. Yes, blessed be God, Bro. Stewart came here last Winter, and his preaching was meat in due season to us. His labors were abundantly blessed in this place. With shame and deep contrition of heart would I confess my lukewarmness and backsliding from God. I do bless his great name that I have hope in his mercy. Yes, blessed be my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be praised, he has healed all my backslidings. I have taken my neglected Bible from the shelf, and cannot open it without seeing a beautiful harmony running through the whole of it. I can truly say, the darkness is passed, and the true light now shineth. O I praise God that I have heard the Third Angel's Message. I do desire to buy gold tried in the fire, that I may be rich; white raiment, that I may be clothed; and eye-salve that I may see. O Jesus has appeared to me of late the chiefest among ten thousand, the one altogether lovely. I long for the time to come when I shall see the King in his beauty. Dear brethren and sisters, shall we be able to stand in that great day, when Jesus comes with ten thousand of his saints to take vengeance on the ungodly? O let us put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand. O let us earnestly seek the needed preparation, humble ourselves before God, seek to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ, that we may be hid in the day of his fierce anger. Yours in hope of a glorious immortality.
FANNY ROGERS.
Lendina, Wis., Aug. 19th, 1857. Bro. B. F. Colvin writes from Bingham, Pa., Aug 1857:—"I am still striving for the kingdom. I am still trying to honor the Lord by keeping all his Commandments; and trying to be ready to meet Jesus by having all his faith and testimonies. I have not heard any preaching by Sabbath-keepers in a long time. I have of late applied the admonitions to the Laodicean church to myself. I am striving by the grace of God to repent and be zealous to obtain the eyesalve that I may see, the gold that I may be rich, and the white raiment that I may be clothed."