ERROR has many discordant voices in the world to deceive those who will not receive the truth in the love of it; while the voice of truth is one voice, clear, and easy to be understood by those in whose hearts is a love for the truth. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27. “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.” Verse 5.
There is a vast difference between truth and error; though through the influence of sectarianism many have come to the conclusion that the difference is quite unimportant. “It makes no difference,” say they, “what a man believes if he is only sincere.” But it seems quite evident if we take the Scriptures for our guide in the matter, that men may be left really and sincerely “to believe a lie,” and that, as a consequence, they may be damned “who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” All admit that we must worship God in spirit, in order to our acceptance; but it is no less required of us that we should worship him in truth, and as God’s requirements are just, we may, notwithstanding all the jargon of sectarianism, attain to a knowledge of the truth. Very important, then, and interesting is the inquiry, What is truth? As Jesus came into the world to bear witness unto the truth, we will hear his testimony on the point. In his prayer to his Father in behalf of his disciples, he prays, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” John 17:17.
The voice of truth is the voice of unity and love. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me; and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” Verses 20–22. The truth must be obeyed. Says Paul: “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil.” Rom. 2:8, 9. And Peter says: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.” 1 Pet. 1:22.
Truth purifies and sanctifies the soul. “Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth.” Will obedience to error produce the same effect? If it will, it makes but little difference which we hold; but if it will not, it is of vast importance that we have the truth. “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” Some speak of sanctification as if it were a work of the Spirit, in answer to their prayers, without any particular reference to the word of truth. And sometimes they make this sanctification a shield with which to ward off the truth. Speak to them of a duty which they neglect, and they reply, “The Lord would not bless me as he does, if I were wrong.” This is reversing the order of God. Instead of saying, The Lord hears our prayers, and therefore he does not require us to obey his word, we would rather say, with an apostle, “Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”
The person that is sanctified, in the scriptural sense of the term, is wholly set apart to do the will of God. And he will find his moral duties in the word. Says Jesus, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.”
“But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” 2 Thess. 2:13. Salvation is obtained through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Will the belief of a lie do just as well if we only believe it? Let us see. Commencing with verse 9, we read, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
The truth is able to save. It will be the shield and buckler of the saints in the time of trouble, their seal and passport to the city of God. The time of trouble, when the wrath of God will be poured out in the seven last plagues, and the wicked of earth will be cut off, is described in Ps. 91, and the security of God’s people at that time is thus expressed: “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 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.” Ps. 91:4–10. Such will be the security of the Lord’s people in the evil day. The truth will shield them while the enemies of the Lord sink beneath the unmmingled wrath of God. Does any one believe that error and falsehood will be as good a shield? Certainly not. Now is the time to procure this shield and buckler.
The apostle Peter, in view of the coming of the Lord, exhorts us as follows: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 1:13. This is in perfect accordance with what our Saviour said in reference to the same event. “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” Luke 12:35, 36. What is to be the girdle for our loins? Let Paul answer. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breast-plate of righteousness.” Eph. 6:14. The girdle then is the truth.
“Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.” Isa. 26:2. Ah! here is the grand result. The gates of the city of God will be thrown open, and the righteous nation that keepeth the truth will be welcomed in. How valuable then is the truth!
How can we know the truth? The acquisition of this inestimable knowledge is not the exclusive privilege of the wise and prudent of this world. The poor may obtain it as well as the rich; especially if they be poor in spirit. No collegiate course of instruction can avail so much toward gaining this knowledge, as a spirit of humble obedience to the will of God. We shall find a genuine and infallible guide to the knowledge of the truth in the word of God.
Says Jesus, “If ye continue in my word then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32. Again, “Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” Chap. 7:16, 17.
J. W.
Value of Good Manners.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
Pleasing manners are a great fortune to any man. Says Matthews: "Almost every man can recall scores of cases within his knowledge where pleasing manners have made the fortune of lawyers, doctors, divines, merchants, and, in short, men in every walk of life. Raleigh flung down his laced coat into the mud for Elizabeth to walk on, and got for his reward a proud queen's favor. The politician who has this advantage easily distances all rival candidates, for every voter he speaks with becomes his friend. The very tones in which he asks for a pinch of snuff are often more potent than the logic of a Webster or a Clay. Polished manners have made scoundrels successful, while the best of men, by their harshness and coldness, have done themselves incalculable injury—the shell being so rough that the world could not believe there was a precious kernel within."
"Civility is to man what beauty is to a woman. It creates an instantaneous impression in his behalf, while the opposite quality excites as quick a prejudice against him. It is a real ornament—the most beautiful dress a man or woman can wear—and worth more as a means of winning favor than the finest clothes and jewels ever worn. The gruffest man loves to be appreciated; and it is oftener the sweet smile of a woman, which we think intended for us alone, than a pair of Juno-like eyes, or 'lips that seem on roses fed,' that bewitches our heart and lays us low at the feet of her whom we afterward marry."
Knowing the potency of good manners, every Christian who desires to win souls to the truth should make it a daily study how to be as pleasing as possible. Indeed the Lord enjoins this—"Be courteous." 1 Pet. 3:8. Seventh-day Adventists particularly need a large measure of this grace. Sharpness, coarseness, boisterousness, and like behavior never wins the confidence and love of others. Let us be as wise as common salesmen at least.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
Private Prayer.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
THE largest part of the Christian's prayers will always be private. His prayer will be a dialogue with his Heavenly Father. If his religion is not so, he may distrust its sincerity. If it be not more secret than public, more hidden than open—if his prayers in his closet, in his studies, in his walks, are not far more constant and important than his prayers in company and in church—he ought to doubt whether he does not pray to be seen of men rather than to be seen and heard of God. Secret prayer is the foundation of all other prayer. Where there is no habit of private communion with God there will be no earnestness in public prayer. It will be formal, dry, and consisting in endless repetitions of the customary phrases. The life of religion in the soul consists in habitual communion with God, in gratitude, supplication, in "the flight of one alone to the Only One." This hidden, inner life must be maintained in its fullness by constant prayer, and thus it will flow out easily into all the acts of public devotion and active goodness. But when this inner life stagnates, then the outward acts of devotion become formal and rigid, and the man is like a tree, hollow at heart, which still may maintain an outward, languid show of life; or like an olive tree dead at the root, which still may bear "two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof." Secret prayer is the sign and the food of this inner life; its sign—for this life is love, and where love exists it will express itself. If the heart loves God it will commune with him; it will habitually turn to him, as the heliotrope to the king of the day; it will lean on him in dependence, trust and confidence. Its food—for such communion, opens the soul to receive new life flowing into it from God; and prayer is the door through which the bread and wine of the soul are brought in.
—J. F. Clarke.
In and Around the Biblical Institute.
By O. T. Noble
JUDGING from the number of brethren in attendance from the several States in the Union, I think there must be from a hundred and twenty to a hundred and fifty families anxious to know how we are entertained, and what we are doing, and what the probable result of this enterprise will be.
The first thing I will speak of is how we were received. A committee previously chosen held themselves in readiness to wait upon every new comer and conduct him to a home with some one of the families composing the Battle Creek church; and, judging from my own experience and what I have heard from others, I feel justified in saying that we fare sumptuously. Every facility calculated to enable us to make the best use of our time is given us. Our mail is distributed in the lecture room before each lecture, and we receive many such attentions, which, in the aggregate, save us much time for the study of our lessons. So far, the lectures have been conducted by Brn. J. White and U. Smith. The able and patient manner in which they handle the subjects, and answer the many curious, ingenious, and intricate questions submitted to them in writing, and orally, will certainly give them a large place in our confidence and in our hearts.
The time devoted to lectures, including that used in asking and answering questions, is from 9 to 11 A. M., from 2 to 4, and 6 to 8 P. M., giving us plenty to do.
I cannot close this article without a few words about the preaching, all of which thus far has been done by Bro. and sister White. I wish to say that whatever opinion people may form by reading, I venture the assertion that no fine-minded person can listen to either of them and not feel assured that God is with them. Sister White's style and language is altogether solemn and impressive, and sways a congregation beyond description, and in a direction always heavenward. Bro. White's language, manner, and style are inspiring, and well calculated to lift us up. We are led to feel that when the preacher goes out, under the commission, Jesus will surely be with him, and that, though weak in himself, yet through the power of his Guide he can subdue kingdoms; nay, "he can do all things."
O. T. NOBLE.
Wellington, Loraine county, Ohio.
Persevering Holiness.
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Holiness consists not in the rushing of intense resolve, which, like Kishon, sweeps everything before it and then subsides, but in the constant flow of Siloa’s waters, which perpetually make glad the city of our God. Holiness is no blazing comet, amazing nations with a transient glory; it is a fixed star, which, with still, calm radiance, shines on through the darkness of a corrupt age. Holiness is persevering obedience; it is not holiness at all if it be occasional zeal and sensational piety.
—Spurgeon.
A Candid Opinion.
Rev. James Gallaher, once chaplain of the U. S. House of Representatives, commenced his ministry in Tennessee. He was a strong champion of the Presbyterian faith, but a man full of humor, with great tact in avoiding controversy when wisdom so directed. In one of his horseback rounds a good Arminian family entertained him very kindly, and as he was mounting his horse to leave, his host said to him, "Now, Mr. Gallaher, tell me what you honestly think about falling from grace."
"I suppose you want to know my real candid opinion?" said the minister.
"Yes, that is what I am after."
"Well, then," continued Mr. Gallaher, "I will tell you in a few words--I'd hate mightily to try it."
The Bible.
THE land is full of Bibles. I am glad of it. I am no worshiper of the Bible, yet I reverence its wisdom, I honor its beauty of holiness, and love exceedingly the tranquil trust in God which its great authors had. Some of the best things that I have ever learned from man this book has taught me. Think of the great souls in this Hebrew Old Testament; of the two great men in the New—Jesus who made the great religious motion in the world's parliament and Paul who supported it. I am glad the Bible goes everywhere. But men take it for master, not for help, read it as a sacrament, not to get a wiser and higher light. They worship its letter, and the better spirit of Moses, of Esaias, of the holy psalms, so old and yet so young, so everlasting in their beautious faith in God—the sublime spirit of one greater than the temple, and Lord of the Sabbath, who scorned to put the new wine of God into the old and rotten bags of men that is not in Christendom. O, no! men do not ask that. The yeasty soul would rend assunder tradition's leathern bags. Worship of Bibles never made men write Bibles; it hinders us from living them. Worship no things for that; not the created, but, O Creator! let us worship Thee.—Theo. Parker.
NOT ASHAMED.
Justice McLean, of Ohio, heard a minister preach. He had been a skeptic, and this minister spoke to him in such a way as to convince him of the truth of the Christian religion. He was led to see how Christ had died for him, and was born again. He went home. He had hardly got there before he said: "We are going to have family prayer; let us go into the drawing room and pray together." "But," said his wife, "there are four lawyers in there; they have come to attend court. Let us go to the kitchen to have prayers." Judge McLean replied: "It's the first time I ever invited the Lord to my house, and I don't propose to invite him to the kitchen by any means." He went in to those lawyers and said: "My friends, I have found out that Jesus died on the cross for me, I have given myself to him, and now I propose to invite him to my house. You may do as you please; stay, or go. But I am now to make my first prayer in my own house." They said they would like very much to stay, and did stay. From that day Judge McLean lived a consistent Christian life, and died a Christian death.
The Sermon of To-day.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
Under the above heading the San Francisco Chronicle, of Dec. 13, has the following just remarks. After describing the old time sermon, it says:
"Now, however, this is all changed. Our preachers are politicians as much as ecclesiastics. The spirit of the times teaches them equally with the spirit of the Lord. Lessons are drawn as frequently from the world history of to-day as from the sacred history of long, long ago. Theology has become but the adjunct of a shrewd and easy morality. The preacher who expounds simply as a Biblical student is left behind in the race for popularity and a full flock. The shepherd of 1874 depends not on the simple crook to keep his flock from straying, but explodes a Chinese cracker—in the shape of a flash text and sermon—before the errant ones, and so drives them into corral, at least for this Sunday, and then looks about him during the rest of the week for another explosive to drive them back on Sunday next. The gentle dew of old-fashioned ministrations has no effect on the dry bones; it needs a topical bombshell to cause a moving in the valley. The sermon of to-day is generally a cross between an essay and a stump speech. Every week there is a series of the most seductive titles published of sufficient variety to suit all "earnest seekers" after truth, amusement or excitement."
This picture is but too true to the facts. No wonder that the power of God is no longer seen in the church. They rely not on the Lord, but their own powers for success. Let us be careful that we do not fall into the same pit.
D. M. C.
Visit to Woodland.
By John Norton Loughborough
WHILE our Office hands were busy wrapping and mailing number 13, I made a hasty visit to Woodland for the purpose of consulting with our T. and M. officers there upon the great work before us, and to arrange with Bro. Saunders to print a supplement for the SIGNS.
I spent one evening very pleasantly with the kind family of Bro. Saunders, and was gratified to find them as earnest as ever, desirous for the extension of the truth, and willing to make any reasonable sacrifice for the advancement of the cause. It is perhaps due to Bro. Saunders that I say here, that he made as reasonable offers as he thought his circumstances would admit when it was talked of publishing the SIGNS at his office in Woodland, and it is now probable that our committee made too rigid an interpretation of the statement of the General Conference Committee on the paper here being managed in the same economical manner that the Review is managed.
Considering the differences in prices here and in the East, it seems that $12.00 per week here would require far greater self denial than it would in Michigan. Let justice be done to all. J. N. L.
Oakland.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
We have now held meetings in our hall about twenty days. Have had an audience averaging about seventy. Over half this time it has been very rainy, which has kept many away who desire to attend. Last Sabbath four new ones were with us keeping the Sabbath as the fruit of these meetings.
We also keep up our Sabbath and Sunday evening preaching in San Francisco with a good attendance.
D. M. C.
The Cause in the East.
By John Norton Loughborough
SINCE our last, numbers two and three of the Review have come to hand. We see the work is still moving on in the east, and that well-directed labor is still bringing its sure reward. By the reports we learn that at least between fifty and one hundred had taken their stand in some three places mentioned. This is encouraging. Next to seeing people embrace the truth in our own vicinity is to hear of their taking their stand elsewhere. The truth of God is one everywhere. We should pray for its progress and rejoice in its advancement.
From a private letter just received from Bro. Prof. N. W. Allen, who embraced the truth in Lake county, Cal., and has been attending the Biblical Institute at Battle Creek, and has now returned to his friends in Missouri, we learn that several of his near relatives have embraced the truth, and that others are investigating, and are about to take their stand. So may the work move on. J. N. L.
Awful!
By Dudley Marvin Canright
ONE of the bishops of the Church of England, it has just leaked out, was not christened when he was a babe. He was thought to be dying, and his nurse did something in the peril of the moment which was meant to be a baptism; but just what is not known, nor is it certain that she did it in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
He recovered, and in mature years became an Episcopalian, and has risen to the high office of a bishop. The discovery that he was not baptized for a certainty has created a great stir in Episcopalian circles; for it follows that all his Episcopal acts are virtually null and void. He has ordained a great number of priests, christened many little babes, and confirmed scores of children, who it would seem are none of them really baptized, confirmed, or ordained, according to the requirements of the church.
The above fact we have seen referred to by several papers. The Baptists are greatly amused over this; as well they may be; but the poor Episcopalians, what will they do? All this difficulty would have been avoided had they held to the Bible direction to baptize believers only. Mark 16:16. So much for sprinkling babies! D. M. C.
Our Work.
By S. N. Haskell
It is evident that many have not viewed this work in its proper magnitude and in its true light. We have not been able to comprehend the full scope of the third angel's message. Many of us have theoretically believed that God had committed to this people a message to warn the world; but we have not realized what must be done to accomplish this work. If the world is to be warned, and the truth is to find its way to every State and Territory in this Union, and into every part of such State or Territory, if it is to go to every civilized nation on the globe, wherever there are honest hearts, a question of the utmost importance arises, How is this to be accomplished? Will God send an angel from Heaven to preach the truth, and to carry this work forward without the co-operation of man? Can we fold our hands, or quietly work on our farms and attend to our worldly interests so that we may meet with no pecuniary loss, and then rejoice in the prosperity of the work without lifting a finger for its advancement? Has God changed in his plan of accomplishing his work here upon the earth?
This none of us believe. But the fact is self-evident that men are God's agents to carry out his design in the promulgation of his truth among mankind. He has committed to men and women talents of usefulness. These talents embrace temporal means, position in society, ability to present the truth in an acceptable manner, or whatever gives influence in society. These talents God will require with usury. The usury is our influence upon others in gathering with Christ. For all our works in the day of Judgment will be tried with fire; for the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is; and if any man's work abide, he shall receive a reward; and every man shall receive a reward according to the fruits of his labor.
If God has selected a people on this earth, and given them light and truth, and that truth is to reach many nations, kindred, tongues, and people, it is that that people may be instrumental in imparting that light and truth to others. Man is only a steward of his talents. These are lent him of God to be used for his glory; and God will hold him to a strict account for the use of those talents which he has committed to him. If he neglects to use the talents in his possession, when the cause of Christ is languishing, and appropriates to himself that which is needed to further the truth of God, he robs God of that which belongs to him, and when he fails in this life he will sink into eternal ruin. The records kept in Heaven of every one that is saved, will show that the talents are not only returned, but that the usury accompanies them. Here are the talents Thou gavest me, and I have gained others besides them, says the faithful servant. This usury is the influence of the life of the child of God.
A fearful responsibility rests upon those who have received the light of present truth.
In the providence of God there have been committed to them talents of usefulness. Organization has been effected for the purpose of more successfully carrying forward the work of God. Individuals hold positions of responsibility in these organizations, and if they fulfill their responsibilities it will take them from their worldly interests. It will require sacrifice and burden-bearing on their part. And if they refuse to bear these burdens and make these sacrifices, the record of their lives made by the angels of God will show that they have thought God a hard master, reaping where he had not sown, and gathering where he had not strewed.
And to all such it will be said, "Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath ten talents; for unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."—S. N. HASKELL, in True Missionary.
The Christian Use of Money.
By Mial Davis
WHAT is money?
The definition comes to us, "coin, metal (usually gold, silver, or copper), stamped with public authority, and used as the medium of commerce." We find the first mention of the word when Abraham bought the burial-place for his wife Sarah; thence all along through the books of Moses, the prophets, and Psalms; also in the New Testament, by the apostles and evangelists.
The use made of the word in the seventy places in the scriptures where it is found indicates clearly its importance. In the Jewish dispensation we find,—
The Atonement money, the Redemption money, the Trespass money, and the Sin money, showing the sacred use made of it in the established worship of God among his ancient people.
Illustrations of the power of money for good and evil are found in abundance scattered through the Bible; and the wise man was inspired to write that "money answereth all things." Money must therefore be used,—used by Christian men and women.
The subject before us is. The Christian Use of Money. The word "Christian," as here used, is thus defined: "pertaining to Christ, belonging to Christ, relating to his doctrines, precepts, and example." This simple dictionary-explanation of the word is, perhaps, the most beautiful but comprehensive brief essay that could be written upon the subject. Put the use of money according to this definition; and we have its Christian use. Let me give it again. "Pertaining to Christ, belonging to Christ, or relating to his doctrines, precepts, and example."
Excuse me, dear brethren and sisters in the Lord, for saying that my own heart has been deeply stirred within me in applying this definition to my own life and experience in the use of money. That we may ever make the test of our lives, may God grant us help? There is a saying as follows:— "Money can neither open new avenues to pleasure, nor block up the passages of anguish." With the Christian use of money, cannot this be accomplished? On an old monument in Staffordshire, Eng., may be found the following:—
"As I was—so be ye;
As I am—ye shall be;
That I gave—that I have;
What I spent—that I had;
Thus I end all my cost;
What I left, that I lost."
Concerning the duty of the Christian use of money, no argument is necessary to the truly Christian heart. To use money with relation "to Christ's precepts and example," as "belonging to Christ," would seem to be easily understood. As to food and raiment, shelter and sustenance, for ourselves and those dependent upon us, He knoweth that we have need of these things. It would most evidently follow, that to use money in a Christian way would lead us to engage most heartily in all the various benevolent and charitable work of the communities in which we live; for He whom we imitate "went about doing good." But the special object of our gifts of money would seem to be that for which he gave his own most precious blood,—the Church of Christ, in all its various fields of labor, in every department of its work because it is his church. This use of money would lead us to seek to enhance our power and ability for all this service.
But do some say, "I have little money?" Then with little money the consecration, the spirit, the blessing, will be the same. It only requires common observation to notice that those who do not give statedly, when with small means, do not give uniformly with large means; and vice versa, those who have given thus while having little, have most uniformly increased with their means proportionately. Do some inquire, "What or how much shall I give?" Let us answer in the words of William Arthur, Esq., in his treaties on "Giving". He says,—
"If we go to the Old Testament to learn what the Lord counted acceptable in ancient times, we find Abraham, the father and representative of all believers, standing before Melchisedec, the type of our great High Priest, giving a tenth of all."
We find the patriarch Jacob, when homeless, awaking from his sleep by the roadside, solemnly vowing to the God of his fathers, that, if only "bread to eat and raiment to put on" were granted to him in his exile, a tenth of all should be rendered back in honor of his God."
Among the Jews, we find that each head of a family was bound by direct enactment to give one-tenth of all his yearly income to the support of the ministering tribe of Levi. He had to pay a second tenth for the support of the feasts, a third tenth for the poor, once in three years. And in addition were the trespass-offerings, long and costly journeys to the temple, and sundry other religious charges, all imposed by divine sanction, beside freewill-offerings. Taking all these items, it is undoubted, that, among the Jews, every head of a family was under religious obligation to give at least a fifth, perhaps a third, of his yearly income.
If we seek an answer from the New Testament, every thing seems to push up the scale to a proportion from which we nearly all shrink away. We find liberality in a rich man sanctioned up to "half his goods," as in the case of Zaccheus; and, in a poor widow, up to "all her living," as with the two mites. We find a whole church selling their property, and giving away without limit; and, though that example is never enforced on others, it is never reproved.
We find the church of Macedonia in "depths of poverty," and also in "a great trial of afflictions, abounding in riches of liberality;" and their record is written for the gratitude of all ages, that they gave "beyond their power." Those early Christians who thus rejoiced to bestow are melted together to yet greater sacrifices by words so winning and so mighty as, "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
Thus coming into the gospel dispensation, we are sensible at once of a notable rise in the temperature of benevolence. Here the idea of a religion less generous, less self-denying, less superior to sordid hoards or personal comforts, is not only inadmissible, but atrocious. Whatever of heavenliness and large-heart was in the religion of the prophets received an expansion not a chill; and selfish man is placed, at best, in his highest school of usefulness.
Does the Christian use of money give better returns than other uses? Some time since, an article appeared in the Christian Era, entitled, "Hold on to your money!" Queer, indeed, for a Christian paper to announce to its readers! In brief, the injunction was to place money while in life so that Christ should recognize it after death—deposit it in the Bank of Heaven. Lay up treasure there, by bringing money there through the blessing of God on money given in life. Thus money lasts into eternity. We hold on to our money by letting go of it here.
Some time since, a man in this State, possessing property, but nearing the grave, sent for a friend to advise him concerning some of his property. On arriving, the friend said it would be well for him to attend at111once to such matters as he wished to, as a change might soon take place with him. Holding a bond for a thousand dollars in his hand, he remarked, he thought of giving it to his housekeeper, he having lost his companion by death. He asked, "Will it make any difference for an hour or two?" He died holding the bond in his hand. As with our lives, so with our money; he that saveth his money shall lose it; and he who, for the Lord's sake, and the gospel's sake, loses his money, shall find it.
The only money ever saved for ourselves is what we give to the Lord. Need anything be said of the joy of this Christian use of money? You who know the meaning of that most mysterious statement, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," understand the returns, the dividends of money thus invested: "Them that honor me I will honor."
What like the joy of feeling that you are assisting in the support of a preached gospel in your community (for who would live where it is not preached)? What pleasure comes of having part in a mission Sabbath school, in the work of our State Convention, of our great Home Mission Society! What delight like that of realizing, that, by your money, men and women, noble and Christlike, are preaching the gospel to the poor in far-off lands! If the sweet story of Jesus and his love is to be told to them, it must be told by the voice of living men and women, not by angels. And whence are the means to come to send forth messengers to tell the tidings of grace to every creature? The answer comes, by the Christian use of Money, spending it according to the definition of the word "Christian" as given above: "pertaining to Christ, belonging to Christ, relating to his doctrines, precepts, and example."
We are drawing near to the hour when we shall take our flight from this to another shore. At whatever moment we depart, many other souls from all lands will be departing too. Who would wish, that, in the flight of souls, of which he will be one, the majority should be of those who had never heard the name of Jesus? If this is not to be our case, if that name is to sound upon all ears, and to be invoked in all tongues, up, and be in earnest! Spare your goods, that the poor in soul may be rich at last! Who dies rich? He who, whether he leaves little, or much, or nothing behind him, has treasure laid up in heaven; he dies rich! Who dies poor? He who, whatever he leaves behind him, has nothing laid up before him; he dies poor! —Mial Davis, Burlington, Vt.
Love and Labor.
WE die not all; for our deeds remain
To crown with honor or mar with stain;
Through endless sequence of years to come
Our lives shall speak, when our lips are dumb.
What though we perish, unknown to fame,
Our tomb forgotten, and lost our name,
Since naught is wasted in heaven or earth,
And nothing dies to which God gives birth.
Though life be joyless, and death be cold,
And pleasures pall as the world grows old,
Yet God has granted our hearts relief,
For Love and Labor can conquer grief.
Love sheds a light on the gloomy way,
And Labor hurries the weary day;
Though death be fearful and life be hard,
Yet Love and Labor shall win reward.
If Love can dry up a single tear,
If life-long Labor avail too dear
A single web from before the true,
Then Love and Labor have won their due.
What though we mourn, we can comfort pain;
What if we die, so the truth be plain;
A little spark from a high desire
Shall kindle others, and grow a fire.
We are not worthy to work the whole;
We have no strength which may save a soul;
Enough for us if our life begin
Successful struggle with grief and sin.
Labor is mortal, and fades away,
But Love shall triumph in perfect day;
Labor may wither beneath the sod,
But Love lives ever, for Love is God.
—Chambers' Journal.