CHAP. XI, 8. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean unto you.
A very learned physician, Hebenstreit, thinks the great utility of these laws was the preservation by them of the public health. Palestine being exposed to the hot winds of the sandy Arabian deserts, a stricter diet was requisite, and unless cooler winds from the Mediterranean Sea had tempered the air, nowhere would inflammatory and putrid diseases more prevail. Judea, it is true, like similar hot countries, abounded in fruits producing a pleasant acid, which resisted the putrefying tendency of the humors. But these could not avert all danger, unless the most wholesome animal flesh alone, were used for food; and we cannot sufficiently admire the wisdom of the legislator who interdicted the Israelites those kinds of food, which soonest corrupt. All blood is digested in the stomach with difficulty, as it coagulates into grains difficult of solution, and very soon becomes putrid; whence, in strangled animals, the flesh distended with blood, is wont quickly to corrupt. The abuse of fat meats is always prejudicial to health, for it weakens the powers of the stomach, hinders digestion, and induces (ranorem,) the source and fuel of the most difficult bilious and putrid diseases. Most of the animals forbidden to the Israelites, seek their food in filth and dirt, or live by the destruction of other animals; hence their humors easily tend to putrefaction.—Rosenmuller.
BURNING INFECTED CLOTHING.
CHAP. XIII, 52. He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woollen or in linen, or any thing of skin, wherein the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire.
Michaelis was told by a dealer in wool, that the wool of sheep which die of disease, if it had not been shorn from the animal while living, is unfit to make cloth, and liable to something like what Moses here describes. Dr. A. Clarke, however, thinks the fretting is occasioned by the breeding of animalculæ, or vermin (who thus like moths corrode the cloth for nourishment), burrowing in the skin, which we know to be the cause of the psora or itch, which will, through garments, communicate infection after six or seven years even. The scarlet fever, plague, &c., are also communicated by garments, old rags, &c., hence Moses commands such things to be burnt. See Michaelis and Clarke.
The Commentary.
Tell me the meaning of Scriptures. One gem from that ocean is worth all the pebbles of earthly streams.—M. Cheney.
PARAPHRASE OF PSALM XI.
By John Nevins Andrews
1 I put my trust in the Lord,
And on him do I firmly rely;
How say ye then to my soul,
As a bird to your mountain perch fly?
2 For lo! the wicked do rage,
And each one doth make ready his dart;
Their bow they privily bend,
To let spring at the upright in heart.
3 What can the righteous effect,
If, alas! the foundations be moved?
Or what the godly avail,
Unless justice and truth be approved?
4 But lo! God rules on his throne,—
In his temple he reigneth on high;
His eyes behold from afar,
And the children of men he will try.
5 The Lord, the righteous doth prove,—
All their actions and motives he tries;
But all the wicked doth hate,
And the lovers of violence despise.
6 Hot snares on them he will rain,
And an horrible tempest create;
In flames of brimstone and fire,
He’ll assign to the wicked their fate.
7 But on the upright he looks,
And beholdeth their ways from above;
For God is righteous and just,
And the works of the righteous doth love.
J. N. A.
Herod and John.
MATT. xiv, 1. At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, 2, and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.
Herod had previously caused John the Baptist to be beheaded, and now he declared that he had risen from the dead. But Herod was a Sadducee; and the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead. This is, therefore, a notable instance in which the stings of conscience, or the goadings of fear, prove stronger than a man's outward profession. Death-beds of infidels often bear witness to the same fact.
The Food of John the Baptist.
By Vesta N. Cudworth
Matt. iii, 4. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
“THE locust was a fruit, a bean-like pod, with a seed in it similar to the Carob, or husk on which the prodigal son fed.”—Butterworth.
“The wild honey, a kind of gum.”—Dr. Forestall.
If this is true, John the Baptist was a good vegetarian after all; while many refer us to that prophet as eating grasshoppers.
VESTA N. CUDWORTH.
Scripture Notes.
HOW TO TREAT PROPERTY FOUND.
LEV. vi, 3. Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein; 4. then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore the lost thing which he found.
The Roman lawyers laid it down as a sound maxim in jurisprudence, that he who found any property, and applied it to his own use [even when the owner remained unknown], should be considered as a thief, whether he knew the owner or not. It is said of the Dyrboeans (a people between Bactria and India), that if they met with any lost property, even on the public road, they never even touched it. This was actually the case in this kingdom (England) in the time of Alfred the Great, about A. D. 888; so that golden bracelets hung up on the public roads, were untouched by the finger of rapine. One of Solon's laws was, Take not up what you laid not down.—Dr. A. Clarke.
Moses the Writer of the Pentateuch.
LUKE XX, 37. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
The manner in which Luke quotes the words of the Lord, refers the citation definitely to Moses; and this, at any rate, renders it necessary to regard Moses as the author of the substance of the Pentateuch. The words “at the bush,” are to be taken both in Mark and in Luke, as meaning “in the section where the appearance of God at the bush, is the subject of discourse.—Olshausen.
ABSENCE cures little passions, but aggravates great ones.—Napoleon.
Wise men make more opportunities than they find.
CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE.
By Wm. Cottrell
I AM a believer in the great truths of the third angel’s message, and I greatly desire to keep in harmony with all the truth, and the body. I have been living out the health reform as I learn in reference to its demands. I regard it as being heavenly in its origin, and consequently in perfect harmony with the teachings of the Bible.
Temperance seems to occupy an important place in the Christian graces, as they are termed. Peter says that we should add temperance. 2 Pet. i, 6. Now it is of importance that we should do this, or the apostle would not have enjoined it. Some advocates of temperance talk as if abstaining from the use of intoxicating drinks, is all that is necessary to temperance. But that is only one thing of many. I would not speak one word in favor of the use of intoxicating drinks, but I do claim that there are other things necessary in order to a temperate life. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain.” “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” 1 Cor. ix, 24, 25.
Now, for what purpose does Paul say that those striving for the mastery were temperate in all things? To obtain a corruptible crown. It would seem that it was essential for them to be thus temperate, in order that they might obtain that corruptible crown. “But we an incorruptible,” adds the apostle. Can we obtain that incorruptible crown unless we are temperate in all things? Reader, think of this. Can we be temperate and use intoxicating drinks? Can we be temperate and eat to gluttony? Can we be temperate and use tobacco? Can we be temperate and use tea and coffee? Can we be temperate and use pork? Many other things might be enumerated, but this will do for the present. When we look at the effect of these things on the human system, we are driven to the conclusion, that we ought to abstain from the use of these things, together with many others. Query. If it is intemperate to use these things, can we obtain that incorruptible crown, and continue to be thus intemperate? Judge ye.
Paul says, “Cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Again, Can we become perfect in holiness, without we do cleanse ourselves from all this filthiness? I leave the reader to judge.
We know that our enemies will speak evil of us because we don’t run with them to the same excess of riot. But let it be so. The Lord helping, we will try to become perfect, and pray that we may be sanctified through the truth, in order that we may be ready to meet the Lord when he comes.
Yours in love, WM. COTTRELL.
Bowersville, O.
LOVE OF APPROBATION.
By S. E. Lindsley
“I AM so weak and bend so easily to surrounding circumstances, I have grown to love the approbation of the world so much, that a constant, mighty, effort alone can save me. Little have I thought that I was striving harder to please earthly friends than to please Him who is a friend above all others. But I fear that this is so.”
These lines from the pen of a sister in a late Review, struck me with especial force. Can it be when I have said so many times and sincerely, too, that the so-called pleasures of the world are naught to me, that I still cherish in my heart a stronger desire to be thought and spoken well of by the world, than for the approbation of God? I have never desired to attend the picnics or other parties of pleasure in which the professed church, as well as the world, so unscrupulously mingle. But numerous friends and acquaintances who have no relish for the truth of God, have shown themselves extremely kind to me in temporal things, and given me their sympathy. This has produced feelings of gratitude in me and increased approbativeness. Thus I have too often come under their influence and given them reason to feel that notwithstanding my profession, there was but little difference between us. This has caused me many sorrowful hours. I have mourned that I had so little strength and was so easily overcome. Yet I did not realize that a desire to retain their approbation and friendship existed and formed a serious obstacle in the way of overcoming. And in my efforts to speak to them of my faith and hope I fear that I have lowered the standard to meet them, as it were, and avoid giving offense. I “cannot point to one soul thus saved.” May God help me to “turn to a new course of action.” I feel my need of the “gold, white raiment and eye salve” as never before.
Dear young friends, let us awake and search our hearts. Let us set apart the twilight hour for self-examination and earnest prayer. We may be sure that we shall never get right before the Lord without devoting time and labor to the work.
The soon-coming of our dear Saviour is no idle tale, and we rejoice that it is not. We love it and rejoice in the bright prospect of deliverance near at hand. But oh! do we not sometimes forget the great work of preparation which we must individually perform, or be filled with terror instead of joy in that day?
Are some of us lured by earthly lore? Do the halls of learning and the honors of scholarship attract us? Oh! let us be careful. Let us keep salvation and the glory of God uppermost all the time. If we do not, we shall find ere we are aware that instead of becoming separate from the world we are binding ourselves to it more firmly.
How good the Lord is to reprove and warn us so faithfully. With resolute purpose and firm endeavor let us press forward, repenting of our past errors, earnest in the work of reform, not fearing the reproach or censure of men so much as the frown of our heavenly Father.
S. E. LINDSLEY.
Oswego Co., N. Y.
While Men Slept.
MATT. XIII, 25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
THE first thought suggested by this passage is that, it was in the night time, while men slept, that the enemy came and sowed tares; but the night season is an unnatural time for such a work. The Domestic Bible informs us that it was common in the East anciently, as at the present day, for men to spend a portion of the middle of each day in sleep. During this “rest-hour,” therefore, the enemy could come and sow his tares; and with this idea, the parable is relieved of everything unnatural or improbable.
NOT NOW.
Not now; my child, a little more rough tossing,
A little longer on the billows' foam,
A few more journeyings in the desert darkness,
And then the sunshine of thy Father's home!
Not now; for I have wanderers in the distance,
And thou must call them in with patient love;
Not now; for I have sheep upon the mountains,
And thou must follow them wherever they rove.
Not now; for I have loved ones sad and weary;
Wilt thou not cheer them with a kindly smile?
Sick ones, who need thee in their lonely sorrow,
Wilt thou not tend them yet a little while?
Not now; for wounded hearts are sorely bleeding,
And thou must teach these widowed hearts to sing;
Not now; for orphans' tears are thickly falling;
They must be gathered 'neath some sheltering wing.
Not now; for many a hungry one is pining;
Thy willing hand must be outstretched and free;
Thy Father hears the mighty cry of anguish,
And gives his answering messages to thee.
Not now; for dungeon walls look stern and gloomy,
And prisoners' sighs sound strangely on the breeze,
Man's prisoners, but thy Saviour's noble freemen—
Hast thou no ministry of love for these?
Not now; for hell's eternal gulf is yawning,
And souls are perishing in hopeless sin;
Jerusalem's bright gates are standing open,
Go to the banished ones and fetch them in.
Go with the name of Jesus to the dying,
And speak that name in all its living power,
Why should thy fainting heart grow chill and weary,
Canst thou not watch with me one little hour?
One little hour and then the glorious crowning,
The golden harp-strings and the victor's palm;
One little hour! and then the hallelujah!
Eternity's long, deep, thanksgiving psalm!
TOO BUSY TO FREEZE.
By M. G. KELLOGG.
SEATED in my study I can look out upon the Delaware as it rolls on silently a hundred feet below. Slowly and gently, yet majestically, its waters move along, and many are the times that I have gazed upon the steamers passing up and down upon its bosom; and often, as I have witnessed a small steam tug, towing its twenty to twenty-four canal boats, each of which was larger than itself, and all against the stream, have I thought, How fortunate for man is it that these waters move slowly; it enables him to use them to better advantage than he otherwise could.
But time flies, and winter comes, and, with a cold hand, seizes this mighty stream and binds it fast in fetters of ice. Where now is its usefulness? No more plying of oars is heard, nor puffing of steam. All is hushed, bound by the icy hand of winter.
Walking along the banks of the river, I gaze upon its ice-bound surface, meditating on the great change that I have witnessed. My ears are greeted with a low, murmuring sound, and seeking its cause I find myself at the bottom of a ravine, with a rippling brook at my feet; but no ice here. Why is this? How, thought I, could winter bind the mighty river fast, and yet not be able to hold this insignificant streamlet in his icy grasp? Why is it, mighty waters? But I hear no answer. I asked the rippling brook, why? and I seem to hear its mellow voice in notes of sweetest music as it sings, Too busy to freeze! Too busy to freeze!
Retracing my steps, I lift my heart to God in prayer: May I too be too busy to freeze. May my Christian life not be like the river so slow that it should freeze up, and I cease to be useful. Oh! no, Let me be like this busy brook, ever moving on, and on, in usefulness, and holiness, ever seeking after entire consecration, ever too busy to freeze, until my life is made perfect in Christ, and till He, who is my life shall appear, to give unto me that better life, that life that knows no ending, the life that I shall live beneath the shade of life's fair tree, the life when I shall drink of life's fair stream, and ever praise the name of Him, who freely shed his life for me.
Reader, how is it with you? Are you like the little brook, Too busy to freeze, ever doing your work, no matter how humble it be, in such a manner that you do not freeze? Perhaps so. But are you so busy that you do not get lukewarm. Look out! This is the first step toward freezing up. The Devil is ever ready, with lumps of ice in the form of unbelief, and unfaithfulness in duty; to temper you down, first to a lukewarm state, and next to freezing point. Thus he will destroy vital piety out of your souls. Oh! beware of his devices. Cling close to the bleeding side of Christ, and ever be too busy to freeze.
M. G. KELLOGG.
Florence, N. J.
SMALL STONES NEEDED.—
The living stones of which the Church of Christ is constructed are not necessarily of the same size, nor are they employed to edify the same parts of the building. Did you ever see a country house built of stones of all sizes and shape, from the rock to the pebble, round, square, long, short, all chinked and plastered in together, and forming a warm, substantial building? Just so it is with the members of a community; the big stones make a great show, and go a great deal further toward making up the great structure. But they would look woe begone if the little ones should rebel and conclude they were of no use, and drop out. The stones in the heavenly temple are all living stones, but not all great ones.
GRACE does not destroy nature, but rather perfects it. Grace is a noble offspring; it neither turns men into stocks nor stoics.
It costs more to revenge wrongs than to bear them.
Historical Department.
Prophecy is History in Advance.
THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD.
It cannot but afford a strong support for faith to recount the signal judgments which God has visited upon notorious offenders against him and his cause, in the earth. He is mindful of all the treatment meted out to his people. The following interesting sketch we take from Buck:
JUDGMENTS OF GOD are the punishments inflicted by him for particular crimes. The Scriptures give us many awful instances of the display of divine justice in the punishment of nations, families, and individuals for their iniquities. See Gen. vii; xix, 25; Ex. xv; Judges i, 6, 7; Acts xii, 23; Esth. v, 14, with chap. vii, 10; 2 Kings xi; Lev. x, 1, 2; Acts v, 1–10; Isa. xxx, 1–5; 1 Sam. xv, 9; 1 Kings xii, 25, 33. It becomes us, however, to be exceedingly cautious how we interpret the severe and afflictive dispensations of Providence. Dr. Jortin justly observes, that there is usually much rashness and presumption in pronouncing that the calamities of sinners are particular judgments of God; yet, saith he, if from sacred and profane, from ancient and modern historians, a collection were made of all the cruel, persecuting tyrants who delighted in tormenting their fellow-creatures, and who died not the common death of all men, nor were visited after the visitation of all men, but whose plagues were horrible and strange, even a skeptic would be moved at the evidence, and would be apt to suspect that it was God, that the hand of God was in it. As Dr. Jortin was no enthusiast, and one who would not overstrain the point, we shall here principally follow him in his enumeration of some of the most remarkable instances.
Herod the Great was the first persecutor of Christianity. He attempted to destroy Jesus Christ himself, while he was yet but a child, and for that wicked purpose slew all the male children that were in and about Bethlehem. What was the consequence? Josephus hath told us: he had long and grievous sufferings, a burning fever, a voracious appetite, a difficulty of breathing, swellings of his limbs, loathsome ulcers within and without, breeding vermin, violent torments and convulsions, so that he endeavored to kill himself, but was restrained by his friends. The Jews thought these evils to be divine judgments upon him for his wickedness. And what is still more remarkable in his case is, he left a numerous family of children and grand-children, though he had put some to death, and yet, in about the space of one hundred years the whole family was extinct.
Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist, and treated Christ contemptuously when he was brought before him, was defeated by Aretas, an Arabian king, and afterward had his dominion taken from him, and was sent into banishment along with his infamous wife, Herodias, by the Emperor Caius.
Herod Agrippa killed James, the brother of John, and put Peter in prison. The angel of the Lord soon after smote him, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
Judas, that betrayed our Lord, died by his own hands, the most ignominious of all deaths.
Pontius Pilate, who condemned our blessed Saviour to death, was not long afterward deposed from his office, banished from his country, and died by his own hands; the divine vengeance overtaking him soon after his crime.
The high priest, Caiaphas, was deposed by Vitellius, three years after the death of Christ. Thus this wicked man, who condemned Christ for fear of disobliging the Romans, was ignominiously turned out of his office by the Roman governor whom he had sought to oblige.
Ananias, the high priest, persecuted St. Paul, and insolently ordered the by-standers to smite him on the mouth. Upon which the apostle said, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall. Whether he spake this prophetically or not, may be difficult to say; but certain it is, that some time after he was slain, together with his brother, by his own son.
Ananus, the high priest, slew St. James the Less; for which, and other outrages, he was deposed by King Agrippa the Younger, and probably perished in the last destruction of Jerusalem.
Nero, in the year 64, turned his rage upon the Christians, and put to death Peter and Paul, with many others. Four years after, in his great distress, he attempted to kill himself; but being as mean-spirited and dastardly as he was wicked and cruel, he had not the resolution to do that piece of justice to the world, and was forced to beg assistance.
Domitian persecuted the Christians also. It is said he threw St. John into a cauldron of boiling oil, and afterward banished him to the Isle of Patmos. In the following year, this monster of wickedness was murdered by his own people.
The Jewish nation persecuted, rejected, and crucified the Lord of glory. Within a few years after, their nation was destroyed, and the Lord made their plagues wonderful.
Flaccus was Governor of Egypt near the time of our Saviour’s death, and a violent persecutor of the Jews. The wrath of God, however, ere long overtook him, and he died by the hands of violence.
Catullus was Governor of Libya about the year 73. He was also a cruel persecutor of the Jews, and he died miserably. For though he was only turned out of his office by the Romans, yet he fell into a complicated and incurable disease, being sorely tormented both in body and mind. He was dreadfully terrified, and continually crying out that he was haunted by the ghosts of those whom he had murdered; and, not being able to contain himself, he leaped out of his bed, as if he were tortured with fire and put to the rack. His distemper increased till his entrails were all corrupted, and came out of his body; and thus he perished, as signal an example as ever was known of the divine justice rendering to the wicked according to their deeds.
Caius, the Roman Emperor, was a great persecutor of the Jews and Christians, and a blasphemer of the God of Heaven. Soon after his atrocities, however, he was murdered by his own people.
Severus, Emperor of Rome, was a violent and cruel persecutor of the followers of Christ. He, also, and all his family, perished miserably, about the year 200 after our Saviour.
About the same time, Saturninus, Governor of Africa, persecuted the Christians, and put several of them to death. Soon after, he went blind.
Heliogabalus, the Emperor, brought a new god to Rome, and would needs compel all his subjects to worship him. This was sure to have ended in a persecution of the Christians. But, soon after, this vile monster was slain by his own soldiers, about the year 222.
Claudius Herminianus was a cruel persecutor of the Christians in the second century, and he was eaten of worms while he lived.
Decius persecuted the church about the year 250: he was soon after killed in battle.
Gallus succeeded, and continued the persecution. He, too, was killed the year following.
Valerian, the Emperor, had many good qualities; but yet he was an implacable enemy to the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel. Some time after he came to the throne, he was taken prisoner by Sapor, King of Persia, and used like a slave and a dog; for the Persian monarch, from time to time, obliged this unhappy emperor to bow himself down, and offer him his back, on which to set his foot, in order to mount his chariot or his horse. He died in this miserable state of captivity.
Æmilian, Governor of Egypt, about the year 263, was a virulent persecutor of the church of Christ. He was soon after strangled by order of the emperor.
Aurelian, the Emperor, just intending to begin a persecution against the followers of Christ, was killed in the year 274.
Maximinus was a persecutor of the church. He reigned only three years, and then fell under the hands of violence.
About the year 300 was the greatest possible contest between Christ and the Roman emperors, which should have the dominion. These illustrious wretches seemed determined to blot out the Christian race and name from under heaven. The persecution was far more fierce and brutal than it had ever been. It was time, therefore, for the Lord Jesus Christ, the great head of the church, to arise and plead his own cause; and so, indeed, he did. The examples we have mentioned are dreadful; these that follow are not less astonishing, and they are all delivered upon the best authorities.
Diocletian persecuted the church in 303. After this, nothing ever prospered with him. He underwent many troubles: his senses became impaired; and he quitted the empire.
Severus, another persecuting emperor, was overthrown and put to death in the year 307.
About the same time, Urbanus, Governor of Palestine, who had signalized himself by tormenting and destroying the disciples of Jesus, met with his due reward; for almost immediately after the cruelties committed, the divine vengeance overtook him. He was unexpectedly degraded and deprived of all his honors; and, dejected, dispirited, and meanly begging for mercy, was put to death by the same hand that raised him.
Firmilianus, another persecuting governor, met with the same fate.
Maximianus Herculius, another of the wretched persecuting emperors, was compelled to hang himself in the year 310.
Maximianus Galerius, of all the tyrants of his time the most cruel, was seized with a grievous and horrible disease, and tormented with worms and ulcers to such a degree that they who were ordered to attend him could not bear the stench. Worms proceeded from his body in a most fearful manner; and several of his physicians were put to death because they could not endure the smell, and others because they could not cure him. This happened in the year of our Lord 311.
Maxentius, another of the inhuman monsters, was overthrown in battle by Constantine; and in his flight he fell into the Tiber, and was drowned in the year 312.
Maximinus put out the eyes of many thousands of Christians. Soon after the commission of his cruelties, a disease arose among his own people, which greatly affected their eyes, and took away their sight. He himself died miserably, and upon the rack, his eyes starting out of his head through the violence of his distemper, in the year 313. All his family likewise were destroyed, his wife and children put to death, together with most of his friends and dependents, who had been the instruments of his cruelty.
A Roman officer, to oblige this Maximinus, greatly oppressed the church at Damascus: not long after, he destroyed himself.
Licinius, the last of these persecuting emperors before Constantine, was conquered and put to death in the year 323. He was equally an enemy to religion, liberty and learning.
Cyril, the deacon, was murdered by some Pagans, at Heliopolis, for his opposition to their images. They ripped open his belly, and ate his liver. The divine vengeance, however, pursued all those who had been guilty of this crime; their teeth came out, their tongues rotted, and they lost their sight.
Valens was made emperor in 364; and though a Christian himself, he is said to have caused fourscore presbyters, who differed from him in opinion, to be put to sea, and burnt alive in the ship. Afterwards, in a battle with the Goths, he was defeated and wounded, and fled to a cottage, where he was burnt alive, as most historians relate; all agree that he perished.
The last Pagan prince, who was a formidable enemy to Christianity, was Radagaisus, a king of the Goths. He invaded the Roman empire with an army of 400,000 men, about the year 405, and vowed to sacrifice all the Romans to his gods. The Romans, however, fought him, and obtained a complete victory, taking him and his sons prisoners, whom they put to death.
Hunneric, the Vandal, though a Christian, was a most cruel persecutor of those who differed from him in opinion, about the year of our Lord 484. He spared not even those of his own persuasion, neither his friends nor his kindred. He reigned, however, not quite eight years, and died with all the marks of divine indignation upon him.
Julian, the apostate, greatly oppressed the Christians; and he perished soon after, in his rash expedition against the Persians.71
Several of those who were employed or permitted by Julian to persecute the Christians, are said to have perished miserably and remarkably. I will here relate the fate of a few of those unhappy wretches, in the words of Tillemont, who faithfully collected the account from the ancients: “We have observed,” says that learned man, “that Count Julian, with Felix, superintendent of the finances, and Elpidius, treasurer to the emperor, apostates all three, had received orders to go and seize the effects of the church at Antioch and carry them to the treasury. They did it on the day of the martyrdom of St. Theodoret, and drew up an account of what they had seized. But Count Julian was not content with taking away the sacred vessels of the church, and profaning them by his impure hands: carrying to greater lengths the outrage he was doing to Jesus Christ, he overturned and flung them down on the ground, and sat upon them in a most criminal manner; adding to this all the banters and blasphemies that he could devise against Christ, and against the Christians, who, he said, were abandoned of God.”
Felix, the superintendent, signalized himself also by another impiety; for, as he was viewing the rich and magnificent vessels which the Emperors Constantine and Constantius had given to the church, “Behold,” said he, “with what plate the son of Mary is served!” It is said, too, that Count Julian and he made it the subject of banter, that God should let them thus profane his temple without interposing by visible miracles.
But these impieties remained not long unpunished, and Julian had no sooner profaned the sacred utensils than he felt the effects of divine vengeance. He fell into a grievous and unknown disease; and his inward parts being corrupted, he cast out his liver and his excrements, not from the ordinary passages, but from his miserable mouth, which had uttered so many blasphemies. His secret parts, and all the flesh round about them, corrupted also, and bred worms; and to show that it was a divine punishment, all the art of physicians could give him no relief. In this condition he continued forty days, without speech or sense, preyed on by worms. At length he came to himself again. The imposthumes, however, all over his body, and the worms which gnawed him continually, reduced him to the utmost extremity. He threw them up, without ceasing, the last three days of his life, with a stench which he himself could not bear.
The disease with which God visited Felix was not so long. He burst suddenly in the middle of his body, and died of an effusion of blood in the course of one day.
Elpidius was stripped of his effects in 366, and shut up in prison, where, after having continued for some time, he died without reputation and honor, cursed of all the world, and surnamed the Apostate.
To these instances many more might be added nearer our own times, did our room permit. These, however, are sufficient to show us what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God, and how fruitless and awful it is to oppose his designs, and to attempt to stop the progress of his gospel. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” Ps. ii. Jortin’s Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. iii, p. 246, &c.; Simpson’s Key to the Prophecies, p. 29; Newton on the Prophecies, dis. 24; Bryant’s Observations on the Plagues of Egypt; Tillemont, Histoire des Emp.
LADY HUNTINGDON AND HER GARDENER.—Lady Huntingdon, having employed a man to work in her garden, took an opportunity to urge him to take some serious thoughts about his soul. Some years afterward she employed another man for the same purpose, and began to talk to him in the same way, expressing her fears that he never prayed nor looked to Christ for pardon. “Your ladyship is mistaken,” said he. “I heard what passed between you and James, at such a time, and the words designed for him took effect on me.” “How did you hear it?” she inquired. “I heard it,” he replied, “on the other side of the garden, through a hole in the wall, and shall never forget the impression I received.”
Do any of my readers ask “What good can I do?” You perceive what power there is often in a “word in due season,” “fitly spoken.” You know not what good you may do by watching opportunities to speak good words.
DEVIL'S DENS!—GAMBLING HELLS!
“He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity; and the rod of his anger shall fail. Prov. xxii, 8.
Friend,you saw that gambling hell in Saratoga, and were horrified as you gazed upon it, stood aghast! And did you call to mind the originator of this work of darkness, death and damnation?
Did you think for a moment, that you were the guilty one that set this devilish machinery in motion? That you were one of the chief instruments in making these devil's dens, of kindling these fires that burn to the lowest hell? “Thou art the man,” and God holds you responsible for these souls lost eternally, through your instrumentality. We lay the sin at your door and so does God.
“The soul that sinneth it shall die,”
“Who sows to the winds, the whirlwind reaps.”
You are the guilty one that commences games of chance, worldly, sinful amusements—amusements that lull time, dissipate thought, mind and soul, turn away the heart from God, from Christ the ever blessed!
What is time? “Ask death-beds?” Ask that queen in her last moments who cried millions—millions! for an hour, an inch of time!
Time, what is it?
“I asked a dying sinner, ere the stroke
Of ruthless death life's golden bowl had broke
I asked him, what is time? ‘Time’ he replied,
‘I’ve lost it, ah, the treasure!’ and he died.
I asked a spirit lost, but oh, the shriek!
That pierced my soul, I shudder while I speak!
It cried, ‘a particle! a speck! a mite
Of endless years, duration infinite!’”
You are horrified at “whist.” What is the difference, pray, between “whist” and other traps of Satan? What more bewitching, and more sure to lead to these devil’s dens, than chess, checkers, fox and geese, and dominoes, which you commend publicly; these are stepping stones to the gambling table! Many of the most dissolute, degraded, wretched, abandoned, date their first wooing ruinward to these games, which you term innocent! How then, can you, how dare you, with Bible in hand, as a professed minister of Christ, put hand to this iniquity! Shameful!
And how we ask can parents, especially religious parents, consistently permit their children to engage in them? Time is lost, worst than lost, precious, golden moments, for which God will call them to account. A seared conscience, a callous heart, a turning away from the path of life to the path of death, is sure to accompany these games sooner or later.
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away.” Prov. i, 10, also iv, 14, 15.
“There is no remedy for time misspent;
Oh! hours of indolence and discontent
Not now to be redeemed! ye sting not less
Because I know this span of life was lent
For lofty duties, not for selfishness.”
Be in haste. “Time is short.” Redeem it. There is but a step between you and the eternal state. The Judge is at the door. Stop and think before you take another step at these foolish games. As you sow so shall you reap. To-day is yours; to-morrow never comes. “Arise and depart, for this is not your rest.” Be in haste. Prepare for death.
“There is a time, we know not when,
A point, we know not where,
That marks the destiny of men,
To glory or despair.”
Gambling! Let every man avoid all sorts of gambling as he would poison. A poor man or boy should not allow himself even to toss up for a half penny, for this is often the beginning of a habit of gambling, and this ruinous crime comes on by slow degrees.
“A little theft, a small deceit
Too often leads to more.”
AUTHOR OF “SHINING LIGHT.”
WALKING BY FAITH.
What though before me it is dark,
Too dark for one to see,
I ask for light for one step more;
'Tis quite enough for me.
Each little humble step I take,
The gloom clears from the next;
So, though 'tis very dark beyond,
I never am perplexed.
And if sometimes the mist hangs close,
So close I fear to stray,
Patiently I wait a little while,
And soon it clears away.
I would not see my further path,
For mercy veils it so;
My present steps would harder be,
Did I the future know.
It may be that my path is rough,
Thorny and hard and steep,
And knowing this my strength would fail,
Through fear and terror deep.
It may be that it winds along,
A smooth and flowery way;
But seeing this I should despise
The journey of to-day.
Perhaps my path is very short,
My journey almost done;
And I should tremble at the thought,
Of ending it so soon.
Or, if I saw a weary length
Of road that I must wend,
Fainting, I'd think my feeble power,
Would fail me ere the end.
And so I would not further see,
My journey in its length,
Assured that through my Father's love,
Each step will bring its strength.
Thus step by step I onward go,
Not looking far before,
Trusting that I shall always have
Light for just one step more.