Earlier text: Extraordinary Doings in Michigan.—"Supernatural Fires."FELL asleep in Jesus, May 6, 1863, at Battle Creek, sister Lucia King, aged eighteen years and ten months. She died of disease of the liver and lungs. We usually object to lengthy obituary notices, as their especial interest is generally local. But in this case we may be indulged in a free expression of thought and feeling. The subject of this notice is the only daughter of our much-esteemed Bro. Seneca H. King, of Orleans, Ionia Co., Michigan. When we visited that part of the State last winter Bro. King was made very happy to see his daughter and her two younger brothers publicly manifest their desire to become Christians. He soon took her to Battle Creek to spend a year or more in our family. We were happy to hear her voice in prayer at the family altar, and her decided testimony in inquiring-meetings. She was one of the happy fifteen who were baptized Sabbath, January 3. We sent Lucia to our well-organized and disciplined school, and she seemed very happy in our family. While we were holding meetings at Monterey she went to visit relatives in Convis, and was too much exposed in going, took a violent cold, and was said to have lung fever. As soon as she was able her father moved her to Bro. Amadon's, in this city, where she lingered, a sufferer, held between hope and fear by her friends, for nine tedious weeks. During this time abscesses formed upon the lungs and broke within and without, making her case a dreadful one, not only for herself, but for her numerous sympathizing friends. Bro. King did all that a kind father could do. Relatives from Convis were attentive. The two younger brothers came seventy miles to see their affectionate sister, and joined with us in prayer at the family altar. The eldest brother came from the army of the Potomac on furlough to see his sister he so much loved once more before her death. This meeting of father, brother, and sister, was most touching. By Lucia's request we had a season of prayer, when father and son bowed and wept together by the bedside of the wasted form of the daughter and sister. As we parted this noble soldier arose, with benevolence beaming from every feature, grasped our hand in his, and expressed his "heartfelt thanks for the care and attention" we had given his sister. May God still save him from the missiles of death, and return him to his friends to join them in fighting the battles of the Lord. The funeral services were performed the 7th inst. Eld. Moses Hull preached on the occasion from Hosea, xiii, 14. The congregation was large, with a good representation from the relatives from Convis and Marshall, making quite a full circle of mourners. In fact, the entire audience seemed as mourners, among whom was Mr. Collier, the school-teacher, with twenty-five of his students, seated by themselves, who arose at the close of the discourse and sung— "Sister, thou wast mild and lovely,
Gentle as the summer breeze,
Pleasant as the air of evening
When it floats among the trees.
Peaceful be thy silent slumber,
Peaceful in the grave so low;
Thou no more wilt join our number,
Thou no more our songs shalt know.
Dearest sister, thou hast left us!
Here thy loss we deeply feel;
But 'tis God that hath bereft us,
He can all our sorrows heal.
Yet, again we hope to meet thee,
When the day of life is fled;
Then, in heaven, with joy to greet thee,
Where no farewell fear is shed." Sister Lucia bore her sickness with Christian fortitude and patience; talked of death, her funeral, and resting place with wonderful clearness, and expressed her willingness to sleep if it was God's will, and her hope of meeting her friends at the resurrection of the just. She rests at Oak Hill cemetery, in this city, from whence, by her request, she will be removed in the winter, and buried beside her pious mother, whose last breath, thirteen years since, was spent in praying for her husband and children. May that prayer be fully answered, and in the morning of the resurrection of the just, may that family chain, with its now broken links, be brought together in perfection, never to be severed. As Bro. King leaves us to attend to neglected home duties, the brethren feel that they part with a Christian gentleman, whose heart is hungering and thirsting to be right with God, and whose first interest is in the next world. And we are certain that the attention which his afflicted daughter received from the brethren and sisters of the Battle Creek church has bound him to them in double chords of Christian affection. The blessed hope sheds rays of cheering light around afflicting bereavements, and pours consolation into wounded hearts, so that Christians may sing—
"Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." Lessons for Bible Students.
(History of the Sabbath, pp. 147–157.) IN our last lesson we noticed the foundation upon which the Sunday institution is reared. Several texts are employed to build upon this foundation; what is the first of these? What is the argument drawn from this text? What is the defect in this argument? On what day of the week was his last and most important meeting with them? Is the act of the Saviour, therefore, in meeting with his disciples, sufficient to show that any day is sacred? What is a still more serious defect in this argument? How long after the previous meeting, did this meeting take place? And to what day of the week would that necessarily carry us? The meeting mentioned in John xx, 19, may have been on the second day of the week (see note, p. 148); in this case what exact parallel have we to the expression, The same day at even, being the first day of the week? When the Holy Spirit wishes to express just one week, it uses a very different expression from "after eight days;" what is that expression? What texts prove this? Note p. 148. What would the expression, after eight days, naturally imply? What texts throw light on this? Note, p. 148. Give the sum of this argument. What is the next text that enters into the fabric of first-day sacredness? What is the argument deduced from this text? What is the first objection that arises to this deduction? Is there any intimation that the disciples came together on that occasion to celebrate that day? Is there any proof that the Spirit was poured out in honor of the first day of the week?189 Why was there nothing unusual in their being convened on that occasion? If the sacred writer had designed to show that an especial day of the week was honored, would he not have stated the fact and named the day? Is it certain that this occurred on the first day of the week? What distinguished author places it upon the seventh day? Note, p. 150. What was the great event which the Holy Spirit designed to mark? What is the third pillar in the first-day edifice? What is the first and fatal objection to this proposition? Who, then, knows it to be true? What considerations show that the purpose of redemption was contained in that of creation? Can it be affirmed, then, that redemption is greater than creation? Assuming for argument's sake that redemption is greater than creation, who knows that a day should be set apart for its commemoration? But granting that a day should be set apart for this purpose, what day should have the preference? Is redemption yet finished? What shows that it is not? What considerations prove that if a day is to be set apart to commemorate this work, it should be the day of the crucifixion and not the day of the resurrection? Has not the Holy Spirit taken care that the event of both the crucifixion and resurrection should have an appropriate memorial? Is there any necessity, then, for changing the Sabbath for this purpose? What is the memorial of the crucifixion? What is the memorial of the resurrection? Was it the day of the crucifixion or resurrection that in either case has been thought worthy of commemoration? What are the great events which lie at the foundation of our redemption? Has each one of these its appropriate memorial? But what importance have the sacred writers attached to the days of their occurrence? What is it that has furnished so plausible a plea for first-day observance, in memory of the resurrection? What facts should exist to render first-day observance a proper memorial of redemption? Do any of these facts exist? On the contrary, what is true? What constitutes the fourth pillar in the first-day temple? Those who argue this text have to assume the very points this text is supposed to prove; what are those points? To the first of these extraordinary assumptions, what is the proper reply? When did the Saviour assume the position of "head of the corner"? How is the second assumption disproved? What about the third assumption? The passage in Ps. cxviii has reference to the opening of the gospel dispensation; can it, therefore, refer to any one day of the week? In what text does our Lord use the word day in a similar manner? What, then, was the condition of the Sabbath at the opening of the great work of the gospel to the Gentiles? Proper Observance of the Sabbath.
By D. T. Bourdeau
"REMEMBER the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it." This commandment is a part of that law which God spoke in person on mount Sinai in the hearing of all Israel, his chosen people, and wrote with his finger on stone, and of which Christ says, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law." Matt. v, 18. It enjoins the observance of the Sabbath of the Lord, which is the day on which God rested in the beginning, and that he blessed and sanctified, because that in it he had rested from his work. Gen. ii. The Bible acknowledges no other weekly Sabbath than that of the fourth commandment. Sabbath signifies rest, and God never rested on more than one day; he never blessed more than one day, and he never commanded the observance of any other day of the week than that on which he rested, and which he set apart to a religious use as soon as he had created the heavens and the earth and rested the seventh day. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work." Our object at this time is to dwell on the proper observance of the Sabbath; and, first, In what does this observance consist? It consists in refraining from our own secular work on that day, and in employing that day in the service of the Creator. God hallowed or sanctified the Sabbath-day, see Gen. ii, 2, 3, and to sanctify means "to separate, set apart, or appoint to a holy, sacred, or religious use" (Webster), or to "consecrate, separate, and set apart a thing or person from all secular purposes to some religious use." Clarke's commentary on Ex. xiii, 2. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord. It is emphatically the Lord's day. Isa. lviii, 13. God has given man six days for secular purposes; but he has reserved the seventh day unto himself. But we are all connected with the seventh day; it comes to all the inhabitants of this earth, and we are called upon to spend it in a certain manner. How then shall we show that the seventh day belongs to the Lord, unless we cease to do our own work on that day, and spend it in the service of the Lord? To illustrate: A man who is engaged in the service of another person says with propriety that his time is not his own, but belongs to him for whom he works; and in order that a servant may show that his time belongs to his master, he must cease to labor for himself, and employ his time in laboring for his master. To further illustrate this point we would refer to the ancient sanctuary. When this sanctuary had been sanctified unto the Lord, the priests could not use it as they could their own houses; yet they had a work or service to perform in it. So it is in regard to the Sabbath. It belongs to the Lord, and we must consecrate it unto him by employing it in a special manner in his service. Thus we see that the Sabbath is a rest from our own work to be employed in the nobler work of our Creator. But says the objector, "The commandment plainly declares that in it (the seventh day) thou shalt not do any work." We answer, The work specified is "thy work." Says the commandment, "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work" (any of thy work). This view harmonizes the Sabbath law with those laws which required the priests to labor on the Sabbath-day in attending to duties connected with the sanctuary. God does not under any age give laws conflicting with each other. If God required his people to keep laws clashing with each other, they could not obey him: in trying to obey him they would disobey him, and he would be the author of sin. Those who claim that the fourth commandment prohibits all kinds of labor on the seventh day, must adopt the position (as an able opponent once did) that the Sabbath law did not regulate the priests. Hence, according to this view, the Sabbath was not binding on all Israel. But those who urge this objection would do well to remember that the Israelites had to go to and return from the synagogues on the Sabbath. Again, they performed actual labor in saving the lives of their beasts, and in supplying their wants on the Sabbath-day, Matt. xii, 11; Luke xiii, 15, and the great Law-giver or his Son, who understood and taught the design and import of the law, never condemned them for such acts. Acts of mercy are lawful on the Sabbath-day. Said the great Teacher to the Jews, who had loaded the Sabbath as well as the fifth commandment with traditions, and who through breaking the law dishonored God, Mark vii, 6-14; Rom. ii, 23, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath-days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?" Luke vi, 9. "It is lawful (according to law) to do well on the Sabbath-days." Matt. xii, 12. "The Sabbath was made for man." Mark ii, 27. If it was not lawful to do acts of mercy on the Sabbath-days, then the Sabbath would be against man, and not for man. Again, Christ said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." Jno. v, 17. The Father had worked from the beginning in mercifully sustaining the lives of his creatures on the Sabbath as well as on other days of the week. Christ followed the example of his Father, and showed that what he did was lawful, and we should do well to imitate the Father and the Son in this respect. God would be worshiped understandingly by his intelligent creatures, and the reason why we are called upon to sanctify the Sabbath is expressed as follows: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it." In Gen. ii, 3, we have the same reason expressed in the following terms: "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his works which God created and made." From this we learn that the Sabbath is a memorial which points back to the works of the Creator. One leading object of the Sabbath is to induce men to contemplate the Creator in his perfections, which shine gloriously in the works of creation. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, even his eternal power and Godhead." Rom. i, 20. Hence the works of creation are a proper subject for our meditations on the Sabbath. But God's perfections are also seen in his law, his dealings with the children of men, and the plan of salvation, and these subjects should also occupy our minds on the holy Sabbath. Here is a vast field for our thoughts on the Sabbath. Let the mind expand on these subjects, and as light is received let it be reflected by the words and actions. It is not against the commandment to attend to the means of grace on the Sabbath. The object of the means of grace and the plan of salvation is to bring sinful, fallen man in obedience to the law of God, of which the Sabbath is a part. Of faith, which is one of the principal means of grace, Paul says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law," Rom. iii, 31, and Christ died "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." Rom. viii, 4. Therefore the more we understandingly attend to the means of grace, the more will we be disposed to keep the Sabbath and the rest of God's law. The work that is forbidden by the fourth commandment includes 1. Secular manual labor. The idea of worldly gain, or any other consideration, should not tempt us to engage in this labor on the Sabbath. How easy it would be for the Lord to frustrate our plans, and make us lose more than we might gain by laboring with our hands. But though the Lord should suffer us to gain more in the way of sin, though we should spread ourselves here like the green bay tree, Ps. xxxiv, 35, yet the loss in the end would be far greater than all that could be gained by sinning. The wages of sin is death. Those who serve sin will surely have their wages—death. Those who are liable to thus sin with their hands would do well to heed the following exhortation from James: "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. . . . Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." James iv, 8-10. 2. Traveling to or from worldly business on the Sabbath. This is a species of our own work, and should not be so much as named among us. We profess to have turned our feet from the Sabbath. Let us see to it that our practice agrees with our profession.190 3. Speaking our own words. See Isa. lviii, 13. This is also a part of our work; and how apt some are to speak on worldly subjects at home, with neighbors and strangers, and even with the brethren, on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a day in which we can talk about farms, butter, and cheese, and many other worldly things. Brethren and sisters, shall we honor God by not speaking our own words on his holy day? 4. Thinking on secular subjects. The Sabbath law regulates our minds as well as our bodies. Says Paul, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God." Rom. vii, 25. The law is spiritual, verse 14, reaching the spirit or mind, citing our thoughts, accusing our desires, and condemning our affections. Therefore the Sabbath is not a mere animal or bodily rest, as some have termed it. In order that we may keep it in the spirit and in the letter, we must not even think of doing our own work, or plan in reference to our worldly matters. There are as many ways of breaking the Sabbath with our minds as there are secular subjects on which the mind can dwell. But we must not be satisfied with the thought that we do not engage in servile work on the Sabbath. We should exert an influence to have those that are with us and under us keep the Sabbath. Parents should first feel for their children whom the Lord has in a special manner entrusted to their care. They should with patience and delight teach them the relations they sustain to their Creator, their parents, and their fellow-creatures, and with an even hand and parental authority enforce the observance of the Sabbath. Parents, watch the movings of the mind, and see to it that you make right impressions. Be sure that your principles are understood, and then enforce them with meekness and decision. Tell your children that it is because you love them, and would have them loved of the Lord, that you require this at their hand; that they depend upon you, and that the Lord requires them to honor you by obeying his law, which you love. As long as they are dependent upon you for living, they should honor you by resting on the Sabbath. How can parents be indifferent in regard to their children? How can any of those who bear the name of Sabbath-keepers leave their children alone on the Sabbath (especially if they are young and unconverted, and lack self-control), without any restraining influence, and enjoy the privileges of the Lord's house, and preach the Sabbath to others? How can those who feel that they need all the help which is received on the Sabbath to obey God, leave their tender children who need more help than they, where a thousand things will divert their minds from right subjects, and lead them to violate the Sabbath? But the servants must not be overlooked. They should know their duty, and have the privilege of resting as well as their masters. Deut. v, 14. They must not be so burdened with cares that they cannot obey their Master who is in heaven. Masters cannot allow their servants to work for them on the Sabbath. They cannot be said to carry out the principles of the Sabbath law while they permit their children, their servants, or their cattle, to work for them on the Sabbath-day. Our working beasts should rest from servile work on the Sabbath; yet they may help us in the service of the Lord, and in attending to acts of mercy. They are not amenable to the law; but we are responsible for the use that we make of them. It is the use that we make of our beasts that is either approved or condemned by the law; and it is by no means wrong for us to have our beasts help us do that which is lawful on the Sabbath-day. Even the stranger who stops with us should understand that we cannot allow him to engage in servile work within our gates on the Sabbath. We are in a great measure, responsible, for those violations of the Sabbath within our gates or elsewhere, that we might with the right and authority that the Lord has given us and with heavenly wisdom (James iii, 17), prevent, and if we carry out the principles of the Sabbath at home, we shall be in a condition to exert an influence in favor of the Sabbath abroad. For the benefit of those who desire to keep the Sabbath, we would present the following suggestions: 1. Plan in reference to the Sabbath. The men of this world will calculate and plan to meet important events and to pay what they owe, and you must weigh your worldly matters and consider the state of your heart, and see that you are in a condition to meet the Sabbath when it comes, and to give the Lord what belongs to him—to consecrate the seventh-day unto the Creator. 2. Let the sixth day be emphatically the preparation day with you. Mark xv, 42; Luke xxiii, 54. Let not this day be your business day. Do not crowd too much work on the last laboring day in the week. This is not preparing to keep the Sabbath, but overtaxing the body and the mind, so that you cannot enjoy or observe the Sabbath when it comes. 3. Close up your work in time to withdraw your thoughts from secular matters, and fix them on religious subjects before the Sabbath. You cannot prepare your mind for the Sabbath in a moment. If you are careful here, you will be able to enter on the Sabbath with a right frame of mind; and if you commence the Sabbath aright, you will have a good reason to be encouraged. But if you are confused when the Sabbath commences; if you are overtaken in sin, and if your mind is divided, the sense of guilt will fasten upon you, and hinder you in the observance of the Sabbath. 4. Having withdrawn yourself from all worldly employments, set a guard on your senses. The senses are channels or roads through which the thoughts pass to reach the mind. Close your senses against worldly thoughts, and they will not be so apt to invade your mind. Shut your windows, and thieves will not so easily enter your dwelling. 5. When you are perplexed in regard to the propriety of certain thoughts, words or actions, keep on the safe side. Avoid doing that which might prove to be unlawful. Keep as far from danger as you can. Let not your course say to others, that you are trying to see how near you can come to the precipice without falling over it. 6. When others speak to you on secular subjects, let them understand your principles. Be decided. Be wise. Try to turn their mind to some religious subject. Speak on what they call your attention to in a religious light. In doing this you will let your light shine, and resist a temptation to which many yield. 7. Be busily engaged in attending to the means of grace, in speaking and thinking on religious subjects, etc., and there will be no time or room for worldly thoughts, words, or deeds. 8. Mark your violations of the Sabbath that you may guard against them in the future and improve. But, 9. Remember the improvements you have made and the blessings you have received in trying to overcome, that you may not lose courage. 10. As you try to help yourself, look to the Lord for that help which he alone can afford. When you plan in reference to the Sabbath, ask the Lord to help you carry out your plans. As the Sabbath commences, pray for strength and grace to resist the temptations that are before you, and to watch unto prayer through the day. Let not your sins weigh you down. The Lord is willing to forgive you your sins if you heartily repent. Do you feel your weakness? There is strength in Jesus; and the Lord does not require anything of his people but what they can by his grace and strength perform. He is anxious to give you his Spirit to help your infirmities. He has holy angels who excel in strength and whom he sends forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation. Limit not his power. Take hold of his arm by faith and strive to overcome. You can yet obtain a complete victory and keep the Sabbath aright through him who has loved us. Let us now look at some of the benefits resulting from a proper observance of the Sabbath. 1. If we observe the Sabbath as we should, we shall fare better temporally. In order to our present well-being it is necessary that we should spend a portion of our time in resting from servile labor, and the fourth commandment provides a day of rest. 2. We shall remember our Creator and realize our dependence upon him. How prone men in all ages have been to forget God, and to exalt themselves or other created things above the Creator. This they have done in proportion as they have neglected the principles of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a sign between God and his people, that they might know that he is the Lord. "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Ex. xxxi, 17; Ex. xx, 12, 20. It is impossible to forget God and the relations we sustain to him as our Creator, and yet commemorate his rest from the works of creation by properly observing the Sabbath. 3. We shall keep the rest of the commandments. The Sabbath enforces the principles of gratitude and love. It unfolds to our mind the grand fact that God is the author of our existence, and that we owe all to him, and this fact involves an obligation to love God supremely. But we cannot love God supremely without loving our fellow creatures as we love ourselves. They are God's creatures as well as ourselves, and have the same rights that we have. Says the beloved apostle, "This commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God, loveth his brother, also." Now, if we love God supremely, we shall not dishonor him by accepting other gods, or by making graven images to bow down to them and serve them, or by taking the name of the Lord our God in vain. Hence, we shall keep the first three commandments. And if we love God as we ought, and our fellow creatures as we love ourselves, we shall honor our parents and pay a proper regard to the life, chastity, property, character, and interests of others, and thus keep the last six commandments. We can now understand why the Lord attaches so much importance to the observance of the Sabbath in his word. When God brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, that they might observe his sabbaths, and keep his laws, he proved them with the Sabbath; and when the Israelites had backslidden in consequence of transgressing the law, God told them that if they hearkened unto him to hallow the Sabbath, Jerusalem should remain for ever, and that if they did not hearken unto him to hallow the Sabbath day, Jerusalem should be destroyed. Ex. xvi; Jer. xvii, 24-27. It is evident that the Sabbath is inseparably connected with the rest of the law, and that we cannot insist too much on the necessity of observing it. It is the key to the law of God. It is the golden link that unites man to his Creator, and the obligations which we owe to God, with those that we owe to our fellow man. 4. We shall be blessed of God, and have an everlasting name that will not be cut off. "Blessed is the man that doth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. . . . Even unto them will I give in mine house a place and a name better than of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." Isa. lvi, 2-5. By reading the connection, we learn that this Scripture is prophetic, and applies when God's salvation is near to come, and his righteousness to be revealed. See verses 1, 8, 9, and chap. liv. It is a source of consolation to those who are reproached and reviled for keeping the Sabbath. If God blesses them they shall be blessed and honored. God's blessing and approbation is better than life and all the applause of men; and a name that is better than of sons and daughters and that will never be cut off, should be more highly prized than all the high sounding titles of this earth, and is good enough for any of God's humble children. 5. We shall have the seal of God in our foreheads, or minds, and escape the wrath that is threatened by the third angel. Rev. vii, 2, 3; xiv, 9-12. The seal of an earthly monarch is that which makes valid those laws or decrees which he promulgates. It shows his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign. Now the Sabbath makes valid the law of God. It is the only part of the law that shows who the Law-giver is, and that distinguishes him from other gods. It shows him to be the Lord thy God, the creator of heaven and earth and all that in them is, and thus furnishes us with his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign. Therefore the Sabbath may with propriety be called the seal191 of God. Again, the words seal and sign are used interchangeably in the Bible (Rom. iv, 12), and we have seen that the Sabbath is a sign between God and his people. The sealing work as brought to view in Rev. vii, has respect to God's servants, and is accomplished this side of the leading signs of Christ's coming (Rev. vi, 12, etc.; Matt. xxiv, 29, 30), and while the nations are getting angry, preparatory to the battle of the great day. It must therefore synchronize with the work of the third angel of Rev. xiv, which is now going on. The message of the third angel will divide men into two classes. One class will worship the beast and receive his mark, while the other class will keep God's commandments, and consequently have the seal, mark, or name of God in their foreheads. One class will drink the unmixed wrath of God, which can not be inflicted until mercy closes, and which is the same as the seven last plagues (compare Rev. xiv, 9, 10; xv, 1; xvi, 1, 2), while the other class will escape the awful wrath of God and stand on mount Zion. Rev. xiv, 1-3; Isa. lvi, 7. 6. We shall delight ourselves in the Lord, and feed on the heritage of Jacob. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on the holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord: and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee on the heritage of Jacob, thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. lviii, 13, 14. From the previous verse we see that the Lord is speaking for the benefit of the repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in—those who will raise up the foundations of many generations. They will understand the nature and design of the Sabbath, call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and take great pleasure in observing it. As a consequence they will delight themselves in the Lord. They will see his glorious character in his law and in his dealings with mankind, and will rejoice in all his ways, and try to imitate his imitable perfections. The law of their God will be in their hearts, and none of their steps shall slide. Ps. xxxvii, 31. Having formed characters in obeying God's holy and perfect law, they will be prepared to feed on the heritage of Jacob or Israel; to enjoy the benefits of the inheritance that was promised to Israel and his seed, and that the children of the promise will have, when those who are Israelites indeed, shall inherit the earth. Gen. xxvii, 13, 14; xxvi, 3-5; xiii, 14-16; Acts vii, 4, 5. Heb. xi, 8-17; Jno. i, 47; Rom. ix, 6; Gal. iii, 8, 9, 29; Matt. v, 5. Dear reader, are not these benefits of sufficient importance to attract your attention? Do not the riches and glories of the new earth invite you? Do you love to remember your Creator and the relations that you sustain to him? Is there a satisfaction in loving God and keeping his commandments? Do you appreciate his blessings here, and desire to escape the plagues that are soon coming on the earth, and finally stand with the redeemed on mount Zion? Then, "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." God grant that we may honor him, benefit our own souls and our fellow beings, by observing the Sabbath-day according to the commandment. A Testimony of Faith and Hope
By M. Paul
BRO. WHITE: I believe that the signs of the times fully indicate that the coming of Christ draweth nigh. Men's hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth. O that we could but realize, as we should, the solemn time in which we are living. When we look around upon the world, and behold the strife and commotion among the nations, we cannot fail to see that the final crisis of this world's drama is just before us. And how it becomes us to be up and doing, to be found with oil in our vessels, with our lamps, so that when our Lord returns from the wedding, we may meet him with joy, and say, Lo this is our God, we have waited for him. This is my prayer, that we may be found of that happy number. One year ago last fall Brn. J. N. Andrews and Allen came to Medford with the tent. I praise the Lord that they were directed this way. It was under Bro. Andrews's preaching that I decided to keep the Sabbath of the Lord. I was led to see that Sunday was not the true Sabbath. I searched the Bible and could not find one passage in it to sustain Sunday keeping. Christ kept the seventh day; so did his disciples before and after his resurrection, according to the commandment. I commenced keeping the seventh day, and was greatly blessed in so doing. The doctrine of the soon coming of Christ was not very new to me, for my mind had been dwelling on that for some time, as I had been watching the signs of the times. But the sleep of the dead until the resurrection, and the final destruction of the wicked, was something new to me. However, as I heard the Scriptures explained, and searched them myself, I found that they could be reconciled so, better than in any other way. I was partially a believer in Spiritualism, but when led to see that the dead know not anything, of course I gave that up. I praise the Lord that I was led to see the delusion of it before it was too late. A Seventh-Day Adventist church was soon after organized in Deerfield, and feeling convinced that they were the true people of God, I withdrew from the Methodist church, of which I had been a member for some twenty years, and joined them. I still feel that I was in the way of duty, although it has brought me much opposition and persecution from worldly-minded professors. But Jesus has said, "The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also;" and may we not be encouraged; for some kept his saying, and followed him, and may not we, even the weakest of us, when the last message of mercy is being proclaimed to a dying world, be the means of persuading some to keep his sayings and to follow him? I am still striving to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. My desire is to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the holy word, and be able to stand through the perils of these last days, and be ready to meet Jesus when he comes. Yours, striving to overcome. M. PAUL. LETTERS.
By Julana L. Powell
"Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another."
BRO. WHITE: I praise the Lord that to the poor the gospel is preached, and although unworthy I can say that I am his. I came out from the M. E. church about a year and a half ago under Bro. Sanborn's preaching in Davis, and I have been striving to grow in grace ever since, and in the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. I often feel to cry, Oh what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visitest him. I have many things to overcome, the greatest being my own evil heart. But by the grace of God I will overcome: I feel more determined of late to strive for the kingdom, as I see that the promise is only to those that strive; and time is short. There are only six or seven of us here and all females. We have not the help of our husbands, in the truth, but we have Jesus for our captain and if he is for us who can be against us. We have our meetings every Sabbath and O, how blessed is this privilege, while hundreds are alone that are keeping the commandments and the faith of Jesus. I often feel tempted and tried by the adversary, but when I resort to prayer God gives me grace to say, Get thee hence Satan. Pray for me that I may be an overcomer and may yet have my companion to go with me to mount Zion. Yours striving to live out the teachings of God.
JULANA L. POWELL.
Davis, Ills.