MARCH 25, 1870, a meeting was held in Battle Creek, for the purpose of taking into consideration the formation of an association, the object of which should be to secure an annual course of lectures for the benefit of ministers, those who contemplated entering the ministry, Sabbath-school superintendents, Sabbath-school teachers, and all others who might wish to thoroughly acquaint themselves with the truth pertaining to this time. The president and secretary of the General Conference were elected chairman and secretary of the meeting. Wm. C. Gage was chosen treasurer. And these three, with the executive committee of the General Conference were chosen a committee to perfect arrangements, and propose a definite plan of organization.
At the second meeting, March 26, after remarks by Bro. White on 1 Pet. 3: 15, the committee reported a Constitution, which was adopted, and at a subsequent meeting slightly amended. The following is the form in which it now stands:
ART. I.—NAME.
This Association shall be known as The Ministers' Lecture Association of S. D. Adventists.
ART. II.—OBJECT.
The object of this Association shall be to give instruction in the fundamental truths held by Seventh-day Adventists, that those engaged in teaching them, whether in the ministry, in the Sabbath School, or in the more private walks of life, may be better qualified for the duties devolving upon them.
ART. III.—OFFICERS.
Its officers shall consist of a President, Secretary, Treasurer, and an Executive Committee of three, of whom the President shall be one; and they shall be elected annually.
ART. IV.—MEMBERSHIP.
Any person may become a member on the payment of the annual lecture fee, the membership holding good for one year.
ART. V.—COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.
The Course of Instruction shall consist of an annual series of lectures on Biblical subjects, and other topics relating to the work of the ministry, together with such educational works as the committee may designate from year to year.
ART. VI.—AMENDMENTS.
This Constitution may be amended at any meeting of the Association, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present.
The price of membership was fixed by vote of the meeting for this year as follows: Gentlemen, $5. Ladies, $3. Subscriptions being then called for, sixty persons handed in their names. The Association having now attained a real and tangible existence, the following officers were chosen for the coming year: President, James White; Secretary, U. Smith; Treasurer, W. C. Gage; Executive Committee, James White, J. N. Andrews, and J. H. Waggoner.
James White, J. N. Andrews, J. H. Waggoner, G. H. Bell, and U. Smith, were appointed a committee to prescribe a course of study for ministers.
The exercises for this year were carried out as follows: At 7 o'clock each evening, a lecture on some one of the great subjects of the present truth. At 8, the next morning, prayer-meeting. At 9, exercise in penmanship. At 10.30, lecture and exercise in English grammar. At 4 p. m., class examination on the previous evening's lecture. The membership fee entitled a person to all the exercises.
Owing to some unfavorable circumstances mentioned below, the course was not completed this year. Only nine lectures were given; and on this account, all who had paid, had the privilege of withdrawing their money if they wished. Most, however, chose to let it remain to form the basis of a fund for future operations.
The idea of such an Association was comparatively new. It was entered into without time for sufficient preparation. Hence it labored under some disadvantages. But on the overall, its success has been very133gratifying, sufficiently so for all who entered into it to desire that it be a permanent institution.
JAMES WHITE, President,
U. SMITH, Secretary.
The Ruin of Most Men
THE ruin of most men dates from some vacant hour. Occupation is the armor of the soul. There is a satirical poem, in which the devil is represented as fishing for men, and fitting his bait to the taste and business of his prey; but the idler, he said, gave him no trouble, as he bit the naked hook.
“WHOSOEVER is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
The word here rendered born, more properly signifies, begotten. The change that is brought to view under this figure is undoubtedly, conversion. Is it then true, as some contend, that it is not possible for a truly converted man to sin? We know that such a position cannot be correct; for many that have given every evidence of genuine conversion, have fallen away; and Paul, even, feared that such might be case with himself. The difficulty in this case lies in taking the word, cannot, in an absolute sense. There is another sense attached to it by universal consent, denoting moral, not physical, impossibility. Thus we say of any good man that it is morally impossible for him to do such and such things of a wicked nature, as to lie, steal, murder, &c. Why? Not because he has not power to do such acts, if he was so disposed: but we know from the nature of the man, his example and profession, that he will not; that, until he is entirely changed in these respects, it is no more probable that he will do such acts, than it would be if he lacked the physical power to do them.
And how often we hear men, in intercourse with each other, when solicited to any acts while they disapprove, say that they cannot do it. Why? Not because they lack the physical power; but because it is contrary to that moral sense of right and wrong, which they make their rule of action. And such expressions are never misinterpreted, nor misunderstood.
So in the case before us. If a man is truly converted, the whole tenor of his life and the inclination of his mind is against sin. He cannot, like the wicked, pursue sin for love of it, nor follow it as the chief good of his existence. He has, indeed, the physical capability of committing sin; but his sense of moral obligation, his vows of allegiance to his Redeemer, the reformed emotions and affections of his soul, are all drawing him in another direction.
The Closing Messages
By R. F. Cottrell
The Closing Messages.—No. 29.
“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Rev. 16: 17-21.
In the seven last plagues the special wrath reserved for the last generation of men, who, above all others, have sinned against light and rejected offered mercy, is “filled up,” or, as rendered by others, “completed.” And when the last of the series is poured out into the air—the element which encompasses the whole globe, and hence the effect of this vial is general—the voice of Jehovah comes from the throne, which is in his heavenly temple, saying, IT IS DONE; and tempest, earthquake, and storm, such as were never known, close up the sinful drama of earth, and its horrid blasphemies are hushed in death until the second resurrection, at the termination of a thousand years. The kings of the earth and their armies having been gathered, under the sixth vial, the Lord comes forth to the battle of the great day, “the windows from on high are open,” and while “the earth is moved exceedingly,” and its foundations shake, the “host of the high ones” and the “kings of the earth” are punished with great stones cast down from heaven, are gathered in the pit of death and “shut up in the prison,” to be visited again “after many days”—at the close of the thousand years. See Isa. 24: 17-22.
Upon the pouring out of the seventh vial the voice of God, so many times promised in prophecy, is heard, and the earth is shaken exceedingly. Paul refers us to the fact that the voice of God shook the earth when he spake his holy law from Sinai, and also to the promise in prophecy that his voice shall be heard again, and not only the earth, but also the heavens shall shake. “Whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” Heb. 12: 26.
Joel, in describing the great day of the Lord, when the heathen are gathered to the valley of Jehoshaphat—the valley of decision, or, rather, conclusion—cutting off—says:
“The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Chap. 3: 16.
The testimony of Jeremiah corroborates this and gives additional light. He says:
“Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations; he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Chap. 25: 30-33.
Much more might be quoted on this point, but let this suffice. When God spake his holy law the earth trembled. Now men have set that law at nought, and have slighted the last warning to turn and keep the commandments of God; probation closes; the avenging vials are poured out, and when the series is completed by the pouring out of the seventh, the voice of God comes from his heavenly temple, from the throne which is between the cherubim, above the mercy-seat and ark of his testament—the ten commandments—saying, “IT IS DONE;” and the most tremendous earthquake shakes the earth so exceedingly that the constellations of heaven seem to vibrate. And when cities and all human habitations have been prostrated by the unprecedented shock, which removes mountains and islands out of their places, the plague of hail follows upon the defenseless and unsheltered heads of the wicked which remain, especially those of the great Babylon, who have been reserved to drink of the cup of the wine of the fiercest wrath of God. The Lord said to Job:
“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” Job 38: 22, 23.
Something slightly resembling this last plague was visited upon Egypt. “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.” Ex. 9: 23, 24. The Lord also fought for Israel in the days of Joshua, by casting down great stones from heaven upon their enemies.
“And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died; they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.” Josh. 10: 10, 11. And this slaughter at Gibeon, as also that when the Lord fought for David at Perazim, 2 Sam. 5: 20, is taken in prophecy as a type of the battle of the great day, which we are now considering.
“Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night; and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now, therefore, be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong; for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.” Isa. 28: 17-22. See also Isa. 30: 30, and Eze. 13: 4-16.
Now men may think to hide themselves under a refuge of lies; but the hail of that day shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And this consumption is “determined upon the whole earth.” See Jer. 25: 30-33; Zeph. 1: 14-18; 3: 6-8; Isa. 24: 1-5.
And why is the earth to be thus desolated by these fearful plagues? Because they have not heeded the warning voice of mercy and turned to the Lord. Because that with all the light of a world of Bibles, they have chosen to follow false traditions instead of revealed truth. “Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth.” Isa. 24: 5, 6. The laws of God are the commandments which are kept by those who obey the last message. Rev. 14: 12. The ordinance referred to is that ordinance of the moral law which has been changed, and which is the special burden of the third angel’s message, being directly opposed to the mark of the beast; for if men fail to be saved by the gospel, they are judged and condemned by the moral law, and not by the institutions of the gospel. The everlasting covenant is the ten commandments, the basis of all covenants which God ever made with man. In proof of this, we refer to the following texts:
“And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deut. 4: 13.
“Be ye mindful always of his covenant, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant.” 1 Chron. 16: 15-17.
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jer. 31: 33. See also Heb. 8: 10.
But when the earth is desolated by these fierce judgments—“with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones,”—there are a “few men left.” These are the righteous. Isa. 24: 13-16. These have obeyed God and are sealed with his seal. Their security amid the desolating plagues is set forth in Ps. 91. They have made the Lord their refuge, his truth is their shield and buckler, and though thousands fall at their side, they have the sure promise that no evil shall befall them, neither shall any plague come nigh their dwelling. (Read the chapter.) And though their raging foes decree their death, Rev. 13: 15, they are delivered and caught up to Mount Zion above; Dan. 12: 1; Rev. 14: 1-5; and on the sea of glass, before the throne, they sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, having “gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.” Rev. 15: 2.134May the Lord grant that the reader and the writer may participate in that grand celebration and song of triumph. If we will do so, the way is clear: we must “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
R. F. COTTRELL.
The Law of God
By John Nevins Andrews
This can never be in agreement with the carnal mind. The two are in the most deadly antagonism. The law forbids every evil thing; the carnal mind is evil, and only evil, continually. For this reason it can never be subject to the law of God. The law cannot tolerate sin; the carnal mind cannot do anything but sinful deeds. So the entrance of the law to take possession of the heart, is of necessity in the closest connection with the destruction of the carnal mind. In truth, the work of conversion is that of removing the carnal mind and giving the heart to the law of God. It is that change which shall bring the whole man into subjection to God.
J. N. A.
“His to Fix my Time of Rest.”
By John Nevins Andrews
Our labor is assigned us by our divine Master. If it be difficult, wearisome, painful, and discouraging, he knows it all. We are never out of his sight. He never forgets us. It is no part of our business to determine how long our work shall last. It is no proper work of ours to earnestly desire the close of our labor. What if the burden be heavy and the heat of the day severe, we are in the employ of the God of Heaven. He has assigned our toil, and bidden us perform it. It is our part to see how well the work can be done; it is his to assign the length of that toil, and its severity of burden; it is his also to fix our time of rest. Let him do this. Let us do our part of the work with faithfulness, and we may well leave all the rest to God.
J. N. A.
The Coming Storm.
Discoveries with regard to the essence of the sun have, during the last year, followed each other with such startling rapidity as to modify all previous theories as to its constitution and province in the economy of the universe. It is now an established fact that the gaseous envelop surrounding the sun, is in a highly-excitable condition, sending out forked tongues of glowing hydrogen in every direction from its surface. These flickering streams of light extend to the enormous distance of from seventy thousand to one hundred thousand miles, and oftentimes take on most fantastic forms. Some of them were photographed during the recent total eclipse; the largest one resembled a ship under full sail; another has branching horns like those of an antelope, and each curious protuberance possessed a character peculiarly its own. Moreover, great periodical disturbances take place in this seething cauldron of blazing gas, which, strangely enough are now thought to be produced by certain combinations in the movements in the little solid bodies, on one of which we live, in their revolution round the sun.
There is every threatening appearance now manifest that we are on the very confines of a great epoch of magnetic storm. The sun has recently been exhibiting surprising forms of disturbance and presenting to scientific eyes, features which, in extent and rapidity of motion, are almost incomprehensible. Vast spots have appeared, whose dimensions must be estimated by millions of square miles, and have presented rapid changes of figure, indicating the action of forces of inconceivable intensity, and moving with a velocity of which figures give no idea. Mr. Huggins recently traced the course of one which moved one hundred thousand miles in a second. Clusters of smaller spots have exhibited every conceivable form of solar disturbance and every degree of light, from the apparent blackness of the nucleus to the intense brilliancy of the faculous ridges.
Neither are these difficulties simply matters of curious speculation, which, occurring at a distance of more than ninety millions of miles, are of no practical importance. For the startling fact is well established that the changes now going on in the physical constitution of the sun, must powerfully affect the electric condition of our earth. These changes have, in former years, caused violent disturbances in magnetic instruments all over the world, and seem to be mysteriously and intimately connected with the most magnificent auroral displays that have ever been witnessed.
The solar magnet storms, like everything else in the universe, are regulated by fixed laws. They occur at regular intervals of eleven years. The last took place in 1859. We may, therefore, look for its recurrence in the coming year, 1870. Some very interesting observations were made at the one which occurred in 1859, by two astronomers, Messrs. Hodgson and Harrington, one being at Oxford and the other in London, where they were, at the same moment, examining a large group of sun spots. Suddenly two intensely-bright patches of light appeared in front of the cluster. They were of such surprising brilliancy that the observers supposed the darkening screens attached to their telescopes must have broken and let the full blaze of the sunlight in. This was not the case, however; but some mysterious process was going on upon the sun's surface, attended with such rapidity of motion that in five minutes the spots traveled over a space of 24,000 miles.
At the New Observatory there are self-registering magnetic instruments indicating the processes of change by which the subtle influences of terrestrial magnetism wax and wane. In a quiescent state of the great terrestrial magnet, the line traced by the pointer will be marked by undulations which are scarcely perceptible. In a more excitable condition, well marked waves along the line show the pulsations of the magnetic system in a manner perfectly intelligible to the practical operator. And there is a third form of disturbance, where the sharp, sudden jerks of the pointer exhibit the occurrence of those mysterious phenomena which are called magnetic storms.
When the records of the New Observatory were examined, it was found that at the exact instant at which the brilliant spots of light had appeared to Messrs. Hodgson and Harrington, the self-registering instrument had been subjected to the third and most significant form of disturbance. A great magnetic storm let loose its pent-up forces, just as the light broke suddenly forth. Neither was this the sole evidence of the sympathy between the sun and its planetary subordinate. It was afterward found that the whole frame of the earth had thrilled under the magnetic influence.
In the West Indies, in South America, in Australia, wherever magnetic observations are systematically made, the same remarkable developments were registered. In the telegraph stations at Washington and Philadelphia, the signalmen received strong electric shocks. In Norway, telegraphic machinery was set on fire. The pen of Bain's telegraph was followed by a flame. Wherever telegraphic wires were found, well-marked indications of violent action were manifested. Even this was not all. Hours passed before the disturbed earth returned to its normal condition, and the daylight faded while the storm was still in progress. In the darkness which followed, auroras spread their waving streams over the sky in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. As the disturbed needle vibrated, the aurora waved its colored banners in response, and the brilliant display only paled in its splendor when the magnetic storm subsided. Thus we see there are the most intimate relations between the peculiar disturbances in the sun and the magnetic current of the earth. When one of these mysterious changes takes place, more than 90,000,000 miles away, the flash is borne to us by the swift vibrations of the electric wave, and every fibre of the earth bends to the power which from the far distant realms of space brings auroral displays to write the story in living colors on the celestial archway, while every magnetic instrument bears its testimony to the influence of solar magnetism.
We are on the verge of great discoveries in astronomical science. If the next year confirms and increases these of the one which has passed, we shall have to throw our old astronomical treatise to the shade and begin anew. Meantime we shall watch with anxious interest for the great magnetic storm of 1870.
The following entitled “Something Coming” is the notice which another paper gives of the present disturbance in the sun's atmosphere.
The sun's atmosphere, say the scientific men, is in a highly excited condition. A column of magnetic light is shooting out further and further from the solar sphere, and it is now stretching out forty-five millions of miles. In other words, it has accomplished half the distance between us and the sun! The interesting question, and one on which, perhaps, we do not wish any more light of this character, is: How long will it be before it finishes the rest of the distance, and bridges the gigantic chasm between the earth and the sun? Is it a messenger sent out to snatch us up as food for the insatiate monster that keeps himself warm by devouring planets, and whose fire-eating propensities this whole earth would satisfy for a few days only! If so, how long will this emissary be in reaching us, and carrying the globe away as if we were a gigantic lump of coal for a roaring furnace?
It is predicted that before the end of the next year, 1870, this magnetic light will have got near enough to make its immediate and actual influence upon the earth distinctly felt. It is announced that in consequence we may expect to see phenomena that have never been seen or known before by the human race.
THE UNSEEN LINE.
By THOS. J. CROSS.
There is a time we know not when,
A point we know not where,
That marks the destiny of men,
To glory or despair.
There is a line by us unseen,
That crosses every path,
That hidden boundary between,
God's patience and his wrath.
To pass that limit is to die,
To die as if by stealth,
It does not quench the beaming eye,
Or fade the glow of health.
The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirit light and gay,
That which is pleasing, still may please,
And care be thrust away.
But on that forehead God has set
Indelibly a mark
Unseen by man; for man, as yet,
Is blind, and in the dark.
And yet the doomed man's path below,
Like Eden may have bloomed,
He did not, does not, will not, know,
Or feel that he is doomed.
Oh! where is this mysterious bourne,
By which our path is crossed,
Beyond which God himself hath sworn
That he who goes is lost.
How far may we go on in sin?
How long will God forbear?
Where does hope end—and where begin
The confines of despair?
An answer from the skies is sent,
Ye that from God depart,
While it is called to-day repent,
And harden not your heart.
The sentiment contained in the foregoing lines, which I have copied, awaken thoughts that are solemn and impressive. There is, evidently, an important point in every one's history, that marks his future destiny for weal or woe, a point beyond which if we go, it is at our peril. Felix trembled when the truth was brought to bear upon his conscience. But his decision was, Go thy way for this time, and when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian, is the language of another. But there he paused, nor does it appear that he ever embraced Christianity, or that the other ever found a convenient season.
Take one more case: The young man who came to our Saviour with this important inquiry, What good thing shall I do to inherit eternal life? But upon hearing the conditions, he went away sorrowful. He wanted eternal life, but his love for the treasures of this earth was too strong. Therefore he turned away with sadness, to return no more so far as we are informed.
Then it appears that mercy may be rejected, the Spirit of God grieved, until it will leave the sinner to choose death in the error of his ways.
How awfully solemn the moment when the Spirit knocks at the sinner's heart for the last time.
The heavenly dove moves, a sensation is produced, the messenger lingers, an eternity of importance now trembles upon the issue. Again the answer is, Go thy way.135She plumes her wing, and is forever gone. This, we believe, is no fancy sketch. When this is the case there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. May none of us ever know, from experience, what it is to grieve away the Spirit of God; for then the door will be shut, the dead line crossed.
All are invited. Whosoever will, may come and partake of the waters of life freely, without money and without price.
How then shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? Therefore, whatever else we fail in securing, let us not fail in securing a consistent and well-grounded title to eternal life, and an unending felicity in the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. THOS. J. CROSS.
Blue Earth Co., Minn.
Report From Bro. Ingraham.
By Wm. S. Ingraham
I HAVE just returned home from the western part of the State, having traversed a circuit of two hundred miles with my team. I attended Quarterly Meetings, as follows: Greenwood Prairie, Pleasant Grove, Pine Island, Deerfield, Shelbyville and Jo Davis. Nearly all these meetings were seasons of encouragement and refreshing. I had a strong desire to attend the General Conference, but had written to the churches throughout the State that I would be present at their Quarterly Meetings; and as some important business was to be transacted, it was necessary for a messenger to be present. But as soon as the notice appeared of the General Conf. I addressed a letter to Bro. Pierce signed by the committee to have him go as a delegate. Perhaps his poor health forbade. But if the letter sent to me by the Gen. Conf. Committee had not failed to reach me in time, I should have left the interest of our own State for the present and attended the great gathering at Battle Creek. I hope the measures adopted there for the spread of the truth not only in our country but also in Europe may be abundantly blessed.
Wm. S. Ingraham.
Wasioja, Minn.
Love is the Fulfilling of the Law.
By D. H. SANBORN
THIS is a part of a text often quoted. What does it teach? How does love fulfill the law? To fulfill a law, according to Webster, is to perform what is required; to answer a law by obedience. Then love fulfills the law by leading to the performance of those acts which the law requires; and any love which does not lead to obedience to every precept of God's holy law is not the love of which the apostle is speaking, and shows its possessor to be “carnal, sold under sin.” For the apostle declares that to be carnally minded is death; because the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God; and from its not being subject to God's law, he proves that it is enmity against God. Rom. 8 : 7.
But to the text. The whole verse reads, Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Rom. 13 : 10. The love fulfills the law because it works no ill to his neighbor. The law was given to guard the rights of God and the rights of men; and true love will lead us not to invade our neighbor's rights. But how does profaning God's holy name work ill to his neighbor? Because it is breaking the third precept of the law of God, and as far as the example goes it leads to sin; and the wages of sin is death. But the fourth precept of that same unchangeable law, brings to view another object which God claims as his, declares to be holy, and commands us to observe accordingly. Why and how does profaning God's holy day injure our fellow-men? In the same way that profaning his holy name does. It is treating as profane what he has solemnly declared to be holy, and required us to keep. It is taking for our use for secular purposes, that which God claims as his own, and set apart to a holy use. It is setting at nought the authority of the great Lawgiver. It is encouraging rebellion against his government. It is rebellion, robbery, and profanity, all in one. Tell me, ye that refuse to keep holy the day that God commanded, are ye not profaning the holy things of God?
Perhaps you say the Lord has changed the day of his rest; that another day is now his holy day, and the day he blessed and hallowed is no longer holy time. We know full well a change has been made, but where and by whom?
We know that many claim to be worshippers of the God that made the heavens and the earth, who yet refuse to regard the sanctified rest-day; but what evidence is there in the word of God, that he has changed his holy day, any more than that he has changed his name; and that therefore, the names by which he has made himself known to us in his word, are no longer to be reverenced, but may be treated as common.
Perhaps you say, If I keep one day in the week holy, I think it is all that is required. And so you keep a day which the Lord has nowhere required you to regard as sacred, and treat his sacred day as common time. If this is obedience to the fourth commandment, then the Romanist, who profanes the name of God every day, may yet fulfill the third precept of God's law, by reverencing the name of the pope; for neither you nor he are doing the work which God commands, but you are doing what he has forbidden. And the Lord has told us just as plainly in the one case as the other what is holy.
I appeal to honest first-day-keepers if there is any unfairness in this reasoning. Search the Scriptures daily and faithfully to see if these things are so. And may you be led to look into that perfect law of liberty, and continue therein, being not forgetful hearers, but doers of the work, that you may be blessed in your deed. D. H. SANBORN.
A Light Is Approaching.
By John Matteson
It is not the light of a friendly star, neither the gentle rays of the silvery moon, nor the more brilliant rays of the sun in his splendor. It is the lurid glare of the devouring fire—the awful luster of the everlasting burnings. Isa. 33: 14.
How fearful the destruction of villages and cities by the all-devouring element. How awful the convulsions of a trembling earth swallowing up man and beast, opening and shutting in fearful commotion. Terrible was the raging of the watery element in which the ancient world did perish. But more terrible—a world on fire!
“Sinners in Zion are afraid. Fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” The sky is ablaze with lightnings. Fearful thunders shake the air. The earth trembles. The foundations of the mountains are on fire. The hot lava pours forth like mighty cataracts. Yonder sinks into the fiery stream a great and populous city. Its costly towers tumble into ruins. The mirth and pleasure have ceased. The vain conversation is hushed in silence. Hear the frantic shrieks of despair from thousands of unhappy creatures who obeyed not the gospel of our Lord. Their wailing and weeping is more faint. Now they are silent.
The lake of fire rushes on. Now it is on my right and left. Behind me the way is closed up, and before me is nothing but darkness. Whither shall I flee? Now my fine farm and costly dwellings are to be devoured. I labored hard to satisfy my soul below, and obtain what my heart desired. I was successful. Alas, my success proves my greatest failure. I intended also to have a treasure in Heaven—treasure in Heaven!—oh! I have no treasure in Heaven. I intended to do something for the Lord in the future, but now it is too late, too late!
Here is my poor family. What shall I do for them? I did not take time to pray with them, or read to them. I was not very anxious to take them to the meeting or Sabbath School. I have lost my interest in the kingdom, and they never had any. Oh! I remember—once my heart was touched with love divine. The warning was faithfully given. What a kind invitation I had to come to Jesus! I sought him. I found sweetness in his precious truth. The hope of immortality looked good to me. Alas! The world, the world came between me and my Saviour. I neglected such great salvation. Mercy lingers no longer. The faithful messenger warns me no more. The summer is past, the harvest is ended. Oh! what shall I do? I remember my past sins—I see them one by one. What a miserable wretch I am! How I have sinned against God, and my fellow-men, and my family—oh! my poor family!
I see yonder a glorified company. The mighty power of God shields them against these awful burnings. There is that poor brother whom I never thought much of. Yet I remember his earnest prayers. I remember how foolishly he would often divide the last he had with those who were more needy than himself. Often he would give to what he called the cause of God. I see angels and saints, an innumerable company. Where are they going, I wonder? Perhaps to the heavenly city. Yes, they are going to live with Jesus forever. Eternal life! precious gift of God! Can not I have eternal life? Must I perish here?—Perish without hope, in dark despair? Not one glimmering ray of hope? Not one?
Oh! that terrible voice: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Cursed be the day that I was born. Cursed be my folly and sin. I must die. I must lose honor, glory, and immortality—eternal life.
Is this a dream? Oh, no! Fearful realities, foretold by the never-erring word of prophecy, soon to be realized by thousands of poor deceived professors, who shall say: Lord, Lord, open unto us. But the Lord says: “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
DEAR reader, let us well consider the end of the race, and work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Be not satisfied until God's Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are his child, until the dear Lord shall smile to you through your penitent tears. Seek daily a new consecration to God and his work. Daily hold sweet communion with Jesus. Lay up your treasure above, and soon you will reap a rich reward. JOHN MATTESON.