Earlier text: ON KEEPING THE HEART. No. 6.LIKE A SHORT CANDLE.
By Editor
“As I sat in my chamber, I saw a little girl working by the light of a candle. It was burnt down almost to the socket. I perceived that she plied her needle very fast, and at length overheard her say to herself, ‘I must be very industrious, for this is the only candle I have and it is almost gone.’”—Exchange. In the above incident we see a very appropriate illustration of the situation of believers at the present day. We may all learn from it. The candle of time has now burnt down almost to its socket. How very industrious then should we be in the discharge of all its duties. It is almost gone; and there is no other beyond it. There is no second life allotted to mortals in which the errors of this can be corrected; but whatever impress our characters shall bear when the days of probation close, such will they retain forever. The few remaining days of mercy are like a candle burnt almost to its socket. God’s Spirit will not always strive with man. But a few notes will yet be heard from her patient lips; but a few more calls will she give to the disobedient, the dallying, the undecided; and when she ceases once to plead, she has ceased forever. This is no disparagement to God’s justice. All may secure salvation who will. Provisions the most ample have made, and are now offered for acceptance. There is no need of a future age of probation. Neither the justice nor the mercy of God requires it. If men will not come now that they may have life, who shall tell us when they will? In the Third Angel’s Message are now being heard the last notes of warning to a guilty world. The candle of God’s long-suffering is burnt down almost to its socket. Men must soon decide whether they will bow to the throne of Jehovah, or to the scepter of Baal; whether they will reverence the commandments of God, or the institutions of men; whether they will brave the threat of temporal death from the arm of the civil power, or the threat of fire and brimstone, and eternal death from the arm of Jehovah. With what earnestness then should we endeavor to persuade sinners to heed the warning ere it shall cease entirely, and the candle of their hope go out in eternal gloom. The ministration of Christ in the Most Holy of the heavenly Sanctuary—the ministration which stays the arm of vengeance—the ministration around which cluster the interests of a perishing world—is drawing near to its close. The candle of the Saviour’s love, which led him to leave the glories of heaven, and offer himself a sacrifice for our lost race, as far as concerns a promiscuous world, is burnt almost down to its socket. Beyond this there is no more ministration for the redemption of transgressions. Beyond this there is no more offering for sin. Will the Lord shed his blood again for the benefit of those who will not avail themselves of its merits now? Will he die a second time, for the redemption of a people in another dispensation, who stubbornly reject all offers of mercy in this? Know, then, that when he ceases to be a priest, the plan and the means of salvation are forever finished. Our opportunities of making our own calling and election sure, our opportunities of promulgating truth, and doing good to others, all our privileges, are like a short candle when it is almost gone. How very industrious then should we be; for when once past they never will return. Soon the voice will be heard from the temple in heaven, saying, “It is done;” and the candle of probation will expire in its socket. “And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scape-goat.” Lev. xvi, 8. We find this passage in the description of the services performed on the yearly day of atonement under the typical dispensation; and as the goat of the sin-offering upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and whose blood was ministered in the Most Holy Place, to make atonement for the Sanctuary and for the transgressions of Israel, typified, according to universal consent, the Saviour and the offering he made on Calvary, we naturally inquire, as we look forward to the great work which constitutes the antitype of the ancient yearly atonement, to what the scape-goat pointed, and who will be found in connection with the heavenly Sanctuary, and the closing up of the plan of salvation, bearing his character and answering to his antitype. Because John says, [chap. i, 29,] “Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh, (margin, beareth,) away the sin of the world,” and because it is said of the scape-goat that he “shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited,” [Lev. xvi, 22,] it has been concluded, without further consideration, by some, that the latter is a type of the former; and Dr. Clarke, also, in his note on Lev. xvi, 10, makes this remark: “Did not all this signify that Christ has so carried and borne away our sins, that against them who receive him as the only true atoning sacrifice they should never more be brought to remembrance.” From the view, however, that Christ is the antitype of the scape-goat, we are compelled to differ, for what we consider very plain reasons. 1. If Christ, in bearing the sin of the world, fulfilled the antitype of the scape-goat, he must have accomplished it at the crucifixion; for Peter says of him, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” 1 Pet. ii, 24. But in the type the goat was not sent away till after the cleansing of the Sanctuary; hence the antitype of this work cannot be performed till after the termination of the 2300 days; for it is not till after those days have ended that the Sanctuary is cleansed. Dan. viii, 14; Heb. ix, 23. It is therefore impossible to carry this work back to the crucifixion of Christ, which was even before he commenced his ministration in the Sanctuary above; and therefore he cannot be the antitype of the scape-goat. 2. Christ is our great High Priest, the minister of the Sanctuary; but the goat is something to be sent away by the priest: therefore he cannot be the priest himself: in other words, he cannot in this dispensation be Christ; but he must be a being whom Christ, after he has loaded him with the sins borne from the Sanctuary, can send away into a land not inhabited. 3. The goat was sent away from Israel, into a land not inhabited, to be heard of no more forever. But Christ will dwell in the midst of his people, the true Israel of faith. 4. It is impossible that two goats, one of which was chosen by the Lord, and is called the Lord’s, and was for a sin-offering, while the other is not so called, but was left to perform an entirely different office;—it is impossible that these both should typify the same person. From these considerations we think it must be evident to every one that Christ cannot be the antitype of the Levitical scape-goat. Who then can be? We answer, The Devil; and our reasons for this position are at hand: 1. We know of only two beings which any one has ever thought could possibly be typified by the scape-goat; and these are Christ and Satan. We have shown above that the goat cannot be a type of Christ; we must therefore look to the Devil for its fulfillment. 2. The Hebrew word for scape-goat, as given in the margin of Lev. xvi, 8, is Azazel. On this verse, Jenks in his Comprehensive Commentary remarks, “Scape-goat. See diff. opin. in Bochart. Spencer after the oldest opinion of the Hebrews and Christians thinks Azazel is the name of the Devil; and so Rosenmiere, whom see. The Syriac has, Azazel, the angel (strong one) who revolted.” The Devil is here evidently pointed out. Thus we have the definition of the Scripture term in two ancient languages, with the oldest opinion of the Christians, in favor of the view that the scape-goat is a type of Satan. 3. In the common acceptance of the word, the term scape-goat, is applied to any miserable vagabond who has become obnoxious to the claims of justice; and while it is revolting to all our conceptions of the character and glory of Christ, to apply this term to him, it must strike every one as a very appropriate designation of the Devil, who is styled in scripture, the accuser, adversary, angel of the bottomless pit, Beelzebub, Belial, dragon, enemy, evil spirit, father of lies, murderer, prince of devils, serpent, tempter, &c., &c. 4. Our fourth reason for this position is the very striking manner in which it harmonizes with the events to transpire in connection with the cleansing of the heavenly Sanctuary, as far as revealed, thus in the Scriptures of truth. We behold in the type, 1. The sin of the transgressor imparted to the victim. 2. We see that sin borne in by the priest in the blood of the offering, into the Sanctuary. 3. On the tenth day of the seventh month we see the priest with the blood of the sin-offering for the people, remove all these sins from the Sanctuary, and lay them upon the head of the scape-goat. 4. The goat bears them away into a land not inhabited. Answering to these events in the type, we behold in the antitype, 1. The great offering for the world made on Calvary. 2. The sins of all those who avail themselves of the merits of Christ’s shed blood, by faith in him, in that blood are borne into the Sanctuary. 3. After Christ, the minister of the true tabernacle, [Heb. viii, 2,] has finished his ministration, he will remove the sins of his people from the Sanctuary, and lay them upon the head of their author, the antitypical scape-goat, the Devil. 4. The Devil will be sent away with them into a land not inhabited. If we want a description of this event in plain terms we find it in Rev. xx, 1–3: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled.” Now we would ask, What could be more fitting than that the author and instigator of all sin should receive the guilt of those transgressions which he has incited mortals to commit, but of which they have repented, back upon his own head? And what could be a more striking antitype of the ancient ceremony of sending away the scape-goat into the wilderness, than the act of the mighty angel in binding Satan and casting him into the bottomless pit at the commencement of the thousand years. This is a point of transcendent interest to every believer. Then, the sins of God’s people will be borne away to be remembered no more forever. Then he who instigated them, will have received them back again. Then the serpent’s head will have been bruised by the seed of the woman. Then the “strong man armed,” (Satan,) will have been bound by a stronger than he, (Christ,) and the house of the strong man (the grave) spoiled of its goods, the saints. Matt. xii, 29; Heb. ii, 14. Then will the work of the enemy, in sowing tares among the wheat, [Matt. xiii, 35–43,] be forever remedied: the tares will have been gathered into bundles to burn, and the wheat gathered into the garner. Then our great High Priest will have come forth from the Sanctuary29 to pronounce the everlasting blessing upon his waiting people. Then shall we have come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. Then will the redeemed, placing the foot of triumph upon the world, the flesh and the devil, raise their glad voices in the song of Moses and the Lamb. O glorious day! May the Lord hasten it in his good time. Who would not, in view of this, take up the petition of the beloved John, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” These are scenes to which the children of hope in this lower world love to look forward. On these hang their brightest anticipations. These are the very portals to the glorious city, and to their eternal inheritance. Such, we sincerely believe, is the order in which the Bible has introduced these events to our understanding. But there are those who would disturb this divine harmony, and mar the beauty of this arrangement, by denying some of its essential points. A correspondent writes under date of Nov. 14th, 1856, as follows: “There are some who will not admit that the Devil is the scape-goat. One objection is on the word, atonement, in Lev. xvi, 10. They say, We don't believe the Devil is in partnership with Christ in making the atonement. This question has caused some division among Sabbath-keepers.” We have already made mention of the only two positions that can be taken on this question. He who, therefore, denies that the Devil is the antitypical scape-goat, is necessarily driven to the position that Christ fulfills this office; which view we think is not only very derogatory to the character of Christ, but involves some manifest absurdities. If those who thus object had ever given any substance or tangibility to their views; if they had ever shown any good reason for believing that Christ is the great scape-goat of this dispensation; we should know better how to answer their objections. We should then be better able to judge whether they draw their views from sound premises, or whether they entertain them because they love to have a way of their own, and to differ with the mass of their brethren. As it is we can but re-iterate what appears to be the plain teaching of the Bible on the point, which we had supposed would, from its very consistency, aside from revelation, commend itself to every candid man's belief. The use of the word atonement in Lev. xvi, 10, is certainly a very trivial point to make the fulcrum of so important a question. The part which the scape-goat was to act, is in that chapter clearly defined; and any one can judge for himself how much merit there was attached to his office, and how much connection the part he acted had with removing the sins from the children of Israel. The only office he performed was to receive the sins of the people from the hands of the priest after he had borne them from the Sanctuary, to retain them upon his own head, and go away from Israel forever into a land not inhabited. Reasoning from type to antitype, we believe the Devil will have a similar part to act. We can come to no other conclusion than that, the cleansing of the Sanctuary being finished, the sins of all those who have escaped his insidious wiles will be laid upon him and he be cast into the bottomless pit. People may call this if they choose, being in partnership with Christ, or they may designate it by any other expression; but the consistency of the view, and the testimony of the Bible on the point, cannot be altered. We know that some will say that sins cannot be suffered for but once, and that it is absurd that Satan should suffer for those sins for which Christ has already suffered. But how long will such hold to this position? Let us see. For whom did Christ die? for a chosen few only, or for all? Evidently for all, otherwise all could not have an opportunity of repentance. “Well then,” says one who is wedded to the pleasures of sin, “if sin can be suffered for but once, and Christ has suffered for my sins, what have I to fear? There is no suffering for sin for me to endure. I will therefore cull all the enjoyment I can from the pleasures of this world, and on the threshold of eternity I will take my stand beside the holiest saint that ever lived, and claim an equal right with him to the glories of heaven; for Christ suffered for me as well as for him; and therefore I am as free.” This is exactly the issue of the view taken; but the staunchest Universalism would require nothing better. Unless therefore we wish to yield the specific teachings of the Bible and become Universalists at once, we must abandon this theory. But its advocates may still contend that the wicked are exceptions, but that certainly sins that have been pardoned can never after be occasion of suffering to any being. But if when sins are pardoned that is the last of them, we would inquire how it happens that these very sins are transferred to the Sanctuary, and impurity imputed to it on their account. That this is so is one of the plainest teachings of the Bible. It is also certain that these sins are to be removed from the Sanctuary; and we would ask those who endorse the theory under consideration, what then is to be done with them, unless they are to be laid upon the head of their old author, the Devil. From the fact that our sins when forgiven are only transferred through the blood of Christ to the Sanctuary, we learn that the pardon of our sins is only removing from us their guilt, by imputing to us the righteousness of another. But we are not the originators of sin. Behind all our transgressions there stands a guilty instigator; and why should it be thought more incredible or unscriptural that the guilt of those sins of which we repent, should be imputed to him who prompted us to commit them, than that the righteousness of Christ, upon our repenting, should be imputed to us? Rom. ii, 22; 2 Cor. v, 21. Why it was anciently that the sins of Israel were borne into the Sanctuary and finally carried away on the head of the scape-goat into the wilderness, and why our sins are now transferred to the Sanctuary through the blood of Christ, to be laid finally upon the head of the great antitypical scape-goat, the Devil—why this arrangement was made instead of some other, is not for us to inquire into nor question. It is among the “mysteries of godliness;” [2 Tim. iii, 16;] and, says the Prophet, [Deut. xxix, 26.] “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever.” The following article on Sunday is attributed to the "Rev. Theodore Parker." We do not say but that the suggestions there given are good enough for the day. Indeed the very genius of the institution does not attach to it anything very sacred. The mind of the Romish Church which is the author of Sunday observance, is thus declared by Cardinal Wiseman: "The Roman Catholic Church have ever held that, religious duties being duly performed, the Christian Sunday was to be regarded and used by all, especially by the great bulk of the people, as a day of innocent amusement and recreation." But the significance of Mr. Parker's remarks lies in the fact that he doubtless considers Sunday the divinely appointed Sabbath of the Christian dispensation, and would apply to it the requirements of the fourth commandment, and all the promises of reward and threats of punishment which God has thrown around his holy day, to secure its just observance. If we have rightly judged in this, it is not difficult to see how much importance Mr. Parker attaches to the promises and threatenings of the word of God, and how he trails in the dust his standard of divine things. In this light we think we may study the article with profit, as an index of the moral tendency of the times. He says: I would not consider it an act of religion to attend church; only a good thing to go there when the way of improvement leads through it—when you are made wiser and better by being there. I am pained to see a man spend the whole of a Sunday in going to church, and forgetting himself in getting acquainted with the words of the preacher. I think most intelligent hearers, and most intelligent and Christian preachers, will confess that two sermons are better than three, and one better than two. One need only look at the afternoon face of a congregation in the city to be satisfied of this. If one-half the day were devoted to public worship, the other half might be free for private studies at home, for private devotion, for social relaxation, for intercourse with one's own family and friends. Then Sunday afternoon and evening would afford an excellent opportunity for meetings for the promotion of the great humane movements of the day, which some would not think evangelical enough to be treated of in the morning. Would it be inconsistent with the great purposes of the day, inconsistent with Christianity, to have lectures on science, literature and similar subjects delivered then? I do not believe the Catholic custom of spending the Sunday afternoon in recreation in England, before the Reformation, was a good one. It diverted men from the higher end to the lower. I cannot think that here and now we need amusement so much as society, instruction, refinement and devotion. Yet it seems to me unwise to restrain the innocent sports of children, of a Sunday, to the same degree our fathers did—to make Sunday to them a day of gloom and sadness. Thoughtful parents are now much troubled in this matter; they cannot enforce the old discipline, so disastrous to themselves; they fear to trust their own sense of what is right—so, perhaps, get the ill of both schemes, and the good of neither. There are in Boston about thirty thousand Catholics, twenty-five thousand of them probably too ignorant to read with pleasure or profit any book. At home, amusement formed a part of their Sunday service; it was a part of their religion to make a festive use of Sunday afternoon. What shall they do? Is it Christian in us by statute to interdict them from their recreation? With the exception of children and these most ignorant persons, it does not appear that there is any class among us who need any part of the Sunday for sport. I am not one of those who wish "to give up the Sunday," if indeed there be such men among us; I would make it more useful and profitable; I would remove from it the superstition and the bigotry which have so long been connected with it; I would use it freely as a Christian not enslaved by the letter of Judaism, but made free by an obedience to the law of the Spirit of life. I would use the Sunday for religion in the wide sense of that word; use it to promote piety and goodness, for science, for letters, for society. I would not abuse it by impotent license on the one hand, nor by slavish superstition on the other. We can easily escape the evils which come of the old abuse; can make the Sunday ten times more valuable than it is even now; can employ for it all the highest interests of mankind, and fear no reaction into libertinism. The Sunday is made for man as are all other days; not man for the Sunday. Let us use it then, not consuming its hours in a Jewish observance; not devote it to the lower necessities of life, but the higher; not squander it in idleness, sloth, frivolity, or sleep; let us use it for the body's rest, for the mind's culture, for head and heart and soul. Men and women, you have received the Sunday from your fathers as a day to be devoted to the highest interests of man. It has done great service for them and you. But it has come down accompanied with superstition, which robs it of half its value. It is easy for you to make the day far more profitable to yourselves than it ever was to your fathers; easy to divest it of all bigotry, to free it from all coldness of the letter; easy for you to leave it for your children an institution which shall bless them for ages yet to come; or it is easy to bind on them unnatural restraints, to impose on their conscience and understanding absurdities which at last they must repel with scorn and contempt. I was called to Parma to attend the funeral of Bro. Bramhall's sister, S. A. Bramhall, who came from the East about two months since, on a visit, and died Nov. 18th, aged 2 1/2 years. She professed religion about six years ago, and joined the Presbyterian church. She embraced the Sabbath and present truth under Bro. Bates' preaching a short time since, and by reading our publications was investigating our views when she fell asleep, leaving evidence to friends that she sleeps in Jesus, to rise and join with the saints at the soon coming of Christ. She said to her sister-in-law, "I came here to get the truth. I heard about it; and this made me more anxious to come and see you." Again she says, "I see the Sabbath so plain that I dare not disobey it." It was asked her if she expected to open her eyes in heaven. "O no! Sweet grave, I shall soon rest there." Again: Have you a comfortable hope? "O yes! the Lord's will be done. Dear sister Lucy, I do expect to meet you in heaven." Her mother was with her on this visit, and a sister from Ohio, who deeply mourned her death. Funeral services were attended by the writer, who spoke on the subject of death, the resurrection, and the second coming of Christ. Our oldest son, Wilson F. Castle, died with typhoid fever, Nov. 3d, aged two years and eight months. "Thou art gone to the grave, but 'twere wrong to deplore thee,
When God was thy ransom, thy guardian and guide;
He gave thee, he took thee, and soon he'll restore thee,
Where death hath no sting since the Saviour hath died." Men will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, anything but live for it. Extracts from Letters.
By Editor
Bro. A. H. Robinson writes from Sandy Creek, N. Y.— "Bro. Smith, I love the paper; and it would seem hard to do without it. I think of you and others connected with the Office; and when you rest from your cares upon the holy Sabbath, my prayer has been that the Lord would refresh your body and mind. "I believe that we are living in the Laodicean state of the church, and I desire to take heed to the counsel that I may have the gold that has been tried in the fire, and white raiment to put on, and eye-salve that I may see. I do feel that the testimonies that are being given by the servants of the Lord in regard to our being in a lukewarm state, and comprising the Laodicean state of the church, is meat in due season. The Spirit of the Lord is with this testimony." Bro. Frisbie writes from Parma, Mich.:— "I was at Ceresco last Wednesday eve, where a school-house was nearly filled with attentive hearers, and there was an anxiety manifested to hear more. I expect to return to Ceresco next Monday to continue lectures in that place as long as necessary." Bro. Jesse Dorcas writes from Fremont Ohio, Nov. 17th, 1856:— "Bro. Smith, I want to say to the church abroad, through the Review, that I will be one of twenty that will help to rub out two hundred dollars of the remaining Office debt, and what may be over I trust will not remain long. Come, brethren, let us take hold of this matter like men of God. The brethren connected with the Office have hard pulling enough without having that matter dragging on their hands. "Suffer a word of my experience. Dear brethren and sisters, It is now about two years since the Lord in his merciful providence sent Bro. Bates to this place with the light of the Third Angel's Message. O, glory to God! I never shall forget the day. It was the beginning of a new era in my life; and though two years are past, I still find that I have made an excellent exchange in giving up error for truth. We begin to see here, that we have great need of "eye-salve, and white raiment," and have determined to renew our covenant with God, to become more fully sanctified; to be more sensibly affected with the requirements of the service of our God. "We were favored, recently, with a visit from Bro. and Sister Stewart, of Cleveland. I am happy to say, that so far as I understand their sentiments and feelings, they are with us in the work of the Third Angel's Message. May the Lord bless them and make them useful in his cause. "I do thank the Lord for the sign of the Sabbath. I see the use of it now, to separate and seal his people." Bro. Z. Andrews writes from Hartford, Wis.:— "We now live so far from any Sabbath-keepers that we cannot often have the privilege of meeting with them. We feel sometimes that we should almost get discouraged were it not for the words of encouragement that the Review brings to us weekly. We feel thankful that we have been permitted to enjoy its weekly visits so long. We feel that we are not worthy to have it without paying for it; and as we do not wish to be burdensome to others, I suppose it will not be best to send it to us any more until we can meet its expense. We have carefully preserved and bound together all the numbers of the Review that we have received, and we can read them over and over again, for instruction and encouragement, until we are able to take it again." [Dear brother, there are many brethren who would esteem it a privilege to pay the cost of your paper rather than that one who loves it so well should be deprived of it.—Ed.] Sister L. N. Buzzell writes from Brookfield, Vt.:— "I want to say to the brethren and sisters scattered abroad, that I am striving to overcome every besetting sin, and get my heart right in the sight of God. I praise the Lord that I was ever brought to see the Commandments and to strive to keep them. I hope that I shall be able to endure, so that I may have a right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates into the city. I want to be one that shall stand on mount Zion with the 144,000 that will be redeemed from the earth. I love to read the Review, especially the communications from the brethren and sisters." COMMUNICATIONS.
By Asenith Southworth
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another." BRO. SMITH :—It is now near five years since I first learned there were a people called Sabbath-keepers, and was led to search for Bible truth, and embrace the Third Angel's Message, and obey God by keeping all his Commandments. As it is ever cheering to hear from dear brethren and sisters scattered abroad, duty calls me to contribute towards encouraging others to live out all the truths of the gospel, and overcome through the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, for such only have the promise of a crown of life. For such a promise I feel truly thankful, and rejoice in view of the blessed prospect if faithful of immortality and eternal life beyond this vale of tears; and I am resolved to pursue the narrow way to that blessed abode, where sickness and sorrow, pain and death are feared and felt no more. When I look back upon the Advent movement in 1843-4, and the passing of the time, believing as I then did that God's hand was in the work, I now see why God's people were disappointed. The light of present truth reveals the past and shows clearly that the Third Angel's Message must follow the two former. I am truly thankful I ever heard it, and that God gave me a heart to receive it, and embrace its precious truths; and I pray that I may be enabled to live it out, suffer reproach for the sake of the blessed Redeemer, and reign with him at his appearing and kingdom. For one I feel grateful for the Testimony for the Church, No. 2. I found it meat in due season. God will have a pure church, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. He has placed the precious gifts in the church for the benefit of his people. Praise his holy name. Of late I have been passing through severe trials. I have been called to part with my dear companion, and am left in a lonely condition. But I feel that my loss is his gain. "I walk alone, and oft am sad,
And falls the briny tear,
My heart is grieved with trials sore,
And pressed with many a care."
Yours in hope. ASENITH SOUTHWORTH.
E. Hardwick, Vt. JOSEPH L. HAKES
By Joseph L. Hakes
BRO. SMITH:—I am very anxious to contribute my mite for the encouragement of the few Commandment-keepers that are scattered here and there throughout this land. I have been brought to bow myself low at the feet of Jesus, by the light of the Third Angel's Message; and I bless the Lord continually for it. For two or three years past I had been a very profane young man. I grew worse and worse, till God in his infinite mercy sent Bro. Daniels to our place. He showed us the three messages, and the Sabbath especially. I was strongly convicted on hearing the first lectures. The Spirit of God strove hard with me for three or four weeks. It conquered; and now I know the worth of the Christian's hope. O dear friends and brethren, I can now tell what the Lord has done for me, and I earnestly pray that ere long I may be enabled to show the last message of mercy which God has given to this wicked world. I know we have got the truth, and if we do not abide by it, we shall be lost; yes, lost forever. Our thoughts must be on Jesus; for the wrath of an insulted God will soon be poured out upon the world. We see the nations are angry. The image of the beast will soon speak; and then we shall need to have on the whole armor. But we need not fear; God will protect us. We must put all our trust in Jesus. He will stand by us if we are faithful. May the blessing of God our Father and the Lord Jesus be with us all. Amen. Rejoicing in the Truth
By P. D. Lawrence
BRO. SMITH:—We do not begin to realize the worth of jewels, which God will gather into his casket in the day of gathering; when we do, we shall fulfill the command of Jesus, which is so much contended for: Love one another as I have loved you. How great was that love! and yet how few love to obey it. I for one do not yet love as I am bidden; but am trying to live by every word of God until I do. I can say I rejoice in the truth. I can rejoice that God's word has led me down here, though I have made crooked paths, yet the path which will lead me into the City, is one straight path and very narrow, and few find it. The way is plain if we exactly follow the word. We can discern the beast and his image, and the lamblike horns. I think he is about speaking like a dragon. Soon we shall hear his voice more fully; and then those who love God's holy day, can show their love by their works, when the decree goes forth, then we shall be able to discern between him that loveth God, and him that loveth him not. We can rejoice in the truth; but when we look about us and see the many dear ones with no light in their dwellings, it makes me sad; and instead of much rejoicing, I feel like weeping. I often think of Esther, when she fasted and tore her hair, that her nation was so soon to be destroyed; and shall we be very joyful in such a time as this? We have need to seek meekness and righteousness before the decree goes forth; for there is only a "may be" that we shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger; and if the righteous are scarcely saved, where will the sinner and the ungodly appear? P. D. LAWRENCE.
North Berwick, Me.