The Review and Herald, Review and Herald, Vol. 47, No. 15.
CAN SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS JOIN THE GRANGERS?Page 1
Earlier text: CAN SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS JOIN THE GRANGERS?THE IMMORTAL YOUTH OF JESUS.
By Wm. Hauser
“His soul was not left in hades, neither did his flesh see corruption.” Acts 2:27; Ps. 16:10. A touching story is told by a London paper of some miners who, not many years ago, working far underground, discovered the body of a young man who had perished in that suffocating pit forty years before. By chemical means in that laboratory of nature decay had been prevented, and the body of the fine, sturdy young man looked perfectly natural—hair jet black, and not a convulsion mark on the face. No one knew him. A generation had come and gone while he lay sleeping under ground. But a tottering old woman, who had heard the news, came hurrying from her cottage. She knew him. He was to have been her husband on the day after that on which he died. There were no dry eyes when this poor woman cast herself on his dead body, and poured into his deaf ears words of endearment unused for forty years. It was a touching contrast, the one so old, the other so young. Time had gone on with the living, but had stood still with the dead. Jesus was crucified at thirty-three years of age—in all the beauty, glory, and strength of his young manhood. Just as he fell, so he rose. His flesh saw not corruption. And John says, “We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”—Wm. Hauser, in Standard and Journal. [The words and sentiment of these lines are so touching and so true that I send them for republication in the REVIEW. P. M. C.] This poem, which was so great a favorite with President Lincoln that he committed it to memory, was written by a Scotch clergyman named William Knox, who was born in 1789, and died in Edinburgh in 1829. Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?
Like a swift, fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud;
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave,
He passes from life to his rest in the grave. The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade,
Be scattered around, and together be laid;
And the young and the old, and the low and the high,
Shall moulder to dust, and together shall lie. The child whom a mother attended and loved;
The mother, that infant’s affection who proved;
The husband, that mother and infant who blessed;
Each, all, are away to their dwelling of rest. The maid, on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye,
Shone beauty and pleasure—her triumphs are by;
And the memory of those who loved her and praised,
Are alike from the minds of the living erased. The hand of the king who the scepter hath borne;
The brow of the priest who the mitre hath worn;
The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave,
Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave. The peasant, whose lot was to sow and to reap;
The herdsman, who climbed with his goats to the steep,
The beggar, who wandered in search of his bread;
Have faded away like the grass that we tread. The saint who enjoyed the communion of Heaven,
The sinner who dared to remain unforgiven,
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just,
Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust. So the multitude goes, like the flower and the weed
That wither away, to let others succeed;
So the multitude comes, even those we behold,
To repeat every tale that has often been told. For we’re the same things that our fathers have been;
We see the same sights that our fathers have seen—
We drink the same stream, and we feel the same sun—
And we run the same course that our fathers have run. The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think;
From the death we are shrinking, they, too, would shrink;
To the life we are clinging, they, too, would cling,
But it speeds from the earth like a bird on the wing. They loved, but their story we cannot unfold;
They scorned, but the heart of the haughty is cold;
They grieved, but no wail from their slumber may come;
They joyed, but the voice of their gladness is dumb. They died; aye, they died; and we, things that are now,
Who walk on the turf that lies over their brow,
Who make in their dwelling a transient abode,
Meet the changes they met on their pilgrimage road. Yea, hope, and despondency, pleasures and pain,
Are mingled together in sunshine and rain;
And the smile and the tear, and the song and the dirge,
Still follow each other like surge after surge. 'Tis the wink of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath,
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death;
From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud—
Oh! why should the spirit of mortal be proud? Perseverance.
By Olive E. McCord
This is a virtue that is not always as highly prized as it should be, though to insure success in any undertaking its possession is a positive necessity. In business circles we witness the results of its influence, and those lacking in this particular are soon most surely left behind in the world’s strife for place and power. While this fact is apparent to even the most casual observer, are we to expect a different result when we scan the religious portion of the world? Can we reasonably expect to see those churches or individuals in a prosperous condition that depend for prosperity upon the strength afforded by occasional revivals? Will they set before those who are looking to them for it an example of steady faithfulness? And who can tell the power that lies in a godly life, steadfastly adhered to, regardless of surrounding influences? My mind has been more particularly directed to this subject of late by such remarks as the following, which have appeared in the columns of the Review, “The members have become discouraged and have ceased to meet together, and some have even given up the observance of the Sabbath.” Now this sounds very strangely to me; not that I have not witnessed coldness among members of the churches now popular, but that those who have listened to the clear arguments of those fully competent to explain the Scriptures, have professed a thorough conviction of the practical necessity of observing the “commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,” have covenanted together to walk in newness of life, and have turned of their own accord from the follies of the world to lead lives of self-denial, in honor of the Lord who bought them with his own blood—to read that such have “crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh,” seems sad indeed. The hearts of his followers should be so thoroughly imbued with the love of Jesus, and a desire to honor the commandments which he, by his example, taught us are still binding upon those who profess his name, that their steady, unwavering faith would strike conviction to the hearts of their neighbors and friends. I have never seen a Sabbath-keeper, and while I can imagine the pleasure it would be to meet with those of the same faith, it still remains my privilege, as each recurring Sabbath is ushered in, to commemorate the wonderful events of creation, and thus honor the God who created and sustains all things through his Son, the Lord of glory. Nearly eight years have thus passed away, and though I may never listen to the voice of the living teacher, I yet have the word of God, which is the life of the soul, and shall I dare to falter while thus continually assured and comforted? Friends, you who have been labored with by faithful ministers, do not forget that your responsibility is greatly increased thereby, and if you fail, remember the eyes of the world are upon you, nor forget that angels, both good and evil, are watching for your final decision with the most intense interest. OLIVE E. McCORD.
Oregon City, Oregon. REFERRING to the alleged acquisition by England of the harbor of Mohammerah, at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates, an Austrian journal says that this is probably the first step toward the construction of the Euphrates Valley Railway, and the continuation of the policy which led to the purchase of the Suez Canal shares. “England has now one foot in the stirrup at Suez, and the other at Mohammerah. Russia will have to lower her flag; she has neither the material, power, nor the spirit to beat England out of the field. Was it to be expected that while Russia was advancing toward India, the statesmen of the richest and most cultivated nation of the world should look on with folded arms? The truth is that England is now as strong, and her policy is as great as in the time of William III. or of Wellington. She does not make any show of military strength, but she will get that when she wants it. A country which has so much money and so many resources, whose people are inspired with so grand a patriotism, and whose government acts with such a masterly policy, does not meet with the difficulties of Continental nations in raising an army. Let the English people only be convinced that their army requires developing, as seems to be the case since the Duke of Cambridge’s last speech, and the thing is as good as done.” I HAVE come to the conclusion if man, or woman either, wishes to realize the full power of personal beauty, it must be by cherishing noble hopes and purposes; by having something to do, and something to live for, which is worthy of humanity, and which, by expanding the capacities of the soul, gives expansion and symmetry to the body which contains it.—Prof. Upham. STRONG IN WEAKNESS.
By Sel.
“To suffer and grow strong.” It is not the natural sequence. Suffering begets weakness, as a rule. Few suffer long and keep their vigor undiminished. And we must all suffer. All? They are few who escape suffering. It comes to each in some form—suffering of the body, or mental anguish, or keen hurt of the soul. Does it come ever with a blessing? We know it does. We know that some characters find perfection through sorrow, even as Christ found his. For was there not a progression in our Saviour’s life? He was tempted, and in many forms; did he not grow strong to resist temptation? Surely that final test was a hard one when he hung alone in the death agony, and his heart cried out so piteously after the Father. It was bad enough to be forgotten of men, and bruised for their iniquities; it was infinitely worse to be forsaken of God. Through the suffering of sympathetic ministry, of the scorn of unbelievers, of long and bitter temptation, of agonizing prayer, of denial and betraying, of taunts and tortures, the Son of man grew strong. Through suffering of some sort, the best strength must come to each of us. When out of suffering comes strength, then is suffering a blessing. How shall the strength come? The answer may be found in Christ’s own life. He prayed much. He trusted ever in the Father and the Father’s love. In his prayers and his trust he grew strong. How else can men grow strong today?—Sel. THE SANCTUARY.
By Uriah Smith
Fifteenth Paper.—What Is the Sanctuary?
It will be observed that neither the holy nor most holy place, had any window; hence in the first apartment there was need of the candlestick with its seven lamps; and in regard to the second, where God dwelt, Solomon said, “The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.” 1 Kings 8:12. How impressive must have been the scene presented by the interior of this building. There were the walls, having all the appearance of massive and solid gold, and reflecting in a thousand directions the light of the seven lamps of the golden candlestick; there were the table of show-bread and altar of incense, glittering in its light like burnished gold; and there was the curtain that formed the gorgeous ceiling, with its mystic figures of cherubim in blue, and purple, and scarlet, adding its beauty to the brilliant scene. While in, beyond the second veil, was the glorious Shekinah, or visible manifestation of God’s glory, into the awful presence of which, except the high priest’s entrance once every year, no man could venture and live. Before the door of the tabernacle were placed the brazen laver, and the altar of burnt offering, and around the whole was erected the court with its curtains of fine twined linen. In the second year after Israel had departed from Egypt, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was reared up. And Moses spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and he put the testimony (the tables of the ten commandments) into the ark, and the mercy-seat upon it, and brought it into the tabernacle, and set up the vail; he placed the table of show-bread and golden candlestick in the first apartment, and lighted the lamps before the Lord; he put the golden altar of incense before the vail, and burnt sweet incense thereon; and on the altar, before the door of the tabernacle, he offered the burnt offering and the meat offering as the Lord commanded. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Ex. 40. He had now taken possession of his dwelling place, in the midst of his people. We have now before us the sanctuary as Moses erected it in the wilderness of Sinai, 1490 years before Christ. With its ark of the covenant, its mercy-seat, and its glorious Shekinah, it constituted the heart and center of Israel’s religious worship, under that typical system. The children of Israel being at this time in the period of their wanderings, the sanctuary as first given to them was adapted to their condition. It was so constructed that it could be easily taken down and borne with them in their journeys, and immediately erected wherever the divine presence, which accompanied them in a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, should direct them to pitch their camp. Num. 9:15–23. The Levites were consecrated to the service of the sanctuary, and were commanded to bear it, and all its sacred vessels, when the camp set forward. Thus it was with them during the forty years in which they journeyed in the wilderness. During this time, this building which God claimed as his dwelling place, and where his service was performed, is fifty-six times called the sanctuary, in the following instances: Ex. 25:8; 30:13, 24; 36:1, 3, 4, 6; 38:24–27; Lev. 4:6; 5:15; 10:4; 12:4; 16:33; 19:30; 20:3; 21:12 (twice), 23 (plural); 26:2; 27:3, 25; Num. 3:28, 31, 32, 38, 47, 50; 4:12, 15 (twice), 16; 7:9, 13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61, 67, 73, 79, 85, 86; 8:19; 10:21; 18:1, 3, 5, 16; 19:20. U. S. MOSES AND ELIAS.
By John G. Matteson
Luke 9 : 27–36, tells us how the kingdom of glory was seen in miniature by three of the apostles. Jesus was glorified and the light of Heaven shone round about him. Two men from the mansions of glory visited him, and talked with him of his departure from this world. When Peter and those that were with him awoke out of their sleep they saw the glory of the Lord and the two men that stood with him. Then their hearts were filled with joy, and they felt so happy that they desired to remain in this beautiful place and make it their home. Many have thought that at least one of the persons here spoken of, Moses, must have been a departed, immortal spirit, but this conjecture is not founded in truth. Elias, or Elijah, was translated bodily to Heaven. 2 Kings 2:11. When it is stated that Elias talked with Jesus, reference is made to that selfsame Elijah who once lived on the earth among the children of men. It does not denote merely his spirit or soul, but his whole spirit, soul, and body. No one can misunderstand this. “There talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias.” Verse 30. Elias is here spoken of as a man—not a disembodied spirit or soul. Peter did not see an invisible spirit, but he saw “the two men that stood with” Jesus. Verse 32. Neither did he see one man and one spirit, but two men. If Elias was there bodily, then Moses was also there bodily. If one of them was a man, the other was also a man. If Elias on the mount of transfiguration was the same person—the same Elias—who proclaimed the word of God among the children of Israel in the days of king Ahab, then Moses, who was seen with him, was also the same person who led the Israelites out of Egypt. How could these two men be with Christ on Mt. Tabor? Whence came they? If Elias came from Heaven, whither he had been translated, then Moses no doubt came from the same place. But Moses died and was buried. How, then, could he come from Heaven? The Lord could raise him up and take him home to himself. There are twenty and four elders around the throne of God in Heaven. They have been redeemed unto God from every kindred and people by the blood of the Lamb. Rev. 5 : 9. They have been made kings and priests unto our God, and shall reign on the earth. Verse 10. They are representatives of the people of God before his throne until the great day of redemption, when all the elect shall be gathered. Moses may be one of these elders. Is there any reference in the Bible to the fact that Moses was raised from the dead? Yes, Michael, the archangel, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses. Jude 9. Michael is the great prince of the people of God who shall raise them up at the last day. Dan. 12 : 1, 2; John 6 : 39. The Lifegiver would raise up Moses, but he that has the power of death would not let him go. Which one of the two came off victorious is seen on the mount of transfiguration. Jesus conquered the enemy. Moses came out from the tomb as really as Lazarus came out when he heard the voice of the Son of God. And Moses did not only receive life again, but he was glorified, and was seen in glory on the mount of transfiguration with Peter, James, and John. Luke 9 : 31. Would the Lord then suffer Moses to return to hades? Certainly not! No more than he would suffer Elias to return to his earthly, mortal condition after he had been clothed with immortality. Does not this contradict those texts which testify that Jesus was “the first-born from the dead,” Col. 1 : 18; “and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead?” Acts 26 : 23. Certainly not! The word “first” does not only mean first in point of time, but also first in dignity. The original word protos is thus defined by Greenfield: “First in time, order; first in dignity, importance, i. e., chief, principal, most important.” This is also seen by two parallel texts:— “But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.” Mark 10 : 31.
“And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” Matt. 20 : 27.
These two words “first” and “chief” are translated from protos, and all can see that they mean one and the same thing. None can deny that Jesus was the first of the resurrected dead in dignity and importance. He is the chief among the resurrected dead ones. The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of all other resurrections both before and after the time when he himself arose. But Jesus did not rise first in point of time. Some were raised by the prophets. “Women received their dead raised to life again.” Heb. 11 : 35. Lazarus, the daughter of Jairus, and the widow’s son, of Nain, were all raised from the dead before Christ. To avoid this plain truth, some have said that Christ was the first who was raised unto glory, and that this is what the Bible means when it says that Christ should be the first that should rise from the dead. We cannot shape the meaning of the Bible according to the desire of this or that person. All we can do, and all we wish to do, is to read what is there, and shape our ideas accordingly. The Bible does nowhere state that Christ should be the first that should rise from the dead unto glory. The words “unto glory” are added by men. In all other places in the Bible where the resurrection is spoken of in general, it denotes simply that the dead are raised unto life from the grave. Therefore it has also the same meaning here, since it is the same word used in the same manner. Thus we see a beautiful harmony in the Bible, when we believe simply what it says, and leave out all human additions. Moses and Elias were really with our Saviour on the mount of transfiguration. One was raised from the dead and clothed with immortality; the other had been changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality. Moses was a representative of the dead in Christ who shall be raised at the last day. Elias represented those who live on the earth and remain unto the coming of the Lord. These are all the subjects in the kingdom of glory. Christ, the king, was also there in glory. And a part of his kingdom shone with the light of Heaven and was surrounded by the wall of salvation. Thus the kingdom of God—in miniature—was seen by three of the apostles before they died. And by this they were very much strengthened in their Christian faith. 2 Pet. 1 : 16–20. THE MAKES-NO-DIFFERENCE THEORY.
By R. F. Cottrell
If any citizen should say, “It makes no difference whether we obey the laws of the State or not,” he would be esteemed wickedly lawless, or insane. Yet this is the way the law of God is spoken of by men of all classes, the clergyman and the layman, the non-professor and the skeptic. In the latter classes, it is not so much to be wondered at; for they do not profess to revere the Almighty, and, to the shame of the former, the latter have learned it from their lips, and only reiterate what they have heard from the pulpit and the pew. Ministers have said, deacons and private members have repeated it, and it is no wonder that worldlings of all degrees should join them in full chorus,—“It makes no difference which day you keep as the Sabbath, if you only keep one day in seven; it makes no difference whether you believe what the Scriptures teach of the second coming of Christ, if you are only ready;” and a large number of various classes sound the refrain: “It makes no difference whether you keep one day, or no day, or whether you have any faith in Christ, or not.” Some may listen with pious regret to this refrain, but they have sounded the key, and the others fully harmonize; they have set the ball in motion, and they cannot stop it; they have laid down the premises, the others only bring out the legitimate conclusion. And why do Christians thus encourage the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme? It is simply because they find themselves, by the traditions of their fathers, out of harmony with the law of God, and rather than turn and obey the law as it is, they manufacture arguments to excuse themselves in disobedience, and in offering to God a substitute for what he has commanded, impiously contending that it makes no difference. They would not dare treat the governor of the State in this way; but they seem to think that God is a great way off, and will not notice so trivial a matter. “Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.” How applicable to the case are the words of the Lord by117 the mouth of the prophet: “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore I have made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.” Mal. 2:7–9. It is worse than folly, it is impiety, to assert that the fourth commandment is binding—that the Sabbath of that commandment should be kept—and yet that it does not bind men to the observance of a particular day. God sanctified, set apart, separated, appointed, the seventh day, because it was his Sabbath, the day on which he rested from the work of creation. He rested only on the seventh day of the seven; therefore his Sabbath is no other day than that one of the weekly cycle so definitely and infallibly pointed out. And it will be finally discovered, to the infinite loss of many, that it makes a vast difference whether we obey God, or not. It is extremely silly, as well as wicked, to attempt to undermine the fourth commandment, and circumvent Infinite Wisdom, by beginning where you please to number the weekly cycle, and so make any day you choose the one required to be kept holy—the Sabbath of the Lord, that is, the day on which the Lord rested. It is attempting an impossibility; it is a flagrant violation of common sense; a thing that never would have been undertaken, but from the direst necessity to excuse self and maintain a tradition that had usurped the place of the Lord’s Sabbath and made void the fourth precept of his law. Ignorance will be the ground upon which many who lived in time past will be forgiven the sin of making the Lord’s holy Sabbath a secular day; but light has come, the time of ignorance is fast passing away, and those to whom the light has come cannot be excused on the same ground. The Judgment is at hand; and men will be weighed in the just balances of the law of God. The gospel will save those who have repented of their sins, found pardon through Jesus Christ, and have followed the example of Him who said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” Jesus is soon coming. The signs of the times, which are the fulfillment of the predictions of Jesus, prophets, and apostles, declare it in language too plain to the believer to be misunderstood. The Jews were condemned as unbelievers, because they did not discern the signs of their times. Christians of our day will have their faith tested also on the signs of the times. Faith in Christ embraces the promise of his return, and accepts the fulfillment of the signs he promised, and which have been fulfilled. It is becoming too late to say, It makes no difference whether we believe his promise and the fulfillment of the signs he gave, on the fulfillment of which he bids us know that his advent is at hand, even at the doors. The inquiring, observing Christian lacks no evidence on this point. Nothing but stubborn unbelief can much longer excuse itself from believing, saying, “It makes no difference, if we are only prepared.” It will be found too late, by many, that that excuse is only a hiding place for unbelief in the words of Jesus, and that it is vain to hope to be prepared for his coming while having no real confidence in his words. Yes, it will make a vast difference whether we be found in faith or unbelief. “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” R. F. COTTRELL. THE CONFERENCE.
By Uriah Smith
We gave last week a partial report of this good meeting. This was a special meeting of the General Conference, not designed to take the place of the regular annual meeting, to be held in connection with the Michigan camp-meeting in August next. We are happy to present this week the doings of the committee appointed to arrange the camp-meetings for the coming season. The meetings last year were precious seasons. We look for them this year to be crowned with a still greater measure of the blessing of God. One of the most interesting features of the Conference was the correspondence received. The earnest letters, calling for help, and stating the openings everywhere presenting themselves, showed that the Lord has gone out before us and is inviting us to follow. Letters which came from States where Conferences are organized will be referred to the Conference Committees of those States. Of others we are happy to note the following as examples:— A letter from Hampton Co., Ontario, stated that many thousands of pages of tracts had been distributed there, a great interest excited, some have already commenced to keep the Sabbath, three places were waiting for the living preacher to instruct more fully, baptize and organize churches; and a fourth would soon be ready for such labor. In one place the leading citizens contemplate paying for a hall, and say they must have some preaching on these subjects. Bro. Osborn appealed earnestly for Kentucky. There are now five organized churches in that State, besides two in Tennessee. The brethren there have pledged nearly enough to purchase a tent, and are arranging to have it in the field the coming summer. The Conference generously proposes to furnish a tent for that field, send Bro. O. a good assortment of books, and let them use their means for further missionary labor in that section. A very interesting letter was received from a brother in Coosa Co., Alabama, seventy years of age, who commenced to keep the Sabbath last October. He embraced religion at the age of thirteen, commenced to preach at fourteen, has been preaching ever since, fifty-six years, and is still at the work with a voice as strong as ever. He has a wife and eleven children, the youngest of whom is twenty-five years of age. He has resided in Alabama thirty years, and is known all through that country. He now preaches the Sabbath. Has had no doors shut against him as yet; and as the result of his efforts, quite a number have embraced the Sabbath, and ten ministers are now investigating the question. He says the prospect in his place and surrounding country is good for the spread of the truth. Brethren, are beginning, as is right, to think about tents for the coming summer. Many camp-meetings, and preachers' tents are wanted, and inquiries are coming in, in regard to the best place to buy, &c. It was the opinion of the Conference, not officially but individually expressed, that S. D. Adventists ought to have a tent making establishment of their own, by which tents of all kinds could be furnished to our people at a much less rate than we now have to pay. Thousands of dollars are paid out every year for tents, a good proportion of which might be saved to our cause, had we such an establishment of our own, and a person capable of conducting the business. SWITZERLAND
By D. T. Bourdeau
Progress in the Churches and on New Ground.
In our first tour among the churches in Switzerland we could scarcely do more than to acquaint ourselves with the situation of the brethren and sisters. We have now closed a second trip among the principal companies of Sabbath-keepers in this country. On this trip we have been encouraged in seeing several of the brethren resolve to take an advance step in the temperance reform by either deciding to use less wine, or by concluding to entirely abandon the use of this article, except in case of sickness. The work had received quite an impetus at the last meeting that we reported in the REVIEW. Two of the brethren went from this meeting to the church of La Coudre, where seven at once made a solemn pledge to adopt abstinence from wine as the rule. Others have pursued a similar course. We are closing the translation of the matter we need most for the new fields, and are in the midst of a brief course of lectures in Locle, where we have been residing for two months, and where there are sixteen keeping the Sabbath. This is the third effort at presenting the truth in this place, which is a city of 11,000 inhabitants, whose principal business is watch-making. We struck off 2,000 hand-bills of the size of one leaf of the REVIEW, and by means of a city directory, and through the post-office, provided each family with the programme of our “conferences.” The result is that our hall was filled to overflowing. We have reached the subject of the second message, and though we cannot look for so bountiful a harvest as we would in a new field, yet we hope God will give us encouraging additions. Some are deeply affected. Several follow us closely with their Bibles, among whom is the first teacher of the college. I have just received a very interesting letter from a person in this place who is hindered from attending our meetings by bitter opposition, but invokes God’s blessing on our effort, and wishes to be remembered by us in our prayers, that deliverance may come. Locle, Switzerland, March 21, 1876. “VERILY I say unto thee to-day, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. I make this promise unto thee to-day, while I am suffering the pains of the crucifixion. And at this moment, while the visible church and its wise men and its prelates are adding to my burdens and pains by their scorn and abuse, thou, a poor penitent criminal, art causing in my heart an unalloyed joy, and a holy pleasure, in the midst of my dying agony, as I realize in anticipation the ineffable joys I shall confer upon thee, and such as thou art, penitent, and made free in my future kingdom. In the sweet language of confession, thy words, just falling from thy lips, convey to my heart an infinite pleasure and comfort; they seem an earnest of other scenes in the future, when the truth shall reach distant nations, and future ages and untold numbers, shall, like thee, repent in sorrow and bitterness and pain; and, like thee, shall reap a rich harvest, in my future kingdom; therefore, to-day I do promise unto thee a place in paradise. Yes, on this memorable day, the last of my earthly life, a day made memorable by the woes and pains I suffer, and by the crimes of my murderers, some of whom, like thee, will repent and find mercy, to-day I promise to thee a place in paradise. To-day, while forsaken of my friends, and tormented by my foes, and almost forsaken of my God, almost alone, on the terrible cross, my hands and feet pierced by the cruel nails, and my spirit bowed down beneath the sins of a world, yes, to-day, it affords me an infinite pleasure to give pardon and peace to a repentant sinner. To-day, as the earthquake rends the solid mountains, and darkness vails the sun, and earth hides her face in the darkness from the strange scene; to-day, while the Son of God suffers the agony of the atonement, and while wicked men and vile spirits gather around to insult and wound their Redeemer, thou, O penitent thief, art, in this thine hour of trial, a model of sincere and godly repentance; thou art free, and wise, and upright, in this thy final judgment and conclusion; therefore, to-day I set thee free from thy load of sin, and assume thy case at the bar of the Judge of the universe. To-day, the last day of the Mosaic dispensation, to-day, as I by my death rend the vail, and abolish the forms and ceremonies of the earthly temple, and assume the priesthood in my own person, I begin the work by an act of pardon and clemency to thee, O repentant and dying sinner. “Turn you to the strong-hold, ye prisoners of hope; even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee.” Zech. 9:12. In Rev. 17 : 16 we read that the ten kingdoms should hate the harlot, the papacy, and make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her with fire. The following facts show how this scripture is receiving its fulfillment, and this desolating process is going forward. Under the heading of “Persecution in Germany,” the Home Journal, a Roman Catholic paper, published in Detroit, Mich., says:— “The following letter appeared in the London Times of Tuesday, Jan. 25, 1876:— “Sir: Will you allow me to call attention to the present condition of the Catholic clergy in Germany? A committee consisting of Lord Petre, Lord Arundel, of Wardour; Lord Howard, of Glossop; Lord Emly, Monsignor Patterson, the Rev. H. J. Coleridge, Mr. T. W. Allies, Mr. John Young, Jr., Mr. J. H. Pollen, M. W. H. Lilly, and myself, have been engaged for some months in making inquiries on the subject, and we are now in a position to state the following facts:— “1. By the law of April 22d last, an annual sum of between £135,000 and £150,000 has been withdrawn from the Catholic church of Prussia. “2. This sum, the due payment of which had been solemnly guaranteed by concordats between the Prussian government and the holy see, was by no means a State subsidy to the Catholic church, but an allowance made in consideration of sequestrated ecclesiastical property of far greater annual value. “3. The number of priests whose income is thus stopped, either wholly or in part, is about 10,000. “4. The only terms on which the clergy are entitled under the law of the 22d of April to claim the resumption of the payments thus stopped are by entering into a written engagement with the government to ‘obey the laws of the State,’ among which are the ‘Falck’ laws. “5. The Falck laws are simply incompatible with the practice of the Catholic religion, providing as they do, inter alia, that the education of the clergy shall be conducted in State universities in which anti-Christian principles are openly taught; that no disciplinary power shall be exercised in Prussia by the pope; and that bishops may be deposed by the sentence of a purely civil court, the Royal Gerichtshof. The clergy have therefore been called upon to choose between beggary and apostasy. They have chosen beggary. “6. But this is not all. In many instances the exercise of purely spiritual functions has been punished as a criminal offense; the ordinary public worship of the church, the administration of the sacraments, even the burial of the dead have been treated as crimes. Six bishops and a very large number of priests have been deprived of their personal liberty; some are confined with, and treated as, common criminals, and thousands of the faithful are without pastors and spiritual consolation. “7. Nor is it possible for the Catholics of Prussia to do much for the support of the impoverished clergy who as yet have not been thrown into prison. It was stated in a telegram which appeared in your columns on the 10th of May last, that orders had been sent to the district administrators, according to which collections were made, without the sanction of the governor of the province, to compensate Catholic priests for the penalties inflicted upon them, constituted offenses punishable by law.” We are in possession of evidence that in many provinces the order is being enforced, and that in the poorer parishes, especially in rural ones, the clergy are suffering the greatest privations, which their people are unable to relieve. A very high authority states that in the dioceses of Treves, Hildesheim, Limburg, Fulda and Culm it is utterly impossible for the faithful to support their priests, and any protest by the laity, through the public press or otherwise, against the policy of the government, is repressed by fine and imprisonment. “In such circumstances it appears to us that an appeal may confidently be made on behalf of those sufferers for conscience’ sake. Acknowledged to be men of exemplary lives and entire devotion to the duties of their sacred calling—the only crime alleged against them being their refusal to submit to the dictation of the State in matters of religion—they are entitled, as it seems to us, to the respect, compassion, and active sympathy of all Englishmen. “I am, sir, your obedient servant,
“E. M. Norfolk.”