Signs of the Times — N. H. Barbour Mentioned (July 15, 1875)
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Signs of the Times.
"Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." REV. xxii : 12.
VOLUME 1.
OAKLAND, CAL., FIFTH-DAY, JULY 15, 1875.
NUMBER 36.
The Signs of the Times
OAKLAND, California.
TERMS: TWO DOLLARS a year to those who choose to pay a subscription price, and FREE to all others as far as the paper is sustained by the donations of the liberal friends of the cause.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
The Love of God.
CAN all the language we possess
The love of God in words express?
Oh! wondrous thought that from on high
Jesus should come to earth to die.
To fit a home for all the blest;
So they with him may ever rest;
To guide, direct, and dry their tears,
And reign with Christ a thousand years.
The months and years are passing by,
Look up, dear ones, redemption's nigh,
And all the mansions near complete
For all the saints to take their seat.
With all the angels in his train,
Soon our dear Lord will come again;
And shall I of that number be,
Who then that glorious sight shall see?
Oh! let us all by faith and prayer,
Be sure to gain admittance there;
So we may all with Jesus be,
And spend a long eternity.
S. F.
The Sermon.
BY J. H. WAGGONER.
THE LAW OF GOD.—No. 7.
THE subject of the two covenants, which we have considered, brings us to a consideration of the change of dispensation. This, in the estimation of many, effects a change in, or abolition of, the divine law. We will first notice that
A CHANGE OR ABOLITION OF GOD'S LAW IS
UNREASONABLE.
We have already shown that the holiness required in the present dispensation is identical with that required in the past dispensation, having the holiness of God himself for its model or foundation. He said, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." Holiness in the precept, "Be ye holy," cannot change unless holiness in the declaration, "For I am holy," shall change. But the holiness of God cannot change while his attributes remain unchanged; or we might say, while he remains God.
We have also seen that his law of ten commandments was the rule by obeying which they would be holy. In doing that law they would form right and holy characters, because that law is a holy law. It being an expression of the will God, it is to us a revelation of the divine character or attributes. For there must be perfect harmony between the divine attributes and the divine will. God cannot deny himself, neither can he change. Our relation to God teaches the same thing.
There can be no difference between the attributes of God and the principles of his government. As God is just, justice must be an attribute of his government. As God is love, so also must love pervade his government. As God is immutable, so also the principles of his government must be unchangeable. We cannot conceive of his possessing an attribute which does not shine forth in his government.
Man is a moral agent; he is on probation to develop a moral character, and he will be judged at last on a basis purely moral, because God, the judge, is a moral governor. But moral law, emanating from the divine mind, cannot change, or pass away.
But as law is the basis of government, for there is no government where there is no law, so of course whatever applies to his government applies to his law. Therefore, to understand the attributes of God, we have
but to understand his will, or law, for the latter necessarily grows out of the former. And so our declaration is vindicated, that the law is a revelation of the attributes or character of God.
Now as God, the moral governor, cannot change, and as man is a moral agent, and is required to be holy because God is holy, and the law or will of God is given as the rule of holiness, or the means of forming his moral character, how can that rule change? We are constrained to believe that they who argue for the abolition or change of the law of God—the divine rule of right and morality—do so because they have been misled by superficial views of great principles, not having carefully examined the subject of the divine government, and our relation to it. Of course we now speak of those who have been misled, and who think they are "doing God service," even while advocating dangerous errors. There is another class, and we fear it is not small, whose opposition to the law of God is best explained by Paul where he says, "The carnal mind is at enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be." Rom. 8:7.
This latter class dislike the law because it condemns, and will not justify, them. There is a conflict between them and the law; and the question arises, Which party is right? If they are right and the law is wrong, then the law ought to be put aside, they ought to be vindicated or justified. But if the law is right and they are wrong, then the law ought to be maintained, and they should be condemned. But observation, reason and Scripture, prove that they are wrong—they are sinners and deserve condemnation for their sins. Therefore, if the law condemns them, it does just what it ought to do. The very fact that they complain of the law because it condemns sin and sinners proves that they are worthy of the condemnation under which they rest.
We say that reason, as well as Scripture, sustain us in this position. These persons confess that there is a conflict between them and the law. They are opposed to it, and it condemns them. And this is the ground of their complaint, that it will not justify them. Now looking at the world of mankind, beholding the evil everywhere prevailing, and the evidences that man is a fallen, degenerate creature, can we reasonably conclude that a law would emanate from a holy God which morally considered, is lower than mankind? We cannot. Had man never fallen, had he always maintained his purity of character, the law of God would still have been superior to him, as no person can rise above the law to which he is amenable. Especially could not the creature rise above the law of the Creator. This being true, much more is it true that fallen, sinful creatures cannot rise above the law of a holy God, the law itself being holy. When a conflict arises, the sinful creature must stand condemned, and the law of God must be vindicated.
It is a reflection on the honor and justice of any government to abolish its law while there exists an open rebellion against it. For,
This argument, reduced to the following form, will show at a glance that our position is the only one which reason can approve:—
If the law was unjust it ought to be abolished. But this fact would palliate the action of the rebels, justify the rebellion, and prove that the governor, or lawgiver, was unjust. Or,
If the law was just it ought not to be abolished, but rather enforced, and the rebels either be made to submit to it or be punished. For a governor to abolish a just law in order to favor criminals, is to favor crime and to trample down right and justice.
And thus, whichever way it is viewed, they who argue the abolition of the law justify rebellion and reproach the government of God.
And that position is not only unreasonable and reproachful to God's government viewed in its effect upon the law, but it reflects dishonor upon the gospel, by perverting it to a system of license, instead of vindicating justice by a well-guarded pardon. In this respect they who preach the abolition of the
law, or denounce it because it will not justify the sinner, treat it as no man would presume to treat the law of the State in which he resides. Every one will confess that the law of the land is right in condemning the thief and the murderer; they do not find fault with it because it will not justify such criminals. No one will claim that the criminal can escape the penalty of the law but by means of the pardon of the governor. No one will argue that the pardon granted by the governor releases the pardoned one from obligation to obey the law he had transgressed. No one will affirm that the pardon thenceforward becomes the rule of life, or the means of condemnation for future transgression. It is a truth beyond dispute that abolition of law and pardon of the transgressor of that law cannot be united or go together. One would be a nullity if both were attempted. For a law cannot condemn a man after it is abolished, and of course an offer of pardon under such circumstances would be only mockery. Truly such a theory is more than a perversion of the gospel: it subverts the gospel by destroying its foundations.
ABOLITION OF THE LAW IS DISPROVED BY SCRIPTURE.
We shall present but a few points at present under this head, but all that has been said on the nature of the law and on the two covenants, and all that shall be said under various heads, is a confirmation of this proposition.
The proof that the law existed before the exode proves that it is not affected by a change of dispensation. As it did not originate with the introduction of the Levitical economy, so it did not cease when that dispensation passed away.
It has been shown that the law is the basis or condition of both covenants; that it was kept by Abraham, the father of the faithful; that it stands against the sinner, whether Jew or Gentile, to bar him from the blessing of Abraham; and that it was confirmed a law, an everlasting covenant to Israel. Therefore its abolition is impossible.
Jehovah said they would be holy if they kept it, which shows it to be a rule of holiness, and as such cannot pass away till the requirement to be holy can cease.
"The law of the Lord is perfect." Ps. 19:7. Perfection, in moral matters, cannot be improved. Were the law less than perfect it could not be a rule of holiness. Being perfect it cannot be changed without making it imperfect, nor can it be abolished without abolishing perfection and the rule of holiness.
This is strongly confirmed by Eccl. 12: 13, 14: "Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man." When this was written man's nature and relations were exactly what they now are. The requirement to be holy was then just what it now is. It was and is, to be holy because God is holy. Man was on probation as a moral agent, to develop a holy character, to fit himself to stand in the Judgment before a holy God. What a monstrous absurdity to suppose, in the face of Scripture and reason, that a law which defines the whole duty of a moral agent should, for any cause, be abolished. That God to accommodate his government to the circumstances of rebels, should abolish the righteous laws which defined the whole duty of his subjects, would be truly a wonder. It might be very pleasing to them, but could not be to his glory. It would affect, not only the stability of his government, but the integrity of his character.
"My salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." Isa. 51:6. This refers to the law of God, and is a direct statement that it shall not be abolished. It must either refer to his law, or to his personal character. That it refers to his attributes or personal character is unreasonable, yes, impossible; for the idea of the abolition of his personal righteousness is too absurd to receive notice. But referred to his law, which is the foundation of his righteous government, the expression is reasonable and, as a revelation, is necessary. And there is proof that it has this application. In Ps. 119:172, it is said, "All thy commandments are righteousness."
Now as the character of the divine Lawgiver is best revealed to us through the revelation of his will, and as his attributes must of necessity be shown forth in his government, the stability of his character must o course be shown by the stability of his government, or law. For it would be of little account to declare in words that he was unchangeable if he showed in his actions, in the administration of his government, that he was not.
This application of the text is confirmed, not only by Ps. 119:172—all thy commandments are righteousness—but, by the context of the verse under consideration. "Hearken unto me ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law." Isa. 51:7. And again, Rom. 3:21, which says that the law witnesses to the righteousness of God. This is sufficient proof of all that we have said concerning the relation of God's law to his attributes or character. Did the opposers of the law realize the full force and importance of this testimony we think they would pause in their mad career, and tremble at the bare thought of the result of their action.
"He will magnify the law, and make it honorable." Isa. 42:21. Magnify, says Webster, "to extol; to exalt; to elevate; to raise in estimation." Do they who oppose the law believe the Saviour did such a work as this? If they believe that scripture we should never learn this fact from their writings. Could it be extolled, exalted, or elevated by its abolition? Did he "raise it in the estimation" of those his professed followers who spare no pains to disparage it? Can they discover any harmony with this prophecy in their own actions? in their treatment of the law?
But again, "he will make it honorable." This does not mean that it was not honorable before; for we know that God always highly honored his law. The reason why the ark was so greatly honored and carefully guarded was that it contained the law of Jehovah. God ever honored those who honored his law, and turned away from those who rejected it. The text means that he will make it still more honorable; especially as it had been dishonored and rejected. He will rescue it from the reproach which men have cast on it, and elevate it, raise it in estimation higher than it had before been held. So Paul says in Rom. 3:31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Thus we have both the work of Christ and the position of his true followers pointed out in these texts.
The law had been dishonored by transgression and rebellion. He came to vindicate its claims, to suffer its penalty, thereby showing its sacredness and perpetuity. He enforced it on men by openly declaring that he did not come to destroy it, and that they who keep it and teach men so will be greatly esteemed in the kingdom of Heaven; by teaching it as the rule of life; by showing that it hangs on the painciple of love; and by writing it in the hearts of his people in the new covenant. His people join in his work by doing and teaching it; by loving it, by consenting that it is holy, just, good, and spiritual; by showing in all their life that it is written in their hearts.
On the other hand, how do the opposers say the Lord Jesus magnified the law, and made it honorable? By breaking it himself; by teaching others to do so; by abolishing it; by inspiring his apostles to denounce it as a yoke of bondage! If they are not shocked by the irreverence of their position, they ought at least to be struck with its absurdity.
"I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Ps. 40:8. We learn by Heb. 10 that these are the words of the Son of God to his Father. And this shows that it was love of the law which led him to magnify it and make it honorable. As the Saviour loved the law—as it was in his heart—how can he also love those who despise and contemn it? As it was his work to glorify his Father by magnifying his law and making it honorable, by rescuing it from the reproach of men, how can he take delight in those who reproach it, and strive to bring THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
it into contempt? We think he cannot. We think when "God shall bring every work into Judgment, and every secret thing," that they who, in probation, "fear God, and keep his commandments," will find acceptance with him; they will have right to the tree of life, and will enter in through the gates into the city. But the workers of iniquity, however strong may be their profession of faith in Christ, will be caused to depart from him. Matt. 7:21-23.
Thus far we have considered the declarations of the Old Testament. Before giving direct testimony from the New, we will show the harmony between the two; that the New endorses and upholds the Old, but does not supercede or invalidate it.
Hope of the Gospel.
CHRIST'S COMING NOT DEATH.
Did the disciples understand that Christ meant death when he spake to them of his second coming? We have a most forcible illustration of the fact that they did not so understand it in Christ's words concerning the beloved disciple: "Then, Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following (which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?). Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." Did they decide that John the beloved disciple was going to die soon? Let us see: "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Here is the most positive evidence that the disciples of Christ understood his coming to refer to something besides death.
Calling death the coming of Christ would make an absurdity of the testimony of Paul to the Philippians, quoted above; for it would make him assert that our bodies were fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body when they go into the grave. Paul was not expecting to go to Heaven at death, but he was waiting for Christ to come from Heaven. Not when his body should go into the grave, but when the time should arrive for it to be changed and fashioned like Christ's body. His language in the same chapter plainly shows us what encouraged him to labor and suffer. "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Verse 11. The Greek term employed in this text, and rendered resurrection, is ex anastasis, which signifies a rising from the dead, or, as Greek scholars say it might be rendered, "out from among the dead." Paul did not merely wish to rise, but he wished to have a "part in the first resurrection."
The testimony of Christ to his disciples as he was about to leave them, is important, when considered in its bearings upon this subject: "Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and, as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go ye cannot come, so now I say to you." John 13:33. By looking at chap 7:33, 34, we shall see what Christ had said unto the Jews: "Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, thither ye cannot come." The testimony of Christ to the apostles, that they could not go with him, called forth earnest Peter who said, "Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake? Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." John 13:36-38.
This testimony of Christ troubled the mind of the disciples. Their hearts had been endeared to him by his many acts of benevolence, but now he tells them he is going back to Heaven—going to return to his Father, and that they cannot go. But he gives a word of consolation to cheer their troubled hearts. "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3. This text is often quoted: "I go to prebeing with Christ until he comes. "I will come again, and receive you unto myself."
This text is often quoted: "I go to prepare a place for you," "that where I am, there ye may be also," thus designing to convey the idea that the saints go to be with Christ at death. But the text presents no
James says: "Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:7,8. This text shows that, as the husbandman reaps his harvest, so the people of God, the wheat of the earth (Matt. 3:12) are to be gathered when Christ comes.
Peter bears an interesting testimony on the subject of the hope as follows: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope [hope of life] by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season (if need be) ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Christ." 1 Peter 1:3-7. From the testimony of Peter, we learn that the saints' inheritance is reserved, to be revealed in the last time. Peter himself shows that the last time is the coming of Christ. It is at the coming of Christ that the lively hope, or hope of life, is to be realized.
In giving his charge to the elders, Peter uses words that have an important bearing on this question also: "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ: and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lord's over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Pet. 5:1-4.
Christ is the Chief Shepherd; ministers of the truth are under shepherds, called upon to labor, endure, deny self, and suffer for the good of the flock. To encourage them in the self-denying way, Peter points them to the great fact that Christ, the "Chief Shepherd," is to return; that, when he returns, they shall "receive a crown of glory." Then the crown is not promised at death, but "at the appearing of Jesus Christ."
We have now shown that the unanimous testimony of the New Testament, as well as the Old, is, that at the coming of Christ is the time when the saints are to receive their reward.
THE RESURRECTION.
The manner in which the resurrection is treated in the Bible, is such as to show that the dead are not rewarded, or receiving the accomplishment of their hope, between death and the resurrection. We, of course, take the position of a literal resurrection of the body. We will examine still further upon this subject. We shall see that this resurrection is not being brought up from their reward, but brought up in order to receive their reward.
There are some who talk about the resurrection as the rising of the soul from the body, at death, to Heaven; or of the resurrection as a resurrection of the person from a state of sin to a life of holiness. But the resurrection of which we speak, and what we understand the Bible to present, is a resurrection of those who are asleep in death. In claiming that the resurrection is literal, we wish to be understood. We claim that the resurrection brings up the man, possessing the same identity as the man that goes down into the grave.
We shall not follow at length the finelyspun philosophical argument in regard to the passage of the matter of one body into the formation of other bodies, after decomposition. We consider it no objection to the Bible doctrine of the resurrection, 1. For the reason that not a thousandth part of such a decomposed body ever becomes an actual component part of an other human body, even on their own hypothesis. 2. Because a substance lost to our sight, may, under the action of God's chemistry, be made again to appear, as well as for man, by his chemistry, to bring to light material that has disappeared from human sight. Notice the case of silver dissolved in aquafortis. Nothing is visible to human sight except what appears like milky colored water. A little common salt separates the silver from the solution, and causes it to fall on the bottom of the dish, from whence it can be gathered again,
and melted, with but a very slight loss of its former weight. So God may have materials in his laboratory that may be brought to bear to cause the dead to live again. 3. We do not consider it absolutely necessary to have every identical particle of matter to produce the identical individual in the resurrection.
If the particles of matter of which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were composed, have entered into the formation of other bodies, God has promised that they shall live again. If in the resurrection three men are brought up preserving the identity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they will be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and no one else in the universe; for they will think the same thoughts which they thought, remember that they had performed the same acts which they had performed in their lives, and realize that they are the same beings that (as it seems to them) a short time before, were struggling in the agonies of death.
The same class of reasoners who claim that the matter of our bodies enters into the formation of other bodies when decomposed, contend that there is a constant change going on while we are still living. Some claim that our bodies are all renewed about once in the space of seven years. According to their reasoning, my body has been changed about five times since the period of my remembrance. But still I am conscious that I am the same being that I was before. What produces this consciousness? I answer, The memory of those events connected with my past life.
The objector may claim that the identity is preserved by the soul, and, although the body changes, the mind does not lose its identity, and that it never ceases to think. This is not the fact. There are scores of cases on record, where persons have lost their identity, and in fact all consciousness, for days, weeks, and even months, through disease of the body or injury of the brain, and when the healthy action of the brain was restored, their identity was also restored. I have room to insert but one case here, which was related to me by William Humphrey, of East Townsend, Huron Co., Ohio, in August, 1858. He said to me, one evening, at the close of a lecture on this subject, "Elder, you have explained to-night eighteen days of my life that I never knew what to do with before." Why, said I, how is that? He said, "When I was about eighteen years of age, I was working in a turning shop in the town of Goshen, Litchfield Co., Conn. I was engaged one day in turning a large wooden drum wheel for a shingle machine. I had nearly finished the job, when a young lady came in who worked in the house of my employer, and asked, 'What are you doing, Bill?' I answered, Wait a minute, and I will show you. I was going to start the lathe and sand-paper off the drum, which completed the job. I carelessly hoisted the gate and let the water on to the water wheel; but perceived I had too much motion on the lathe. I thought, I will go and shut the gate; but, at that instant, the drum burst into four pieces, and a piece weighing about sixty pounds struck me on the breast, shoulder, and head, dislocating my shoulder, breaking the collar bone twice, and crushing my right temple so that the skull bones were badly depressed upon the brain. I was taken into the house for dead. Physicians said it was useless to undertake to trepan me, as I could not live. My skull was so badly fractured they could not raise it from the brain. I lay unconscious of all around me, yet taking some nourishment in the shape of gruel, which I swallowed when placed into my mouth. By the eighteenth day, the edges of the skull had knit together, the inflammation had subsided, and consciousness returned, of which I had been deprived during this whole period. I called out, Shut that gate; for the last I remembered was starting to shut the gate. Since that time when I have heard it preached that the mind of man exists independent of the body, and never loses its consciousness, I would think of these eighteen days, and I could not harmonize the two. But," said he, "It's all straight now."
The body preserves its identity. Although changes are taking place in the body, it is a gradual process. A minute cell-structure is broken down and destroyed, but immediately a new one takes its place, and so gradual is the process, that scars and marks on the body still remain. I have scars on my hands that were wounds thirty years ago. I do not urge this to prove that my body contains the identical particles of matter it did then, but it does prove that although the particles of which my body is composed may have been changed several times, there is an identity in the arrangement of the particles of the body. We meet a friend whom we have not seen in years, and yet we instantly recognize each other's countenances though unexpectedly meeting. How is this if in the change of particles the body does not preserve its identity?
So in the resurrection, an identity of arrangement in man's organism, with what it was at his death, will constitute the identical man. He will look as he looked, think as he thought, remember having performed the same acts which he performed before his death. In God's book, all our members are written. Ps. 139:16.
But, as we have said before, with God's chemistry brought to bear, for aught we know, the essential particles may be produced. If it was left to us to raise the dead, of course we might say, "It can't be done." God has not left that for us to do, but proposes to raise them himself; and we do not conceive it to be any greater act of his power to raise man again than to create him at first.
Cavilers on this subject are well represented by Paul, who says, "Some man will say, How are the dead raised up?" To such we reply, They are raised by the power of God. Says Christ, "God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." And to the Sadducees, who are objecting to the resurrection, he said, "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." It is a lamentable fact, that even a great portion of the professed church of Christ, at the present day, deny the doctrine of the literal resurrection of the body; a doctrine so plainly taught by the Bible.
But we will notice a few more scriptures on the subject of the resurrection—scriptures of such character as to show us that there is no reward at death, and that without the resurrection there would be a failure of receiving the reward.
John gives an account of the sickness, death, and resurrection, of Lazarus. "After that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth: but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well." John 11:11. They supposed there was a favorable turn of the disease if he could rest. "Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe." Verses 14, 15. He was going to raise Lazarus, which would strengthen their faith, that they might believe. As they came near Bethany, Martha, the sister of Lazarus, met Jesus, and said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die. Believest thou this?" Verses 21-26.
The idea we get from the above, by comparing it with the statements of other scriptures, is this: Martha had carried the attention of Christ over to the last day. Jesus gives her to understand that he is the power of the resurrection, and that, at the last day, those who were dead, believers in him, should rise, and those who were alive, and believed in him, should not die. As Paul states, They will be "changed in a moment," from mortal to immortal.
Jesus with the two sisters of Lazarus, came weeping to the grave. After praying to his Father, he turns his attention to the grave, and cries, "Lazarus, come forth"! To suit theories of the present time, he should have cried, O immortal spirit of Lazarus, come down from Heaven, and animate this lifeless clay! But we get no intimation from his language that Lazarus came from any place but the grave.
J. N. LOUGBOROUGH. (To be Continued.)
A BAD LIFE.—Wilmot, the infidel, when dying, laid his trembling, emaciated hand upon the sacred volume, and exclaimed solemnly, and with unwonted energy, "The only objection against this book is a bad life!"
The chain of habit is commonly too light to be felt until it is too strong to be broken. This maxim is worth remembering, and pondering; particularly by moderate drinkers and beginners in the use of tobacco.
Search the Scriptures.
"SEARCH the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39. Dear brethren and sisters, in taking up the subject of studying the Scriptures, I do not know as I shall bring out any new ideas; but will try to refresh your minds, and stir you up to duty. What is meant by searching, or seeking; we are all well informed. When anything is lost the first thought is to "search for it." Webster thus defines to search: "To look over or through, for the purpose of finding something." "To inquire after, to seek for." Well, dear brethren, how is it; are we looking over the groundwork of our faith and hope, or are we carelessly drifting along with the current, or stranded upon some sand bar? Do we realize the time, and the responsibility that we are under to search the word of God? Hear Paul; in the Acts he brings to our view a class that were more noble than those in Thessalonica, and why? First, because they were more noble in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and secondly, because they searched the Scriptures daily.
How many of us take up the Bible and read a chapter at the morning altar, perhaps we get one of the very shortest in the New Testament, and read it hastily, then offer a short—shall I say—prayer, and then comes a hurry and a rush for the cares of life. Again, in the evening, the same scene presents itself with perhaps this difference, that we are so worn out that it is almost impossible to keep awake. May we repent and seek that we may find pardon.
Isa. 8:20 says: "To the law and to the testimonies; if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them." Why this testimony? Because the powers of darkness are great in the earth, and we must have a more thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. We must gird on the whole armour. Again, What are we to look for? We profess to be looking for the return of our Lord and Saviour, but can we expect to meet him in peace when we have neglected to search his word? In other words, should he now come would we have time to meet him in peace? I think not. Oh, says one, I have no time to read the Bible, I have so much to do, but I mean to make a change in my business; but then time flies, and no change. Oh! fatal delusion. Christ says in Matt. 6:33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. In Luke he says: "And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find."
Now, dear brethren and sisters, if we neglect this injunction, "Search the Scriptures," do we not do so at the peril of our lives? I think we do. There is a time coming when whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it. In Luke 13:24 we are admonished in stronger terms, if possible. He says: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for many I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Will this be our lot, will we seek the Lord for a few days, and then cease the struggle, or shall we nobly strive on till victory shall turn on Israel's side? My prayer is that we may all drink deep at salvation's well, that we may, through the atoning blood of our Saviour, hear that welcome voice saying to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant," "enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." This is the earnest desire and prayer of you brother in Christ, E.W.RICE
San Francisco, July 3, 1875.
Testimony to the Truth of the Bible.
Tyre from its ruins, Sodom from its ashes, Rome in her apostasy, Jerusalem in her degradation, the Arab in his tent, the Jew upon our streets, all living and lasting, even if unconscious witnesses, proclaim that this book has God for its author, truth for its matter, as it has immortality and glory for its issues. Let me suppose for a moment, that a number of persons in different ages and places had been engaged in making various parts of a marble statue; suppose a person in Petersburg made a finger, a second in Rome a hand, a third in Edinburgh an ear, a fourth in Athens the body, and so on till the whole was completed, but all without communication with one another, and in different ages as in different lands. Suppose that when all the fragments were brought together they formed that magnificent statue, called the Apollo Belvedere; would you not say, that some superintending statuary must have guided and given an impulse to every chisel; that some beau ideal, some great archetype must have been placed before each of them, after the form of which they were
inspired constantly to work? in other words that they composed the parts, not as their own fancy prescribed, but as the presiding power directed? This is the fact in reference to the Scriptures. Let us take the portrait of our blessed Lord. Isaiah describes his sorrows, Malachi his triumphs; the dying patriarch proclaims his empire, and the sweet psalmist of Israel the extension of his kingdom; one prophet gives one feature, and one another; and looking at the parts in detail, irrespective of the original and comparing one with another, we should say they are so contradictory that they can never belong to the same being. At last, Bethlehem and Gethsemane rise above the horison—Calvary lifts its awful head—the Son of God appears upon the cross—what prophets said is compared with what Christ is; and lo! all the parts deliniated by the pens of prophets in distant and different centuries, at first apparently contradictory, come to be put together, and they constitute the "brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person." By this alone it is proved that the prophets "wrote as they were moved and guided by the Holy Spirit," and that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.—Rev. J. Cumming, D. D.
The Bible Tested.
DURING his protracted residence in Paris, Benjamin Franklin was once invited to meet a gay company, where most of the members of the court were present. By one of his bold strokes he made a deep impression, and gained applause by his frankness.
According to the customs of the country, after the usual ceremonies of the evening were over, the gentlemen engaged in free conversation, and the remarks of the company were directed against Christianity. They made the church ridiculous by every means in their power, and treated the Bible with unsparing severity.
They grew more and more excited in their sarcastic observations. One gentleman drew to himself universal attention, stoutly maintaining that the Bible was a book of impious lies, and without the slightest literary value. All the Frenchmen present heartily approved of this decision, but Franklin gave no sign of assent. Being at that time a favorite at court, it was not easy to endure the silent dissent of a man of his worth and influence. They all, therefore, asked his opinion. Franklin replied, in his usual way, that he was not exactly prepared to answer. But he had lately been occupied with the merits of a new book of remarkable excellence which he had just received; and as they had taken the liberty to make light of the literary merits of the Bible, perhaps they would be interested in comparing the value of his new purchase with it. If so, he would read them a short extract. They were all delighted to have the doctor read. With great formality he drew an old book from his pocket, and with the utmost impressiveness read them a poetical passage.
It had its effect. The admiring hearers said it was the best thing they had ever heard or read. "Beautiful!" said one. "How sublime!" said another. "There is nothing grander in the world!" was the general opinion. They all desired to know the title of the book, and whether this was a specimen of its contents.
"Really, gentlemen," said the doctor, chuckling over his triumph, "my book is full of such passages. It is no other than your despised Bible. I have read you the prayer of the Prophet Habakkuk, recorded in the 3d chapter."
Think Soberly.
If a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself; and in deceiving himself he may often most disastrously deceive others. For many have confidence in a man in proportion to his assurance, his self-confidence, or his position, without regard to his real character. If a man seems sincere they confide in him, forgetting that no men appear more sincere than those who have deceived themselves, and who now of necessity, and with apparent sincerity, deceive others.
It is a sad thing for an honest, well-meaning man to spend years of his life in earnest, zealous effort in a given direction and then awake to the horrible thought that throughout the whole he has been doing a deceiver's work, turning men from the right way, dividing, alienating, and destroying ;—and all upon a basis of error, which is not of God for "no lie is of him."
To a conscientious mind it must be most distressing to reflect: "The course I have taken is wrong; the doctrines I have preached are proved false; the leaders I have followed
have gone astray and fallen into the ditch; the measures I have supported have proved disastrous; the men whom I have denounced have been in the right; the doctrines I have fought against still stand, but my followers and associates, whose faith I have undermined, and whose minds I have embittered against everything else, having been misled by me are like sheep without a shepherd, and I am powerless to remedy the ruin I have wrought."
Such might be the reflections of men who have pressed forward to positions of leadership for which they were unfit, who have aspired to teach, when they hardly knew enough to learn, and who have been looked up to as oracles, when in fact they are only blind leaders of the blind.
Unfortunately many of these thoughts will never enter into the minds of those who have been self-deceived. Ignorant, conceited, and self-sufficient, they know little of humility, of confession, of forsaking every wrong way. What they do is invested with a halo of self-confidence. Their very errors are better than ordinary truths. Their follies are marks of divine wisdom. Their wrongs are better than common people's rights. And so watever position they may have taken, they never recede, never rectify, never confess, but push headlong on, until they plunge into the depths of ruin at the end.
The lesson from all this is, "Think sober ly." He who honestly reviews his errors, his faults, his follies, and his sins, cannot think highly of himself, but will rather be clothed with humility. He who has any knowledge of the wisdom and holiness of God, will abhor himself, and repent in dust and ashes. Such a man will not come to the Lord's table and choose for himself the chiefest seat: he will not boast of his wisdom, his holiness, his faith, or his works. He will sit down in the lowest place, conscious of his own infirmity and unworthiness, and nothing but the persuading and commanding voice of Him that bade him shall call him to a higher place.
Let us learn this lesson of humility, for he that exalteth himself shall be abased, while he that humbleth himself shall be exalted; and all be subject one to another, for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.—Sel.
Romanism.
REV. DR. J. LEIGHTON WILSON, Secretary of the Southern Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, has recently returned from an official visit to the missions of that Board in South America. Of Brazil he says:—
of the Southern Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, has recently returned from an official visit to the missions of that Board in South America. Of Brazil he says:
"Romanism has had the field entirely to herself for the last three centuries, but, by the common verdict of this present generation has been pronounced utterly wanting; not only has it failed to improve, to purify and elevate society, but it has plunged society into the very depths of ignorance and degradation. The great mass of the people, especially the more intelligent classes, admit the fact, but they are ready to cast from them a religion that only blinds and corrupts. The priesthood are denounced as the most ignorant and corrupt of mankind, and they have not even the self-respect to vindicate themselves; they are sometimes publicly flagellated in the streets. The bishops of Para and Pernambuco have been sentenced to four year's imprisonment in Rio Janeiro, and they are undergoing the penalty without any manifest disapproval on the part of the people. Since I have been in the country an imperial edict has been issued expelling the Jesuits, a considerable number of whom have already been deported. The newspapers expose the villanies and immoralities of the padres with unrelenting severity, and hundreds of thousands of families, while professing to be good Roman Catholics, never go to the confessional, nor attend any of their religious services.
"All the convents and monastaries in the country have been confiscated by the government, and with a few exceptions, they have passed out of the hands of the Romish party. The question of the dissolution of church and State will be agitated in the next parliament, and if the act is not then passed, it will be in the course of two or three years, and this will knock the last prop from the already tottering superstructure. Many thousand copies of the Sacred Scriptures have been disseminated among the people, and there is much reason to believe that they are extensively read. Constantly persons are coming to the different missionary stations to be instructed more fully in relation to the difference between the religion of the Bible and the Roman Catholic church. I have seen many persons of this class myself since I have been in this country, and I am painfully impressed with the fact, that the number of laborers in the field is utterly inadequate for the occasion." D. M. C.
"Religion of the Day."
The religion of the day is an easy-minded religion; a religion without conflict and wrestling, without self-denial and sacrifice; a religion which knows nothing of the pangs of the new birth as its commencement, and nothing of the desperate struggle with the devil, day by day, making us long for resurrection-deliverance, for the binding of the Adversary, and for the Lord's arrival. It is a second-rate religion—a religion in which there is no largeness, no grandeur, no potency, no noble-mindedness, no elevation, no self-devotedness, no all-constraining love. It is a hollow religion, with a fair exterior, but an aching heart—a heart unsatisfied, a soul not at rest, a conscience not at peace with God; a religion marked, it may be, by activity and excitement, but betraying all the while the consciousness of a wound hidden and unhealed within, and hence unable to animate to lofty doings, or supply the strength needed for such doings. It is a feeble religion, lacking the sinews and bones of hardier times—very different from the indomitable, much-enduring, storm-braving religion, not merely of apostolic days, but even of the Reformation. It is an uncertain religion; that is to say, it is not rooted in certainty; it is not the outflowing of a soul assured of pardon, and rejoicing in filial relationship between itself and God. Hence, there is no liberty of service, for the question of personal acceptance is still an unsettled thing; there is a working for pardon, but not from pardon. Hence all is bondage, heaviness, irksomeness. There is a speaking for God, but it is with a faltering tongue; there is a laboring for God, but it is with fettered hands; there is a moving in the way of his commandments, but it is with a heavy drag upon our limbs. Hence the inefficient, uninfluential character of our religion. It does not tell on others; for it has not fully told upon ourselves. It falls short of its mark, for the arm that drew the bow was paralyzed.—H. Bonar.
The Waldenses in Italy.
The Waldenses have extended a network of small evangelical communities over the whole peninsula of Italy, from the Sea-Alps (Alpes maritimes) to the Adriatic, from the valley of the Po to the Gulf of Naples and to Sicily.
Looking at the aggregate, we find that the field of the Waldensian mission in Italy contains, outside of the "valleys," thirty-three established communities, thirteen missionary stations, and thirty other stations more or less frequently visited. The working force of these communities and stations counts up to ninety-seven persons, of whom twenty-three are pastors, nine evangelists, ten junior ministers performing the duties of teachers, forty-nine elementary teachers, and six colporteurs.
The Waldensian Evangelization shows an average of 3,250 regular attendants to Sunday services and 2,165 communicants; the number of children of Protestant parentage belonging to the different communities is 1,300, and the primary schools are attended by 2,203 pupils.
The expenses of the last financial year, ending on the 12th of August, 1874, were not less than 200,000 lires($40,000 gold). One-twentieth part of this sum was raised in Italy; the balance was contributed by friends of the movement in all European countries and in America.
ANTS VERSUS CATERPILLARS.—The Belgian Official Journal, referring to the ignorant conduct of those who destroy all kinds of birds and insects indiscriminately, insists on the necessity of children in primary schools being taught to distinguish between useful and noxious insects, and thus to exercise their destructive faculties against the latter only. The writer proceeds to say that the ant, which is very disagreeable and inconvenient in many respects, does excellent service in chasing and destroying caterpillars with relentless energy. A farmer who had noticed this fact, and had had his cabbages literally devoured by caterpillars, at last hit upon the expedient of having an ant hill, or rather nest, such as abound in pine forests, brought to his cabbage plot. A sackful of the pine points, abounding in ants, was obtained and its contents strewn around the infested cabbage plants. The ants lost no time, but immediately set to work; they siezed the caterpillars by their heads. The next day heaps of dead caterpillars were found, but not one alive, nor did they return to the cabbages. The value of ants is well known in Germany, and although their eggs are in great request as food for young partridges, pheasants, and nightingales, there is a fine against taking them from the forests. The ant is indefatigable in hunting its prey; it climbs to the very tops of trees, and destroys an immense quantity of noxious insects.—Sel.
The Signs of the Times
"Can ye not discern the signs of the times?"
JAMES WHITE,
J. N. ANDREWS,
URIAH SMITH.
The Minnesota Camp-Meeting.
We left the place of the Wisconsin meeting in season to reach the Minnesota camp-ground Thursday evening. But when we reached Winona, Minn., we learned that a severe storm the night before had washed out the road ahead of us in two places, eight miles apart, rendering transfer impracticable, and suspending travel upon that road till the following day. Our patience having endured the severe strain of twenty-four hours' delay in Winona, we started out on time Friday at 12:50, the break in the road having been repaired. After we had run out about 15 miles, our train suddenly came to a prolonged halt, and the not very entertaining information came to our ears that a freight had broken through the mended place in the road, and we must wait again for repairs. We stood there upon the track till toward nine that evening and reached the camp-ground at 3 o'clock Sabbath morning.
We found we had not been the only ones laboring under unfavorable circumstances. A very heavy rain storm had visited the encampment, the day and night before. This was a new experience for Minnesota, the weather in all their six previous camp-meetings, having uniformly been pleasant; hence it took some in a measure unprepared. However favorable the prospect may be in advance, a heavy, close tent, and a sheet-iron stove that can be used inside, in case of cold and wet, will be found a wise precaution.
Nevertheless, the people were of good cheer. The meeting had started in well. There were thirty-one tents pitched, and nearly four hundred brethren and sisters present. Two of the forty-foot tents were joined together, forming a pavilion forty feet by eighty. This furnished a pleasant place for meeting when the open ground could not be used. This audience room was well filled by the brethren present. Yet in point of numbers this meeting cannot be taken as an index of the strength of the cause in Minnesota, as it is estimated that there would have been fully two hundred more present, but for the financial embarrassment in this State caused by the grasshopper scourge.
Sabbath morning at 9, a very precious season was enjoyed in social meeting. The testimonies borne were to the point, and well wet down with tears. Bro. and sister White spoke the word in the forenoon and afternoon, with usual freedom. In the social meeting at 5 P.M., over one hundred came forward for prayers. Seveny-six of them spoke. Remarks from Bro. White fairly bore away the congregation on the wings of hope and courage. The season of prayer that followed was one of great freedom. The occasion could scarcely have been better.
At this meeting, as in the preceding, our hearts were made to rejoice over the work of the Lord among those of other tongues. We have spoken, in reports of the Illinois and Monroe, Wis., Camp-meetings, of the French, Danes, and Norwegians. Here we met an intelligent company of Swedes. Sunday, at 9 A.M., a service was held more especially for their benefit. Sister White spoke to them, her remarks being interpreted into the Swedish tongue by Bro. Lee. Thus all were edified, and many hearts were moved by the things they heard. It was clearly shown that the angels of God are moving upon hearts, not in this country alone, but in Europe and in different parts of the world, to call their attention to the golden coins of truth which have so long been buried up with the rubbish of error and tradition, but which are to be brought out for the church in the last days, that through obedience thereto, they may be sanctified and prepared for the coming and kingdom of our Lord. This message is going to the nations, tongues, and peoples of the world, and soon the whole earth will be lightened with the blaze of its closing glory.
In the night following the Sabbath, and during Sunday forenoon, a heavy rain-fall again came upon the encampment. But the brethren had been cheered by the meeting and blessed to that degree that they were raised above the influence of outward circumstances; and though the encampment might look to the outward observer, like a dreary and uninviting place, it was, nevertheless, the happiest spot in all Minnesota; and there was more joy in those dripping tents than can be found in kings' palaces. Not many from without were present on Sunday forenoon, but the storm abating, some one thousand or twelve hundred were present in the afternoon, who listened with the deepest attention to a discourse from sister White, which was well deserving of the consideration they gave it.
Monday, nature seemed vieing with herself to produce one of her loveliest days, as if to make amends somewhat for the previous "unpleasantness." The work of various committees and officers of the Conference, and business matters generally, with the preaching of the word, filled up the day. Three discourses were given at the usual hours. And as the first part of the meeting had been in a measure interrupted by the rain, it was voted to continue it one day longer, till Wednesday morning.
Tuesday, at 9 a. m., Bro. White spoke on the subject of baptism. At 11, after a short discourse from sister White, backsliders and sinners again came forward for prayers, and the meeting reached a degree of interest, to which the brethren thanked God for having brought it.
In the afternoon Brn. Wm. B. Hill, George M. Dimmick, and L. H. Ells, were set apart for the work of the ministry. The congregation then repaired to a stream about a mile distant, and eighteen were buried in baptism.
In the evening, interesting remarks were made by Bro. and sister A.C.Spicer,S.D. Baptists. Bro. S. fully committed himself to the views and work of S.D. Adventists; and at the parting meeting the following morning, the congregation by a rising vote, responded to his remarks, receiving him as a member of the body. Credentials will be issued to him by the Minnesota Conference Committee.
Three new churches have been added to the Conference, and three other bodies are ready to join, when more fully organized. The membership has been increased some two hundred during the past year. Including the three ministers ordained at this meeting, they have seven ordained ministers, and eight licentiates, one minister and two licentiates being Swedes.
Through the counsel of Bro. White, and the liberal proposition he made to the Minn. T. and M. Society, touching their relation to the Publishing Association, they were greatly relieved from financial embarrassment, and much encouraged.
This meeting we believe will tell greatly for the advancement of the cause in Minnesota. All seemed exceedingly pleased with it, many regarding it as the best they ever enjoyed. For ourself, in addition to the general excellent character of the meeting, we acknowledge with gratitude the privilege of meeting many noble friends of the cause whom we never saw before. The memory of the happy acquaintance we have formed with them, will be a lasting pleasure. U.S.
Mission to Europe.
ADVERTISING IN HOLLAND.
In response to advertisements in papers in the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Holland, I have received a considerable number of letters of inquiry, all of which I have answered as wisely as I was capable of answering. The correspondence has given me considerable labor, for I have had to procure the translation of these letters from the Holland or Dutch language, and the translation of mine into that language. The German language and the language of Holland are not the same, though often spoken of in America as the same thing. The language of Holland is Dutch; the German language is the Deutsch as called by the Germans. They are two distinct languages, though confounded sometimes because of some degree of similarity of the names. Very few persons here understand Dutch.
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