Table of Contents

Sanctification

PREFACE

SANCTIFICATION

THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE MIND

ATTENTION

REFLECTION

MEDITATION

MEMORY

IMAGINATION

WILL

SANCTIFICATION OF THE LIFE

SANCTIFICATION OF THE BODY

THE SENSES

THE APPETITES

THE WORKING FACULTIES

THE TONGUE

THE TONGUE

BODILY CLEANLINESS

THE AFFECTIONS

SELF-EXAMINATION

THE POSSIBILITY OF OVERCOMING

BEARING OF THE LAW OF GOD ON THIS SUBJECT

CONCLUSION

THE PROPER OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH

Sanctification

SANCTIFICATION

OR,

LIVING HOLINESS

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. v, 23.

BY ELDER D. T. BOURDEAU.

STEAM PRESS OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION.

BATTLE CREEK, MICH.:

1864

PREFACE

The subject treated upon in the following pages is one of momentous interest to the people of God. It is a subject upon which a great deal of misunderstanding exists, and wrong views are by many entertained. And it is one which, we are sorry to say, the great enemy of righteousness, taking advantage of unbalanced minds, has, perhaps, more frequently tried to bring into disrepute, by exhibitions of fanaticism, than any other subject. But we should not for this cause leave the ground to the enemy, and abandon a subject which is so really valuable, and designed to occupy so prominent a part, in the work of Christianity.

We are happy to present to the inquiring the following sober and candid, yet thorough, exposition of this subject. We commend it to the reader in view of the fast approaching day which shall try every man's character--a day in which, if we are saved, it will be because we have worked out our salvation with fear and trembling.

PUBLISHERS.

SANCTIFICATION

SANCTIFICATION is a Bible subject, and as such it demands our serious attention. The importance of this subject appears from the fact that it is God's will that we should be sanctified. Says inspiration: "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." 1 Thess. iv, 3. The object of God in giving a revelation to man, was to sanctify a people unto himself; and as many as have spoken and written by inspiration, have dwelt on the necessity of sanctification.

Anciently God commanded his people to be holy. Lev. xi, 44. Jesus prayed the Father to sanctify his followers, and those who should believe on him through their word, and died that a people might be sanctified unto God; Jno. xvii, 17, 19; Heb. xii, 2; and under this dispensation the Lord says, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." 1 Pet. i. 15; Heb. xii, 14. In the face of these plain truths, it cannot be expected that those who love the Bible will be disposed to let this subject pass unnoticed.

In the holy Scriptures, sanctification sometimes consists in setting apart or consecrating to a sacred or religious use. In this sense the seventh day, the first-born, mount Sinai, the priests, the sanctuary and its utensils, the temple at Jerusalem, and the prophets, were sanctified. Gen. ii, 3; Ex. xiii, 2; xix, 2, 3; xxviii--xxx; 2 Chron xxix, 7; Jer. i, 5. In this sense

6

even Christ was sanctified, when he was set apart to the work of man's redemption. Jno. x, 36; xvii, 19.

Sanctification consists, moreover, in cleansing from sin, in making pure and holy that which is impure and unholy. In this sense Christians are sanctified, and in the progress of their sanctification, there is a setting apart to holy purposes--a self-consecration to the glory of God.

The depravity of our race is the doctrinal fact upon which rests the necessity of our being sanctified. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Rom. iii, 23. All are naturally inclined to love the ways of sin and to do evil. The power of sin has so affected the human family, that they may, in their natural state, be called the servants of sin. But sanctification purifies and alienates us from the dominion of sin; destroys the corrupt propensities of our fallen natures; rectifies our affections and inclinations, and brings our entire beings into subjection to the will of God, so that we may properly be called the servants of righteousness.

This is indeed a great work, and the Scriptures plainly teach that God sanctifies his people. Ex. xxxi, 13; Eze. xx, 12; Jno. xvii, 17; Heb. ii, 11. God graciously provides and urges the means of sanctification, and helps his people to use them. It is impossible for man to devise means whereby he can sanctify himself, or to attain to holiness by his own strength. Man must accept the means which God has devised, and the gracious assistance which he affords.

The plan of God is such that we must co-operate with him in this work. This is seen in the following texts: "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my

7

statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you." Lev. xx, 7, 8. "Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double-minded." "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit." "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure." "Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." James iv, 8; 2 Cor. vii, 1; 1 Jno. iii, 3; 1 Thess. v, 23.

From this view of the subject, it is evident that we cannot be sanctified, or become holy, without making special efforts to overcome sin. If men could be sanctified irrespective of the course they pursue, we might conclude that sanctification depends wholly on the will of God; and as God is no respecter of persons, we might also conclude that if he sanctifies one he will sanctify all, and that all mankind will be saved.

It is also evident that those greatly err who think that sanctification rests solely in the power of men, and that they can of themselves turn from sin to holiness. To say the least, they do not realize the depth of their degradation and misery, and have not felt the force of this humbling truth, that they are carnal, sold under sin.

Sanctification is effected through the truth. Says Christ, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.... And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." "Now ye are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you." Jno. xvii, 17, 19; xv, 3. And Peter says, "Seeing ye have purified your hearts in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently." 1 Pet. i, 22.

8

Genuine sanctification follows the channel of Bible truth. It is not grounded on flights of feeling, but on the immutable truths of God's word. It is the truth received through the mind, and practically carried out in the life. When the truth is thus received and carried out, there is a radical work, a change indeed; and those who receive and obey the truth are not destitute of good feeling. They have an inward satisfaction for well-doing, and enjoy the approbation and blessing of the Lord to encourage and strengthen them in their great and glorious work.

Some would try to evade the truth with the idea that they have the Spirit, and consequently the sanctification of the Spirit. But what is the leading office of the Spirit that sanctifies? It is to guide into the truth. Said Christ, "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." Jno. xvii, 13. The Spirit and the truth agree. The Spirit is the great agent that God employs in sanctifying men. Hence Bible sanctification is called the sanctification of the Spirit. 1 Pet. 1, 2. The Spirit helps our infirmities. It helps us to understand, receive and practice the truth. Therefore that spirit which is not in harmony with the truths of God's word is not the sanctifying Spirit of truth, and the sanctification which is based on the leadings and teachings of such a spirit is a false one.

Sanctification is a progressive work. Says Paul, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor. vii, 1. Those whom Paul is here addressing were Christians, yet they needed to cleanse themselves and perfect holiness or sanctification. The same sentiment

9

is expressed in the following texts: "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God." Heb. vi, 6. "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. iii, 12-14.

2 Pet. i, 5-9: "And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things, is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged form his old sins."

In this passage the apostle addresses those who have obtained like precious faith, (verse 1,) and urges a progressive advancement in holiness toward completeness in the Christian character. In conversion a blow is struck at the corrupt propensities of fallen human nature, and a great change takes place. But the work of sanctification is not then complete. The young convert stands on the platform of faith. He has seen sin in its true light, has repented of his sins, and has been cleansed from the same by faith in the merits and

10

efficacy of the blood of Christ, and now rejoices in his Saviour. But he must advance in holiness by adding to his faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge and the rest of the Christian graces.

Thus it appears that sanctification is not the work of a moment. It is to be regretted that some, believing sanctification to be an instantaneous work, will fall back on some past blessing or excitement, and will even affirm that they have been months and years in a state of perfect love without committing a single sin, and scoff at the idea that they can be in a better condition, in a holier state. The spirit of such, is different from that of many pious and devoted men and women in the past, who often wept over the remains of inbred sin, and in whose lives we trace progress in sanctification.

The position that sanctification is an instantaneous work, has a tendency to discourage the conscientious and desponding, and to induce many to believe that they are rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and is a great hindrance in the way of true sanctification.

Says the apostle, "He that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off." He that has had an opportunity to improve and has not advanced in Christian virtues, is in a backslidden state, and being deprived of the enlightening influences of the Holy Spirit, is in a great measure blind in regard to his own condition and in regard to the truth, and cannot see afar off, or cannot see far in the way of holiness.

Sanctification may be well represented by the growth of plants. It commences with the seed, the grain, and grows up into the lofty tree. It is receiving with meekness the ingrafted word, and growing thereby,

11

or growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, or growing up into Christ our living head, or being changed from glory to glory into the image of Christ.

As the child of God contemplates the truth, he gradually beholds in it the glory of the Lord, and falls in love with his lovely character. Under the influences of divine truth, he sees some beautiful trait in the Christian character and conforms to it, and thus far grows up into Christ and becomes assimilated into his likeness. Light shines on another excellence, and then on another, and he overcomes and overcomes' growing stronger and stronger, becoming more and more holy in imitating the perfect Pattern, and thus he is changed from glory to glory into the image of Christ.

This view is further strengthened by those texts in which God's people are exhorted and encouraged to be perfect, to overcome, to mortify the deeds of the flesh, etc., also by those passages where prayers and desires are offered for the sanctification and perfection of the saints.

The fact that Christians in the Scriptures are designated as holy, sanctified, perfect, and saints, does not militate against our position. Christians are sanctified or perfect as far as they understand and practice the truth; and even those who are called holy, sanctified, perfect and saints, are exhorted to cleanse themselves, to perfect holiness, to be perfect, to go on to perfection, etc. Compare 1 Cor. i, 2; 2 Cor. i, 1; vii, 1; xiii, 11; Phil. iii, 12-16; Heb. iii, 1; vi, 1.

It is manifest that light increases on the truth as the work of sanctification progresses, and that sanctification involves the necessity of advancing in the

12

knowledge of the truth. For this reason we should cry after knowledge, and lift up our voice for understanding; seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures. Prov. ii, 3, 4. And "all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. iii, 16, 17.

Says the wise man, "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Prov, iv, 18. And what is it that thus causes the path of the just to shine, unless it is the word of God? David says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Ps. cxix, 105. Again Peter says, "We have a more sure word of prophecy (or the word of the prophets which is very firm, French Trans.); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Pet. i, 19.

The word of God was given to be a light unto the just, to show them their duty and whereabouts in this dark world. The idea that this word is a revelation of God to man which should be studied, is proof that God designed it should be understood. Strong and numerous have been the efforts of the powers of darkness to extinguish this light of heavenly birth; but it shines to-day. And is it not reasonable to expect that light will increase on the word of God, and that the prophecies will be better understood as those prophecies relating to the last days are fast fulfilling, and as the end toward which they point approaches? Said an angel while speaking to the prophet Daniel concerning the last days, or the time of the end, "Many shall run to and

13

fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. xii, 4. And in the same connection we read, "Many shall be purified, and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Verse 10.

It would not be necessary to enter into a lengthy argument to convince the candid that we are living in the last days. By comparing the sure word of prophecy with history and the signs of the times, we see clearly that we are occupying the last link in those great chains of prophecy which were to reach to the end; that the leading signs which were to be the precursors of Christ's second coming, and which were to bring us to the last generation, have been fulfilled, and that the present signs of the times show conclusively that the great drama of this world's history is about to wind up, and that the Lord is near even at the doors. (See works on the Prophecy of Daniel and on the Signs of the Times, published at the Review Office, Battle Creek, Mich.)

It is clear that we have reached the time when a flood of light is shining from God's word on the path of the just, and that this light relates to that great event which is immediately impending--the coming of the Lord, and to a preparation to meet it. This we denominate present truth, because it applies to the present time, and is adapted to the wants of the present generation; and it is through this truth that the last church will be sanctified.

But some do not see the necessity of receiving the truths applicable to the present time in order to be sanctified. They think they can be sanctified by living as other good Christians have lived. But how have good Christians in the past been sanctified?

14

Have they not been sanctified by living up to the light that they had in their day? And if we are favored with more light than they were, if God has other duties for us to perform, can we be sanctified by merely living as they lived? Does God cause light to shine on his word in vain? Can men understandingly treat any portion of God's word with indifference or impunity without incurring guilt? Can men avoid performing known duties and yet be free from sin? Said Christ, "If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin." Jno. xv, 22.

When John the Baptist was preaching the first advent and preparing a people to meet the Lord, he said to the Jews, "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Matt. iii, 9. From this it appears that the Jews fell back on good father Abraham to excuse themselves for not receiving the testimony of John. They overlooked the fact that Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Christ, and that he would have gladly received John's testimony if he had lived in his day. They did not realize that they could not be Abraham's children indeed, without possessing the spirit with which he was imbued.

Now is not this the condition of those who refer to good Christians in the past to justify themselves for not receiving those truths that apply to the present time? But if the Jews who lived at the close of the former dispensation could not be sanctified without receiving John's preaching, can the last church be sanctified without receiving those truths relating to Christ's second coming.

15

It will require a special preparation to meet the Lord when he comes. It will be necessary for the last church to look for Christ; for it is to them that look for him that he will appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Heb. ix, 28. "And it shall be said in that day, Lo this is our God; we have waited for him and he will save us." Isa. xxv, 9. Now we cannot look for Christ without watching the signs of the times, and believing in the advent near.

The primitive church could not consistently look for Christ in their day. The caution to them was, to not be troubled by spirit, by word or by letter, as that the day of Christ was at hand. 2 Thess. ii, 1-4. But when the leading signs of Christ's coming commenced to be fulfilled, then the church could look up, knowing that their redemption drew nigh. Luke xxi, 25-28. And now it is an important duty of the people of God to watch the remaining signs of the coming of the Lord. Verse 26; Matt. xxiv, 42; 1 Thess. v, 6. Those who watch in the Bible sense of the term, and have a living faith in the advent near will not be in darkness that the day of Christ should overtake them as a thief in the night. They will know their whereabouts and their duty.

When the great day of the Lord is near and hasteth greatly, even the meek of the earth are commanded to seek meekness and righteousness that they may be hid in the day of the Lord's fierce anger. Zeph. i, 14, etc.; ii, 3. Their past attainments in holiness will not suffice them. They must seek to be more meek and more righteous, more Christ-like, more holy.

The coming of the Lord is a highly practical subject, and as it is especially connected with the sanction of the last church, we may expect that it will

16

be heralded for the benefit of the last generation. This has been done in this generation under the proclamation of the first two messages of Rev. xiv, (see verses 6-8,) and it is now being done under the proclamation of the third message of the same chapter (verses 9-13,) which we understand to be the last message of mercy, and through which a people will be prepared to meet the Lord at his coming. For a full exposition of these messages see works on the Messages.

We say that the third message is the last message of mercy, because it is followed by the appearing of one like unto the Son of man on the white cloud to gather the harvest of the earth. Verses 14, 15. Again, the unmixed wrath of God, which is the same as the seven last plagues, (compare Rev. xiv, 9, 10; xv, 1; xvi, 1, 2,) follows, upon all those who do not heed it, hence there can be no later message by which men can be saved.

It is evident from the language of this message that it will develop a holy people, a people of whom it can be said, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." The same class are brought to view in Rev. xii, 17, as the remnant (or last end) of the woman's (or church's) seed, which keep the commandments of the God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The burden of this message is the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. These are kept in opposition to the worship of the beast (papacy). By the commandments of God, we understand is meant, those commandments which God proclaimed in person, and wrote with his own finger on stone. These are emphatically God's commandments. When the commandments of God are spoken of in distinction

17

from the faith of Jesus, they must refer to the ten commandments exclusively.

The faith of Jesus is something that is kept or obeyed in connection with the commandments of God. It cannot simply mean the confidence of Jesus, neither can it really mean the confidence we should have in Jesus. It must denote the form of doctrine taught by Jesus, which embraces the means of salvation from sin and its curse, and all the healing and restoring ordinances, precepts, and doctrines of Christ as recorded in the New Testament. This faith can be kept or obeyed. See Acts vi, 7; Rom. i, 5; 2 Tim. iv, 7; Jude 3; Rev. ii, 13.

It needs but a moment's reflection to see that this message is very comprehensive, and that it is sufficient to sanctify a people in the strictest sense of the word. Here we have the moral law of ten commandments, which is based in the nature of God and in the nature of man, and bears those divine characteristics which constitute a perfect and holy character. This law embodies all the principles of right, prescribes the way of holiness, and condemns every sin. Anciently God told his people that if they kept this law, they should be a holy people. Ex. xix, 5; Deut. iv, 12, 13. This would be but a natural consequence. In keeping this law, they would bear its holy perfections. This law is from its very nature immutable. To change this law would be to change the nature and character of God which is impossible. Now the law remaining the same, those who keep it must be perfect and holy.

But we cannot by our own strength keep the holy law of God; neither can we cleanse ourselves from our transgressions of God's law. Therefore God in mercy

18

provides the faith of Jesus, which presents to our view the fountain opened for uncleanness, and all those helps and means of grace that cluster around the death of the blessed and adorable Son of God, and by which the humble penitent can obtain strength to bring all the powers of his being in subjection to the law of God.

The result of this message in developing a people who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, proves that previously, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus had not all been kept. The little horn, spoken of by Daniel, and symbolizing Papacy, had trodden the truth to the ground and practiced and prospered during its dark reign. Dan. vii, 25; viii, 12. A great amount of truth pertaining to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, had been restored under the glorious reformation, and by God's people since the reformation. Yet there remained other important truths to be fully brought to light under the last merciful message to man. Among these is found the truth of the Sabbath. Under this message all the commandments are kept; hence the fourth commandment is kept; and this commandment enjoins the observance of the "Sabbath-day," or "Sabbath of the Lord," which is the day on which God rested in the beginning, and which he blessed and sanctified because that in it he had rested from all his work. Ex. xx, 9-11; Gen. ii, 1-3.

The third message is not a contracted platform as some have supposed. It is as broad as the commandments of God and the teachings of Christ and his apostles. In it centers all the sanctifying truths of God's word.

We will now further develop this subject by examining

19

the following text from Paul: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God your whole spirit, and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. v, 23.

The language of this text shows that it applies to the last church, to those who would reach "unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Read also the first part of this chapter and the latter part of the previous chapter. From this text we see that Paul desired that the church should be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body, should be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord. This confirms what we have said to show that sanctification is a progressive work, and that a special preparation will be required of the last church. A partial sanctification is not sufficient for the church living under the blazing light of the last message of mercy. They must be "wholly" sanctified. They must receive and live out the whole truth.

Again, those parts which should be preserved blameless, are the very parts that must first be sanctified. Hence when Paul desired the sanctification of the church, he desired that their whole spirit and soul and body should be sanctified.

The spirit and soul are here spoken of as two distinct parts. The word spirit, in this text is translated from ??, which may here be rendered mind. It is here put for the mind. See Robinson's Greek Lexicon to the New Testament. See also 1 Cor. iii, 3, 4; vi, 20; vii, 34; 2 Cor. vii, 1; Col. ii, 5, etc. The term soul is variously used in the Scriptures. But we understand that in this text it denotes the life. The Greek word ??, from which it is translated, is rendered life

20

forty times in the New Testament, such being the primary signification of the word; and it would be proper to so render it in this text. All are agreed as to the meaning of the word body.

We understand that the mind, the life and the body constitute the whole man, and when a person is sanctified in a Bible sense, these parts are set apart to the glory of God, and employed in the service of the Creator. Let us now notice the sanctification of each of these parts separately, commencing with

THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE MIND

Sanctification begins with the mind. The carnal mind is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It dwells and feasts upon carnal thoughts, and is not subject to the law of God. But God looks on the heart or mind, and understands the thoughts of man afar off. He says, "My son, give me thine heart." "How long shall vain thoughts lodge within thee?" "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. . . . . For my thoughts are not your thoughts."

Sanctification cleanses the mind from sinful thoughts. It changes the current of the thoughts. It transfers the mind from carnal to spiritual things, from sin to holiness. The mind is the spring of action, the fountain from whence all the words and actions flow. If the fountain is pure the stream that flows from it will also be pure. And if the mind is sanctified, if the thoughts are holy, the works and the actions, the whole life will be holy.

But the mind has faculties and operations which should be sanctified, and some of which we will here examine. And first let us notice

ATTENTION

Attention is that faculty of the mind by which we look at ideas. It is, as it were, the eye of the mind. By it we look at the truth. But how often it happens that the attention is diverted from important truths by trifling objects, or by thoughts thrown in by the enemy or by professed friends. No one will fail to see the necessity of setting apart this faculty to see the truth. But as we try to do this, we must ask the Father of lights to open and anoint our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of his law. But to attention we must add,

REFLECTION

Attention sees the object; but reflection comes back upon it to examine it with care, so as to preserve distinct ideas about it. Reflection is the faculty of the mind by which it comes back on ideas which had attracted the attention, to acquire an exact knowledge of the same. It is of the utmost importance that this faculty be sanctified. Those who reflect on the truths they have heard or read, will be more apt to retain them. They will also be more apt to take heed to the things which they have heard. But those who do not take pains to come back on what they have heard and seen, are liable to let the truth slip out of their minds, and generally fail to come up to their duty. It is not sufficient to listen to and look at the truth from Sabbath to Sabbath. We should reflect upon it through the week. Oh how many trials we might save ourselves from by being more reflective!

MEDITATION

Meditation is "close or continued thought; the turning or revolving of a subject in the mind; serious

22

contemplation."--Webster. By it we appropriate to ourselves the ideas and truths that the mind has looked at, and penetrate deeper into the knowledge of the truth. Meditation is to the mind what digestion is to the body. By it we digest the truth and turn it, as it were, into a part of our beings. By it we convey the ideas of others to ourselves so as to make them properly our own, and discover new beauties and attractions in the truth.

One day the philosopher Newton was asked how he made so many discoveries in the arts and sciences, and he answered, "By thinking always attentively." Now if it was necessary for Newton to think always attentively in order to advance in the arts and sciences, is it not necessary for us to meditate on the truth in order to advance in the true science, and make proficiency in sanctification? Many fail to see the glorious attractions of truth because they do not think upon it long enough.

Said Paul to Timothy, "Meditate on these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all" (or in all things, margin.) 1 Tim. iv, 15. Here is a plain injunction to meditate on the things of God. Those who do this will better understand the truth and their duty, and be more useful in the cause of their Master.

But two extremes should here be avoided. One extreme is to meditate much without looking to the Lord for wisdom and help. The other extreme is to expect that the Lord will give us wisdom and help while we neglect to meditate. We must both meditate and look to the Lord. We must dig for wisdom by meditation and prayer, expecting divine aid and heavenly assistance.

23

He that leans to his own understanding entirely, is unwise, Prov. xxviii, 26, and is liable to run into wild fancies and erroneous opinions. It is safe to trust in the Lord with all our heart. He can easily give a happy and favorable turn to our thoughts, and cast into our minds some clue or suggestion, that will lead us to rich and useful ideas, if we acknowledge him and rely upon him in our meditations. Or he can involve our minds in darkness when we neglect him, and are filled with a vain conceit of our own light.

David prayed that the meditation of his heart might be acceptable unto the Lord, Ps. xix, 14, and loved to meditate in the law of the Lord. He says, "I hate vain thoughts; but thy law do I love." "I will meditate in thy statutes." "Oh, how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day." "I prevented the dawning of the morning and cried. I hoped in thy word. Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word." Ps. cxix, 113, 48, 97, 147, 148. Again he says, "I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands." "How agreeable are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. How precious are thy thoughts to me." "My meditation of him shall be sweet." Ps.cxliii, 5; xcii, 5; cxxxix, 17; civ, 34.

Let us hear further from the Psalmist: "Thus will I bless thee while I live. I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips." Ps. lxiii, 4-6. What blessedness David here anticipates! But how is it to be realized? The next verse will tell us: "When I remember thee on my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches." Here is the condition. Those who remember the Lord

24

and meditate on him will be satisfied, as with marrow and fatness, and it will be natural and easy for them to bless and praise the Lord with joyful lips, and to lift up their hands in his name. But how often, alas! the mind is suffered to be clogged with meditations of earth, so that it has no room or strength left to meditate on God and his word, and then it is difficult to lift up the hands, praise the Lord, and speak of his goodness.

The Psalmist pronounces that man blessed who meditates day and night in the law of the Lord, Ps. i, 1, 2, And he adds: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Verse 4.

MEMORY

Memory is the faculty of the mind by which it retains ideas. This faculty should be set apart to retain useful and holy thoughts. Those whose memories are sanctified can, out of the treasure of the heart, bring forth good things. Their mind is like a storehouse furnished with rich and wholesome provisions. It contains truths upon which they can feast, and of which they can invite others to partake.

Said David, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Ps. cxix, 11. David could not do this without the aid of his memory. Those who imitate David in this respect will not be so liable to sin against the Lord. They will remember what he has commanded, and what he has forbidden.

A sanctified memory is like the stream which brings with it the color of the soil through which it passes. Those whose memories are sanctified, remember the

25

lessons they learn in passing through the afflictions the Lord sends them for their good. Many, through neglect and indifference, forget these lessons, and have to learn them over by passing through greater afflictions.

Some will excuse themselves for not learning and retaining the truth, by saying that they have no memory, and that God does not require them to do what they cannot do. But such persons generally remember many things pertaining to their line of business. Some of those who thus excuse themselves will remember every cent their debtors owe them, and when they settle with them they are very positive that they are right, and would perhaps be offended if they were told they had forgotten some things. Again, some can entertain their friends for hours and days on vain and trifling ideas, that they have learned from unconsecrated persons and from vain and chaffy reading, and can remember every new fashion, and a thousand other things. Can it be said that such have no memory? They have memory, but it is not sanctified.

We do not claim that all are favored with a strong memory. But each individual should set apart the memory that he is favored with to the glory of God, and be continually adding to his store of useful knowledge. The memory, like the rest of the faculties, is strengthened by a proper use, and weakened by disuse. Let all cherish a love for the word of God, and manifest that interest, earnestness, and care in learning and retaining the truth that consistent persons do in secular matters, and it will not be so difficult to learn and retain the truth, especially those portions of truth that relate to our duty.

When it was difficult to obtain copies of the Bible,

26

Christians were known to commit large portions of the Scriptures to memory. They retained the truth in the love of it, and honored the cause of truth by giving a proper reason of their hope. Now is less required of those who live in this favored age, when Bibles and other useful books can be so easily obtained, and when an increase of light is shining from the word of God?

But some will say, I cannot read the Bible, or other good books. Answer. A blessing is pronounced on those who hear, as well as on those who read. Rev, i, 3. And how can persons be blessed for hearing unless they learn and retain what they hear?

If the loins of our minds are girded with truth, we shall be prepared to meet the temptations of the enemy, and the objections of the opposers of truth, as Jesus did when he quoted scripture to Satan. And if we do what we can on our part to retain and obey the truth, we may expect that the Holy Spirit will bring the truth to our remembrance, and thus make up for our lack of memory.

IMAGINATION

Imagination is "the power or faculty of the mind by which it perceives and forms ideas of things communicated to it by the organs of sense." Webster. It is by this faculty that ideal images, or pictures of absent objects and scenes are formed. For instance, when in the silence of the night, reviewing the events of the day, we see the persons that we have visited, the country through which we have passed, and other things which have struck our vision, it is the imagination that pictures these things in our minds.

Imagination was designed to represent real and true objects and scenes; but it sometimes goes farther than

27

this: it creates things that are unreal and untrue. This is seen in Mythology, where we read the description of creatures and scenes which have existed only in the imagination. This is also seen in the description of the future state given by Mahomet; also in the doctrine of purgatory, and in many other fanciful doctrines which are the fruit of unsanctified imaginations.

Imagination is naturally unruly, and is often used in picturing scenes that encourage the practice of sin, in magnifying the faults of others, and in manufacturing mountains of difficulties out of nothing. To illustrate we will suppose a case: A. and B. meet together. They have always been on good terms. A. moves along toward B. to pass compliments as on other occasions, but observes that B. is sad and rather backward in his remarks. These individuals part. A. looks back to the interview he has had with B. and calls up B. in his imagination, and says, How cold and sour he looked. How he stood off. How little he said. He never treated me so coldly. And the enemy comes in, and adds and adds to the picture, till B. looks ugly, independent and hard, and A. feels that he has been slighted and abused without a cause, and that B. has something against him. Soon A. and B. meet again. But this time B. comes up cheerfully, and A. stands off. Says B. What is the matter, Bro. A.? What is the matter, replies A.? You ought to know. You treated me coldly the other day without a just cause, and you have something against me. What makes you think so says B.? I know it is so, answers A. But B. replies, Why, dear Bro., I was examining my own heart and thinking about my imperfections, and since then I have got help, and I now feel free.

This is one case out of many in which we see the

28

wrong use that is made of imagination. If A. had examined his own imperfections and checked his imagination, this trial might have been avoided. With many, an unsanctified imagination takes the lead, and the fruit is evil-surmisings, hatred, envy, lust, evil-speaking, unnecessary trials in families, in neighborhoods, and in the church of God, castles built in the air, fanaticism, etc.

But imagination may be very useful, and a source of much comfort. Would you derive real benefit and comfort from this faculty? Then employ it in picturing useful objects and scenes. Let it represent all that is lovely in the appearance and actions of others, and if you suffer it to represent the evil conduct of others, let it be only that you may help them, and more easily avoid the ways of sin. Let it form images of holy men and women spoken of in the Bible--especially of Jesus, the great example. Follow him from the manger to the cross. Behold him as he goes from place to place on his mission of love, suffering from weariness, hunger and thirst, from persecution and the temptations of Satan. Listen to the rich instructions that fall from his lips. See him weep over sinners. See him pray all night alone. Witness his agony in the garden, and the abuses that he receives as he is tried by his enemies. View him stretched between the heavens and the earth, with his hands and feet pierced, and the crown of thorns mutilating his sacred head. See the precious blood flow freely from his hands and feet. See it fall from his sacred head. Hear him pray for his enemies, and cry as he bears the sins of the whole world, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Follow him from earth to the heavenly sanctuary, where he pleads the merits of his

29

blood in behalf of his people, and where his great mediatorial work will soon wind up preparatory to his coming to earth. Behold him coming in glory and majesty in the clouds of heaven, with all the holy angels. Witness the events connected with his coming. Picture in your minds the rich and glorious reward of the just, and the awful punishment of the unjust. And all these scenes will have a tendency to strengthen your faith, and encourage you to love the Lord, and imitate his virtues, to shun the ways of sin, and walk in the path of holiness.

WILL

The will is the faculty of choosing or determining. This faculty is the main-spring of the mind. It holds the operations of the mind and the motions of the body at its command. In this respect, it is to the rest of the faculties what a king is to his subjects. A king says to his subjects, Do this, and they obey him; and the will controls, to a great degree, the thoughts and actions of men. How necessary, then, it is for this faculty to be sanctified.

Men do not choose and determine without causes. There are always motives which lead men to choose and decide to act. These motives are either just or unjust, reasonable or unreasonable. The decisions of a sanctified will are based on just and reasonable motives, on reason, sound judgment, and the word of God.

In the language of another, "Commendable decision implies two things--a knowledge of what is truth and duty, and a fixed determination to conform to them in practice without a compromise." The mind should first be enlightened. It should first analyze what is

30

held out as truth, and then judge and decide, choose or refuse.

When Joshua had refreshed the minds of the Israelites on God's dealings with them, and called in exercise their reason and judgment, he said, "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," Josh. xxiv, 15. Said the Lord to his back-slidden people, "Come now and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword." Isa. i, 18-20. Jesus and Paul instructed their hearers, reasoning with them from the Scriptures, and then called upon them to judge and decide with regard to the truth. Matt. xii, 24-30; Jno. vii, viii; Acts xvii, 2; xviii, 4, 19; xxiv, 25, etc. Reason and judgment are not laid aside in the Scriptures; on the contrary, they are made use of and appealed to, that men may be persuaded to choose the truth.

But too often, alas! reason, judgment, and the word of God are neglected, and the will is used in deciding against the truth. A. has a strong will, but decides against certain Bible doctrines before he has carefully examined them, and thus shuts the truth out of his mind. If he goes where the present truth is preached, he decides in his own mind what he will believe and what he will not believe, before he really understands what is to be presented. If he decides to read what is held out as truth, he determines before hand to believe only what agrees with his ideas of right, and makes his opinions the rule with which to compare what others say. And if he finally sees his unreasonable and injudicious course, how difficult it is for him to

31

alter his decision, especially if he has a proud heart. But it is wiser to revoke an unsanctified decision than to abide by it, that it may appear that we are firm and unchangeable.

B. is reluctant to decide in favor of the truth because a few ideas connected with it are not clear to his mind. But is it consistent to let a few seeming objections obscure clear and well established principles, and prevent us from deciding in favor of what we know to be truth? Would it be reasonable for a school-boy to decide against the science of arithmetic because he has come to a problem that he cannot solve? Reason and consistency require that we pronounce ourselves for what we understand to be truth, and those do violence to their reason and judgment who refuse to do this. By deciding in favor of the truth as far as we see it, we may be enabled to understand those points that are not clear. This has been the experience of thousands. But, although there should remain a few points unexplainable to our minds, we should not suffer these points to shake our confidence in plain and unmistakable evidences. It has been ascertained that the sun has spots which do not emit light, but it would be unwise to conclude that for this reason we should shut our eyes against the sun, and say that it does not shine. It is our duty and privilege to settle on the truth as far as we understand it, and to be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed.

C. understands the truth, but determines to reject it because he does not have the feeling he should like to have. But feeling varies with circumstances, and is not, if separately considered, a safe guide. One of my relatives once urged me with much feeling and tears to become a Roman Catholic. I respected this relative's

32

honesty, but did not consider her feeling and tears as sufficient evidence to prove the Roman Catholic religion genuine: But bad feeling sometimes grows out of an inward conflict between right and wrong. Let wrong be overcome by sanctified decision and a holy practice, and good feeling may be restored. But, though good feeling should not be restored, we ought not to reject the truth, but rather settle on the merits of the truth.

When seed-time comes, the consistent farmer does not wait for feeling to know whether he had better prepare his ground and scatter his seed; and when the time of harvest comes, he does not wait for feeling to know whether he should harvest his grain. And shall any professing to love Bible truth, dishonor the cause of truth, and disgust the candid, by waiting for feeling, while they see their duty in God's word? Consistent persons are willing to trust honest individuals, and labor hard before receiving their wages, and shall Christians fear to trust God? Will they refuse to decide to serve him till they have a good feeling, or till they receive that blessing which God bestows on those who yield to his truth? Those who leave plain Bible truth to run after feeling, grieve the Spirit of truth, and are in danger of being led by another spirit.

The Christian often feels very bad while in the way of duty. It is then that the enemy comes in with power to discourage and destroy him. No one will claim that Christ had very buoyant and joyous feelings when the sins of the whole world rested upon him. Yet he was doing the most important work connected with his earthly mission.

D. concludes to reject the truth because of the trials and afflictions connected with it, and perhaps does not

33

realize that those trials and afflictions connected with the truth are very prominent means of sanctification; that they make us know ourselves, and will, if rightly improved, enable us to advance in the attainment of every excellence. Says Job, "When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." Job xxiii, 10. Says Isaiah, "By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged." Isa. xxvii, 9. See, also, verses 7 and 9. Says Paul, "They (our earthly parents) verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our profit, that we might be made partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening for the present," etc. "We glory in tribulation also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Heb. xii, 10, 11; Rom. v, 3-5. And James says, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience; but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James i, 2-4.

God's people have ever been a tried people, and the Scriptures plainly declare that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts xiv, 22. Christ, the great Pattern of the church, was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He was tried in all points; and for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. When the bitter cup of suffering was presented to him he showed that his will was sanctified by using the following language: "Father, if thou be willing, remove

34

this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done." Luke xxii. 42.

In the above cases, we see some of the unreasonable and unscriptural motives that lead many to refuse the truth, and choose the way of sin and death. It often happens that the will is not checked, and runs impetuously in its course, without regard to consequences. This we see in persons called willful, self-willed, head-strong, who are a source of grief to those who would reason with them. Children are often so; if let alone their stubborn will would lead them to rush on headlong to destruction.

It is a true saying that "yielding pacifieth great offenses." Eccl. x, 4. It saves many trials and troubles. Most of those trials and difficulties that arise in families, in neighborhoods, and among brethren, can be traced to an unwillingness to yield. But some will say, Must I give up my rights? We answer, It often becomes a duty for individuals to give up, or yield in, what they call their rights. There are many instances in which we can yield or submit to others without sacrificing the truth. We are exhorted in the Scriptures to submit one to another, and we should in many things submit to all. If this principle were followed, many unhappy families and neighborhoods would be made happy, and thousands of grievous trials would be avoided.

Some have not learned to yield their will to their superiors, and how hard it is for such to bow to their Maker. They manifest the same stubbornness toward the Lord that they do toward their fellow-creatures. How many mighty men and women have fallen because they have rebelled against the Lord. Many have run well till their wills were crossed, and they would not

35

yield to God and his truth. Doubtless, they were blinded to the fact that they were rebelling against God. Perhaps their minds were not raised higher than those who ministered to them in word and doctrine. This was the case with ancient Israel in the days of Moses, the servant of God. This was also the case with Israel at subsequent periods in their history.

David's advice to his son Solomon was to "serve the Lord with a willing mind." 1 Chron. xxviii, 9. Said Hezekiah to the Jews, "Now, be ye not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord." 2 Chron. xxx, 8. The consequences of stubbornness are awful. Many will yield when it is too late. Says the prophet Amos, "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos viii, 12. To such, wisdom says, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; they would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way." Prov. i, 24-30.

The language of each heart should be, Speak Lord, thy servant heareth. I will choose thy truth, and do what thou requirest at my hand. I will follow thee through evil as well as through good report.

Though it is an exaggeration to say that men can of

36

themselves do what they will, yet it is certain that many fail to gain their object, because they do not enlist their will on their side, and move from a fixed determination. This is true in religion as well as in worldly matters. The will can be a great help to Christians in overcoming their besetments. Said a dying man to his son, "Only have strength to say, No." If we would have strength to say, No, in our conflicts with the powers of darkness in the time of trouble (Rev. xiii, 15-17; xiv, 9-11), we must have strength and decision to say, No, to the temptations that we now have to encounter. Our wills must be wholly swallowed up in the will of God. We read that "thy people shall be willing in the days of thy power." Ps. cx, 3. And in the language of Jesus, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. xxii, 17,

SANCTIFICATION OF THE LIFE

The life also must be sanctified. "The word of God," says Paul, "is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul (life) and spirit." Heb. iv, 12. The life should be spent in the service of God, and we should be willing to lay it down for the sake of the truth, if the cause of God demands it. But we should avoid rashness, and see to it that we wear not our strength and energies, and sacrifice not our lives, unnecessarily. Our lives are precious, and we are responsible to God for the use that we make of them. We should not sin against God by suffering and sacrificing our lives when the truth and the glory of God do not require it. There is much suffering that is in vain and worse than lost, that is not for God and his truth. Many lives have been squandered in the cause

37

of error. Many lives have been sacrificed to vain and trifling objects, to other gods besides the true God.

Christ willingly spent his strength and energies, suffered and laid down his life. But this was not in vain. The redemption of a fallen world was at stake. And he says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matt. xvi, 24, 25.

He that sets out to walk in the path of holiness, must make up his mind to deny himself, and suffer for Christ's sake. He that saves his life and ease at the sacrifice of the truth, shall lose eternal life; but he that loses his life and ease for the sake of Christ, shall find it; i.e., shall find eternal life. "For what," says our Saviour, "is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul (life)? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul (life)?" Verse 26.

We should not count our lives dear when the truth, the glory of God, and eternal life, are at stake. These should be dearer to us than life, and we should gladly suffer for the sake of Christ who has suffered so much for us. This did the early Christians.

Says Paul, "For thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." "I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be manifest in our mortal flesh! For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." "In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more

38

frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." "Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." Rom. viii, 36; 1 Cor. xv, 31; 2 Cor. iv, 9; xi, 23-28; Acts xx, 24; xxi, 13.

Millions of saints have shown that their lives were sanctified by laying them down for God and his truth; and though we may not now be tested as they were, yet we may know how far our lives are sanctified by our willingness to suffer in the cause of truth. If we are unwilling to deny ourselves and suffer for God now, we certainly would be unwilling to lay down our lives for his sake.

While looking over his sufferings Paul said, "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which have happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." Phil. i, 12.

39

Paul was confident that Christ would be magnified "whether by life or death." He believed that if he lived, he should glorify God and advance his cause through suffering. He also believed that if he died, his death would be gain to the cause of Christ. He looked not for his own ease, and did not feel free to choose life or death.

It was so with the holy martyrs. They knew that the grace and courage they showed here while suffering would strengthen the saints, and induce others to enlist in the cause they loved, and were willing to sacrifice their lives, knowing that they should find them again, reign with Christ, and have a rich reward in his kingdom.

SANCTIFICATION OF THE BODY

We have now come to an interesting and important branch of the subject; to a branch which has been neglected by those who make sanctification a hidden and mysterious work, a work which is shut up in the heart, and which no man can recognize only as it is displayed in boastings or peculiar raptures.

From what we have said on the mind, it can be readily seen that we do not overlook heart work or the sanctification of the mind. But how may we know whether a genuine work is performed in the heart? How may we know whether the mind is sanctified or not? Says the great Teacher, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. . . . . Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matt. vii, 16-18.

40

It is the fruit that a tree bears that determines whether it is good or evil, and it is by the fruits or works of men that we are to judge whether they are good or evil, sanctified or unsanctified. The fruits or works of men indicate the condition of their hearts, and these fruits or works cannot be wrought and brought to light without the exercise of the physical faculties.

But says one, We are sanctified by faith. Answer. We admit that we are sanctified by faith; but what is the nature of genuine faith? Does faith confine sanctification to the heart, and exclude good works? The simple definition of Bible faith is confidence in the word of God. Faith takes hold of the truths of God's word. Now the Scriptures are very explicit on the necessity of being rich in good works. They teach us that Christ gave himself for us that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works, and that we should let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and be led to glorify our Father who is in Heaven. Titus ii, 14; Matt. v, 16.

The candid and consistent will acknowledge sanctification as they see it carried out in the lives of men. They look at the works, and so does the Lord. To the seven churches, representing the seven different stages of the Christian church, Jesus says, "I know thy works." Rev. i-iii. The works of men are recorded in Heaven, and it is according to these works that they shall be judged. Rev. xx, 12.

Genuine faith is operative, and is made perfect by works. James ii, 22; Gal. v, 6. It is a Bible declaration "that faith without works is dead." James ii, 20. And a dead faith will not sanctify a man.

41

To the Romans Paul writes, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Rom. xii, 1. Here is an exhortation for the brethren at Rome to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, etc. A living sacrifice will show signs of life.

To the Corinthians Paul writes, "I therefore so run not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." 1 Cor. ix, 26, 27. In this text we see the necessity of keeping the body under, and bringing it into subjection, i. e., into obedience to God and his truth. If Paul failed to do this he would run as uncertainly, fight as one that beateth the air, and be a castaway.

But to come more directly to the subject, we will consider the principal parts and faculties of the body, beginning with

THE SENSES

Which are five in number, and which are commonly designated as follows: hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and feeling. It is through the senses that ideas are conveyed to the mind. The senses are, as it were, roads through which ideas travel to reach the mind. The sanctification of the senses consists in closing them against sinful impressions and ideas and in opening them to useful and holy impressions and thoughts. Close your senses against unholy impressions and thoughts, and they will not be so apt to invade your mind, and you will better resist the temptations of the enemy. Shut your windows and thieves will not so easily enter your dwelling.

42

Job made a covenant with his eyes that he might not sin. Job xxxi, 1-3, and David prayed, "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in the way." Ps. cxix, 37. He also said, "Mine eyes fail for thy word." "Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness." "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes." Verses 82, 123; ci, 3.

"The ear of the wise," says Solomon, "seeketh knowledge." Prov. xviii, 15. It is attentive to the word of God. But those whose hearts are opposed to God's ways do not love to listen to the truth. They love to hear smooth things, and will not hear the law of the Lord. Isa. xxx, 8-11. Paul speaks of some who "shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Tim. iv, 4. But the wise man says, "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Prov. xxviii, 9.

Christians should set a guard on all their senses. By doing this it will be easier to fix the attention on holy thoughts, and keep the mind from wandering. The mind is often in danger of being diverted from proper thoughts by the senses; and Christians cannot keep the Sabbath aright while they carelessly open their senses to those secular objects and impressions which have interested them during the six laboring days.

Especially should inexperienced children and youth be taught with regard to the right use of the senses, and see the necessity of receiving right impressions. It often becomes necessary for children as well as older persons to shut their eyes and stop their ears against sin. The ears were not made to feast on error

43

and the foolish and simple conversation of the wicked; neither were the eyes designed to behold and feast on vanity. Christ often said to his hearers, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Again he said "Blessed are your eyes; for they see; and your ears, for they hear." Matt. xi, xii. It was indeed blessed to see Christ and the works that he performed, and to hear his rich instructions. But is it not also blessed to see the glorious work that is now going on under the last message of mercy? and to hear the messengers of truth speak in reference to our whereabouts and the necessary preparation to stand amid the perils of the last days, and to meet the Son of man at his coming? God grant that we may duly appreciate our privileges, and realize the blessedness resulting from a proper use of all the senses.

THE APPETITES

The all-wise Creator has implanted in our natures certain appetites, and it is evident that they were designed to help in perpetuating our existence, in promoting our well-being, and in carrying out the great object for which we were made.

As the appetites are peculiar to the body, it is clear that they were made to be governed by reason. Their very nature forbids the idea of their leading the man, and shows that they should be in subjection to the higher faculties of our beings. But in consequence of the fall and the inroads that sin has made in the children of men, the appetites are naturally inclined to go beyond the limits assigned unto them, and usurp the authority of the higher faculties. Sanctification brings the appetites within their proper limits--under the direction and control of enlightened reason.

44

Whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we should do all to the glory of God. Now to do this we must, as far as possible, eat and drink that which is sanitary, and avoid intemperance. We should consult the stomach and the state of the health more than the appetites; for it is not always what suits the appetites the best, that is most conducive to the health of the body. We should select for the appetites, and cultivate and cherish a taste for healthy food.

We should eat and drink more for need than for pleasure. If pleasure is the great end we have in view, then we do not eat and drink to the glory of God, but to the glory of our appetites. Then eating and drinking becomes an inordinate action, because it is not in the way to the end for which it was designed.

In view of these principles what shall we conclude concerning those parents who are almost constantly humoring their children in satisfying their appetites with so many niceties which injure the health and undermine the constitution? Are they not guilty of creating in them unsanctified appetites? Would it not be better for those parents to select good, plain, wholesome food for their children, and feed them only when they really need food, though it may not suit the taste so well at first?

And what shall we say of the appetite for spirituous liquors which dethrones reason, degrades the body and the mind, and has brought so many to an untimely grave? Are those who possess this appetite sanctified?

And shall we overlook the appetites for tea and tobacco? Were these articles made to be used as they are now used? No candid person who has given this subject a careful perusal will say that they were.

45

These herbs, like all other stimulants, nerve up the system and leave a depression behind. Besides, tobacco is a rank poison, as it has often been proved; and the poisonous ingredients with which tea is often prepared, add to the impropriety of using it as a beverage.

But we are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, as we have seen, and if the common use of tobacco does not produce filthiness of the flesh, what does?

But if the appetites for tea, tobacco and spirituous liquors should be overcome because they injure the health, should not the appetites for unhealthy meats or other hurtful articles be overcome for the same reason?

The Saviour, while giving a description of the last days, says, "As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." Luke xvii, 26, 27. It was not wrong for the Antediluvians to eat and drink to maintain their existence; and marriage was as sacred and honorable in the days of Noah as it was when God instituted it in Eden. The great sin of the Antediluvians consisted in going to excess in these things. And is it not so with the masses at the present times? Look at the excess in eating and drinking. Look at those persons of good health whose exquisite taste accepts only the nicest of food, and often causes much perplexity to those who are called upon to satisfy it. Look at the pains taken, and the means expended, and worse than thrown away, to suit the taste and palate, as though the great object of life was to eat and drink and enjoy the pleasures of the appetites.

46

The Scriptures are very clear on the importance of governing the appetites. Our first parents fell, in lusting after and eating the forbidden fruit. The Israelites were not satisfied with the plain, wholesome manna: they loathed this bread from Heaven, longed for flesh, and murmured against God, and awful consequences followed. And we are told that "these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted." 1 Cor. x, 6.

The sons of Eli were not satisfied with sodden or boiled flesh: they wanted raw flesh, that they might roast it with fire. It was not unlawful to desire meat roasted, but when it was appointed to be boiled, they refused it, thus evincing intemperance and a nice palate. "Wherefore," says the record, "the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord; for men abhorred the offering of the Lord." 1 Sam. ii, 12-17.

Prov. xxiii, 1, 2. "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee; and put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite;" or as the French translation reads, "else thou shalt put a knife to thy throat, if thy appetite rules thee." And what can be the meaning of this wonderful proverb, unless it is this, that he who sits to eat with a ruler (before "dainties" or "deceitful meat," verse 3), and suffers an unsanctified appetite to control him, is guilty of the same crime that he would be if he literally cut his throat with his knife? That is, he is a self-murdered. He must feel the effects of his excess sooner or later.

Some followed Christ for the loaves and fishes; but he said unto them, "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." Jno. vi, 26. We are admonished to not be

47

like Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Heb. xii, 16. We should take heed lest we lose eternal life and the rich blessings connected with it, for the gratification of unsanctified appetites.

Christ is a pattern of self-denial. "When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered." And the tempter came to him and said, "If thou be the Son of man, command that these stones be made bread." How trying this must have been to the Son of God. How refreshing a morsel of bread would have been to him in his exhausted condition. But did he yield? No: It was forbidden fruit. He answered, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. vi.

When famine comes on the earth according to the word of the Lord, Joel i, 14-20, many articles that are now used will have to be dispensed with, and is it not consistent to deny ourselves now and overcome those appetites that injure the body and the mind, and prevent many from desiring and appreciating the lasting pleasures enjoyed in the service of God? Shall we be prepared to meet the Lord if we are slaves to lust?

THE WORKING FACULTIES

As God does nothing in vain, it is reasonable to believe that these faculties were made to be exercised. According the Sacred Record informs us that when the Creator had formed man, he took him and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Gen. ii, 15.

Physical labor was appointed before the fall, and must have been designed to meet the wants of men. The organization of man is such that he needs to exercise

48

his working faculties; and he cannot neglect to do this without sustaining a loss. It does not require a labored argument to prove this. Reason, common sense and experience teach that the digestive organs demand the exercise of the working powers, and that proper physical exercise helps in conveying the nutritive properties of food into the different parts of the system, and in imparting vigor, strength, and health to the body and the mind. Hence as a general thing, the laboring classes, especially those who exercise out of doors, are stronger physically, and enjoy better health, than persons of sedentary habits.

But notwithstanding this, it is a lamentable fact that there is in the masses of the present age, an inclination to shun physical labor. It is by many considered a disgrace to engage in manual labor or other physical exercise. Many would be ashamed to be seen working with their hands as old-fashioned people used to do. And strange to say that in many instances even those who have labored hard to get above want, will partake of this spirit and encourage the same in their children. Under this influence children think that they cannot be gentlemen and ladies if they work physically, and they will either spend their time in idleness, and grow up as it were in the shade, without getting the power of endurance, and without obtaining the experience they so much need, and which would prove a blessing to themselves and to others; or they will select a vacation that does not require physical exertion, but calls into exercise the mental faculties. Some of these delicate children are encouraged to engage in literary pursuits. They are perhaps told that it will be better for their health. They engage in their studies, overtax the mind, and are very careful to exercise as

49

little as possible with their physical powers. The result is that some die before they have completed their studies, and not a few of those who gain their object are left with shattered nerves and a ruined constitution. And how much benefit and comfort can they derive from all their knowledge? It is of but little use to them, and they lack the very thing they need to communicate it to others, vis., vigor and strength of body and mind.

In the name of reason and Scripture, we enter our protest against such a spirit and such a course. We would not lightly esteem knowledge, or discourage in others a desire to pursue proper studies. Let useful knowledge be eagerly pursued and cherished. But the most useful knowledge is that which pertains to our duty, and we cannot understand our whole duty unless we have a certain knowledge of the nature and functions of the prominent faculties of our beings and the relations they sustain to each other. Let the mind be cultivated, but let not the body be neglected. In order that we may excel in the study of any subject and advance in knowledge, it is necessary that we possess health and vigor of mind. Now the health of the mind depends much on that of the body, and physical exercise assists in promoting the health of the body. Hence the greatest and most useful men that have lived have been careful to cultivate and exercise their physical faculties.

Ashamed to labor physically, while physical labor is appointed by the Creator, and is so beneficial to man! It would be far better to be ashamed of the least inclination to shun physical labor, and of the shameful consequences resulting from idleness. Better be ashamed of leaving the way marked out by God and approved

50

by reason and experience, to pursue a course opposed to God, reason, and common sense, and destructive of health and happiness.

Those who think it a disgrace to labor with their hands would doubtless be ashamed of Christ, and many holy men and women spoken of in the Scriptures; for they engaged in manual labor. Christ was a carpenter, and we understand that this was one reason why the Jews were offended at him. They said, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary? . . . . And they were offended at him." Mark vi, 3.

The great apostle to the Gentiles was a tent-maker, and was not ashamed to work with his hands. Physical labor was not a hindrance to him in his work, but rather made him more successful in advancing the cause of truth. As he labored with his hands, or traveled on foot in imitation of the example of his divine Master before him, he showed that he was actuated by unselfish principles, set an example for his brethren to follow, and had the satisfaction that he did what he could to supply his wants and the wants of others. He could say, I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yes, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." "For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail; for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God." "Neither did we eat any man's bread for naught; but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:

51

not because we had not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us." Acts xx, 33-35; 1 Thess ii, 9; 2 Thess iii, 8, 9.

When man had fallen, God cursed the earth, thus making it necessary for man to labor more to maintain his existence. The solemn mandate from God was, "Cursed is the earth for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it, all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground." Gen. iii, 17-19.

This judgment was mixed with mercy. It was a blessing to man that God added to his labor after he sinned. As man labored in the sweat of his face, he would be more apt to remember his shameful fall, and would be less inclined to devise and practice wickedness. On the same principle it is wiser for people now to labor than to remain in idleness. If children generally were taught to delight more in manual labor, their minds would not be so liable to wander from the path of virtue, and they would be more easily kept from pursuing a course that has ruined thousands of promising children and youth, and brought so many parents and guardians to shame.

And would not the same principle work well with older persons who do not love industrious labor? Think of the base and enormous crimes which are practiced in this generation to avoid labor. Think of the extremes to which many go in speculation. To many of this class the following good advice of Paul would apply well: "Let him that sole, steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands the thing

52

which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." Eph. iv, 28.

Idleness and effeminacy are forbidden, while labor and industry are encouraged, by the word of God. Paul exhorted his brethren to not be slothful in business, to learn to maintain good works (or profess honest trades, margin,) that they be not unfruitful, and commanded that if any man would not work neither should he eat. Rom. xii, 11; Titus iii, 14; 2 Thess. iii, 10. He also declared that no effeminate shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor. vi, 9.

Says Solomon, "He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. He that gathereth in summer is a wise son; but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame." "The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." "Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger." "The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold: therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and lo, it was all grown over with thorns; and nettles had covered the face thereof; and the stone-wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth; and thy want as an armed man." Prov. x, 45; xiii, 4; xix, 15; xx, 4; xxiv, 30-34.

Solomon's advice to the sluggard is as follows: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food

53

in harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" Prov. xi, 6-9.

Eze. xvi, 49, 50. "Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before me; therefore I took them away, as I saw good."

The above scripture supports the oft-repeated saying that a lazy person cannot be a Christian. He that is indolent and slack in temporal matters, is liable to be so in spiritual matters. He is not fully prepared to plow through the hardships connected with the Christian warfare, and cannot be successful in overcoming.

It is a source of encouragement to those who labor with their hands, that they can with industrious labor act an important part in advancing the cause of their Master. But pains should be taken to not overtax the body. While proper physical exercise is strengthening and invigorating to the body and the mind, excessive physical labor exhausts the physical and mental energies and unfits us to engage in the worship of God.

The idea that we are living near the end does not constitute a sufficient reason to refrain from labor, as some have contended. It is rather a strong motive to induce us to do that which is conducive to our present well being, and helps forward the cause of truth. We should not labor and plan to lay up treasures on earth; but we should labor and plan with reference to the end near, and to push forward the solemn work of the last message. Is health a blessing to be prized, and is it our duty to do what we can to preserve it? Then should we exercise our working faculties. Will the saints in

54

the future state possess literal bodies, and strong physical powers to be used in performing delightsome and is it a fact that the future state is soon to be ushered in? Then is it reasonable and consistent to cherish physical labor, and exercise the working faculties here.

THE TONGUE

"The tongue," says James, "is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell." James iii, 5, 6.

This is said of an unsanctified tongue, and shows that though the tongue is a small member yet it exerts a mighty influence. It sustains a relation to and exerts an influence over the whole body. It is compared to bits that we put in the horses' mouths and by which we turn about the whole body; and to a helm by which the mighty ships are turned whithersoever the governor listeth. Verses 3, 4.

Such is the importance that James attaches to governing the tongue that he declares, "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body." "If any among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain." Verse 2: Chap. i, 26. And Solomon must have been forcibly struck with the necessity of governing the tongue when he wrote, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." Prov. xviii, 21.

The tongue, as an instrument of speech, is one of

55

those prerogatives which exalt man above the beast, and was designed by the Creator to express holy and virtuous thoughts. It is an index to the heart; "for out of the abundance of the heart," says our Saviour, "the mouth speaketh." Matt. xii, 35. The use that is made of the tongue indicates the moral condition of the heart, and consequently the character of the whole man; and there are as many ways in which men sin with their tongues as there are in which they sin with their thoughts, tempers and actions.

It is readily seen that the sanctification of the tongue is a vast subject. But we will confine ourselves to some leading principles and thoughts, and to some of the many Bible instructions on the subject.

And first, the tongue is rightly used in speaking of and addressing the Creator with reverence, according to his holy and exalted perfections and our dependence upon him. If we do this from the heart we shall not be guilty of taking God's holy name in vain. We shall realize his goodness and love, and will not be inclined to murmur against him, but will be grateful to him for his dealings with us, and for the least blessing we receive at his hand.

But while the tongue is properly used in speaking of, and addressing, God in a manner compatible with his holy perfections and our dependence upon him, it should speak of, and address, others with respect, according to the relations they sustain to us and the Creator. In speaking of the wrong use of the tongue, James says, "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing My brethren, these things ought not so to be." James iii, 9, 10.

56

It is not a small matter to curse others with the tongue. If we curse our fellow creatures who are made in the image of God and have God for their Father, we offend God, and are not in a condition to bless or exalt him, and he cannot accept a blessing from us, Indeed, he cannot look on any thing that we can say to exalt him as a blessing. What we say of him proceeds from the same heart that leads us to curse those whom he has created, and over whom his care, love and mercy are extended. This is clearly illustrated in the following verses: "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." Verses 11, 12.

Cursing is the opposite of blessing, and we can curse others in various ways. And the ungodly are not the only ones that are guilty here. James is here admonishing and correcting his "brethren."

We curse others with the tongue in slandering and backbiting. The unsanctified tongue is said to be full of deadly poison, and its deadly and poisonous influence is felt by others. It would be considered a heinous crime to put a portion of strychnine or arsenic into food prepared for others; but many consider it a light thing to poison the character of others, and injure their feelings by slandering, backbiting or talebearing. By these, thousands of innocent characters have been shamefully and maliciously martyred.

Many professed Christians are not guarded enough, and fail on this point. If they are tried with a brother or sister, and see or hear any thing unfavorable about them, they are sure to tell it to others, and perhaps in their tried condition they will put a wrong construction

57

on what they have learned; and if their remarks take and they are not checked, they will tell it to others, and then to others, and so on; and some are not satisfied till they have spread their slanderous reports among the enemies of truth. And then the poor, blinded, deceived souls may think they have done a noble work. But what have they done? They have got the sympathy of some, who will perish with them unless they repent. They have blown on and fed the fire of hatred which they in weakness suffered Satan to kindle in their breasts, till it has grown and kindled a great matter, and others have been set on fire of hell. They perhaps have discouraged weak and well-meaning brethren, who have not sufficient experience to meet their influence, and some of whom may never recover from the shock they have received. They have caused the good way to be evil spoken of, and some may have been shut out of the kingdom. The Spirit and lovers of peace have been grieved, and Satan and his contentious host rejoice.

It is not strange that those who know not God, and the power of his truth, should indulge in slandering and backbiting; but for those who profess to know God and his truth, for professed followers of Jesus Christ, to backbite and slander, is shameful and criminal in the extreme.

But thank God, those sins need not exist in the church of God, if gospel order and discipline are carried out. Says Christ, "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone," etc. Matt. xviii, 15-17. Here is the proper course marked out by the Saviour. First go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. He does not say, go and tell his fault to everybody

58

in the church and to everybody in the world. Those who do this err, and need to be immediately labored with themselves. If those who are tried with their brethren, would go directly to them with their grievances, they would not have so much to say, and much trouble might be saved.

But some will here say, if ever wisdom is needed it is in doing this duty. This is true. But James says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him;" chap. i, 5; and he describes heavenly wisdom as follows: "The wisdom that is from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." Chap. iii, 17. If every trait of this wisdom were fully examined, and strictly followed, this would be an easy duty to perform.

The following scriptures show how God looks upon slandering, backbiting and talebearing: "He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is fool." "Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes." "Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off." "For I fear, lest when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults." "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer

59

among thy people. . . I am the Lord thy God." "He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth (or enticeth, margin) with his lips." "Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out; so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth." Prov. x, 18; Ps. 1, 20; ci, 5; 2 Cor. xii, 20; Lev. xix, 16; Prov. xx, 19; xxvi, 20.

One of those sins of backslidden Israel over which Jeremiah was grieved, and which ripened Israel to receive the lingering wrath of Jehovah, was slandering. Jer. ix, 1-4. And when David undertakes to describe the man who will abide in the tabernacle of the Lord, and dwell in his holy hill, among other things he says, "He that backbiteth not with his tongue." Ps. xv, 1-3.

We should never use the tongue in speaking of others in any way to injure them. We should guard against bearing false witness. This is often done unintentionally by exaggerating. It is better to say nothing about the faults of others, than to speak of them in a manner to defame the character. When it becomes necessary to speak of the sins of our fellow creatures, we should show that while we hate sin, we love and pity the sinner. When we are about to speak concerning the faults of others, we should ask ourselves questions like these: Will what I am about to say benefit any one? Will it be rightly handled? Will it benefit the cause? Am I going to speak as I would like to have others speak of me if I were in the same condition?

Evil-speaking is strictly and repeatedly prohibited by the Scriptures; and under the head of evil-speaking, is speaking evil of dignities. Jude 8. The

60

evil of this sin is not realized by all. Some are liable to overlook the sacred position of those whom God calls to help in leading out his people toward the rest that remains for the children of God. Like ancient Israel, they look upon these agents as though the work with which they are connected was merely a human work, and speak accordingly. Some, like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, and a host of others, not realizing the weight and responsibilities of this work, will envy the position of those who are called to it. Num. xvi. They think they are of consequence and that the servants of God take too much upon themselves. They despise dominion, attribute the cause of their trials to dignities, and murmur when they are corrected for their sins. By pursuing this course they despise God, and murmur against him. "He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." Luke x, 16.

The fate of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the punishment of others spoken of in the Scriptures, are sufficient to teach us how God regards this sin. But besides this, we have in the backsliding and fall of many within our own recollection, a clear demonstration of God's disapprobation for this sin, and of the necessity of guarding against it.

We curse others with the tongue in speaking angry words, in fretting and scolding. No good has ever resulted from so doing. Angry words, fretting and scolding, have never benefited any one. On the they have often proved a curse and a source of much evil. They may overpower and intimidate the fearful for the time being; but they will never reform them. They are destructive of peace, affection, and

61

happiness. Peace and angry words do not exist together, and who can love habitual fretters and scolders with a love of approbation? Such are more dreaded than loved. Even the meek will feel an uneasiness while in the society of such. Though they may bear with, and pity them, they will feel as if among nettles and thistles.

Thousands of families are made miserable and unhappy by irritating words. In many instances, parents fail here. Instead of speaking kind and cheerful words; they complain and fret and scold. As they do this, they are shut up to each others' faults. The husband sees no virtue in his wife, and the wife sees no virtue in her husband. Separation often follows. Many a husband has been driven to the tavern by a fretful and peevish wife, and many a wife has been discouraged and made miserable by a fretful and complaining husband.

But the evil is not confined to the heads of families: the children generally imitate their parents. They do not obey them through love, but through fear and dread, and perhaps to not be annoyed by their fretting and scolding. Some children will conceal from their parents important matters, and tell falsehoods to avoid a scolding. Home has no attractions to such children; and many in discouragement will leave their parents.

Prov. xii, 18: "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health." While the unsanctified tongue causes discord, sorrow, gloom, discouragement and death, the sanctified tongue brings peace, joy, light, courage, health and life to those who use it, and to those who eat of its fruit.

It is quite an easy matter to speak pleasant and

62

cheerful words to the meek, to those who always bless us; but it is more difficult to speak words of pleasantness to those who address us with angry words, to such as curse and revile us. But we are expressly commanded to bless them that curse us, to bless and curse not, to not render railing for railing. Luke vi, 28; Rom. xii, 14; 1 Pet. iii, 9. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow in his steps. . . . Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." 1 Pet. ii, 21-23.

"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." Prov. xv, 1. In our intercourse with our fellow-creatures, a spoonful of oil is better than a quart of vinegar. By taking revenge of an injury we are only even to our enemy; but by passing it over we are superior. And a more glorious victory cannot be obtained over another than to return injury with kindness.

Those who give away to anger and speak angry words, manifest real weakness of soul. They may at times think they gain victories over their enemies; but they are overcome by Satan and their own corrupt propensity. They are apt to say things that they would be ashamed of if they were in their right mind. For instance how liable some are to call others fools, devils, etc., when they are angry with them. But Christ shows in what light he views these rash and irritating expressions when he says, "Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca (or vain fellow, margin), shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall

63

say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Matt. v, 22.

Christ pronounces a blessing upon peace-makers. He says, "They shall be called the children of God." Matt. v, 9. In striving to make peace they imitate their Creator, who has done so much to bring peace into this revolted province, and to reconcile us unto himself. God sacrificed his dearly beloved Son for this object, and can we not deny ourselves a little, by not indulging in angry expressions? Can we not encourage and enforce the principles of peace by a meek and godly conversation?

The tongue is wrongly used in lying, and should be employed in telling the truth. The Lord has spoken clearly and repeatedly on this point, both in the Old and New Testaments, showing the evil that is caused by lying, and setting forth the awful consequences that await liars, and the advantages and blessings that result from telling the truth.

Lying originated with the Devil, who is the father of lies, and a liar from the beginning. He lied to Eve and beguiled her, and since then, lying has been practiced in many ways, and for various purposes.

But the lying tongue cannot be relied upon. It is ever looked upon with suspicion by the prudent. But it is considered safe to confide in those who are always known to tell the truth. He that sets out to tell a lie is not sensible of the task he undertakes; for he may be forced to invent many more to support it.

Lying is often practiced to get gain. This is seen in buying and selling. It has almost become a universal custom for those who sell to speak too highly of the articles they hold out for sale, and to say little or nothing about their defects, thus making an impression

64

that these articles are worth more than they really are; and for those who buy to undervalue the articles they wish to buy, and to say little or nothing about their qualities, thus conveying the idea that they are worth less than they are in reality.

And just here we would notice the case of Ananias and Sapphira. They sold their possession, and kept back part of the price, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. They lied in trying to convey the idea that they had brought the whole price. But what language was used to convey this false idea? Peter said to Sapphira, "Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea for so much." Acts. v. And the fate of Ananias and Sapphira is known to all Bible students.

Doubtless if many at the present time were in the condition of Ananias and Sapphira, and were permitted to live and speak for themselves, they would justify themselves somewhat as follows: Why, I did not lie: I said I sold it for so much. I did sell it for that and something else. But would such be more justified than were Ananias and Sapphira? And will not the punishment of such be as certain as was theirs?

One common way of lying is to attempt to uphold error by the word of the Lord. Those who do this knowingly, or ignorantly when they might have known but refused to know, may be classed among liars. In order to give force to what they say, and make their remarks appear truthful, they must intimate or affirm that the Lord has spoken when he has not spoken; that the Bible says thus and so when it does not.

Cases of lying spoken of in the Bible are sometimes referred to, to prove that guile may be used on certain

65

occasions to bring about a good end; and falsehoods are often told to cover sin. But the Bible nowhere justifies lying. It teaches that we should not do evil, that good may come. None of those who used guile in Bible times were blessed of God for lying; but such as were blessed of God, were blessed for good traits that they possessed; and their lives would shine brighter in the heavenly records if they had not spoken guile.

No consideration should lead us to practice deceit. It is better to frankly confess our sins than to tell falsehoods to cover them, and to lose by telling the truth, than to gain by using guile. Of the holy Pattern we read, "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." 1 Pet. ii, 22. And of the last church it is written, "The remnant of Israel shall do no iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth." Zeph. iii, 13. "And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." Rev. xiv, 5.

The tongue is wrongly used in speaking vain and idle words. "But I say unto you, That for every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Matt. xii, 36, 37. If all were duly impressed with the truthfulness of this solemn declaration of the Saviour, vain and idle words would be fewer than they now are. But men will have to give account for their idle words in the day of judgment, whether they realize it or not. By our words we will either be justified or condemned in that day.

66

"How careful then ought we to live,

With what religious fear,

Who such a strict account must give

Of our behavior here."

THE TONGUE

We should not indulge in foolish talking and jesting, which, as Paul says, are not convenient, but should rather give thanks. Eph. v, 4. Again he says, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Chap. iv, 29; Col. iv, 6.

A good remedy for foolish talking and jesting is, giving thanks to the Lord. Foolish talking, jesting and joking are generally indulged in, when the mind is cheerful and feels well; and cheerfulness is good if it is rightly used. If any one has reason to be cheerful it is the Christian; and how appropriate it is to thank the Lord when we feel well. To do this, would keep our minds on the Lord and prevent us from talking foolishly. Says James, "Is any merry? let him sing psalms." James v, 13. Singing psalms and giving thanks unto the Lord, and speaking with grace, and in a manner to edify, would be more profitable and would leave a greater and more lasting satisfaction than to engage in a vain, empty, filthy and foolish conversation. Many have had to weep over foolish and trifling expressions; but no rational person was ever known to weep over a pure, elevating, graceful and instructive conversation.

The tongue should be employed in exalting and defending the truth, and in giving a reason of our hope.

67

In doing this in a proper manner, we can be a blessing to ourselves and to others. "A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth." Prov. xii, 14. Again, "The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life." Chap. x, 11. It invigorates, refreshes and gladdens the hearts of many. "A wholesome tongue (or the healing of the tongue, margin) is a tree of life;" and "the lips of the wise disperse knowledge and feed many." Prov. xv, 4, 7; x, 21.

But the tongue should use knowledge aright. Prov. xv, 2. To use knowledge aright, we must speak right words at the right time, in the right manner, with the right spirit and actuated by right motives.

"The tongue of the just is as choice silver." Prov. x, 20. Its words are choice words. They are well chosen. Among the many things that could be said on different occasions, we must speak the proper things,--the things that are needed and that can be understood and appreciated; the things that will glorify God and do others good. Those who speak promiscuously, and say all they know on every occasion, cannot be said to use knowledge aright, and must injure and be a disgrace to any honorable cause in which they may engage. In this way the cause of truth has often been brought into disrepute by its professed friend.

"A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it till afterward." "He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit (or a cool spirit, margin)." Prov. xxix, 11; xvii, 27. He is swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. James i, 19. "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that

68

refraineth his lips is wise." Prov. x, 19. See also chap. xxix, 20; Eccl. v, 1-7.

Said Christ on a certain occasion, "I have yet many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them now." Jno. xvi, 12. We are so weak and our minds are so limited, that we cannot bear the whole truth at once. We must first learn and practice the alphabet of truth, and then we are prepared to understand and learn more truth and more difficult portions of truth. And we should learn from our own weakness and experience and from the dealings of the Lord with us, how we ought to deal out knowledge to others. To deal out difficult portions of truth at first, and present too many new ideas at once, would clog and confuse the minds of our hearers, and perhaps make them conclude that we have a confused mass of ideas, and give them an unfavorable opinion of the truths we advocate.

"A word fitly spoken, is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Prov. xxv, 11. It often operates like a good medicine administered at the right time and in a proper manner. A physician who would be successful in his line of business, must first consider the physical condition of his patients and the nature of their diseases, and then he is prepared to administer unto them the proper kind of medicine. So he who would be successful in doctoring sin-sick souls, should first consider the moral condition of his patients and the nature of their moral diseases, and then he can tell what portions of truths are adapted to their respective cases, and at what time and in what manner they should be presented. And wise and successful is the person that can give to each a portion of truth in due season.

69

Some are not prepared to bear the same portions of truth that others can. Some can receive at one time and under certain circumstances, what they cannot receive at a different time and under different circumstances. Some need to be cheered and encouraged; others need to be checked. Some cases and circumstances call for sharp (yet meek) rebukes; others for moderate rebukes. Some cases call for open reproofs; others for secret reproofs. But every truth and every case should be handled with love.

There is a time to speak and a time to keep silence. "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." Prov. xvii, 28. There are many seasons when we ought to keep silence; and in many instances by speaking when we ought not to speak, we use knowledge wrong.

We use knowledge wrong when we say much about the truth, and yet obey not the truth. It would be wiser to talk less and live better. Those who have much to say about the truth, but whose lives do not agree with their profession, may be compared to a farmer who extols the qualities of a certain apple-tree in his orchard, and immediately presents a basket of miserable apples to those that hear him. If his hearers are not acquainted with him or with the tree he extols, they will say, The tree is bad and his taste is perverted; or he knows the tree is bad and wishes to deceive us. Many, not having an understanding of the truth because they have not examined it, will judge of the truth by the fruit that those bear who profess it; and if the fruit is bad, they will conclude that the profession or theory is also bad. True, this is not a logical conclusion. But we see how necessary

70

it is for those who talk the truth to live out the truth.

Knowledge is used wrong when the truth is constantly urged upon others, as though all success depended on much urging. In this way, many are wearied and disgusted, and made to feel that too much of one thing is good for nothing. Let us remember that God has something to do in enforcing the truth, that we cannot do. We should give God a chance to work by his Spirit and good angels, and should not get in the way and retard the progress of truth by overacting and going beyond the limits assigned unto us. If a clear presentation of truth, backed up by a consistent life and the spirit of truth, will not convince the honest, and lead them to action, what will?

Knowledge is used wrong when the truth is used as a club, and to get the ascendancy over others. By this course, honest souls are driven away from the truth and oppose it, who would otherwise ponder and receive it. We must not feel like a certain class whom David represents as saying, "With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own; who is lord over us?" Ps. xii, 4. It is not those who whip and drive souls who are accounted wise. The wisest of mean says, "He that winneth souls is wise."

Knowledge is used wrong when the truth is spoken from selfish motives, to get wordly gain, or to receive the praise of men, etc. Those who speak the truth from such motives, and with such objects in view, may prosper with those who love smooth things, as long as they keep in a popular channel, and dwell upon truths that are generally acknowledged, and that have no special cross connected with them; but let them leave this popular channel, and speak the whole truth, with the

71

glory of God and the good of souls in view, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear, and many will lose their worldly support and the praise and honor of men, to receive the salary of those who have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God; viz., persecution, reproach, want, privation, the honor and praise that come from God, with the promise of eternal life in the world to come. Doubtless if all who now profess to preach the truth were shut up to this salary, not a few would leave off preaching to adopt some other avocation.

Those who have an undue anxiety to fill the place of teachers while they overlook the necessary qualifications to teach the truth, would do well to consider the following injunction of James. "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation," or judgment, margin. James iii, 1. Mr. Whiting's translation reads as follows: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that as such we must receive greater condemnation."

"The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth knowledge to his lips." Prov. xvi, 23. If we are careful to think before speaking, and with reference to speaking, we shall have more knowledge and know how to use it. We shall know when to keep silence, and when, what and how to speak, and will keep our souls from troubles. "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles." Prov. xxi, 23. "He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile." 1 Pet. iii, 10.

Dear reader, if so much depends on the right use of the tongue, let us see to it that we weigh our words.

72

Let us keep our mouths as with a bridle, and take heed to our ways that we sin not with our tongues.

BODILY CLEANLINESS

It may be thought by some, that this point is foreign to the subject. But its bearing on the subject will be readily seen, if it can be shown that bodily cleanliness is a duty enjoined by the Lord on his people. Now this is shown by the following New Testament scriptures: "But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints. . . . . For this ye know that no whoremonger nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." Eph. v, 3, 5, 6. "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh." 2 Cor. vi, 1. "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." 1 Thess. iv, 7. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness." James i, 19.

Again, when God separated the children of Israel from other nations that they might be a holy people unto himself, he enjoined upon them physical cleanliness, by enacting and enforcing certain laws on diet and on physical purifications. By these laws the Israelites were commanded to wash their bodies and their garments when they had become unclean, and were made to see the propriety of keeping their persons, their garments and their dwellings clean. And they saw the importance of being clean when they appeared before the Lord. Now God cannot be less particular with us in this respect than he was with his

73

ancient people. He is as pure and holy now as he was then, and requires his people to be pure and clean in body as well as in mind.

God's requisitions respecting bodily cleanliness, are not merely arbitrary, but are grounded on reasons connected with health, self-respect, respect for our fellow-creatures, and respect and reverence for the Creator.

To attend to bodily cleanliness by washing the body and its garments occasionally, is highly conducive to health. Filthiness genders disease and corruption. Many diseases are caused by suffering the pores of the skin to be clogged with filth and dirt. When the pores are thus clogged they fail to do their work, viz., to throw off by perspiration, impurities which would remain in the system and eventually injure the body, by hindering the circulation of the blood and producing various diseases. But let the body be washed with pure water, and with proper exercise, the pores will fulfill their function, the circulation of the blood will be helped, and nature will be more apt to keep off disease.

But to keep our bodies pure, we must not only wash the body and its garments; we must divest ourselves of all impure physical habits, and see to it that we eat clean food, and breathe pure air, and that our dwellings and all that pertains to them, be kept clean; and healthy results will follow. Thus we see that cleanliness should be attended to as a matter of self-preservation.

To attend to cleanliness evinces self-respect and respect for others. By neglecting cleanliness, we show a lack of respect for our own persons, and for those with whom we associate, and dishonor the Creator.

74

Lovers of purity cannot look with complacency upon persons of filthy habits, neither can they fully delight themselves in their society. And will the Holy Spirit and good angels approbate and delight to abide with filthy persons? When persons who love taste and purity expect a visit from those whom they respect, how natural it is for them to clean up, that they may be in a condition to receive them. So should we purify our bodies as well as our minds, that we may be in readiness to receive the Holy Spirit and the ministration of good angels, and to worship the Lord with his saints.

Nature itself teaches us that we should keep our persons clean. Even individuals of unclean habits, who have not entirely lost their fine feelings and sense of propriety, will appear ashamed when they fall in with the clean and tidy unawares. And how would they feel if they were introduced into the presence of the pure in Heaven. Yet known to the Lord is the condition of all; for all things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Real filthy persons are unrefined in their taste for, and discernment of, spiritual things, and cannot fully appreciate the pure and elevating truths of God's word unless they reform by addicting themselves to clean and refined physical habits. And though we may to a certain degree attend to physical purity without being pure in heart, yet we cannot be said to be wholly sanctified if we neglect bodily cleanliness.

THE AFFECTIONS

Man by creation, is endowed with affections with which to love. Without affections, man would be unhappy indeed. He could have no feeling, no heart,

75

in his devotions, and in the performance of his several duties, and could know none of the sweets and satisfaction produced by a proper attachment for those things which are held out as objects of his love.

The affections were designed to serve as a link to sweetly unite us to the Creator, to Christ, and heavenly things, to our fellow-creatures, and various other objects that we are related to, and with which we have to do, and to give true grace and unction to all we say and do.

But the affections should be exercised according to knowledge and judgment. Says Paul, "And this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment (or sense, margin); that ye may approve things that are excellent (or try things that differ, margin); that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ." Phil. i, 9, 10.

The affections should be proportioned to the just value of things, and God should be the first object of our love. His value cannot be too highly estimated. He is supreme in all his perfections. In him centers all goodness--all that is lovely. The more we become acquainted with God's glorious and exalted character, the more we see in him that is to be loved. To him all creatures and created objects owe their existence. In him we live and move and have our being, and from him we receive all our blessings; and it is self-evident that our affections should be supremely set on him. In other words, we should love him with all the heart, soul, mind and strength. Luke x, 27; Matt. xxii, 37.

Christ should be loved as the blessed and exalted, and only begotten Son of God, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,

76

Jno. iii, 16; 1 Jno. iv, 9; Phil. ii, 6; as one who is possessed of all the fullness of the Godhead, through whom, and for whom, all things were made, and by whom we have redemption. Col. ii, 9; i, 16; Eph. i, 7; Rev. v, 9; as the being who is one with the Father, and is entitled to equal honor with the Father, Jno. x, 30; v, 23; as the chief among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely, whom angels adorate, and who should be revered and worshiped by every son and daughter of Adam. Cant. v, 10, 16; Heb. i, 6; etc., etc. In short, Christ should be loved with the same affection with which we should love the Father. All men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. "He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." Jno. v, 23.

Our love for heavenly things should be as much stronger than that for earthly things, as the heavens are above the earth, and as eternal things are infinitely more valuable than temporal things.

But our fellow-creatures also claim our affections. As they are worth less than the Creator, we should love them less than God. But we can judge of their worth by the exalted position that they occupy in God's creation, and by the sacrifice that was made to redeem them. As beings who are God's intelligent and responsible creatures as well as ourselves, and are the objects of his general care, love, and mercy equally with ourselves, sustaining the same relation to God that we do, and to us, that we do to them, and having the same rights by creation that we have, we should love them as ourselves.

But while we are to love our fellow-beings in harmony with these principles, our affections for them

77

must also be regulated by their moral condition. Not that we are to hate any one, or refrain from loving the wicked. For if we love only the good; if we love only those who love us, as the Saviour says, what reward have we? We should love all men, our enemies not excepted. But we cannot always love the wicked with a love of approbation and complacency, yet our affections for them should be blended with pity and and commiseration, and with a desire to promote their happiness.

Special ties unite us to the good. We love them with a special love because there is more in them to be loved than in others. We should esteem them highly because of their moral worth; for the sake of the work that God has wrought in them, and for their works' sake.

Those things that man was made to have dominion over, and which might be termed man's property, having been made to serve man, and being less valuable than man, should be loved less than man, and less than the Creator.

It may be here objected that John says, "Love not the world neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1 Jno. ii. 15. To this we reply, that the world as perverted in its use by sin and sinners, should not be loved. To love it thus, would be loving it to excess, and with the love that we owe to God and to our brother. If we love the world and the things that are in the world with our best affections, of course the love of the Father is not in us.

But the world as made by the Creator should be esteemed and loved for his sake, and for the uses for which it was designed. True, the Bible furnishes no

78

special command to love the world. We see no need of such a command; for man in his fallen condition is naturally inclined to love the world more than he ought. Yet the general tenor of the Scriptures shows that we should place a proper estimate upon those things which God has given us for our use and for his glory.

We see that a knowledge of the nature, worth, and condition of things, is requisite in order that we may know how to bestow our affections; and it is evident that we should, as far as our knowledge extends, love all that God loves.

But how may we know and evince to others that our affections are sanctified, and that we love as we should? This is the grand, the all-important question on this subject.

We get a clue to an answer on this point, in Phil. i, 9-11, a portion of which has already been introduced. Paul having shown that love should abound in knowledge and judgment, says, "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God," verse 11, thus connecting genuine love with the fruits of righteousness, and intimating that those who love aright are filled with the fruits of righteousness, or right doing. With this view accords the following injunction from the apostle whom Jesus loved: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." 1 Jno. iii, 18.

We are not to understand by these words that we should not show our love with our tongues, and with our words; for if our affections are sanctified we shall speak accordingly. But there is such a thing as feigned love. For instance, the prophet Ezekiel speaks of those who show much love with their mouth, but their

79

heart is after their covetousness. Eze. xxxiii, 31. Again, the Scriptures speak of, and encourage unfeigned love, which proves that the opposite exists. 2 Cor. vi, 6; 1 Pet. i, 22. There is danger of boasting of sanctified affections and perfect love, while the affections are not sanctified, and perfect love is not enjoyed and practiced. But there is no danger of deception on this point if we love in deed and in truth. Hence the fitness and force of John's injunction.

To say that our affections are sanctified and that we enjoy perfect love is a very easy task. The wickedest person under the sun can say this as strongly as the best Christians. But to show that our affections are sanctified by corresponding good deeds, is not so easy a task. If love consisted merely in saying that we love, all that would be necessary on the part of God to show us how to love would simply be, Say, I love. But to meet the faith and practice of thousands of religionists of the present age, the Lord would have to add, Because I feel it in my heart. But there are those who will not accept men's feeling, and say-so in this matter, though many, alas! have been driven away from the path of holiness by false pretensions to sanctified affections and perfect love.

We show our love to God by obeying him, and we should obey him not only with our tongues, but with all the powers of our beings. Hence, we are commanded to love God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength.

Again, we evince our love to God by keeping his commandments. "This is the love of God," says, John, "that we keep his commandments." 1 Jno. v, 3. And in like manner we show our love to Christ by keeping his commandments or sayings. Says

80

Christ, "If ye love me keep my commandments. . . . He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. . . . If a man love me, he will keep my words. . . . He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings." Jno. xiv, 15-24. Now if we keep God's commandments and Christ's teachings, we shall manifest it by our deeds.

If we profess love for God, and Christ, while we refuse to obey them, we say not the truth, and are corrupt at heart. To illustrate, let us suppose a'case: A just parent has two sons from whom he requires obedience. One of these sons comes to his parent and says, Father I love you, but wish I felt like obeying you, and refuses to do the will of his parent. The other son answers, Father, I love you, and will try to obey you. Which of these children do you think really loves his father? The first, or the second? All reasonable persons will answer, The second: the one who said he loved his parent, and would try to obey him. And no enlightened and judicious parent would accept mere feeling for obedience, and the mere assertion, I love you, for genuine love. Neither can we expect that God will accept our feeling, for obedience; or the simple declaration that we love him, for the love that we owe to him.

We show that we love our fellow-beings by keeping those obligations that grow out of the relations that we sustain to them, and by doing unto them in all things as we, with our minds enlightened on the truth, and our hearts and feelings in harmony therewith, would like to have them do unto us.

But an objection is urged on this point, as follows: if we are to love the Lord with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, how can we have any love left for

81

our fellow-beings? But this seeming objection vanishes away when we bear in mind that one very prominent way of showing our love to God, is to love what God loves, and that we cannot love God as we should, without loving our fellow-creatures. 1 Jno. iv, 20, 21, is to the point: "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment we have from him, That he who loveth God, love his brother also."

Again we have seen that we manifest our love to God by keeping his commandments. Now some of God's commandments relate to our duty to our fellow-creatures, and by keeping these commandments we show our love for our fellow-beings. Thus it is evident that we can love God with all the powers of our beings, and yet love those who are made in his image. To love our brethren is so important a duty that John says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1 Jno. iii, 14.

In 1 Cor. xii, 4-7, charity, or love, is personified. This passage, though brief, is very comprehensive. Let the reader pause as he reads it:

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not pulled up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

Charity or love never faileth, and is greater than hope or faith--even the faith that would remove mountains.

82

Without it everything else is as sounding brass and tinkling cymbal and profiteth nothing. It is pure and elevating, and as strong as death, and is the bond of perfectness. Through it we are to arrive at the pinnacle of holiness.

Love should not be confounded with false sympathy which is very different from, and opposed to love, and which sometimes prevents parents from correcting, and crossing the wills of their children, and leads them to humor them in wrong practices. False sympathy sometimes leads individuals to bestow upon others that which proves injurious to them, and frequently prevents well-meaning Christians from frankly opening their minds to, and meekly reproving their brethren, when duty and wisdom demand that they be admonished and corrected. How many souls have been ruined by false sympathy. We should therefore see to it that we mistake it not for love.

We can also derive instruction on how to know and prove the genuineness of our love, and thereby give evidence that our affections are sanctified, by considering how God and Christ love. God is love, and in this respect Christ is one with God; "He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love." The same may be said of Christ. We understand that God and Christ carry out in the strictest sense these principles of love that are made obligatory upon us. If this is not true, why do the Scriptures furnish us with declarations like these, "Every one that loveth is born of God;" and "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us?" 1 Jno. iv, 7, 12. And why are we exhorted to love one another as Christ has loved us? to walk in love as Christ also has loved us? etc. Is it not in manifesting love that we can be followers of

83

God as dear children, walk in love as Christ has loved us, and walk in the light as God is in the light? Eph. v, 1, 2; 1 Jno. i, 5-7; ii, 8-11.

God and Christ love in deed and in truth, and not in word only; and so it should be with us. The love of God shines gloriously in all his dealings with his creatures; in like manner should we manifest love in our dealings with our fellow-creatures. God shows his love in laboring to promote the happiness of his creatures; so should we evince our love by laboring for the happiness of our fellow-beings, and for the happiness of the creatures that are under them. God's love leads him to bestow general blessings upon all men, and to extend the plan of salvation to all, yet it prompts him to confer special favors on the righteous. So love leads us to do good to all men, but especially to those of the household of faith. God loved us when we were his enemies; and on the same principle we should love our enemies. God in love extends mercy and pardon unto us, suffers long with us, and helps us to overcome sin, and develop a holy character; and so should we extend mercy, pardon, and long-suffering to others, and help them in overcoming their sins and developing a holy character.

God's love for his children induces him to correct and chasten them; so earthly parents should be prompted by love, to chasten their children betimes; and so we should all be moved by love to meekly reprove others when their good, and the glory of God demands it. The love of God is unselfish; it prompts him to elevate his creatures, and to make them partakers of his rich blessings. So it is with the love of Christ; and so it is with charity, the love that we should exercise. God's amazing love moved him to

84

sacrifice for us, to give his beloved Son to die for our fallen race; and Christ so loved the world that he sacrificed his life to save them, and "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

If these points of similarity are not sufficient, the reader can carry the analogy still further.

We show our love for heavenly things by laboring to obtain them; and if our affections are set on heavenly things, our conversation will be in Heaven, and the whole course of our life will be in a heavenly direction, and will indicate that we are pilgrims and strangers here, and that this world is not our home.

We prove that we place a proper estimate on property, by honestly and temperately laboring to obtain it, and by using it in meeting our wants, and the wants of others, and in promoting the cause of truth. We should love our property with reference to our well-being, the well-being of others and the glory of God. By the use that we make of our property, we show how much we love ourselves, our fellow-beings, the Creator, and heavenly things. By using our property as the traveler uses his staff, we evince that we love it less than we love ourselves; by using it in promoting the temporal and spiritual welfare of others, we show our love for our fellow-beings, for God and heavenly things, and that we love God, our fellow-creatures, and heavenly things more than we do property.

But if we get property in laboring to excess, and at the sacrifice of health and happiness, and use it not for the purposes for which it was intended, but apply it where it will not meet our real wants, and the wants of others, refusing to render unto-God the things that are his, and that he justly claims to advance the interests of his cause, we thereby prove that we love it to

85

excess--that we love it more than we love ourselves, our fellow-creatures, the Creator and heavenly things. We show that this is our home, and that our portion will be in this life.

Christ in speaking of the last days says, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall was cold." Matt. xxiv, 12. The Saviour does not here refer to self-love, or the love of property; for the apostle Paul while speaking of the same time says, "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, . . . without natural affection." 2 Tim. iii, 1-3. The Saviour must therefore have reference to the love that we owe to God and to our fellow-creatures. And the reader is left to judge whether these predictions of Christ, and Paul are not being fulfilled before our eyes; whether love is not waxing cold even among professors of religion generally; whether natural affection, that sacred tie that used to bind parents to their children and children to their parents, and made home so pleasant and attracting, is not departing; whether self-love and excessive and perverted love for money, which is the root of all evil, and which is seen in the unprecedented anxiety and eagerness to get rich, and lay up treasures on the earth against the prohibition of Christ, Matt. vi, 19, do not generally predominate. Who that has given this subject serious and candid attention, cannot see truth in the following paragraph from Dr. Griffon:

"The world! the world! the world! This is the object which engrosses every care; this is the supreme deity that is adored. Buy and sell and get gain--out with the thoughts of death--away with the judgment and Heaven--my farms, my merchandise;

86

I will have them though the earth trembles under my feet, and Heaven weeps blood upon my head!"

The evil of loving things to excess, is seen in the fact that whatever we love with an inordinate attachment, takes the shape of an idol in our hearts. And idolatry is not confined to heathen lands. There are as many idols as there are objects that are loved to excess, and that steal away our affections from God, and lead us to disobey him. It would therefore be difficult to enumerate all the idols or false gods that are worshiped even in Christian lands. But among these are fashion, wealth, and fame. Thousands of professed Christians worship these deities with perhaps more than heathen idolatry; and value things in proportion as they further these objects. Think of the enormous sacrifices that are made to pay devotion to these strange gods, which lead men away from the true God, just as truly as the golden calf led the Israelites away from Jehovah. How many would receive and obey the sanctifying truths for these last days, were it not for the homage and worship that they pay to these and other deities.

It frequently happens that relatives and friends occupy the place of God in the affections. This is the case when they are obeyed in preference to God. But God is a jealous God; and Jesus says, "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." Matt. x, 37, 38.

Again, the heart's best affections are sometimes lavished on the appetites. Therefore we read of a class "whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their

87

shame, who mind earthly things, whose end is destruction." Phil. iii, 19

But perhaps no object is more universally idolized than self. With many, self is the great god that is worshiped and obeyed. To it everything must bow. Everything that is loved, is loved with reference to self. Self must occupy the throne--the easiest chair. The interests of self must be attended to first. The interests of others, and the glory of God, come in as an after consideration, if they are noticed at all. And perhaps if these are attended to, it is to get the applause of men, and that self may receive more honor and glory thereby.

When self is idolized it is seen in pride, boasting, self-praise, a selfish uneasiness when self is abased, and a swelling and puffing up when self is praised and exalted. But boasting is excluded, unless we boast in the Lord, from whom we receive every perfect gift, either by creation or through grace.

But the vanity and weakness of self, and other false deities will appear, in their insufficiency to save those who fondly cling to them, in the day of trouble that is just before us. Self, friends and wealth cannot deliver us in that day. Vain fashions will have no attractions then and fame will vanish away.

"And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. . . . In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty when he

88

ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?" Isa. ii, 17-22.

Eze. vii, 19: "They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed; their silver and their gold shall not deliver them in the day of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity." See also Zeph. i, 18. "And it shall be said, Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasures together for (or in, Greek) the last days." James v, 1-3.

But if our affections are sanctified, if we love as we should, we shall reap a reward in this life, and a rich reward in the life to come. That which a man sows he will also reap, and like begets like. If we sow love, we shall reap and beget love in others. We shall reap it in our brethren, and be more apt to reap it in our enemies; and even the domestic animals will notice it, and will repay it with love as far as their natures and powers will permit. God and Christ will love us freely here, deliver us from all our troubles, and make us partakers of all those temporal and spiritual blessings that we need to supply our wants in this life and prepare us for a place in the world to come, where a pure, perpetual stream of love will freely flow from God to his creatures, and from God's creatures back to God the source of love.

SELF-EXAMINATION

Self-examination, with us, may be defined as follows: A strict investigation of our spiritual state, to know whether we are in the faith, to know our defects that we may overcome them, and the improvements that we make, that we may be encouraged thereby. The necessity of attending to this duty will be seen by considering the following points:

1. This duty is enforced by a divine command. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith," is the language of inspiration. 2 Cor. xiii, 5. See also 1 Cor. xi, 28; Gal. vi, 4.

2. Since the heart is deceitful above all things, if we neglect to examine ourselves, we shall fail to obtain a thorough and correct knowledge of our own characters; and unless we know ourselves, without a knowledge of our imperfections, we cannot see the necessity of overcoming, and consequently shall fail to advance in sanctification. But if we become acquainted with our hearts by self-examination, we shall realize the necessity of overcoming and progressing in holiness.

3. By attending to self-examination we shall be enabled to guard against self-deception, which consists in a wrong judgment of our spiritual condition. The grand remedy for self-deception, is self-examination.

How liable men in every age have been to deceive themselves in regard to their characters, to call good evil, and evil, good, and act accordingly. And how many forms of self-deception there are in the world. How many actually live and die self-deceived. And self-deception is not confined to the ungodly. In every age, a great portion of the professed followers of

90

God have been deceived as to their true characters. Only a few years have passed since the testimony of the faithful and true witness to the Laodiceans, Rev. iii, 14-22, found the highly favored remnant church, even the people to whom the Lord had entrusted the sacred and important truths of the last message of mercy, deceived in regard to their spiritual state. This testimony described them as saying, "I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," while they knew not that they were "wretched and miserable, and poor and blind and naked." True, God's people have improved since this cutting message was shown to apply to them. But how have they improved? We answer, One great means of their improvement has been self-examination. But the Scriptures represent that many will pass along, deceiving themselves even till the day of the Lord, in which many will say, Lord, Lord, claiming a right to his favor; but he will profess unto them, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matt. vii, 22, 23. Now self-deception cannot exist where the work of self-examination is rightly engaged in, and faithfully and perseveringly carried on.

If we were in a perfect state and had no defects in our characters, it would be very easy and agreeable for us to examine ourselves. But in this imperfect state, self-examination is not so easy and agreeable a duty to perform. The difficulty of this work is not owing to anything obscure in the evidences of holiness; for these evidences are so clear that any one who is endowed with sufficient intellectual capacities to comprehend the common affairs of life, can understand them. Whence, then, does this difficulty arise? It arises chiefly from the pride and deceitfulness of

91

our own hearts, their liability to induce us to look upon our characters with complacency, and to excuse ourselves for our wrongs, the efforts and suggestions of the adversary and his agencies to deter us from this work, our proneness to suffer our minds to be engrossed with the cares of this life, the faults of others, and other subjects of secondary importance, when compared with this subject. And because of these and other obstacles, the hearts of men are generally averse to self-examination; and self-examination is shrunk from, and neglected by the great body of professing Christians.

But notwithstanding the hindrances in the way of this work, and the unpleasantness arising therefrom, we may, and should, know ourselves. If we can discover and criticize the faults of others, we can discover and criticize our own faults. That mind that is so reflective and discriminating in worldly things, can be so in spiritual things. Peter could say, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Jno. xxi. Hezekiah could appeal to the Lord that he had walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart, and had done that which was good in his sight. Isa. xxxviii. "We know," says John, "that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." 1 Jno. iii, 14. And Paul asserts that "the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." Rom. viii, 16.

But in entering upon an investigation of our spiritual state, it is of the utmost importance that we place before us the proper standard with which to try ourselves. And what shall this standard be? 1. The suggestions of our hearts cannot answer as the standard; for these are deceitful and lead us astray.

92

2. Neither is it safe to adopt feeling as the standard; for, as we have already seen, feeling varies with circumstances, and is often bad when we are in the way of duty. 3. Nor is it prudent to adopt conscience as the criterion; for the conscience of one man will tell him one thing, and the conscience of another man will tell him another thing. The conscience of one man will approve him for one course of conduct, and that of another man will reprove him for the same course of conduct; and conscience itself, as well as feeling and the suggestions of our hearts, needs a standard. 4. Neither could the sentiments, lives and experiences of others serve as the standard; these are also varying and conflicting and are often in direct opposition to the will of God; and though they may in some instances serve as helps, yet if we should adopt them as our criterion, we would certainly follow a zigzag course. We also need a criterion to try these and all false standards by, and this criterion is, 5. The unerring word of God. This should be the test of piety and holiness as well as of truth, the man of our counsel and the guide of our life, our only rule of faith, experience and practice, to which all our feelings and actions should be referred, and by which they should be tried. It is by this word that we shall be judged, and by it we should now judge ourselves, and prove the genuineness of our piety. If we should adopt a different standard, we might expect to fall into serious mistakes.

We cannot determine our state merely by looking at ourselves. We must also look at the truth. We must examine ourselves in the light of God's word. Our minds are naturally dark, and we should seek for light from without--from the word of the Lord. It is with

93

us in this work, as it would be with a person in a dark room desiring to find an article, or to see himself and the defects of his person and dress. He at once raises the curtains and opens the blinds to let in light, or takes a light with him; then he can attend to his business. So if we would be successful in searching our faults we must take the word of God with us, and let its blessed truths shine in our hearts and on our characters; we must look at ourselves in the glass of truth. A person who would look in a dark room for an article hard to find without the aid of light, might question the possibility of finding it; and we might despair of becoming acquainted with our characters without the light of truth.

In self-examination we should search the truth not merely to become acquainted with it as a theory, and to be able to handle it fluently, but to apply it to our own individual cases. The truth will do us no good unless we thus apply it to ourselves. Men may speak and write ably and eloquently in defense of the truth, without knowing its sanctifying power. It is one thing to see the truth at a distance, and as it is brought to bear upon others, and it is another thing to bring the truth home, and make a practical application of it to our own hearts and lives.

As the Bible must be our standard, so our model must be the perfect example of Jesus. We are required to walk even as he walked. It is safe to follow the example of Jesus, and we can follow others only as far as they agree with this perfect example.

In this work it is not only necessary that we adopt the proper standard, but we must also get clear and correct views of the evidences of piety and true holiness, some of which have already been noticed.

94

"Without this," says Helffenstein, "we shall be liable either to the extreme of presumption or despondency. While some will cry, Peace, when there is no peace, others, overlooking the exercises of a renewed heart, will be held in perpetual bondage to their doubts and fears. Great care should then be taken to ascertain what the Scriptures insist on, as essential to Christian character. It is by these points, and not by such as are merely circumstantial, that we are to determine the genuineness of our piety.

"There are some who place great dependence upon the pungency of their convictions, the ecstasy of their joys, remarkable dreams, sudden impulses, the unexpected application of some Scripture promise, or the fact that they can refer to the particular moment and place of their supposed conversion. None of these things, however, constitute the distinguishing marks of grace. Instead, therefore, of directing our minds to those circumstances which may be as marked in the cases of the self-deceived as in the cases of true believers, our inquiries should relate to those traits of character which are the invariable fruits of the Spirit, and which are common to all the subjects of its saving influence."

There may be a tendency in us to take remorse, or a sense of guilt, as evidence of true repentance. But thousands have been deeply convicted of their sins who have never truly repented, and brought forth fruits meet for repentance. The wicked in the last day will have an overwhelming sense of guilt when it will be too late to repent. True repentance is invariably connected with remorse; but remorse may be realized where there is no genuine repentance.

As for dreams, they may come from various sources,

95

and God has even given genuine dreams to those who were not in a state of grace. There are false joys and rejoicings, as well as true ones, and those who have them may seem happy while experiencing them. And the fact that we were once genuinely converted does not prove that we are now in a good condition. We may have failed to walk in the light, to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, since our conversion, and as a consequence be in a backslidden state.

We can also attach too much importance to the idea that we have a form of godliness, and to the simple fact that we have formally connected ourselves with the people of God. We would not intimate that it is wrong to have a form of godliness, or to formally unite with God's people. There is a form of godliness, as well as a form of the truth and a form of doctrine, Rom. iii, 20; vi, 17 ; 2 Tim. i, 13, to which we should hold fast. The power of godliness does not exist without a certain form ; but a form of godliness may, and does exist without the power. Hence Paul in enumerating the leading sins which were to make the last days perilous, notices the fact that men have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. 2 Tim. iii, 1-5.

The Jews adhered strictly to a form of godliness even after God had rejected them, and this has been the case with many ever since; and who can say that there are not some even among us--some who have formally identified themselves with the remnant church--who will be separated from God's people, spued out of the mouth of the Lord, and perish with the ungodly at last? We should therefore take heed that we attach not too much importance to these circumstances separately considered.

There is also a possibility of taking as evidences of

96

piety, constitutional traits,--traits with which we may be favored by nature, such as humanity, a calm and even temper, or constitutional fortitude, etc. These traits are good as far as they go; but they are known to exist in some of the unregenerate, and therefore are not the unmistakable evidences of piety.

It will greatly tend to facilitate this work to commence with fundamental principles, with plain, everyday duties, which can be easily understood, and the performance of which constitutes what is often called every-day religion, and with those faults which we are most likely to commit. By noticing these points the mind will be gradually prepared to advance further and deeper in the work.

There is an alphabet to self-examination as well as to the other branches of sanctification, and if we leave this alphabet, and try to plunge into the depths of the work at once, we shall become confused, make egregious blunders, get discouraged, and perhaps give up the work, concluding that it is impracticable. The course of some well-meaning Christians in this work, may be well represented by a person's trying to learn to read without first learning his letters, or by a student's commencing to study mathematics, who would leave the first four rules in arithmetic and try to solve a difficult problem in the rule of three. We need a knowledge of the alphabet--not only when we commence to learn, but ever afterward--as long as we need to read; and so with the first rules in arithmetic; and so with the fundamental principles, duties and errors in self-examination. We are too apt to leave these plain common-sense principles, to go off in search of something great and mysterious.

As it is easier for the mind to look at those things

97

which are without, and which are tangible, we might examine our outward conduct, our actions and words, and see how they agree with the fundamental principles of right-doing, as summed up in the ten commandments; and then proceed to the mind, from whence our words and actions flow, exploring its dark recesses, and trying its thoughts and motives by the same principles as explained by different Bible writers, and especially by the great Teacher. It is highly necessary that we try our motives; for it sometimes happens that apparently good words and actions can be traced to wrong motives; as in the case for instance, when we attend to the temporal or spiritual interests of others, merely to receive the praise of men.

But we must remember to implore the Spirit's aid, that we may have its illuminating influence to shine upon the truth, and in our minds, that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened to see the truth and its bearing upon our characters. In the language of Jesus to the Laodiceans, we should "anoint our eyes that we may see." The Holy Spirit is more than willing to help us in searching the truth and our hearts, and if we have the holy unction, we shall see our faults as fast as it will be for our good.

It will also greatly help us to advance in self-knowledge to improve on the knowledge we have already. To live up to the truth brings our natures in harmony with it, and brings light to the soul. By neglecting to live up to the knowledge that we already have, and by the practice of sin, our natures become gradually, and sometimes imperceptibly, averse to the truth; we bring darkness to our minds, and cannot see the force of the truth and our true condition.

Self-examination necessarily commences before

98

version, and should continue through our whole experience in overcoming--as long as the Lord sees fit to add to our store of practical knowledge. And we must not refuse to come to the light, lest the following cutting reproof of Christ be found to apply to us: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John iii, 19, 20.

Self-examination should be attended to deliberately, frequently, systematically, impartially and thoroughly. The importance of this work should induce us to engage in it cheerfully and without compulsion. We should attend to it frequently. 1. Because our knowledge of self may be effaced from our minds by other and more recent impressions made on the mind, and as a consequence, we may lose a realizing sense of our condition. 2. As we should advance in the knowledge of self, the oftener we learn a lesson of self-knowledge, the more rapid will be our progress. It would be proper at least to take a glance at ourselves at different intervals in the day, as we are called upon to perform our several duties, and to be systematic in calling ourselves to a strict account for all our conduct at the close of each day. It would also be beneficial to have a list of simple and pointed questions to address to ourselves on the occasion. System will help us here as well as elsewhere.

Says Dr. Watts, "It was a sacred rule among the Pythagoreans, that they should every evening, thrice run over the actions and affairs of the day, and examine what their conduct had been, what they had done,

99

or what they had neglected; and they assured their pupils that by this method they would make a noble progress in the path of virtue." And shall we be behind these heathen philosophers in this important exercise? Dr. Watts also furnishes the following lines, which we would do well to remember:

"Nor let soft slumber close your eyes, Before you've recollected thrice The train of actions thro' the day. Where have my feet chose out the way? What have I learned where'er I've been, From all I've heard, from all I've seen? What know I more, that's worth the knowing? What have I done that's worth the doing? What have I sought that I should shun? What duty have I left undone, Or into what new follies run? These self-inquiries are the road That leads to virtue and to God." This work should be attended to thoroughly and impartially. In this respect it should be with us as with a judge sitting on a criminal case. It is a case of life or death, and justice and equity require that we be thorough in our investigations, and impartial in our decisions, and that we excuse not self because we are related to it. We are all in danger of excusing self for so-called, little sins. Says the natural heart, It is but a small matter, a trifle. Why be so particular about such niceties? But is it a little God whose word we have violated, and against whom we have sinned? Remember that it is the little foxes that spoil the vine, and that it takes but a small breakage in a ship to sink it. Awful consequences have followed seemingly insignificant deviations from right, as clearly appears from numerous cases recorded in the Scriptures.

100

Self-examination is a character work, and accords with the nature of the third message. As a study, it requires quiet, and is not so much characterized by sudden impulses and flights of feeling, as by cool and calm thinking. Hence, those who are peculiarly fond of excitement and high raptures, and only skim at the surface of the subject, will not delight themselves in this work, until they place before them the proper standard, and cease to reach out after feeling, at the neglect of heart-work and right principles. Holiness is not spasmodic and periodical, and we are not to determine our state so much by what we are once a week, once a month, or once a year, as by what we are habitually.

As helps in acquiring self-knowledge, trials and afflictions cannot be too highly appreciated. The first object of trials is to make us inquire into our condition. It is when we are tried that we can easily ascertain the nature of our characters. It is then that we can readily see what dispositions enter into our characters, whether we are inclined to obey God or not, whether the Christian graces shine in us brightly or dimly. Take, for example, the graces of patience, faith and love. Is it not when we are tried that we can tell whether these graces are planted and growing in our hearts? Is it not when we endure trials with a calm and unruffled temper, without murmuring or fretting, that we can truly say that we are patient? But if we do not thus endure, are we not impatient? And is it not so with faith? Is it not when trials and obstructions are placed in its way, that we can tell how much confidence we have in God? And the same is true of love. We cannot really know how much of it we possess till we are proved. For

101

instance, when the Lord requires us to do anything that is really crossing, we may know how much we love him, by our willingness to obey him. There is such a thing as loving God and our fellow-men with selfish affections--merely because of favors which we receive from them. But this is discoverable when these favors are withheld from us. And it is when we are deprived of temporal or spiritual blessings that we can tell whether we love them more than we ought, or with perverted affections. We might judge too favorably of our characters by measuring ourselves only by what we are in prosperity, and when everything seems to be in our favor.

Dear reader, if you have not already entered upon the work of self-examination, be entreated to enter upon it at once. Be not intimidated by the vastness of the work. Commence by taking the first step, and by taking the first step you will be preparing for the second step, and so on, the way opening before you as you advance. If you have already commenced this work, be encouraged to continue it cheerfully and perseveringly, considering it as the leading branch of sanctification, yielding great advantages and a rich compensation to those who improve upon it.

THE POSSIBILITY OF OVERCOMING

Self-examination, if properly attended to, enables us to see our characters in their true light, and brings to our view defects in us that we had not previously seen; and it is when we are impressed with a sense of our leanness and the magnitude of our sins, that the question naturally arises, Is it possible to overcome and attain to holiness? God be praised that this question can be answered in the affirmative; that

102

such frail and imperfect creatures as ourselves can overcome the corruptions and imperfections of our fallen natures, and become holy in this present state. Our reasons for believing in the possibility of overcoming and attaining to holiness are briefly as follows:

1. God commands us to be holy. But God is too good, wise, and just a being, to command us to do any thing that we cannot by his grace perform. Therefore we can by the grace of God become holy.

2. Christ and Paul prayed for the sanctification of the church and encouraged men to seek after holiness; and so with other good persons spoken of in the Scriptures. Now it would be inconsistent to believe that Christ and Paul and other good persons whose course was approved by God, should pray for that which cannot be done, and teach accordingly. Therefore the sanctification of men is possible.

3. Blessings are held out by the Lord as a reward for overcoming. But to say that men cannot overcome would represent the Lord as trifling with, deceiving, and imposing upon, mankind, by promising them a reward for doing that which they cannot do, and thus impeach the veracity and justice of God; or, it would make it appear that God did not really know what could be done for man, and made a mistake in promising certain blessings to the overcomer, thus limiting God, and derogating from his power, knowledge, and wisdom. But the Almighty is not such a God as this position would represent. Hence, we believe that we may overcome.

4. The whole tenor of the Scriptures, and plan of salvation shows that we can become holy. It was to this end that the plan of salvation was instituted, that

103

the Scriptures were given by inspiration, that Christ died and rose again, and ascended on high to intercede for our fallen race, that the Holy Spirit is sent as a teacher, guide, and comforter, to impart light, comfort and strength, that the unfallen angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation, that God's people are tried and corrected, etc. And shall we limit God's plan and all the means which he employees in carrying it out? Shall we conclude that the Scriptures were given in vain? that Christ's death and intercessions, the ministration of the Spirit and good angels, etc., are all inadequate for the great object for which they were intended? In other words, did the great Jehovah, Jesus, and good angels, all make a blunder when the plan of salvation was laid? Did Jesus conclude to leave the realms of glory, die an ignominious death, and plead the merits of his blood without first ascertaining what his death and intercessions could and did the angels err in deciding to help in carrying out a plan that cannot accomplish the object for which it was devised? Would it not be more reasonable to believe that the plan of salvation is perfect? that the helps that God has devised are adapted to carry it out and that men can be sanctified?

5. That it is possible to overcome fully and be wholly sanctified, is abundantly proved by those scriptures which exhort men to perfect holiness, to follow the example of Christ, to be followers of God, to be perfect as our Father who is in Heaven is perfect, and by the fact that a perfect standard of holiness is given us to work by. If we could not be perfect overcomers, would it be made incumbent upon us to follow the

104

example of him who did no sin, and to work by a perfect standard of holiness?

6. But the last church will, as we have seen, need a special preparation to meet the Lord at his coming. They will need to be wholly sanctified, not only because of the additional truths which will be brought to light, and be made in a special manner obligatory upon them, but also because they will have to pass through the time of trouble without a mediator between God and them. This time of trouble is when Michael or Christ shall stand up, the great Prince standeth up for the children of thy people. Dan. xii, 1, and when the unmixed wrath of God, which is identical with the seven last plagues, Rev. xiv, 9-14; xv, 1; xvi, and which is to follow the proclamation of to third angel's message, will fall upon the shelter-less heads of the enemies of God's truth and people. When this time of trouble comes, there can be no Mediator between God and man; for the unmingled wrath of God cannot be poured out till mercy closes; and when mercy closes, Christ's mediatorial work will cease, and from that time onward there can be no pardon and no change in the characters of men. Then will the following solemn and everlasting decree pass in the courts of Heaven, and the effects of it be realized both by the just and the unjust on earth: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold I come quickly." Rev. xxii, 11, 12. Then also will be fulfilled Isa. lix, 16: "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor."

From certain texts of Scripture we see that the

105

time of trouble and the wrath of God will last one year. The first text which we will notice refers to Babylon and reads, "Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, mourning, and famine." Rev. xviii, 8. Famine could not come on Babylon in one literal day; therefore the day spoken of in this text is symbolic or prophetic. According to the year-day principle, which is established by the Scriptures of truth, Eze. iv, 5, 6; Num. xiv, 34, and which is the correct principle by which to interpret prophetic time, one day means one year. The way having been previously prepared, famine could be experienced in one year.

It may be objected to this interpretation that the word hour is also applied to Babylon's judgment in verses 10, 17, and 19, and that if we are to apply our plan of interpretation throughout the whole subject, there will be a palpable contradiction. To which we answer, that if it was the Lord that spoke in both instances, there might be some force to this objection. But the plausibility of this objection disappears when we take into consideration the idea that in our proof text a "voice from Heaven" speaks, and foretells that Babylon's plagues shall come in one day, while in verses 10, 17, and 19, it is the men of earth that speak while Babylon is receiving her plagues, using the word hour not in a prophetic light,--but as a matter of fact, to denote how suddenly her plagues have come upon her, her riches have come to nought,--and she is made desolate.

Isaiah while dwelling on the time when the indignation of the Lord will be upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies; when he shall utterly destroy them, and their slain shall be cast out,--and

106

their stink shall come out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood, says, "for it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion." Isa. xxiv, 8. Here the nouns day and year are put in by apposition, the noun year being explanatory of the noun day, and establishing our proposition beyond the possibility of successful contradiction. Isa. lxiii, 4 is also explicit: "For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come."

The Lord will come at the close of the time of trouble; for under the sixth plague he says, "Behold I come as a thief." It is also under this plague that the spirits of devils, working miracles, go to the kings of the earth and to the whole world to gather them to the battle of the great day, in which Christ will take a part at his coming. Rev. xvi, 14, 15; xix, 11-21; 2 Thess. ii, 8; Joel iii, 9-13. The Lord must come under the seventh plague; for it is under this plague that the islands and mountains are moved out of their places, and that men cry to the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of the Lamb. Compare Rev. xvi, 20; vi, 14-17.

Therefore the last church will be one year on the earth without an intercessor, while the plagues are falling. Read Ps. xci. If therefore the church should come to the time of trouble with the least stain upon their characters, they could not be saved; for there will then be no more pardon, and the destinies of all will be unalterably and everlastingly fixed. But the Scriptures teach that some will be alive on the earth and will be saved when Christ comes; 1 Thess. iv, 15-17; Heb. ix, 28; Isa. xxvi, 9; and we are shut up to the conclusion that these will have

107

developed perfect characters previous to the time of trouble. But

7. We have Bible testimony showing that the last church will be holy. Says Isaiah, "And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living (or to life, margin) in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning." Isa. iv, 3, 4.

We need not stop to prove that Zion and Jerusalem in the prophecies of the Old Testament are sometimes symbolic, referring to the Church under this dispensation. This point can be readily seen by those who will take pains to acquaint themselves with the many prophecies that prove it. Read chaps. ii, and iii; Joel ii, 1, 15; Zeph. i, 12-18, etc. In the previous chapter we are evidently brought to the day of preparation, when the professed church is fast filling up the cup of her iniquity; and the Lord is about to enter into judgment with the ancients of his people and the princes thereof, because of their sins; and it is to be well with the righteous but ill with the wicked; and "Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground. In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent for them that are escaped of Israel." Then follows our text: "And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy."

108

They will not be called holy by those who oppose them, unless it is by way of reproach, and the language of this prophecy is not reproachful. Neither will they call themselves holy; for those who are the farthest advanced in holiness are the last ones that will boast of it. Then it must be the Lord that pronounces them holy--the One that pronounces the branch of the Lord beautiful and glorious--the One that washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purges the blood of Jerusalem by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning; and if the Lord pronounces them holy, they will be holy indeed.

Zeph. iii, 13; is also to the point. It furnishes us with the bold prediction that, "the remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity." Let none try to evade the force of this declaration by applying it to ancient Israel; for it never could be said of ancient Israel at any period subsequent to the time when this prophecy was given that they did no iniquity. Again, it is seen by the connection, that this prophecy is to be fulfilled at the close of the gospel age; see chaps. i, and ii, in which the middle wall of partition between the Jews and Gentiles is broken down, and he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Consequently this prophecy does not apply to those who are Jews outwardly or to the literal descendants of Israel as such, but to those who are Jews inwardly and Israelites in the gospel sense-- Israelites indeed, whether they can trace back their lineage to Israel or not; to those who have by faith been grafted into the tame olive tree, the Abrahamic stock, from which many of the literal Jews have been cut off through unbelief; to the remnant or last end

109

of the Christian church. Eph. ii, 11-22; Rom. ii, 28, 29; ix, 6; xi, 17-21; Gal. iii, 7, 16, 29; Jno. i, 47.

The above prophecies and other prophecies of the same import, not only prove that it is possible to overcome; but that the remnant church will really and actually overcome, that they will heed the many scriptures which make it obligatory for the church living in the last end of time to develop holy characters, that they may be found of the Lord without spot and blameless at his coming.

Yes, we may fully overcome and be wholly sanctified. "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." 1 Thess. v, 24. He will sanctify you wholly, and preserve you blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will finish it until the day of Christ." Phil. i, 6. God is faithful to accomplish that which he has promised, and supply our needs in sanctification. Do we need truth, present truth? This he gives under the proclamation of the last message of mercy. Do we need the Spirit's aid? He is more willing to give the Spirit to them that ask, than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. Are the gifts of the Spirit needed "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ?" Eph. iv, 11-16. God himself has set these gifts in the church, 1 Cor. xii, 28, and vouchsafes them to those that believe, through the general commission of his Son to which all professing Christians fall back for

110

authority to preach the gospel, believe and be baptized, Mark xvi, 17-20, and through the writings of the apostles and prophets. See works on Spiritual Gifts and Miraculous Powers, ably and clearly defending the truth on this subject. Do we need trials and afflictions to purify us? We shall find enough of these, and such as are of the right kind to sanctify us, in endeavoring to live out the truth. And, "as many as I love," says Jesus, "I rebuke and chasten." Rev. iii, 19.

But when inspiration says that God will sanctify us, it is understood that there are conditions for us to fulfill. Though we can no more attain to holiness in our own strength and wisdom than we can stop the sun in his course, yet the Lord cannot sanctify us and do what he has promised, unless we do what we can to help ourselves, by taking hold of his help and moving out as far as our strength goes, as we would in temporal things. Hence sanctification is held out in a two-fold light in the Scriptures; first, as a work wrought in us by God; and second, as a duty for us to perform. Hence while we are apprized that it is God who worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure, that without Christ we can do nothing, etc., we are also commanded to repent, believe, and be baptized, to keep God's commandments, to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, etc.

It is with us in overcoming as with feeble children that are required by their parents to perform a certain task. They are encouraged to perform their work, and are promised help and a reward. They move out on the word and promise of their parents, doing what they can, and looking to their parents for help. Their parents cheerfully lend them their aid, smiling upon

111

and approving their course, rewarding them, and still promising them their aid and a greater compensation.

The correctness of this position is further seen by considering that all the Christian graces are acquired and perfected by practice; and the saying that "practice makes perfect," will apply here as well as in temporal things. If we would have faith we must exercise faith; if we would have knowledge we must dig for it; if we would have temperance we must cultivate temperate habits; if we would have patience we must cultivate and exercise patience; if we would possess humility we must humble our own souls by practice; if we would possess the crowning grace of love, we must cherish love as a virtue, and cause it to take root and grow in our hearts by cultivation and practice; and so with the rest of the Christian graces. The Christian graces are not bestowed upon us without our co-operation, and without our knowing anything about it. They are wrought in us and by us, through the grace and strength of God. God does not work for us to uphold us in idleness; but he works for us by helping us to work for ourselves.

We should be co-workers with God. God promises us his aid; but we must ask, believe, and live for it. If we ask, the promise is that we shall receive. Again, "If we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us," 1 John iv, 14, and we know that it is the will of God that we should be sanctified. Here we can ask expecting to receive, if we do what we can to live according to our prayers. And "all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark ix, 23. By living faith we can overcome. Think of what faith has done in the past. Faith is always attended with success, while unbelief is attended with failure. Faith raises

112

the mind upward, magnifies the promises of God, and brings light, courage, and strength to the soul. Unbelief drags the mind to the dust, contracts the promises of God, shuts God and Christ, and all the helps they afford, from our view, and brings darkness, weakness, and spiritual death to the soul.

The helps that God provides in this work may be compared to a mighty machinery, which when set in motion by a slight action, commands mighty power, and accomplishes a great work. If we will but throw ourselves on the means of grace, and work in harmony therewith, they will command Omnipotence, and will, with our feeble co-operation, accomplish a mighty work for us, even our sanctification.

We should not suffer our sins to weigh us down. Christ died for our sins, and says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. xi, 28. Cast your burdens on him, and he will sustain you. He is willing to forgive your sins, bear your burdens, and heal your wounds. For this he died. Believe it. The Lord does not want you to be always shut up to your weakness, and to the wounds that sin has made. This would weaken you. Examine your wounds sufficiently to know their nature, and to know the sins that have caused them, to guard against them hereafter; then flee to the healing fountain, to the blood that cleanses from all sin, and heals our wounds. Precious fountain! precious blood! precious, loving Saviour! He invites you, and wishes to make you free. "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Rom. viii, 15. Keep near the bleeding side of Jesus. Draw sap and nourishment from the living vine, and

113

you will flourish and glorify the Father by bearing much fruit, which will be the best evidence that you are overcoming.

If we would be successful in overcoming we must not work at random, but take right hold of those sins by which we are most likely to be overcome, considering them as our most dangerous enemies, and not give up the battle till we obtain the victory. Our inward foes are the worst foes that we have. If we overcome these, we can more easily keep our outward foes at bay; for they will have no sympathizers in the citadel of our hearts, to divide our strength, work against us, and overcome us.

As we commence the work of overcoming, we have unsanctified habits to contend with; but by a change of practice, these habits are changed into sanctified habits, which serve as helps in living holiness.

In overcoming we frequently meet with darkness produced by ill health, trials, the powers of darkness, etc., which may for the time being obscure the mind and eclipse the clearness, strength, harmony, and beauty of the truth, and the reality of the work from our view. At such times we should not give way to discouragement, and hastily conclude that there is no reality to the truth and to the work in which we are engaged. As well might we conclude that surrounding objects do not exist because we do not see them in a dark night, as to conclude that we have not got the truth, and that there is nothing to sanctification, when the truth and sanctification are only shut from our view by such causes.

A knowledge of our physical and mental capacities and deficiencies is also requisite and highly useful in overcoming. Owing to various causes, among which

114

the violation of the laws of our being, and the different practices and educations of men stand prominent, men have physical and mental defects, which could not have entered into the organization of man as he came out of the hands of his wise and bountiful Creator; and there is a difference in the capacities of different individuals. The reader only needs to fall back on his own observation to see that men generally are not as healthy and strong as they once were; that some individuals are stronger physically than others; that some have comparatively strong and well-balanced minds, while others have not as strong and well-balanced minds; that in the mind of one individual certain faculties are predominant, and inclined to have the ascendancy, while in the mind of another individual other faculties are predominant; that the mind of one person is deficient in some particulars, while the mind of another person is deficient in other particulars; that one cast of mind is better adapted to a certain vocation, while another cast of mind is better adapted to another vocation.

Now sanctification requires that we use all our strength and powers to the best possible advantage in promoting the glory of God by advancing the interests of his cause. But we cannot do this without a knowledge of our natural capacities and defects. Without this knowledge we might mistake our calling and duty, and come short of accomplishing what we should to be useful in the world. We might get out of our place by adopting a calling, the duties of which we have not the abilities to perform, or by adopting a vocation in which our capacities will not be all called into exercise. For a want of this knowledge many have brought reproach upon the cause, and discouragement to their

115

own souls, and have failed to advance in the Christian course. We should know our physical and mental lacks, that we may move with reference to them, and guard against the errors and mistakes that they may lead us into.

If we would overcome we must be zealous in the work. "Be zealous, therefore, and repent," is the injunction of Jesus to the Laodiceans. When we see our sins by self-examination, we should first be zealous in repenting of the same. We should also be zealous in applying the helps that God affords. But our zeal should not be fanatical or presumptuous, but according to knowledge, according to the present truth, the time in which we live, the shortness of time, and the vastness of the work that is before us. We have a great work to do and a short time to do it in, and have mighty foes to oppose us at every step; therefore we need zeal, and all our energies and powers should be strung to action. Says Christ, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Luke xiii, 24. Some have rendered the original word from which the word strive is translated, agonize; but perhaps no one word alone can convey the full sense of the original. It is used to represent the efforts put forth in fighting, and the exertions that were made anciently by combatants in the public games, John xviii, 36; 1 Cor. ix, 25, etc., and must signify to bring into requisition all the powers and energies both of body and mind. This we must do to enter in at the strait gate; i.e., to overcome.

Men of this world manifest zeal in temporal things, and shall we lack zeal in eternal things? Christ was zealous; Paul was zealous; and all those who have

116

made proficiency in holiness, and have been useful in the world, have had zeal; and it will require zeal and strength to overcome in these last days of peril; and to get zeal and strength we must act and be in earnest. If we manifest as much zeal and earnestness in overcoming as the men of this world do in their worldly pursuits, we shall not fail to overcome and perfect holiness. As our day is, so shall our strength be. God will not leave nor forsake us, but will meet us in the work and bid and help us go forward. He will take us as it were by the hand, and we shall go from strength to strength, conquering and to conquer. And if in anything we be otherwise minded, he will reveal even this unto us. And "if God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Rom. viii, 31, 32. He will help us to be more than conquerors in all things, and over sin and all our foes, through him that hath loved us; and in holy triumph and joy we shall be enabled to gratefully exclaim, Blessed be God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

BEARING OF THE LAW OF GOD ON THIS SUBJECT

By the law of God we mean the law that is commonly designated as the moral law, and which prescribes to men their religious, and social duties; in other words, "their duties to God and to each other" (Webster); the law which is based in the nature of God, and in the nature of man, and which is composed of those obligations, that grow out of the relations that we sustain to God, and to our fellow-creatures; the law that God proclaimed in person on Mount Sinai, in the hearing of all Israel, his chosen people, and wrote with his

117

own finger on stone; the only public address that God ever made to his people, with the exception of the declaration, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Matt. iv, 17; the law of which Christ says, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law," Matt. v, 17, and that the remnant church will be found keeping, while the dragon's wrath will be stirred against them, Rev. xii, 17, and for the keeping of which, the last blessing in the Bible is pronounced by Christ, as follows: "Blessed are they that do his (the Father's) commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city," Rev. xxii, 14. Let us see the bearing that this law has on the subject. And

1. We have seen that sanctification consists in cleansing from sin; and "sin," says the beloved apostle, "is the transgression of the law." 1 Jno. iii, 4.

2. In our unsanctified state we are the servants of sin, but in proportion as we are sanctified we become the servants of righteousness; and David says, "All thy commandments are righteousness." Ps. cxix, 172.

3. Sanctification is effected through the truth, and the Saviour says, "Thy word is truth." Now no portion of the Scriptures can with more propriety be called the truth, and God's word, than the law of God, which proceeded out of his mouth. Says the Psalmist, "Thy law is truth." Ps. cxix, 142.

4. Sanctification is a progressive work, and the necessity of advancing in the knowledge of the truth. Now the law of God is so comprehensive that it affords to all an opportunity to progress in

118

holiness, and advance in the knowledge of right and wrong, which is indispensable in sanctification. Those who have meditated impartially, and without prejudice on the law of God, have not failed to notice its comprehensiveness. Says Thomas Scott, "This law which is so comprehensive, that we cannot measure it." See Commentary. Bishop Hopkins on the ten commandments, published by the American Tract Society, says, "There is no duty required, nor sin forbidden by God, but it falls under one, at least, of these ten words." Again, he says, "The words are few; but the sense and matter contained in them is infinite, the rest of Scripture is but a commentary upon them, either exhorting us to obedience by arguments, or alluring us to it by promises, warning us against transgression by threatenings, or exciting us to the one, and restraining us from the other, by examples recorded in the historical part of it. All those precepts which are dispersed in the Scriptures, and which concern the regulating of our lives and actions, although not found expressly mentioned in the decalogue, may yet very aptly be reduced under one of these ten commandments." H. H. Dobney (Baptist minister) of England, says, "These (the ten commandments) are illustrated, and their extensive bearing shown, by many other precepts which are scattered through the Scriptures. But there is not a single injunction or prohibition (of a moral kind we mean, of course, not referring now to the ceremonial law given to the Israelites, which has another explanation), which is not referable to one or the other of these commandments, and included in it." See Future Punishment, by H. H. Dobney. This point will be more clearly seen as we advance in our investigation. David must have

119

realized its truthfulness when he said, "I have seen an end of all perfection; but thy covenant is exceeding broad." Ps. cxix, 96. By reading this Psalm we see that David is dwelling upon the law of God's mouth, verse 72, and the subject of this entire chapter is the law of God.

5. The last church will be sanctified through the last message of mercy, viz., the third angel's message; and the law of God constitutes a prominent part of this message.

6. Sanctification covers the whole man; and so does the law of God. The second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth commandments refer directly to the actions and words, and consequently relate to the body; but these commandments not only have to do with the actions and words; for the whole law is spiritual, Rom. vii, 14, reaching the spirit or mind, regulating the thoughts, desires, and affections. Those precepts which forbid the external acts of sin, forbid likewise the inward thoughts, desires and motions of sin in the heart. The Saviour makes this point very clear in his remarks on the law, in Matt. v. See also 1 Jno. iii, 15. Again, the same precepts which require the external acts of duty, require also those holy thoughts and affections that are suitable thereto. But the tenth precept, "Thou shalt not covet," might serve as a key to all the commandments, by showing that they extend to the heart.

The law covers the senses; for first, it is by the means of some of the senses, at least, that it reaches the mind. Again, men sin with their senses; and with their senses men should keep the law. Again, those senses which group around the appetites are regulated by that portion of the law that governs the

120

appetites, viz., the seventh commandment. That this commandment has to do with our eating and drinking is not only seen by reflecting on the bearing that eating and drinking has on the passions, but also by reading Heb. xii, 16: "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright."

Sanctification requires that we exercise our working faculties; so does the fourth commandment. "Thy work," which is specified in the fourth commandment, must include, at least, sufficient physical exercise to promote health.

Sanctification relates to the life, and makes it obligatory upon us to care for our lives and health, that we may employ them to the glory of God; so does the law of God. This law may be called the law of life, not merely from the consideration that life is bestowed for keeping it, but also because it is so adapted to the wants of our natures, that by keeping it we will, as a natural consequence, live longer than we would by breaking it. Let the reader read each of the ten commandments with reference to this point, and see if our assertion is not correct. But the sixth commandment, in particular, regulates our course with regard to preserving life and health. It is one of the negative precepts, and not only prohibits the sin of destroying our lives, and the lives of others, but it includes the injunction of the contrary duty, viz.: to make use of all proper and available means to ameliorate and preserve health, and prolong our existence and the existence of others.

That the law governs our tongues not only appears from the third and ninth commandments, but also from testimonies on the law in the New Testament. The

121

first testimony that we will notice is James ii, 12: "So speak ye and so do as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." The law that the apostle here alludes to, is that law which said, "Do not commit adultery. Do not kill." Verse 11, in connection with marginal reading. The fact that we are to be judged by this law is the grand motive that should lead us to take heed how we speak and act; therefore this law must determine how we should speak and how we should not speak.

Again, James iv, 11: "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law; but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one law-giver who is able to save and to destroy; who art thou that judgest another?" It is evident from this passage that he that speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother (accordingly, of course), not only violates the law, but virtually sets himself as a judge of the law, and a lawgiver by approving what the law disapproves. But "there is but one lawgiver," etc. French Trans.

1 Pet. iv, 11: "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." By reference to verses 7 and 17, it is seen that this text applies when the end of all things is at hand, and the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. At this time the duty to speak as the oracles or commandments of God (see Acts vii, 38; Rom. iii, 2), is made particularly forcible by the fact that light is shining on the commandments, and they are better understood. If we speak according to these commandments, we shall speak right words with respect to God and our

122

and concerning all that pertains to them.

Sanctification has to do with the affections, and requires us to love God supremely, and our neighbor as ourselves; and so with the law of God. We cannot keep the first four commandments as they should be kept, without loving God supremely; neither can we keep the last six commandments without loving our neighbor as ourselves. And we cannot love God as we should without loving what God loves and hating what God hates (as far as our knowledge extends); and if we love what God loves and hate what God hates, we will love all righteousness and hate all sin.

Bodily cleanliness is a duty enjoined in sanctification; and of the seventh commandment Mr. Dobney, who appears to have bestowed much thought on the law of God, says, that it includes in the prohibition every kind and degree of impurity. But if any will refuse Mr. Dobney's exposition, and deny that the seventh commandment prohibits all physical impurity, they are requested to bear in mind that physical uncleanness is detrimental to health, and is therefore condemned by the sixth commandment.

7. Sanctification is a character work. But a rule or law is necessary to the development of character. We can form no definite idea of a person's character except we compare it with a rule of right, with something that will determine right from wrong. Now the law of God is the very rule that shows us what is right, and that determines right from wrong. Again, all those excellencies which enter in the formation of a perfect character, establish the law. They can be traced to the law of God.

8. In sanctification we are to follow the example of

123

Jesus, who did no sin and kept his Father's commandments. 1 Pet. ii, 22; Jno. xv, 10.

9. We are sanctified through the death, merits, and intercessions, of Christ. But Christ died for our sins, which are the transgressions of the law, and that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, 1 Cor. xv, 3; Rom. viii, 4, and intercedes in harmony with his death.

10. We are sanctified through faith, of which Paul says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Rom. iii, 31.

11. Sanctification is called the sanctification of the Spirit, because the Spirit is the great agent that God employs in sanctifying men. But the Spirit enforces the truth and convinces of sin, righteousness, and judgment, which could not exist without the law. Again, the Spirit helps us to bear the fruit of the Spirit, which very clearly establishes the law. For what are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance but excellencies which prove that the law is in force? The law is grounded in love and grows out of love. Love made it and love enjoins it. The object of it is to make us love. It takes love to keep it, and those who keep it will love. The law brings joy and peace to those who keep it. David could say, "Thy law is my delight," and, "Great peace have they that love thy law." Ps. cxix, 77, 165. Longsuffering is opposed to impatience and wrath, which are traced to the violation of the law. Gentleness, goodness, meekness and temperance are also fruits growing out of keeping the law. And even faith as we have seen, establishes the law. This position is also strengthened by the fact that the works of the flesh, which are opposed to the fruit of the

124

Spirit are traced to the violation of God's law. See Gal. v, 16-23.

12. Do holy angels that excel in strength, help in sanctification? They do God's commandments, Ps. ciii, 20, and labor in harmony with the Spirit.

13. Has God set gifts in the church for the perfecting of the saints? These gifts are the gifts of the Spirit, and work under the influence and direction of, and consequently in harmony with, the Spirit and good angels.

14. We are sanctified through trials and corrections. And why are we tried and corrected? Of course it must be for the same object for which the Spirit helps our infirmities, viz., that we may be purified and bear the fruit of the Spirit. But Paul says that God chastens us "for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Heb. xii, 10, 11. God's holiness that we are to be partakers of through chastening is composed of his imitable perfections, which shine gloriously in his law. To illustrate: God is said to be holy, perfect, righteous, just, good, etc., 1 Pet. i, 16; Matt. x, 48; Ps. cxix, 137; Rev. xvi, 5; Deut. xxxii, 4; Ps. xxv, 8; the same is said of his law, Rom. vii, 12; Ps. xix, 7; Deut. iv, 8; Ps. cxix, 106; Neh. ix, 13; and those who keep the law will bear its characteristics. But David's experience is to the point. He says, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word." Ps. cxix, 67, 71. The subject of the Psalmist being the law of God, we see that he was afflicted that he might

125

learn and keep God's law. God in love whips up his wayward children to their duty in this respect, as earthly parents correct their children that they may obey their requirements.

15. Self-examination is an important branch in sanctification. We examine ourselves that we may see our defects, which are so many deviations from the law. Therefore the law of God is indispensable in self-examination. It is the grand mirror in which we should look to see our characters. "Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." James i, 25.

16. When the Bible shows that it is possible to overcome, and attain to holiness, we should understand that it is possible to keep God's law, that prescribes the way of holiness, and by which is the knowledge of sin, which is the great enemy that we overcome as we keep the law of God. Must we repent, believe, and be baptized, pray, etc., that we may overcome? The fact that these duties are obligatory upon us is strong evidence that the law exists, and should be kept. For what is repentance, but a turning away from sin? and what need is there of turning away from sin, if the law is not binding and should not be kept? Again, why should we believe on Christ for the remission of sin if there is no law? for where no law is, there is no transgression, Rom. iv, 15, and where there is no transgression, there is no need of remission. Paul uses baptism as an argument, to show that we should not continue in sin. Rom. vi. Baptism not only shows that Christ died and rose again, but that we are dead to sin, that we have been slain by the law, Rom. vii, 7-12, that we have repented of our sins, and believe

126

on the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of the same.

Whatever we do to overcome, establishes the law. All that is enjoined upon us in the Scriptures establishes the law. All that God does to help us overcome shows that the law is in force, and that God's great object in helping us, is to bring us back in obedience to his holy law. If there is no law, as some contend, then there is no room for repentance, faith, baptism, prayer, and the various other duties that we have to perform to obtain help from God, and attain to holiness; then there is no room for the death and intercessions of Christ, and the healing fountain; for there is no need of grace, no occasion for the death and intercessions of Christ, nothing to heal; then Christ should not be our example, and we should not imitate what we have thought to be the loveliest character that ever dwelt among men! Then away with the Christian graces, and the fruit of the Spirit; men may think, act, and speak as they please; they may let their appetites and passions have full sway, and usurp the authority of enlightened reason; they may cherish idleness, effeminacy and uncleanness as virtues, and violate the laws of their beings; they may lavish their best affections on trifles, and keep their weakest affections for their Creator! they may speak of, and address their Maker irreverently, and curse their fellow creatures made in the image of God; in other words, they may with unbounded liberty and congratulation break any or all of God's commandments! Then let all the messengers of the cross hush their voices in silence, on those topics which have engrossed their minds, and led them to labor and suffer in vain, and give up their commission, confessing their error; let them cease to beseech the sinner with

127

accents of pity to be reconciled to God, and flee from wrath to come; and let all who believe in the gospel of Christ act accordingly; let the Holy Spirit and good angels cease to act their part in the so-called sanctification of men, and return to the courts above, confessing that they have learned a better way; and let Satan and the wicked rejoice; for there is no law, no such a thing as sin, and no necessity for sanctification and salvation.

This is by no means our belief, yet it shows the inconsistency of those who, while they lay much stress on faith, repentance, and other Christian duties, and extol Christ, the Christian graces, and sanctification, oppose the law of God. Do our Antinomian friends extol faith, repentance, sanctification, etc.? This is all right. But by so doing they virtually extol the law of God. Sanctifications stands or falls with the law of God.

We are now prepared to see the force of the following conclusion from the wise man: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." Eccl. xii, 14.

CONCLUSION

Dear reader, we have now briefly noticed some of the leading features of sanctification, and have seen some of the advantages connected with living holiness. And we now ask, Are not the motives to, and the benefits of, sanctification of sufficient importance to induce us to seek for holiness? Do not the beauties of the subject invite us? Is there not a solid satisfaction

128

in being Godlike and Christlike, and answering to the objects for which we were made? Are not the glory of God, our own happiness and usefulness, the happiness and usefulness of others, the punishment of the unholy, the blessings that the holy enjoy here in living holiness, and the rich and glorious reward that awaits them hereafter, sufficient to prompt us to live holy lives? The pleasures of sin are fading. They are but for a season and end in death. In the language of the poet,

"Each pleasure hath its poison too, And every sweet a snare."

But the pleasures of holiness are real, and will never fade. They will last as long as eternity lasts. In attending to sanctification we are preparing for the society of the holy in the world to come. But if God-like natures and heavenly contemplations and practices are repugnant to us here, what should we do among the inhabitants of the celestial abodes? "Wake up, brother, wake up sister, Seek, O seek that holy state; None but holy ones can enter Through the pure, celestial gate."

THE PROPER OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH

"Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it."

This commandment is a part of that law which God spoke in person on mount Sinai in the hearing of all Israel, his chosen people, and wrote with his finger on stone, and of which Christ says, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law." Matt. v, 18. It enjoins the observance of the Sabbath of the Lord, which is the day on which God rested in the beginning, and that he blessed and sanctified, because that in it he had rested from his work. Gen. ii.

The Bible acknowledges no other weekly Sabbath than that of the fourth commandment. Sabbath signifies rest, and God never rested on more than one day; he never blessed more than one day, and he never commanded the observance of any other day of the week than that on which he rested, and which he set apart to a religious use as soon as he had created the

130

heavens and the earth, and rested the seventh day. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work."

Our object at this time is to dwell on the proper observance of the Sabbath; and, first, In what does this observance consist? It consists in refraining from our own secular work on that day, and in employing that day in the service of the Creator. God hallowed or sanctified the Sabbath-day, see Gen. ii, 2, 3, and to sanctify means "to separate, set apart, or appoint to a holy, sacred, or religious use" (Webster), or to "consecrate, separate, and set apart a thing or person from all secular purposes to some religious use." Clarke's Commentary on Ex. xiii, 2.

The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord. It is emphatically the Lord's day. Isa. lviii, 13. God has given man six days for secular purposes; but he has reserved the seventh day unto himself. But we are all connected with the seventh day; it comes to all the inhabitants of this earth, and we are called upon to spend it in a certain manner. How then shall we show that the seventh day belongs to the Lord, unless we cease to do our own work on that day, and spend it in the service of the Lord?

To illustrate: A man who is engaged in the service of another person says with propriety that his time is not his own, but belongs to him for whom he works; and in order that a servant may show that his time belongs to his master, he must cease to labor for himself, and employ his time in laboring for his master.

To further illustrate this point we would refer to the ancient sanctuary. When this sanctuary had been sanctified unto the Lord, the priests could not use it as they could their own houses; yet they had a work or

131

service to perform in it. So it is in regard to the Sabbath. It belongs to the Lord, and we must consecrate it unto him by employing it in a special manner in his service. Thus we see that the Sabbath is a rest from our own work to be employed in the nobler work of our Creator.

But says the objector, "The commandment plainly declares that in it (the seventh day) thou shalt not do any work." We answer, The work specified is "thy work." Says the commandment, "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work" (any of thy work).

This view harmonizes the Sabbath law with those laws which required the priests to labor on the Sabbath-day in attending to duties connected with the sanctuary. God does not under any age give laws conflicting with each other. If God required his to keep laws clashing with each other, they could not obey him; in trying to obey him they would disobey him, and he would be the author of sin.

Those who claim that the fourth commandment prohibits all kinds of labor on the seventh day, must adopt the position (as an able opponent once did) that the Sabbath law did not regulate the priests. Hence, according to this view, the Sabbath was not binding on all Israel. But those who urge this objection would do well to remember that the Israelites had to go to, and return from, the synagogues on the Sabbath.

Again, they performed actual labor in saving the lives of their beasts, and in supplying their wants on the Sabbath-day, Matt. xii, 11; Luke xiii, 15, and the great Law-giver or his Son, who understood and taught

132

the design and import of the law, never condemned them for such acts.

Acts of mercy are lawful on the Sabbath-day. Said the great Teacher to the Jews, who had loaded the Sabbath as well as the fifth commandment with traditions, and who through breaking the law dishonored God, Mark vii, 6-14; Rom. ii, 23, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath-days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?" Luke vi, 9. "Is it lawful (according to law) to do well on the Sabbath-days." Matt. xii, 12. "The Sabbath was made for man." Mark ii, 17. If it was not lawful to do acts of mercy on the Sabbath-days, then the Sabbath would be against man, and not for man.

Again, Christ said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." Jno. v, 17. The Father had worked from the beginning in mercifully sustaining the lives of this creatures on the Sabbath as well as on other days of the week. Christ followed the example of his Father, and showed that what he did was lawful, and we should do well to imitate the Father and the Son in this respect.

God would be worshiped understandingly by his creatures, and the reason why we are called upon to sanctify the Sabbath is expressed as follows: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it." In Gen. ii, 3, we have the same reason expressed in the following terms: "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his works which God created and made."

From this we learn that the Sabbath is a memorial

133

which points back to the works of the Creator. One leading object of the Sabbath is to induce men to contemplate the Creator in his perfections, which shine gloriously in the works of creation. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, even his eternal power and Godhead." Rom. i, 20. Hence the works of creation are a proper subject for our meditations on the Sabbath.

But God's perfections are also seen in his law, his dealings with the children of men, and the plan of salvation, and these subjects should also occupy our minds on the holy Sabbath. Here is a vast field for our thoughts on the Sabbath. Let the mind expand on these subjects, and as light is received let it be reflected by the words and actions.

It is not against the commandment to attend to the means of grace on the Sabbath. The object of the means of grace and the plan of salvation is to bring sinful, fallen man in obedience to the law of God, of which the Sabbath is a part. Of faith, which is one of the principal means of grace, Paul says, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea we establish the law. Rom. iii, 31, and Christ died "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us." Rom. viii. 4. Therefore the more we understandingly attend to the means of grace, the more will we be disposed to keep the Sabbath and the rest of God's law.

The work that is forbidden by the fourth commandment includes

1. Secular manual labor. The idea of worldly gain or any other consideration, should not tempt us to engage in this labor on the Sabbath. How easy it would be for the Lord to frustrate our plans, and make us

134

lose more than we might gain by laboring with our hands. But though the Lord should suffer us to gain more in the way of sin, though we should spread ourselves here like the green bay tree, Ps. xxxiv, 35, yet the loss in the end would be far greater than all that could be gained by sinning. The wages of sin is death. Those who serve sin will surely have their wages-- death.

Those who are liable to thus sin with their hands would do well to heed the following exhortation from James: "Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double-minded. * * * * * Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." James iv, 8-10.

2. Traveling to or from worldly business on the sabbath. This is a species of our own work, and should not be so much as named among us. We profess to have turned our feet from the Sabbath. Let us see to it that our practice agrees with our profession.

3. Speaking our own words. See Isa. 1vii, 13, This is also a part of our work; and how apt some are to speak on worldly subjects at home, with neighbors and strangers, and even with the brethren, on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a day in which we can talk about farms, butter, and cheese, and many other worldly things. Brethren and sisters, shall we honor God by not speaking our own words on his holy day?

4. Thinking on secular subjects. The Sabbath law regulates our minds as well as our bodies. Says Paul, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God." Rom. vii, 25. The law is spiritual, verse 14, reaching the spirit or mind, citing our thoughts, accusing our desires, and condemning our affections. Therefore the Sabbath is not a mere animal or bodily

135

rest, as some have termed it. In order that we may keep it in the spirit and in the letter, we must not even think of doing our own work, or plan in reference to our worldly matters. There are as many ways of breaking the Sabbath with our minds as there are secular subjects on which the mind can dwell.

But we must not be satisfied with the thought that we do not engage in servile work on the Sabbath. We should exert an influence to have those that are with us and under us keep the Sabbath.

Parents should first feel for their children whom the Lord has in a special manner entrusted to their care. They should with patience and delight teach them the relations they sustain to their Creator, their parents, and their fellow-creatures, and with an even hand and parental authority enforce the observance of the Sabbath.

Parents, watch the movings of the mind, and see to it that you make right impressions. Be sure that your principles are understood, and then enforce them with meekness and decision. Tell your children that it is because you love them, and would have them loved of the Lord, that you require this at their hand; that they depend upon you, and that the Lord requires them to honor you by obeying his law, which you love. As long as they are dependent upon you for living, they should honor you by resting on the Sabbath.

How can parents be indifferent in regard to their children? How can any of those who bear the name of Sabbath-keepers leave their children alone on the Sabbath (especially if they are young and unconverted, and lack self-control), without any restraining influence, and enjoy the privileges of the Lord's house, and preach the Sabbath to others? How can those

136

who feel that they need all the help which is received on the Sabbath to obey God, leave their tender children who need more help than they, where a thousand things will divert their minds from right subjects, and lead them to violate the Sabbath?

But the servants must not be overlooked. They should know their duty, and have the privilege of resting as well as their masters. Deut. v, 14. They must not be so burdened with cares that they cannot obey their Master who is in Heaven.

Masters cannot allow their servants to work for them on the Sabbath. They cannot be said to carry out the principles of the Sabbath law while they permit their children, their servants, or their cattle, to work for them on the Sabbath-day.

Our working beasts should rest from servile work on the Sabbath; yet they may help us in the service of the lord, and in attending to acts of mercy. They are not amenable to the law; but we are responsible for the use that we make of them. It is the use that we make of our beasts that is either approved or condemned by the law; and it is by no means wrong for us to have our beasts help us do that which is lawful on the Sabbath-day.

Even the stranger who stops with us should understand that we cannot allow him to engage in servile work within our gates on the Sabbath. We are in a great measure, responsible, for those violations of the Sabbath within our gates or elsewhere, that we might with the right and authority that the Lord has given us, and with heavenly wisdom (James iii, 17) prevent, and if we carry out the principles of the Sabbath at home, we shall be in a condition to exert an influence in favor of the Sabbath abroad.

137

For the benefit of those who desire to keep the Sabbath, we would present the following suggestions:

1. Plan in reference to the Sabbath. The men of this world will calculate and plan to meet important events and pay what they owe, and you must weigh your worldly matters and consider the state of your heart, and see that you are in a condition to meet the Sabbath when it comes, and to give the Lord what belongs to him--to consecrate the seventh-day unto the Creator.

2. Let the sixth day be emphatically the preparation day with you. Mark xv, 42; Luke xxiii, 54. Let not this day be your business day. Do not crowd too much work on the last laboring day in the week. This is not preparing to keep the Sabbath, but over-taxing the body and the mind, so that you cannot enjoy or observe the Sabbath when it comes.

3. Close up your work in time to withdraw your thoughts from secular matters, and fix them on religious subjects before the Sabbath. You cannot prepare your mind for the Sabbath in a moment. If you are careful here, you will be able to enter on the Sabbath with a right frame of mind; and if you commence the Sabbath aright, you will have a good reason to be encouraged. But if you are confused when the Sabbath commences; if you are overtaken in sin, and if your mind is divided, the sense of guilt will fasten upon you, and hinder you in the observance of the Sabbath.

4. Having withdrawn yourself from all worldly employments, set a guard on your senses. The senses are channels or roads through which the thoughts pass to reach the mind. Close your senses against worldly thoughts, and they will not be so apt to invade your

138

mind. Shut your windows, and thieves will not so easily enter your dwelling.

5. When you are perplexed in regard to the propriety of certain thoughts, words or actions, keep on the safe side. Avoid doing that which might prove to be unlawful. Keep as far from danger as you can. Let not your course say to others, that you are trying to see how near you can come to the precipice without falling over it.

6. When others speak to you on secular subjects, let them understand your principles. Be decided. Be wise. Try to turn their minds to some religious subject. Speak on what they call your attention to in a religious light. In doing this you will let your light shine, and resist a temptation to which many yield.

7. Be busily engaged in attending to the means of grace, in speaking and thinking on religious subjects, etc., and there will be no time or room for worldly thoughts, words, or deeds.

8. Mark your violations of the Sabbath that you may guard against them in the future and improve. But,

9. Remember the improvements you have made and the blessings you have received in trying to overcome, that you may not lose courage.

10. As you try to help yourself, look to the Lord for that help which he alone can afford. When you plan in reference to the Sabbath, ask the Lord to help you carry out your plans. As the Sabbath commences, pray for strength and grace to resist the temptations that are before you, and to watch unto prayer through the day. Let not your sins weigh you down. The Lord is willing to forgive you your sins if you heartily repent. Do you fell your weakness? There is

139

strength in Jesus; and the Lord does not require anything of his people but what they can by his grace and strength perform. He is anxious to give you his Spirit to help your infirmities. He has holy angels who excel in strength and whom he sends forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation. Limit not his power. Take hold of his arm by faith and strive to overcome. You can yet obtain a complete victory and keep the Sabbath aright through him who has loved us.

Let us now look at some of the benefits resulting from a proper observance of the Sabbath.

1. If we observe the Sabbath as we should, we shall fare better temporally. In order to our present well-being it is necessary that we should spend a portion of our time in resting from servile labor, and the fourth commandment provides a day of rest.

2. We shall remember our Creator and realize our dependence upon him. How prone men in all ages have been to forget God, and to exalt themselves or other created things above the Creator. This they have done in proportion as they have neglected the principles of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a sign between God and his people, that they might know that he is the Lord. "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Ex. xxxi, 17; Ez. xx, 12, 20. It is impossible to forget God and the relations we sustain to him as our Creator, and yet commemorate his rest from the works of creation by properly observing the Sabbath.

3. We shall keep the rest of the commandments. The Sabbath enforces the principles of gratitude and love. It unfolds to our mind the grand fact that God

140

is the author of our existence, and that we owe all to him, and this fact involves an obligation to love God supremely. But we cannot love God supremely without loving our fellow creatures as we love ourselves. They are God's creatures as well as ourselves, and have the same rights that we have. Says the beloved apostle, "This commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God, loveth his brother, also."

Now, if we love God supremely, we shall not dishonor him by accepting other gods, or by making graven images to bow down to them and serve them, or by taking the name of the Lord our God in vain. Hence, we shall keep the first three commandments. And if we love God as we ought, and our fellow creatures as we love ourselves, we shall honor our parents and pay a proper regard to the life, chastity, property, character, and interests of others, and thus keep the last six commandments.

We can now understand why the Lord attaches so much importance to the observation of the Sabbath in his word. When God brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, that they might observe his sabbaths, and keep his laws, he proved them with the Sabbath; and when the Israelites had backslidden in consequence of transgressing the law, God told them that if they hearkened unto him to hallow the Sabbath, Jerusalem should remain for ever, and that if they did not hearken unto him to hallow the Sabbath day, Jerusalem should be destroyed. Ex. xvi; Jer. xvii, 24-27. It is evident that the Sabbath is inseparably connected with the rest of the law, and that we cannot insist too much on the necessity of observing it. It is the key to the law of God. It is the golden link that unites man to his Creator, and the obligations which

141

we owe to God, with those that we owe to our fellow man.

4. We shall be blessed of God, and have an everlasting name that will not be cut off. "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. . . . Even unto them will I give in mine house a place and a name better than of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." Isa. 1vi, 2-5.

By reading the connection, we learn that this Scripture is prophetic, and applies when God's salvation is near to come, and his righteousness to be revealed. See verses 1, 8, 9, and chap. lv. It is a source of consolation to those who are reproached and reviled for keeping the Sabbath. If God blesses them they shall be blessed and honored. God's blessing and approbation is better than life and all the applause of men; and a name that is better than of sons and daughters and that will never be cut off, should be more highly prized than all the high sounding titles of this earth, and is good enough for any of God's humble children.

5. We shall have the seal of God in our foreheads, or minds, and escape the wrath that is threatened by the third angel. Rev. vii, 2, 3; xiv, 9-12. The seal of an earthly monarch is that which makes valid those laws or decrees which he promulgates. It shows his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign. Now the Sabbath makes valid the law of God. It is the only part of the law that shows who the law-giver is, and that distinguishes him from other gods. It shows him to be the Lord thy God, the

142

Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them is, and thus furnishes us with his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign. Therefore the Sabbath may with propriety be called the seal of God. Again, the words seal and sign are used interchangeably in the Bible (Rom. iv, 12), and we have seen that the Sabbath is a sign between God and his people.

The sealing work as brought to view in Rev. vii, has respect to God's servants, and is accomplished this side of the leading signs of Christ's coming (Rev. vi, 12, etc.; Matt. xxiv, 29, 30), and while the nations are getting angry, preparatory to the battle of the great day. It must therefore synchronize with the work of the third angel of Rev. xiv, which is now going on. The message of the third angel will divide men into two classes. One class will worship the beast and receive his mark, while the other class will keep God's commandments, and consequently have the seal, mark, or name of God in their foreheads. One class will drink the unmixed wrath of God, which can not be inflicted until mercy closes, and which is the same as the seven last plagues (compare Rev. xiv, 9, 10; xv, 1; xvi, 1, 2), while the other class will escape the awful wrath of God and stand on Mount Zion. Rev. xiv, 1-3; Isa. lvi, 7.

6. We shall delight ourselves in the Lord, and feed on the heritage of Jacob. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord: and I will cause thee to ride upon the

143

high places of the earth, and feed thee on the heritage of Jacob, thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. lviii, 13, 14.

From the previous verse we see that the Lord is speaking for the benefit of the repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in--those who will raise up the foundations of many generations. They will understand the nature and design of the Sabbath, call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and take great pleasure in observing it. As a consequence they will delight themselves in the Lord. They will see his glorious character in his law and in his dealings with mankind, and will rejoice in all his ways, and try to imitate his imitable perfections. The law of their God will be in their hearts, and none of their steps shall slide. Ps. xxxvii, 31. Having formed characters in obeying God's holy and perfect law, they will be prepared to feed on the heritage of Jacob or Israel; to enjoy the benefits of the inheritance that was promised to Israel and his seed, and that the children of the promise will have, when those who are Israelites indeed, shall inherit the earth. Gen. xxviii, 13, 14; xxvi, 3-5; xiii, 14-16; Acts. vii, 4, 5. Heb. xi, 8-17; Jno. i, 47; Rom. ix, 6; Gal. iii, 8, 9, 29; Matt. v, 5.

Dear reader, are not these benefits of sufficient importance to attract your attention? Do not the riches and glories of the new earth invite you? Do you love to remember your Creator and the relations that you sustain to him? Is there a satisfaction in loving God and keeping his commandments? Do you appreciate his blessings here, and desire to escape the plagues that are soon coming on the earth, and finally stand

144

with the redeemed on Mount Zion? Then "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."

God grant that we may honor him, benefit our own souls and our fellow beings, by observing the Sabbath-day according to the commandment. D. T. B.