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" Let the Word of Christ dwell m you richly with all Wisdom.' OTTAWA, 1878. h T Co the iftleifare of the youth an6 the itomfort of the Ageb, is this Little Uolume respectfully bebicateb, by 1 1 1U3S7S f T . /--t\S^Nmr of jud^aient whkli will devour iae adversaries , and going into death without God and without hope, to meet an endless eternity of «uifering in the lake of fire, is the spiritual conse- quence. In the face of these soJemn realities, what is every true Christian man and woman's duly in the land ? What is it, we ask again ? Surely to stand firm, with judgment sharpened, and discern- ment quickened to meet the wily foe ! We are called to stand [with a face of flint to " resist the devil that he may flee from us ", to take ^' the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, whereby we can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." But the enemy is craftily endeavouring to disarm us of our faithful weapon, by questioning the au- thenticity of the Word of God. Just as he raised a doubt in Eve's mind by the question ^' Yea hath God said ? " So is he now endeavouring to give the lie to what God declares in His woiid. His question is to-day, as of old. Yea, hath God said ? And how is he asking this question ? Through the "Cleverness of learned infidel minds, and leaders of schools of thought, who have no place in their hearts for the truth of God, and are striving to deaden its pow r in the \hearts of Christians, by denying its authority, and thus weakening the tes- timony for Christ in their lives. And who are the most dangerous in this anti-Christian work ? Not the openly avowed, rank-minded infidel, with his scandalous denials of solemnly attested truths ! Not the hardened sinner rolling in his sin, whose daily life-fruit is but to be seen to be loathed and despis- ed. No, but your learned advocate of some high- sovLxiding pretended theology, taking the name of God and Christ, upon which to build a '* form of godli- ness, while he denies the power thereof". Some exponent of false doctrine that tries to put man in an unregenerated condition, into a position to merit favour from God, on the strength of his own righteous walk and power of obedience. Mark, too, reader, the nearer a line of pretension runs to the truth, without arriving at the truth, the more dangerous and seductive i ts character. It is with this class of tactics, Satan is the most ef- fectually standing in the way of God's work in these days. His great forte now is, not outward violence and persecution, but occupation of heart with falsehood and false doctrine. Solemn truth to admit, but true as it is solemn, a heart occupied with error has no relish for the truth, and Satanic tigency aims to occupy the minds of the young be- fore a sufficient love for the truth gains a hold in the heart to resist evil. , Novel reading, infidel productions, sickl}- senti- mentality, and even religious formality, are largely employed by the enemy to gain ground in the souls of children, before the truth, and then in an adult a^e, the seeds of a false theology quickly take and bring forth their pernicious fruits. Oceans of corrupted intellectuality are flooding the land, ,i If r ; the productions of talented minds seared and poison- ed by error, and becoming in turn, [instruments to disseminate that error which has .found a willing lodgment in their hearts, instead of the healthful souT-nourishing truths of God's holy Word. And this serpentine stream is meandering everywhere ! It is not confined to channels of corrupt associa- tions and the homes of the ungodly. It is casting its corrupting breath upon the minds of the youth of Christian households, and finding a resting- place on the shelf with the precious Word of &6d. It is coming in the form of religious fiction and breeding a curiosity in jthe minds of the youth to look into graver error, thus leading away from the truth as it is in Christ ; instead of toward it. Christian parent or guardian, a deep and solemn responsibility hangs over you, as to the kind of read- ing you place in the hands of your care. '' Just as the twig is bent [the tree's inclined ". If you. fill the minds of your children with sickly sentimen- tality, instead of wholesome truth, and thereby sow to the wind, you must expect to reap the whirlwind of infidelity and rebellion to God in their lives. And where is the remedy ? Let judgment begin at the house of God. Begin with yourself by the exercise of judgment and determination to battle for the truth, against the sly stream of error creeping into your household. Cast out the money changers of error from the temple of your own fireside, and youi* own earnestness will soon find an echo in the hearts of your children, and set them against the coiTupting stream. Eject even the fic- tion of Sunday School literature, and put homely honest truth into the hands of your children, and* God will bldss your efforts. Although reference is made to hindrance to thd truth, in a general sense in this brief effort, it will aid in the object of the wcxk to particular- ir '4' ■ * ,1 ize, to call things by their right names, and show their special line of tactics in opposition to the work of God. Now, mark, reader, we dp not wish to throw detraction upon any work that has for its object God's glory, and really it requires much wisdom and discernment to detect the craft of Satan in all its workings, but still if we are walking in faith and after the Spirit, we are privileged to know and be able to judge for the ** spiritual man judgeth all things, though he himself is judged of no man", and the Christian has " an unction from the Holy One and knows all things ". Further, he has the unerring Word of God which " was forever settled in heaven ". This is his authority and the safe one upon which he can act. Claiming this ground upon it would we " try the spirits, whether they be of God ", knowing that if we use the weapons which Hepro- vides us, in the spirit of dependence upon Him, we can count on Him for blessing and success, in the eflForts put forth. It is proposed then to pre- sent what is believed to ^be one of the most dangerous of false doctrines," viz., VNITARIANI8M. It is not important to note the origin of this sys- tem, so much as its pretensions, and effects of its working. It pretends to acknowledge God, to regard Jesus Christ as a Son of God, with a divine nature, as being a good example for all men to imitate, but denies Him being God, in direct opposition to the words of Scripture which declare that, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ". " And the Word J' 4 \ was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth " (John i. 1, 14). The denial of the Godhead Jof Christ, in effect denies His divinity, for one cannot really exist without the other, and to call Him the Son of God with a divine Tiature, and yet deny His Godhead, is but a mere play upon words without reality, in order to deceive. Here Satanic craft shows itself, and the more the supportei's of Unitarianism pro- fess of the truth of God, and maintain their character as Unitarians, the more apt are they to lead astray. Their craft is far more dangerons than that of Eome, for the latter presents such flagrant absurdities as to be easily seen and avoided by any one with any degree of spiritual discernment ; but the mouth- pieces of Unitarianism, with scholastic ability and clever verbiage (for it requires learned ability to successfully propagate error) descant largely on man's power of reason, and appeal to the egotism of self-righteous people to claim a right to judge for themselves out of their unregenerate natural hearts, which God's own word declai^es are '* deceit- ful and desperately wicked^ \ Here comes in one of the three things which Eve saw in the forbidden fruit, which are " of the world and not of the Father," namely, the ptide of life. The fruit was " good to make one wise," but the ''wisdom of man is foolish- ness with God, and the natural man understandeth not the things which be of God for they are spiritually discerned." How then can human rea- son measure God's purposes, and arrive at any just conceptions of Mis workings or their object? The best that man can do, in his proudest estate, is to own his failure — his nothingness, lay his mouth in the dust and own himself a sinner j — that God may come in and raise him up by faith in the accomp- lished work of His own Son upon the cross. He s 8 will then possess that love '' which vaunteth not itself ", and instead of cavilling at God, in the work- ing out of His wise purposes, will say, in the quiet submission of an obedient child, " Father, Thy will, but not mine, be done". Here is the legitimate antidote for all the uplifcedness of heart and ex- altation of human righteousness, seen in the fol- lowers of XJnitarianism. Jewish infidelity is a strong characteristic of XJnitarianism. I was much struck with the name, ^' The Chubch of The Messiah," over the door of the Unitarian building in Montreal, '* The Church of the Messiah," thought I;, "why here is Judaism over again, only inverted." And what is meant by this is, the same infidel spirit that denies His com- ing as He did come, and regards Him as an impos- tor, in Judaism, tries to prove Him such in the false reasonings and cunning detractions of XJni- tarianism. VVhat shall I say more ? Simply this, dear reader, out of love for your soul's eternal in- terests and welfare, beware of Satan's will-o'-wisps that would lure you into the quagmires of unbelief and infidelity, and drown every ray of faith in your soul. ''Beware lest any man spoil you thro' philosophy and vain deceit, ''for such is XJnitarianism with all its craft, its guile, its reasonings and ap- peals to the natural man within you, whether you be a Christian or not. The old nature, in every man, loves to be flat- tered, to be made something of; and Satan knows bow, through wise, clever men, to work upon him and thus get him arrayed against the truth of God. But God's Word commands the Christian to reckon himself dead, and to walk in the energy of the Holy Ghost) and bring forth fruit unto God in humility and fear lest self should in some way get a place and take the glory. The next in the list of modern Satanic craft, we would rate UNIVERSALISM, The. advocatesf of this system are generally men of learned abilities, full of high conceptions of man's own goodness, talk largely of natural divin- ity in man, and by clever reasonings endeavour to work up a large stock of commendable capital out of the unregenerate heart, and set man ii? a deified position, in direct opposition to the declarations and spirit of God's word. They also set forth God's Love very prominently, deduce many fine conclu- sions against His Justice, and would set aside the vindication of His own character — as God — by re- fusing to admit that He could in any way consign any of His own creatures to eternal punishment. In order to sustain their position, opposed as it is to the word of God, like their Unitarian co-workers, they endeavour to reason away the force of scrip- tui'e truth, and flagrantly deny its most positive declarations as to judgment, which is called in scripture God's " strange work ". God is Love^ we know, and judgment is strange or foreign to His nature, but Satanic craft and man's disobedience have forced God to deal in judgment. The lake of fire was created for "the devil and his angels," and man, by listening to his lie in the Garden of Eden, put himself under Satan's power, gets death — the wages of sin, (for Satan holds the power of death,) and then Satan's portion after tne white-throne judgment, — the lake of fire, " which is the second death." These are solemn realities, reader, which Uni- versalism denies ; and its first sermon was preached in Eden when Satan declared to Eve, "Thou shalt not surely die ". B H^ n ^he gravest charge that can be laid agaihst the ropagators of false doctrine is that they mak^ rod a liar ! This is largely done by both Unitar- ians and XJniversalists. Harp as much as they inay upoh the love of God, and pretend to honour Hini with their lips, their heart is far ft*om Htm, and the hiss of the serpent shrills fbf'th from their most laudable efforts. Severe as this may sotind, it is true, and the truth should be uttered that mdn tnay beware. The evasion of the solemn declarations of God's word, the attempt to lower the character of God to the position of tolerating sin, and the dishonour to Christ in detracting frorn His God- head, while He declares that " I and my Father are One", are marked blasphemies which will be visit- ed by signal judgments before the great white throne. Would that we cbttld look with a more charitable eye upon these things, but to run in sjonpathy with them in our thoughts is but to en- dorse their absuixiities and give place to Satan. Reader, be warned in time, before you have given place in your mind to a favourable view of grave error and struck hands in its support. f tet us now glance briefly at another great evil, called SPIRITUALISM. It is little more than a quarter of a century since it began to show its hydra-headed power, and vkA- umes could scarcely depict the confusion and men- tal suffering which have resulted from its workings. The returns of lunatic asylums present a soletnn charge against it, but what will be that seen at the judgment of the wicked dead ? Satanic power is I 11 always the same, though it may manifest itself in a different way under diifel'ent circumstances. What was commonly despised as the workings of witch- craft in other days, is now looked upon as not only tqlerablej but actually lauded by many as the work of Spiritualism in these days. Satan is more of a gentleman — as an angel of light — now, and the same spirit and work that once was hideous and disgusting to be looked at as witchcraft in other days, is now clothed in fine appearance, and made quite acceptable to many as Spiritualism, in these days. This thought is repeated, that it may be fully entered into. The same work that was car- ried on by Satan as a roaring lion, is now wrought with much success by him as an angel of light. This should bo borne in mind, that we may be- ware of his wiles. The propagators of Spiritualism claim to be benefactors of mankind by healing dis- ease, pretending to communicate with the spirits of the departed, and put forth a flood of intelligence, which not only reveals the weakness and inconsis- tency of the natural mind, but results in the pro- pagation of anti-scriptural error as well as gross sin. The natural phenomena of clairvoyance, mes- merism and psychology, are perverted and degrad- ed into vehicles for the dissemination of dark-mind- ed infidelity, by bad men using them to gain power over others,and then insinuating unbelief and hatred to the truth as it is in Christ. Bear this in mind, reader, anything^ no matter what, that occupies the heart to the e^iclusion of Christ, drags downward into unbelief mid hardens the heart. This, Spiri- tualism effectually does for those who follow its train and endorse its absurdities. The power of thought-reading is the principal means by which it is carried on, and this is what witches of, yore, and fortune-tellers in these days, ex- ercise to a great extent. Further than to reason 12 from cause and eifect, they can do no more than to enter into the thoughts of any individual apply- ing to them for information from the so-called spint- laud. A disbeliever in spiritualism tested a noted "medium" — as they call persons who have this thought-reading power — ^wno made it a paying business to wait upon all who were credulous enough to call upon him for intelligence from the world of spirits. This person fixed a date, in his mind, at which a lady fi*iend of his then living should have died, applied a wrong age and a false appearance to her in his mind, and all the little circumstances pertaining to her, contrary to what they really were, and when his mind had fully comprehended this assumed train of circumstances, presented him- self to the medium for the purpose of communicat- ing with the spirit of his so-thought departed friend. The Spiritualist literally read out the arrangement that was in his mind, which did not contain a thought of truth, and claimed that to be the true state of things concerning the lady in question. Without further parley, the applicant turned upon him, and exposed his craft by stating the true fea- tures of the case, and left the wise medium to his own discomfiture. The legitimate results of Spiri- tualism are, disbelief of the woixl of God, an oppo- sition to its wholesome restraints upon the natural man, and flat denial of the need of atonement in the death and sacrifice of Christ. Freoloveism and licentiousness are also results, while insanity and despair are often found as the dire eifects of its workings. We leave it with a solemn word of ex- hortation 10 the reader to touch not the accui'sed thing. \ \ i3 POPEBY. What shall we say about this fruit of a fallen nature ? There is much already published of its history and doings so that a few words are all that are ne- cessary here. Its motto is "semper-eadem " (always the same) and as its character has always been manifested in non-toleration, selfishness and blood- shed when it had power, it is quite easy to see that it would maintain these characteristics were it un- checked and allowed its full display of power. It aims at the government of the state and is leaving no stone unturned to acquire power, that it may wield it in carrying on its own schemes of ag^andise- ment, and oppose the free course of the truth of God. What it comd not do in the past by forcible means through persecution it is aiming to accomplish now by cunning craft and secret conniving, and it behooves every one who has any love at all for the truth as it is in Christ Jesus^ to watch against its wiles and offers, lest they get unwittingly drawn into its influence. As a check upon its dominant spirit, God will take care to raise up a counteracting power to fulfil His purposes toward it and it remains for christians especially to testify a^ to its true character and warn against its delusions and craft. ANNIHILATIOglSM. There is another fearful delusion that has grown out of the corruption of the natural heart in these last days. It is to the effect that the soul and body are completely annihilated after death that man is material and perishes as to organism like any ele- mental substance dissolving into its original const!- u tuents. This satanic consolation is the offshoot of Christ-rejection, in whom eternal life is found by tli© one who implicity trusts in His blood shed, as tjifi atoning sacr^ce. Eternal life is th^t which is above time-life, that upon which death has no power, and as that life can exist only in Christ, who destroyed the power of death by going into it, the believer must be in Him a new creation, that he may pos- sess that which onjy Christ can give. But man, rer jecting Christ, must be busy with invention contrary to the truth of God, and this annihlation view is a sort of defence against the solemn judgment of the white throne which has the lake .of .fire as its sen- tence, and which God as a righteous Judge will surely execute upon all who will not own the Lord" ship of Christ. Eeader, beware of satanic craft, for these are days when he is working in many ways to lead astray the unsuspecting. % ;- 1 h'4 MORMONISM. This latter-day delusion of the devil, began its course about half a century ago, in the fanatical brain of one Joseph Smith, a native of the State of New York, U. S. A. After writing the Book of Mormon, and preaching for some time, he with his deluded followers, established themselves first at Kirtland, Ohio. Afterward, in consequence of the pressure of public optnion, they moved to a location on the bank of the Mississippi Biver in the South- ern part of the State of Illinois. Here they built a city, named it Nauvoo, and made great head way in converting people to their belief, oy sending mis- sionaries to the old country, and bringing tl^em to the new city. In time however they became very I i? .f 6 IS e 15 Q|t>poxi9US to the people livipg in their neighbor- hood, lyhen a large force collected, and killed the prophet Joseph ojaith, w^icl^ bro^e up their settle- ment in Illinois, and they were forced again to move. They chose a locality and built a city, near Great Salt take in what is now the State of Utah on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. They style themselves "Latter Pay Saints," and with theiv plurality of wives and corresponding anti- Christian practises otherwise, may be better nam- ed Modern Mahommedans. They practise much craft and misrepresentatipn in the propagation of their dogmas, and have been implicated in many of the Ii^dian difficulties that have Aindered the settle- ment of the western territories. Their course will undoubtedly be checked and overturned by the arm qf the law and the force of public; opinion, before many years. •4 < iWe may next notice NOVEL-READING, THEATRE^GOING, AND THE LOVE FOR POPULAR PASTIMES, It is a delicate matter to denounce what seems to many well-meaning people to be innocent amusements ; but when positive evil is the certain result of their pursuit, the claim of innocency must give way to that of ipjurious. Faithfulness in dealing with evils clothed in the garb of seem- ing ha^^mlessness, soon discovers their true charac- ter, and arms the unsuspecting with judgment and discernment to avoid and resist them. The world is fi^ll of fascinating appearances., which lure the feet of youth into corruption and $in i^ fbllowed 16 to their legal termination, and when once their true character is held up in the clear light of God's truth, their real deformity appears and reveals a " Monster of such hideous mien, That to be hated needs but to be seen." i % m i Take for example theatre-going. What is its real character, viewed in the light of spiritual discern- ment. A gratification of the " pride of the eye," a constant play upon the cravings and tastes of the natural man, and a means of rousing up the baser passions of the human machine, ending in ex- naiistion, demoralization, and early death. No mat- ter how much so-called respectability you bring into it, the controlling elements are immorality and vice.* This cannot be honestly denied. All the apparent morality of Sl-akespeare and other noted dramatic writers, will never be able to re- deem the stage from the drag-down tendency to demoralization, into which it plunges its votaries. There is no use of following in the train of evil wVth a hope of changing the character of its results. This is doing evil that good may come. Sin is what it is, and you cannot change it, but you are in danger of beinff overcome if in any way you strike hands with it. To enter a theati*e, and sit under the power of the influence which it inftises, you come away more or less affected by that influence. It is positively contaminating, and every honest soul who tries his state by God's Word will find he suffers loss by thea- tre-going. Besides the association you enter, is poi- soning in the extreme. You are soon known by the company you keep. If you are a Christian, you cannot testify for Christ while giving your mind to the absorption of dach grainless husks as you find in a theatre. |^Then why spend the energies of a I •• \ii'j0*.: jt-M W it-w^- ' SK7 mmawm I 17 soul redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, in the diffention of a mass of clever nonser se, promul- gated oy the dupes of Satan, as all play promoters surely are. Do not plead innocency for it, when money, health and Christian testimony ai*e sacrific- -ed upon its shrime. This is the most lenient view we can take of the practice of theatre-going. We mi^ht lift the veil and draw j^our attention to a fai* •darker side as its ordinary results, but leave it vith a warning word to beware of its pleas of innocent pastime, for a serpent lies hidden 'noath its roses, to sting the unsuspecting with physical and moral death. Let us now have a woi*d together on the results of 1 < )vel-reading. To begin then, we take the ground that truth and error never harmonize, and a heart filled with and feeding on fiction,cannot relish truth. When truth enters such a mind, it conflicts with and exposes the error there stored up. A lover of novel-reading soon becomes a hater of God's worc\ The consequent result of novel-reading, is a false idea of life, a dislike for its sober realities, vapory ■expectation of some future-fancied high condition in life which not being realized, settles down into confirmed infidelity and heartless opposition to the Grospel of Jesus Christ. The diifusion of fic- tion is [^creating more infidels than any other means. Those countries where the greatest number of novels are published and read, confirm in their statistics, this assertion. France, Germany 4ind the United States, present a fearful record of fiction (dissemination, and their infidel account fully corresponds. Let us be honest in this matter and own the facts which ai'e always " stubboni thin^" and a fearfully dark account stands against novel-reading and writing. As long as people are foolish enough to pay for, and read them, Satan will furnish clever brains to write them. The 18 ' "'"' V m i ^i md 14 minds of people should be aroused against the evil tendences of novel-reading that its power may be checked and counteracted. The responsibility of parents and guardians as well as of all who take a position to disseminate truth, is very great in this matter. Their example as well as their voices should be directed against it. There are two great channels which engross the hearts of men and womeij and tfeese are easily seen to be truth and error. The question arises, which will you follow in, reader. As you imbibe error and endorse it so you will despise the truth. On the other hand, if you own the truth and it only and fol- low its teachings, so you will dislike error and avoid it. The alternative is before you, " choose ye this day whom ye will serve.'* Much of the Sun-, day school literature fosters in its tendency, a thirst for fiction reading. We ask in the face of this fact, is there not enough truth that is more edifying than fiction, to tell the children about without filling their tender minds with the finely spun webs of ima^ation which fill the Sunday school librai'ies? What pampers the flesh more than the recital of some story, in which clever human nature has gained great credit for itself through the inventive brain of some story vendor. Again we say, fill their minds with good solid homely truths and it will not only be a means to show them the need of Christ as a sacrifice and Saviour, but will arm them with ready weapons with which to fight the good fight of faith, after they have become true soldiers of the cross. God is a God of reality, Christian friends, and if we fail to take the place He has brought us into, and with Him "fight the good fight of faith," we sink into spiritual supineness and tacitly yield to the power of the world, the flesh and the devil. An appetite for the truth, is increased and strengthened by i^i^p > feeding upon it, and the hear;t is su&tained againat temptaUon by daily nourishment from the word of God. Especially in youth the mind is an absorbent rejadily diinking in the influences which surround it, hence the need of "line upon line, precept upon pre- cept, here a little and there a little," until the heart be e&tablihed in grace and the judgment quickened to resist evil. The charge of narrow-mindedness may often be bix>ught against us for taking an un- -compromising stand for the truth. Many will plead the usefulness of Dickens, Shakespeare, Byron, and other popular writers as active in drawing^ lines between good and evil,butone thing is certain,, persons who plead in this strain have never truly accepted Christ as their Saviour, or have sadly^ foack-slidden into the track of carnal minds from the soul-nourishing path in which the word of God would keep them. We are yearly approaching the margin when the judgment seat of Christ will try every man's work of what sort it is, and oh how important that wa build gold, silver, precious stones, upon Christ our Foundation, instead of "wood, hay,, stubble" which will surely be burned "though we are saved so as by fire." And who are the builders ? Some say, Servants of Christ only. Is not every real Christiaa a servant of Christ in some way ? If not ho or she ought to be. Life works should character- ise our calling and evidence our faith else we soon cease to testify that we have sprung from death unto life. How many Christians go on their way in the world, and fall asleep among the dead unregenerate world around them, needing the cry "Awake, thou that sleepost and arise up fr jm among the dead and Christ shall give thee light " Here is a call to the sleepy soul of the Christian to shake off the lethargy of worldly contact, and shine for his Lord. Again, speaking of the "vessels of honor and dishonor" in Chri8tendom,the Christian is told "if he I i 20 «hall purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel of honor, fitted for the Master's use." What blessed inducements are these to arise and cast off the world- ly weights and shine in a perverse and wicked world. We have thus briefly reviewed some of the most prominent and popular hindrances and oppor ents of the tmth of God, and might extend the list much farther, but we commit you, dear Christian reader, "to the Lord and the word of His grace," with the injunction that, the closer you live to Christ the better able you will be to detect the craft of your soul's dire enemies. Remember that God is a God of reality, and fathoms, with His all-seeing eye, «very crevice of your heart, and knows all about you, whether"you care more for His glory than for your own pleasure and reputation among men, and is recording every day of your life, to display it at the judgment seat of Christ. You may succeed among men by pampering Jto a vitiated and cor- rupt world, but if you would serve God, you must not only take sides with Him against it, but against yourself also. Reader, if you are yet out of Christ, the true Ark, get within at once, for judg- ment is coming. ■ i 1 REBUILDING UP THE TEMPLE. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But v when Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah the ser- vant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heai'd it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us and said, what is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king ? (Neh. ii. 18-20). Here we see that when God's earthly people, the Jews, were return- wmsmsm 21 ing from their captivity to rebuild the city and temple, they were beset by peculiar enemies who laughed them to scora . And why did they do t hi s ? Because they had no part nor lot in the work of Grod's nation. They were enemies in their hearts to the work which was going forward to God's glory, hence their outward opposition and accusa- tions of rebellion against the king. This teaches in type, the solemn fact that men are constantly rising up against those who build God's Jerusalem (the Church) and laugh to scorn the earnest builder for Christ. The infidel, the Spiritualist, the Uni tarian, the UniverHalist,the Mormon,the Mahommedan and the Papist are all laughing to scorn the true Chris- tian, and falsely accusing him of rebellion, because he works not under the banner of the prince of the power of the air, the prince of this world. Header, are you a Horonite, an Ammonite, an Arabian, scorning and threatening the builders for the Lord ? If so consider well your position. "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." If you rush against the thick bosses of the shield of the Al- mighty, well may you pause, consider and tremble. God is a God of reality and will be as sure and swift in the day of judgment as He is long-suffer- ing and merciful now. The day of grace is now going on and will soon terminate in judgment. " Be wise to-day, 'tis madness to defer " any longer. "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salva- tion." Accept Christ now and bow the knee in grace, that you may not be forced to bow in judg- ment, for before Him every knee must bow,, in Heaven, in earth, in hell. i 22 I'm I' * THE JEWS. There are many points of interest, connected with the Jews which every intelligent Christian should especially note at the present time. Every earnest student of the Bible is familiar with their history from the call oi Abraham down to their rejection of Christ their true Messiah. But we ask the reader to go with us back to the time of their captivity in Babylon, and review their course since that event, or at least that portion of them known as the two tribes — ^Judah and Benjamin. These two tribes continued faithful to the throne of David when the ten tribes rebelled, and where especially favoured of God despite their idolatry, until His forbeurance was exhausted, and they were allowed to be over- come and carried away captive into Babylon by the Chaldean king, Nebuchadnezzai*. Before this however, theshechina, or glory, which had been their cloudy pillar by day and their pillar of fire by night, to conduct them through the wilderness to the promised land, and which rested in the temple after it was built, was seen by Ezekiel in a vision, to go away to heaven fii^st from the temple, and then from the city, resting a short space upon the Mount of Olives before taking its departure from a sin-cursed earth. The Jews were counted "Lo Am- mi " (meaning, not my people), by Jehovah ; from this time forth, as far as temporal government was concerned, the sceptre of earthly government passed into the hands of the Gentiles, and the Jews became subject to the Gentile king. Here begins the "Times of the Gentiles," symbolized by the image in the dream of the Babylonish king and interpreted by Daniel a Jewish captive at Babylon. (See Dan- iel ii.) The head of gold of the image Jwas the Babylonian Empire ; the breast and arms of silver T ras the Medo-Persian Empire ; the belly and 23 thighs of brass shows the Grecian, and the legs ot iron the Eoman Etaipire. The feet, part of iron and clay, show the mixed governments of th6 presetlt day. The "times Of the Gentiles," or Gentile dom- inion, will run on until their overthrow by the Stone cut out of the mountain without hands,which falls upon the feet of the image And grinds it to powder. This stone is Christ who will restore a remnant of the Jews and establish the millennial reign. But we are desirous of considering more minutely the past of the Jews. After seventy years captivity, the two tribes Judah and Benjamin, tvere allowed to return to Jenisalem to rebuild the city and temple and establish the Jewish forms of worship. This return wae for the purpose of Judah serving as a medium, through whom the Messiah was to be brought into the world. " He came unto His own, (the Jewish nation J but His own received Him not" as a nation, but as many as received Him (individuals), to them gave He power to become the sons of God " (John i.). The Jews as a people over looked the prophecies concerning the humilia- tion of our Lord and rested only on those prophecies concerning His exaltation to power, hence they rejected the poor carpenter and called for His crucifixion. So great was their depravity thai they demanded a murderer, instead of their true Messiah to be released unto them, at the yearly feast. They became responsible for the murder of their King to the governor, by saying, " Let His blofOd be on us and On our children" (Mat. xxvii. 25). fiow signally and fearfully has this sentence been oiirried out upon them. For more than 18(W) yeaina have they been fugitives and a byeword attiong the nations, known for their covetousness and miserly spirit ; engaged in the mercenary traffic of the world, shorn of their former dignity and courtinff the favour of the Gentiles Whoth they once looked t>\i i 1 m At 24 upon as dogs, and scorned association with them* About thirty yeai'S after they rejected and crucified their King, the city and temple of Jerusalem were destroyed by the Koman army under Titus. After that event they never gathered in any considerable number at Jerusalem. They have been found in nearly every city of any size on the world, pursuing their favorite characteristics of accumulating money and endeavouring to keep up a part of their ancient forms of worship. Latterly, however, they are be- ginning to take a place in the political world. Their immense wealth commands an influence which ramifies throughout the civilized world, wherever money has a value a^d when they draw in their treasure or expand it, the business of the whole world feels the movement. This is quite in accor- dance with the prophecies of scripture concerning them in these last days. The sum of those proph- ecies are to the effect that they' are to return to Jerusalem in a state of apostacy, possessed of great wealth, to rebuild the city and temple, and then will they receive the Anti-Christ in accordance with the Lord's own woi-ds when He was on the earth, "I come in the name of my Father and' ye receive me not, one shall come in His own name, Him ye will receive". The willful king will study to answer their expectations of what Messiah is to be to them ; he will have power to even do things in their sight which seem miraculous, through the instrumentality of electricity, mesmerism, and nec- romancy, and so fully does he succeed in deceiving the Jews that they allow him to set in the temple to show himself as God. All this, scripture clearly proves, and to the earnest Christian student of God. s word, is fraught with the deepest interest as re- specting the future of Israel. The 2nd chapter of 2 Thess., verses 3 to 9, tells plainly that the man of Bin or Anti-Christ, will not be revealed while the I ir.L.uiiiiwMi**MIII 25 Holy Gbost is on the earth, and when the Holy Ghost leaves the earth, it will be at the coming of Christ to take up th© Church of God to be ever with Him. Kev, xii. shows clearly that the Jewish nation was the mother of Christ, the Man-child, who was caught up to the throne of God after He was crucified and risen from the dead. The dragon, in the person of the Eoman governor Herod, stood before the woman (the Jewish nation) to devour the child as soon as He should be biu-n. The flight into Egypt defeated Him, as every Bible student knows. The wings of the eagle given to the woman, show a portion of the Jewish nation who will be spared from the delusions of the Anti-Christ and will be restored after He is overthrown and become the nucleus to repeople the millennial earth, even as Noah and his family were saved through the judgments of the flood to renew the inhabitants of the earth. That portion of the Jews spoken of as the remnant of her seed upon whom the dragon makes war, is the martyred remnant who suffer at the hands of the beast because they will not receive his mark on the forehead by recognising his power, nor upon the hand by taking up arms to sustain His power. Two thirds of the nation who return in a state of apostacy, will be overthrown and destroyed with the Anti-Christ; one third, composed of the spared and martyred remnants, will DC tried as gold is tried and refined as silver is refined (see Zechariah xiii. 9.) But the mo- mentous fact that the Jews are now risiag into con- sequence and power, after so long a time being downtrodden and despised, is a clear proof that we ai-e near the advent of our blessed Lord from the glory. To the natural man this seems a foolish thought to set forth, but to every earnest Bible Christian, it should be a comforting thought. May our lights be burning in these days of worldly >' I i 26 aggrandizement and carnal policy, that His coming may not make us ashamed. The present contest between Bussiaaud Turkey, isdoing much to set aside the obstacles which hinder their return to the land of Palestine They are able to lend money to both parties to ca. y on the war, an' thus secure a claim upon the long coveted ground that God's purposes may be fulfilled that the scripture may not De broken. Thus can we look to scripture to prove history though we need not history to prove scripture. In God's sight nationally , the Jews are in the dust of the earth, in the valley of dry bones, as seen in Ezekiel, chapter xxvii., but at the restoration of the remnant, and when Christ comes with the Church to set up the millennial kingdom, they will be resurrected in a national sense, and fill their place in the counsels of God as the central nation through which the whole earth will receive blessing. May our lights be burning and the eye of faith bright, that we may be diserning this time, and its place in the purposes of God» fc ' !' 1'' A Profitable Story; Tbbre is story, delightful to tell, Albtory redeemed ones know very well : 'Tis this — that our Jesus once died on the tree, Was even made sin for a sinner like me. I am so glad He once died for me, Suffered for me on the cursed tree. Now I can sing of a ransom so free, A ransom for me— dven me- 'Twas my urgent need that called out His love ; My condemned state did His yearning heart moye ; 'H!e passed the angels and came down to me — Finished the work which now sets me free. I have life eternal, for I now believe On Him, and I know when He comes He'll receive ■MmK/i r 8t Me home to Himself, there ever to be, In the mansion so fair He's preparing for me. I can be waiting and watching for Him, Who has filled taj cup ofjoy to the brim ; ELxud to meet Him when He comes in mid -air, Changed and caught up in a body so fair. Wondrous to tell, I am bone of His bone ; A joint in His body, this I must own ) A member supported and kept on the way By my Head m the glory, from day to day. All my toils and cares He tenderly feels ; My suffering shares — hears all my appeals ; Is cleansing, and purging, and fitting me here, On His judgment throne, with Him to appear. This is my story, — dear reader, will you Join in with Jesus, and journey on too. Be reconciled now to our Father in heaven. Through the dear Saviour that His love has given ? TO A YOUNQ CHRISTIAN LEAVING HOME. Bear Youno Friend, — As you have resolved to leave yom* home to meet the temptations and trials of a heartless world, a few words of warning in- struction may not come amiss at this time. You are to exchange the loving smiles and friendly greetings of parents, brothers, sisters and friends, for the cold detracting ffaze and criticism of strangers, and instead of words of prayer and praise, to which you have been accustomed you may often hear oaths and bitterness expressed. You will meet with a continual .warfare, as your spirit cannot conform to the spirit of the world around you. You will often realize that the friend- ship of the world is enmity with God, and the closer you M^a to Him, the greater will be your ccnflici .•} with y ^ur adversary. It is not the I 28 , >'i ,1 ':! 1 ■ il 11 Christian's privelige, as much as it may be his nat- ural desire, to be conformed to the world, for it is expressly commanded that he shall not be, but he must be transformed by the renewing of his mind that he may know what the perfect will of God is, that he may be conformed to it. Young Christians are very apt to think they have a special license to take up with the world re lying upon the measure of the spirit they possess to keep them from being overcome. The scripture commands watchfulness that Satan may be successfuly resisted, lest we be overcome by his cunning devices. If you have had a fond watchful mother, and a careful father to advise you until now you will often find their warnings sounding in your earn brought to mind by the blessed Spirit of truth which takes up his abode in the heart ofevery child of God. May you be jealous over y« ar privileges as a Christian with that "godly jealousy" so anxiously manifested by St Paul toward the brethren in Christ to whom he so often wrote. Tal?:e the blessed advice to your- self and as you conform your life in thought and practice to his counsel and instruction, you will be enabled to realize from time to time, the fitness of the Spirit's teachings through him to your own wants and desires. Paul's Epistles are more fully freighted with special instruction for the members of Christ's body than any other part of Jthe script- ures. God's children are a "peculiar people," and you need not be surprised if you are called pe- cular and strange by the world, if you live faithfully to God. As soon as you relax watchfulness and begin to f^l in \vith the spirit and ways of the world, you may win its smiles and favours, but what is the wealth, honors, smiles And favours of this wicked world worth in value, compared to the p«)iice of conscience which is begotten in the soul by the gracious approval of the Holy Ghost. If your Ik faith is active your judgment will at once be brought to, bear upon persons and influences, with which you come in contact, that you may discern their true character. But if faith is sluggish and inactive the enemy presents his plausible preten- sions to your accommodating spirit, & you are over- come ere you are aware. Oh, how many young souls have been overcome by being too confident and trusting in their own strength to resist temp- tation. Do not trust in any one on earth, or even in yourself, but in all you do look away to Christ for approval, and obey the office work of the Holy (ihost upon your heart. There are several classes of respectable sins (forsooth), against which you have need to be warned, and which are freely in- dulged in by some professing Christians) and which are more dangerous than open flagrant sins, because of their seeming harmlessness. I would mention — dancing, card-playing, theatre-going, billiard- play- ing, alley-rolling, driving out and visiting on the Lord's day for pastime; novel-reading, careless song- singing and the like, so called by many innocent am- usements. These we say are doubly dangerous because sanctioned by the ^^worlds refined society." You can- not cross the boundary of indulgence in these things, without entering Satan's kingdom and M^irvice. I care not how much the cry of "mwocenf* may be raised in their favor, they are nothing less than trap doors to hell! I need only add there is usually but a few steps from the theatre to the drinking and gambling saloon, and brothel, and when once in the influences of these places you have a taste of the infernal regions. Let mo tell 3'ou a true but sad story here : a temperance friend related it to me some years ago in Upper Canada. I was, said he, once travelling from one of our lake ports to Buffalo on a steamer, and fell in with a young man from the country in Canada,, i 4 ,1 till on his way tx) the States to Moek his fortune. I knew by his manner that ho knew but little of the ways of this wicked world, and 1 felt like advising And watching over him. After leaving the steamer «t the quay and while on our way to a hotel, he was accosted by one of three girls standing in the door of a house with a salutation which he stopped to return, but I urged him on. After putting up at the hotel, I could not i>reveut him from going back to the place although presenting the danger of so doing. The next morning I ascertained that he had not returned to the hotel, and as I walked out to the wharf, saw two men hooking out a dead body from the water. What was my surprise, an I drew near, upon ascertaining that it was the body of my travelling companion. He had gone back to the den of infamy and had been murdered for his watch and money. I had not ascertained the Post Office address of his parents, and the poor young man was buried in a strange land, 'by the hands of strangers, a sad example of victimized care- lessness. Dear young friend, " watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." The world, the flesh and the devil, that three-fold enemy to your present and eternal welfare, are ever ready to oatch you by some device and lure you astray. You should so build upon your foundation, Christ Jesus, as to reap a reward at the lastday, instead of being "saved so as by fire" A^A your works burned. "Be steadfast, unmovable, alvrays abounding in the work of the Lord, forasm^jich as ye- know what your la- bour is not in vain in the Lord." By diligence in Ood's service you keep evil influences at nay and witness for the Lord continually. Use the world as not abusing it, wearing it as a loose garment, that you may be ready any tiitie to shake oif alt worldly ties, when your Lortl comes for you. En- ter into* the spirit of a Christian pilgHm/t<%, that u ^'^•'i may " walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called," and do not be ashamed of Jesus in any position of life in which you may be placed. Live near to God by meditation and prayer, and you will be enabled to come oflf conqueror through Christ. Amen. iftlhat iChrist is For SFle. Christ is my Saviour, my Advocate, Friend, He loves me with love that never will end ^ He feels my afflictions, He knows my poor frame, But <)TIHODUCTORY j^OlE. No apology is offered for presenting the following Notes to the reader, an the truth makes its own apologies. The great work of the time, which the Holy Ghost is carrying on, in connection with presenting salvation to sinners, is bringing true Christians to the Word of God, that they " may grow up in Christ their Living Head in all things ". He is seeking to bring them out of local, sectarian and established hindrances, that they may realize what it is to be members of that mystical body of which Christ is the Head, and go without the camp to Himself — bear- ing His reproach ; and willing to stand, amid the ruin around, as a testimony for Himself. The place and clmracter of the Church is that of a pilgrim; and when, in the time of Constan- tine, she joined hands with the world and began to dwell as in Pergamos — where Satan*s seat (or throne) is — then came in that huge system of apostacy which we see intheae last days with a ^^ form of godliness but denying the power thereof^', from which we are told, as Chirstiann, " to turn, away ". Th" adoption of worldly titles and honours, a revival of the the old Jewish synaCfOgue system of worship, and union of Church and State, in the is«U£ of unchristian decrees of the most soul-crushing and soul-contaminating character, are the manifested results of localisivri the Church, and assimilating itself to the character and spirit of the world as a system with- out God. Thus has the Church become, rwt the Pilgrim-Bride of Christ, conducted through the wildemes-i by the •. 'y Ghost — the true Eliezer — to Christ as the true Isaac, but iae settled, dwelling, l,ocalised bride of Satan, governed by his worldly principles and crafty deceptions, and upon whom the sentence is passed thus, — *' So then, because thou art lukewarm, and nei- ther cold nor hot, I will spue thee otU of my mouth. Because (B) I ■.., . i j;: i I.:;' t* =^ : 'i n i ' ■■ 'iv: 34