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THE 
 
 IDENTITY 
 
 OF THJ 
 
 TWO APOCALYPTIC WITNESSES, 
 
 CHARACTER, DEATH AND RESURRECTION, 
 
 AS COI<XECTED TVITH THE 
 
 INTRODUCTION OF THE MlIiLENNIUM, 
 
 TO AVHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 PIOUS REFLECTIONS 
 
 / 
 BY JOHN HERSEY, 
 
 BALTIMOKE: 
 ARMSTRONG & BERRY. 
 HIGGINS & PERKINPINE, PHILADELPHIA. 
 1857. 
 
 WOODS, PRINT. BALT. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page. 
 
 Introduction, vii 
 
 I. — The Description of the Apocalyptic Witnesses, 15 
 II.—The Identity of the Witnesses, . . .19 
 
 III.— The Office of the Witnesses— to Prophesy, 23 
 IV. — The Condition of the Witnesses Clothed in 
 
 Sackcloth, 24 
 
 V. — The Time they were to Prophesy, Clothed 
 
 in Sackcloth, 31 
 
 VI. — A further Description of the Witnesses, 33 
 
 VII.— The Power of the Witnesses, ... 38 
 VIII. — The War waged against them, and their 
 
 Death, 46 
 
 IX. — The Place where the Witnesses were Slain, 58 
 X. — The Disgrace and Contempt cast upon the 
 
 Witnesses, 66 
 
 XI. — The Joy their Enemies feel, on account of 
 
 their Death, 71 
 
 XII. — Their Enemies Rejoice, because those Wit- 
 nesses Tormented those that Dwelt on 
 
 the Earth, 72 
 
 XIII. — The Resurrection of the Witnesses, . 78 
 
 XIV.— The Exaltation of the Witnesses, . . 86 
 XV. — Commotions Connected with this Eventful 
 
 Period, 88 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 XVI. — The Joy expressed in Heaven at the Com- 
 mencement of Christ's Millennial Reign, 90 
 XVII. — Additional Proof of the Correctness of 
 
 those Views, 94 
 
 XVIII— Further Evidence of Correctness of the 
 
 Foregoing Theory, . . . . 105 
 
 XIX.— An Objection Answered, . . . 117 
 XX. — Additional Warnings and Admonitions in 
 
 Regard to Coming Events, . . 121 
 
 XXI— Another Objection Met, . . . 124 
 XXII. — Further Reasons given for the Death and 
 
 Resurrection of the Witnesses, . 133 
 XXIII. — Additional Reasons to Convince the In- 
 credulous, 145 
 
 XXIV. — A Case of Conscience, or our Motives 
 
 Examined, . .' . . . 156 
 XXV. — An Expostulation Addressed to the Church, 165 
 
 XXVI. — A Reasonable Inquiry Answered, . 171 
 
 XXVII. — An Additional Objection Answered, 176 
 
 PIOUS REFLECTIONS. 
 
 Christian Purity, 187 
 
 Spiritual Vision, 199 
 
 Justice, 210 
 
 Gold Tried in the Fire, 219 
 
 Christian Privilege, the Gift of God, . . 232 
 
 Christian Warfare, 247 
 
 When the Son of Man Cometh shall he find Faith 
 
 on the Earth, 265 
 
 Learning and Learned Institutions, . . . 278 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The present period of the world's history is 
 distinguished by numerous incidents of deep and 
 thrilling interest to the inquiring mind. Action, 
 effort, zeal, light, increased and increasing light, 
 makes our day as one of peculiar and prophetic 
 character. The Prophet Daniel seems to have 
 had direct reference to the present era of time, 
 to the developments of the nineteenth century, 
 when, by the authority of Divine inspiration, he 
 says, "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge 
 shall be increased." Dan. xii, 4. 
 
 Light and knowledge is being rapidly in- 
 creased and diffused throughout our world ; page 
 after page is written, books are multiplied almost 
 without number, on all subjects, especially in 
 2 
 
Vlll 
 
 reference to the prophesies and the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. Many wise and learned men have writ- 
 ten largely, and have speculated extensively 
 on the deep and hidden mysteries of the apoca- 
 lypse, the closing book of God's revealed will to 
 man. 
 
 It may, therefore, assume the appearance of 
 presumption, if not downright folly, for an hum- 
 ble and obscure individual, destitute of lite- 
 rary and scientific qualifications, to intrude his 
 views and opinions upon an enlightened and in- 
 telligent community. We are encouraged, how- 
 ever, by the apostle to the Gentiles, who says, 
 "But God hath chosen the foolish things of this 
 world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen 
 the weak things of this world to confound the 
 things which are mighty ; and base things of the 
 world, and things which are despised, hath God 
 chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring 
 to nought things that are; that no flesh should 
 glory in his presence." 1 Cor. i, 27, 28, 29. 
 
 Although the scribes and pharisees, and rul- 
 ers of the Jews, rejected and despised our bless- 
 
IX 
 
 ed Saviour, yet is it said that the common peo- 
 ple heard Him gladly. 
 
 If, therefore, only a few of the common peo- 
 ple (those possessed of common sense) of the 
 present day should hear, and profit by the fol- 
 lowing plain remarks, our labor will not be lost. 
 
 We are not ignorant of the fact that the great 
 Author of the Bible, in His infinite wisdom, has 
 shrouded many parts of the Book of Revelation 
 in deep mystery ; and that numerous authors have 
 written and expressed many excellent sentiments 
 in regard to the real design and meaning of this 
 book ; and that others have professed to "ww- 
 veiV those mysteries, and make them plain to 
 the comprehension of every inquirer, yet the 
 cloud remains, and will probably continue to 
 conceal many of the great events contained 
 therein until God himself shall remove the cov- 
 ering, or impart more light and wisdom to His 
 creature man than He has yet bestowed on any 
 of Adam's fallen race — "Until the day when 
 the light of the moon shall be as the light of 
 the sun, and the light of the sun shall be in- 
 
creased sevenfold." Isaiah xxx, 26. Or, it may 
 be, that all those mysteries will not be fully 
 made known to man until this mortal shall put 
 on immortality and we shall know even as also 
 we are known. 
 
 We are also aware of the circumstance, that 
 learned and pious authors have not only enter- 
 tained and expressed a variety of conflicting 
 opinions, in regard to the meaning of this Book, 
 but some of them, one at least, and not inferior 
 to the others in regard to learning and knowl- 
 edge, perhaps the most popular author who has 
 written on the subject in modern times, has him- 
 self expressed different views and sentiments 
 respecting the identity of the "two witnesses," 
 and as a special mark of the magnanimity and 
 greatness of his mind, he has candidly confessed 
 his mistake ; thus if once mistaken, asks the in- 
 terested incjuirer, may he not be again in error ? 
 
 Our business is not with learned men and their 
 theories, however plausible they may be, while 
 we do not intend to follow in their footsteps, we 
 do not intend to condemn them ; neither shall 
 
XI 
 
 we refer to the sectional and partial occurrences 
 recorded on the page of history, however san- 
 guinary, or momentous they may have been, in 
 proof of the great events connected with the 
 Book of Revelation. 
 
 God's word is its own expositor, it is wisely 
 designed for all mankind, and addressed to the 
 inhabitants of the whole world in all ages of our 
 world's history. 
 
 We shall not, therefore, limit the Holy One 
 of Israel in the communications He has been 
 pleased to make in the Revelation given to His 
 servant John, to one or more of the nations of 
 the earth, and the limited occurrences which 
 have taken place at different times during the 
 past eighteen centuries. This Book, like its 
 great Author, cannot be limited by sectional 
 and partial boundaries, and local occurrences; 
 but it gives a condensed, a comprehensive and 
 a universal view of all that has, and will trans- 
 pire among men throughout the entire period of 
 probationary time ; and opens up to the view of 
 the purified and intelligent mind, the commence- 
 2^ 
 
Xll 
 
 ment of another and infinitely more glorious era, 
 or dispensation than our sin disordered world 
 has ever yet enjoyed. 
 
 If our views are not rational and scriptural, 
 let the reader reject them. God in mercy deals 
 with His fallen and sin-enfeebled children wisely 
 and kindly ; nor does He require us to believe 
 any thing that is unreasonable, though many 
 things may be above our comprehension in our 
 present state. 
 
 Though the sentiments advanced in the fol- 
 lowing pages, may be repulsive to the wishes 
 and feelings of our unsanctified nature, and dif- 
 ferent from all our preconceived opinions, and 
 the strong prejudices of our early education, let 
 us not hastily reject them, but calmly and im- 
 partially examine the subject, and if truth, and 
 reason, and past experience, and God's holy 
 word, conspire to confirm those opinions, let us 
 not close our eyes to the exhibition of plain truth, 
 however unpalatable it may be to our taste, or 
 opposed to our wishes and desires. Truth is 
 mighty and must prevail. It was the language 
 
Xlll 
 
 of strong prejudice which once influenced an 
 honest man to inquire expressively, in regard to 
 the identity of the Messiah, "Can there any 
 good thing come out of Nazareth ?" Come and 
 see. 
 
I. 
 
 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE APOCALYPTIC WIT- 
 NESSES. 
 
 We shall not presume, nor attempt even to 
 discuss the great mysteries contained in the 
 Book of Revelation generally, but simply con- 
 fine our remarks to the identity^ the character^ 
 and t\iQfaie of the two witnesses so prominently 
 specified in this part of God's holy word. 
 
 The account given of the two witnesses and 
 their mysterious history is found in the eleventh 
 chapter of the Book of Revelation, and reads as 
 follows : 
 
 "And there was given me a reed like unto a 
 rod : and the angel stood, saying. Rise, and 
 measure the temple of God, and the altar, and 
 them that worship therein. But the court which 
 is without the temple, leave out, and measure it 
 not ; for it is given unto the Gentiles : and the 
 holy city shall they tread under foot forty and 
 two months. 3. And I will give power unto my 
 two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thou- 
 
16 
 
 sand two hundred and threescore days, clothed 
 in sackcloth. 4. These are the two olive-trees, 
 and the two candlesticks standing before the 
 God of the earth. 5. And if any man will hurt 
 them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and 
 devoureth their enemies : and if any man will 
 hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 
 6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain 
 not in the days of their prophesy : and have 
 power over waters to turn them to blood, and to 
 smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they 
 will. 7. And when they shall have finished their 
 testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the 
 bottomless pit shall make war against them, and 
 shall overcome them, and kill them. 8. And 
 their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the 
 great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and 
 Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9. 
 And they of the people,and kindreds,and tongues, 
 and nations, shall see their dead bodies three 
 days and a half, and shall not sufi'er their dead 
 bodies to be put in graves. 10. And they that 
 dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and 
 make merry, and shall send gifts one to another ; 
 because these two prophets tormented them that 
 dwelt on the earth. 11. And after three days 
 
17 
 
 and a half the Spirit of life from God entered 
 into them, and they stood upon their feet; 
 and great fear fell upon them that saw them. 12. 
 And they heard a great voice from heaven, say- 
 ing unto them. Come up hither. And they as- 
 cended up to heaven in a cloud ; and their ene- 
 mies beheld them. 13. And the same hour was 
 there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of 
 the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain 
 of men seven thousand : and the remnant were 
 affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 
 14. The second woe is past; and behold, the third 
 woe Cometh quickly. 15. And the seventh angel 
 sounded ; and there were great voices in heaven, 
 saying, The kingdom of this world are become 
 the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; 
 and he shall reign for ever and ever." 
 
 How shall mortal man, he who is but a worm 
 of the dust, compassed about with ignorance and 
 infirmity, presume to look into the deep things 
 of God ! thou Most High— Thou that rulest 
 in the heavens above, and in this lower world, 
 pardon the presumption of thy servant, and 
 grant him thy Holy Spirit to enlighten his mind, 
 and to humble and purify his heart, that he may 
 understand thy word and faithfully and affec- 
 
18 
 
 tionately warn a guilty world, and a slumbering 
 unconscious church of their danger of the things 
 which are coming upon them ! May the trumpet 
 not give an uncertain sound, for who then will 
 prepare himself for the battle. 
 
II. 
 
 THE IDENTITY OF THE WITNESSES. 
 
 Proceed -we now to identify the character and 
 oflBce of the two apocalyptic witnesses. 
 
 Verse 3d. "And I will give power to my two 
 witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand 
 two hundred and threescore days, clothed in 
 sackcloth." 
 
 The law of God requires the testimony of 
 two witnesses to render their evidence valid and 
 conclusive. Thus in the great work of man's 
 salvation, there has been no flaw nor omission ; 
 all that should, or could have been done, has 
 been done to secure the salvation of the human 
 family — all that was necessary and could have 
 been done consistent with the character of God, 
 and the relation we sustain to Him. 
 
 Inquire we now who are those witnesses, and 
 does their life and character correspond with 
 the description given of them by the inspired 
 writer ? 
 
 Mr St. The first witness we shall name is the 
 descendants of Abraham, the Jewish church, or 
 3 
 
20 
 
 nation. As it regards this witness we notice 
 their office and their duty. They are to pro- 
 phesy. The Jews stand forth prominently as 
 faithful witnesses for the truth of the prophesies. 
 In their life and character the verity, the truth 
 of the Old Testament prophesies, are fully es- 
 tablished. Their present condition and past 
 history most conclusively proves the numerous 
 and wonderful predictions made in the Old and 
 New Testaments concerning them. Had their 
 former history, and their present circumstances 
 have been different from what they have been, 
 and what they now are, the verity of the pro- 
 phecies would have failed, and God's word would 
 have fallen to the ground as untrue. Hence the 
 vast importance of this faithful witness, and the 
 testimony they are still bearing for the truth of 
 Divine revelation. They will, no doubt, con- 
 tinue to bear their testimony until the least and 
 last prophesy concerning them is perfectly ful- 
 filled. As it regards their condition, they were 
 to prophesy clothed in sackcloth, viz. in a de- 
 graded and sorrowful state ; this doleful condi- 
 tion has been met fully and prominently in their 
 past and present experience. So that he who 
 runs may see and read their identity of charac- 
 
21 
 
 ter, and their doleful condition. They are now, 
 and have been for many centuries literally cloth- 
 ed in sackcloth. 
 
 We now proceed to examine, identify and es- 
 tablish the character, the office and condition of 
 the second witness, viz. the christian church. 
 
 Secondly, The description given of those wit- 
 nesses, will be strictly applicable to the chris- 
 tian church as we perceive it is to the Jewish 
 people. 1st. Their testimony — they are wit- 
 nesses. Christ says, "And this gospel of the 
 kingdom shall be preached in all the world for 
 a witness unto all nations, and then shall the 
 end come." Matt, xxiv, 14. Again, "Where- 
 fore of those men which have companied with 
 us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and 
 out among us, beginning from the baptism of 
 John, unto the same day that He was taken up 
 from us, must one be ordained to be a witness 
 with us of His resurrection." Acts i, 21, 22. 
 "And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen 
 thee, that thou shouldst know His will, and see 
 the Just One, and shouldst hear the voice of His 
 mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all 
 men of what thou hast seen and heard." Acts 
 xxii, 14, 15. "For I have appeared unto thee 
 
22 
 
 for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a 
 tvitness, both of these things which thou hast 
 seen and of those things in which I will appear 
 unto thee." Acts xxvi, 16. "But ye shall re- 
 ceive power after that the Holy Ghost is come 
 upon you ; and ye shall be ivitnesses unto me, 
 both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in 
 Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the 
 earth." Acts i, 8., We might multiply texts to 
 prove the identity of this witness, but no one 
 will doubt the fact. 
 
III. 
 
 THE OFFICE OF THE WITNESSES— TO PROPHESY. 
 
 There may be, however, those who may ob- 
 ject to their ofiSce, viz. to prophesy. The term 
 is not only applied to those holy men who were 
 moved by the Holy Ghost to foretell future 
 events, but the appellation is given to those who 
 teach others and preach the gospel. Hence St. 
 Paul says, "Follow after charity, and desire spir- 
 itual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy, for 
 he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, speak- 
 eth not unto men, but unto God ; for no man 
 understandeth him ; howbeit in the Spirit he 
 speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth, 
 speaketh unto men to edification and exhorta- 
 tion and comfort. He that speaketh in an un- 
 known tongue edifieth himself; but he that pro- 
 phesieth, edifieth the church." 1 Cor. xiv, 1, 2, 
 3, 4. And verse 31, "For ye may dAl pro'phe8y 
 one by one, that all may learn, and all may be 
 comforted." 
 
 We may, therefore, afiirm confidently, that 
 every minister who teaches others, may be said, 
 in an important sense, to prophesy. 
 
IV. 
 
 THE CONDITION OF THE WITNESSES CLOTHED IN 
 SACKCLOTH. 
 
 It may be doubted whether the condition as- 
 cribed to those witnesses, will apply to the 
 christian witness in the day of its great pros- 
 perity. Let us therefor examine carefully their 
 real character. 
 
 Compared with the standard of the Gospel, 
 (love your neighbor as yourself,) and in view of 
 what we should be, it must be generally ac- 
 knowledged that our condition is a sorrowful 
 one. Our faith, alas how weak ! Our love, 
 how faint and cold. Christ requires us to love 
 Him more than our father, or mother — sister, 
 or brother, nay, even more than our wife or 
 children ; but where can such ardent, pure and 
 undenled love be found? If we candidly ex- 
 amine the state of our humility, gratitude, 
 and 'patience, we shall find those graces very 
 defective — very far from what they should be. 
 Generally speaking, our spiritual strength, as 
 
25 
 
 well as our christian gifts and graces are far 
 below the Gospel standard. 
 
 Perhaps there is no state or condition in so- 
 ciety more painful and mortifying to intelli- 
 gent minds and hearts of sensibility, than fam- 
 ily discord. Would it not cause tears of sorrow 
 to flow from the pious father's eyes, to know 
 that his children were unkind to each other, 
 constantly endeavoring to expose each other's 
 character, and unwilling to eat together ! Sure- 
 ly such a state of things would throw around 
 the good father's shoulders a mantle of '''sack- 
 doth.'''' And is not discord in all its diversified 
 modifications, a characteristic feature of Christ's 
 church in the present day ? Nor can we possi- 
 bly suppose that our heavenly Father possesses 
 less sensibility than fallen man. In many in- 
 stances we strive to conceal, or apologise for 
 this dark trait of character, by asserting that 
 we do not difi"er materially in the important 
 doctrines of the Bible — it is only in non-es- 
 sentials that we do not harmonize ; yet this 
 mantle will not cover the wound, and hide the 
 '^sackcloth." To say nothing of the bitter en- 
 mity which exists between the Roman CathoHcs 
 and the Protestants, how little real union and 
 
26 
 
 harmony exists between the different Protestant 
 denominations ! There is discord — there is a 
 want of 'perfect, of pure and undefiled love, 
 view the subject in whatever light we may. 
 
 No discordant sound or note can be admitted 
 into heaven ; nor can old age, or the grave, re- 
 move this stain from our garments, which must 
 be found without spot or wrinkle, or we must be 
 excluded from the presence of God and his holy 
 angels forever. This is not an unimportant 
 consideration, it may justly be called a ^'sacJc- 
 cloth" state. 
 
 The law of Christ requires us to love our 
 neighbor as ourselves ; but alas how few of us 
 reach this pure standard. In the wise and in- 
 imitable form or pattern our blessed Saviour 
 has given us to regulate our prayers. He directs 
 us to pray — That our Heavenly Father's will 
 may be done on earth, as it is done in heaven. 
 To say nothing of even a majority of the church 
 members and ministers, where shall we find an 
 individual that reaches that standard — that 
 does the will of God on earth as it is done in 
 heaven ? Can we point to one such character ? 
 
 If therefore we can find few, very few if any, 
 who reach Christ's standard — who do the will 
 
27 
 
 of God as it is clone in heaven, can our gar- 
 ments be spotless ? 
 
 If we examine our hearts more closely, we 
 may perceive something more like '^ sackcloth,'' 
 than the blemishes caused by our discordant 
 feelings, and our fearful neglect of God's holy 
 vrord. The Bible informs us that thy Maker is 
 tliy husband, that the church is recognized as 
 the bride, the Lamb's wife. Let us now sup- 
 pose a case that would be more dark and dis- 
 graceful than a literal garment of ''^sackcloth.'' 
 
 Suppose a moral, good, but a poor man, has a 
 wife who is ashamed of her husband, she will 
 not walk with him in public, but associates con- 
 stantly with the lowest grades of society — is 
 seen daily walking arm in arm with a gambling 
 drunken man, through the public streets, what 
 character would she bear in the estimation of 
 a reflecting and respectable community? We 
 can scarcely describe or conceive of a more de- 
 based character. Let us now candidly and hon- 
 estly apply the picture of that woman to the 
 church, and we shall find it a fac simile of her 
 character and conduct. 
 
 Thy Maker — thy Saviour is thy husband. 
 Behold Him in the deep valley of 'poverty^ bear- 
 
28 
 
 ing His cross at every step, and with weeping 
 eyes, and kindest words of affection, lie mildly, 
 and expressively invites us to follow Him. And 
 yet it must, and will be generally admitted, that 
 we are all ashamed of poverty, and will not 
 walk in that cold unfashionable path if we can 
 avoid it; and even most of us who are really 
 poor, feel a desire to hide it from the eyes of 
 others, nor is there in the wardrobe of life, 
 many articles more degrading than deception. 
 Nor do we, generally speaking, like self-denial 
 much better than poverty, hence very few of us 
 fast even one day in the week ; yet would we 
 rather fast two days in each week, than we would 
 look like poor people. Very few of us in the 
 present day can measure up to the apostle's 
 standard, and yet he fasted often, and urges us 
 to follow him, as he followed Christ, but his 
 words are treated as an idle tale, while the voice, 
 the command of the world falls with imperious 
 weight upon our ear. The spirit, the customs, 
 the fashions, which constitutes the essence of 
 the world, that deadly foe to our peace and hap- 
 piness, speaks — commands and we promptly and 
 cheerfully obey, however ridiculous the custom 
 or fashion the god of this world presents, we 
 
29 
 
 smile and follow. Thus we walk arm in arm 
 with the monster who seduced our first parents, 
 and has ruined millions, while we are almost 
 deaf to our Saviour's voice, and ashamed of our 
 wise, and glorious, and merciful, but cross-bear- 
 ing husband, the Holy One of Israel. Thus 
 Christ in practice is shunned, and sufi'ered to 
 walk almost alone through the valley of poverty 
 and suffering, bearing his cross at every step. 
 And though he plainly admonishes us that un- 
 less we deny ourselves daily and follow Him, 
 we cannot be his disciples; and though he bless- 
 es the poor and says, woe unto you that are 
 rich, yet are we unwilling to be poor; and dis- 
 regard the blessings promised unto them, while 
 we greatly prefer to be rich, and risk the anath- 
 ema denounced on them. 
 
 The Laodicean church were, in their early 
 day as much deceived as the church of the 
 present times. They sang a requieum of ease 
 and security, saying, we are rich and increased 
 with goods and have need of nothing, and knew 
 not that they were wretched, and miserable, and 
 poor, and blind, and naked. Surely a '^sack- 
 cloth" state, though they were entirely uncon- 
 scious of their real condition. To investigate 
 
30 
 
 the subject no farther, there is abundant reason 
 to believe that the christian loitness is clothed 
 with ^^sacJccloth." 
 
V. 
 
 THE TIME THEY WERE TO PROPHESY, CLOTHED 
 IN SACKCLOTH. 
 
 As it regards the time those witnesses were 
 to prophesy^ viz. twelve hundred and sixty days, 
 we presume they are prophetic days — a year 
 for a day, which make 1260 years, we say 
 nothing ; many learned and wise men have 
 speculated in this field, and have been disap- 
 pointed. There is no certain data given by 
 which we can arrive at the correct time. There 
 is cause to doubt the correctness of our chro- 
 nology ; nor can it be very important to the can- 
 did inquirer to know the day, or the hour, any 
 more than it would be to know the day, or the 
 hour of our dissolution. Our duty is to be al- 
 ways ready, well prepared, with our lamps trim- 
 med and brightly burning, and our garments 
 unsoiled, that whether the Bridegroom comes 
 at midnight, or any other hour, we may be pre- 
 pared to meet Him joyfully, and thus enter tri- 
 umphantly into the marriage supper of the 
 Lamb. 
 
 4 
 
32 
 
 Judging, however, by our Saviour's author- 
 ized rule, viz. by the budding of the trees, ye 
 know that summer is nigh. The important 
 period cannot be far distant. The signs of the 
 times are indeed ominous ; these all speak 
 the solemn language "Behold the Bridegroom 
 Cometh." May our inmost soul respond, come 
 Lord Jesus, and come quickly. 
 
VI. 
 
 A FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF THE WITNESSES. 
 
 Verse 4. *'These are the two olive trees, and 
 the two candlesticks standing before the God 
 of the earth." 
 
 The language in this verse is highly figura- 
 tive, and whether we consider those trees as af- 
 fording oil to heal wounds, or to burn in lamps, 
 to give light, those tvitnesses, represented here 
 as olive trees, are strikingly applicable and illus- 
 trative. All the healing balm, the oil, the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, which flows into our 
 diseased world to heal the maladies which sin 
 has caused, all descends through those two luit- 
 nesses. The Jew is the root of the tree from 
 which Christ, the fountain of all good came in- 
 to our world, and through the preaching of the 
 gospel by the church, by faithful ministers, 
 health is fully imparted to our diseased souls. 
 If we apply the oil afforded by those figurative 
 olive trees for the purpose of giving light, all 
 the light that has ever shone upon our dark 
 world, deeply shaded by sin, has emanated from, 
 
34 
 
 or passed through these two sources. The as- 
 tonishing glow of light which is now shining 
 and enlightening our world, all flows through 
 those two witnesses^ typified as two olive trees. 
 Jesus Christ is indeed the light of the world, 
 and by His ministering servants, and the influ- 
 ence of the gospel, the light is now being rapidly 
 difi"used abroad through the whole world. If the 
 light of science, and of the arts so wonderfully 
 manifested in modern times, has emanated, even 
 in part, from the powers of the mind, indepen- 
 dent of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, why 
 has it not shown in the dark land of Africa, 
 and other heathen countries where Christ has 
 not been preached or known ? Whatever proud 
 and even learned infidels may say to the con- 
 trary, yet that great truth will stand out in 
 bold relief, and may be read and known of all 
 men — Christ is the light of the world. Take 
 Christ away, and even the Hottentots would 
 sink lower than they now are, though they only 
 receive the light as the gloom of our night is 
 cheered by an absent — by an unseen sun, re- 
 flecting his rays upon other orbs, while the rays 
 they borrow from the sun fall softly on our 
 earth to render the darkness of night support- 
 
35 
 
 able. Take the Bible away, and our world 
 would be as dark as the regions of despair, 
 where the wicked inhabitants grope in outer 
 darkness. 
 
 The figure further applied to them, is equally 
 applicable — "The two candlesticks." The can- 
 dlestick does not give, but holds the light. In 
 like manner the Jews hold up Moses and the 
 prophets, the Old Testament, and the other, and 
 the more important witness holds up to a lost 
 world the gospel of the Son of God, the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, the mighty God, the everlasting 
 Father, the Prince of Peace, the Babe of Beth- 
 lehem, as the true light who lighteth every man 
 that Cometh into the world. "These are the 
 two candlesticks standing before the God of the 
 earth," to enlighten the pathway of poor be- 
 nighted pilgrims on their way from a land of 
 sin, and gloom, and death, to a world of light, 
 and life, and glory. There shall be no night 
 there, for the Lord God and the Lamb, are the 
 light of that city. 
 
 Verse 5. "And if any man will hurt them, fire 
 
 proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth 
 
 their enemies ; and if any man will hurt them, 
 
 he must in this manner be killed." 
 4* 
 
36 
 
 It is known to every intelligent person, that 
 for the last eighteen centuries, nearly the whole 
 world has been arrayed in deadly hostility 
 against the unfortunate Jews. The greatest 
 efforts have been made to exterminate them 
 from the earth, and yet they survive, and will 
 live until they have finished their testimony, 
 until the prophesies are fulfilled. Those who 
 have persecuted and hated them, and would 
 have driven them from the earth, will, in their 
 turn, and in the fulness of time, be put down. 
 Though their sins have been very great. They 
 rejected their Messiah, and desired a murderer 
 to be given them in his place ; though they cru- 
 cified the Eternal Son of God, their Redeemer, 
 the Holy One of Israel, and desired that His 
 blood might be on them and their children ; yet 
 are they God's covenant people, of whom He 
 has said, ^'Fear thou not, Jacob, my servant, 
 saith the Lord, for I am with thee ; for I will 
 make a full end of all nations, whither I have 
 driven thee ; but I will not make a full end of 
 thee, but correct thee in measure ; yet will I not 
 leave thee wholly unpunished." Jeremiah xlvi, 
 28. The mighty God of Jacob has been in 
 their midst, as He was in the bush, as a hum- 
 
37 
 
 ing fire, yet have they not been consumed ; and 
 the day will come, when the fire will consume 
 and destroy their enemies, for the mouth of the 
 Lord hath spoken it. 
 
 The christian witness has also been assailed 
 with the most virulent hatred and persecution, 
 both by her professed friends, as well as by her 
 open enemies ; the fire of hatred and persecu- 
 tion has raged against the true followers of Jesus 
 in almost every period of her existence ; yet 
 the malignant assaults of her avowed enemies, 
 and also of her professed friends have not pre- 
 vailed against her. Her Redeemer, the Holy 
 One of Israel, has said, I will give thee a mouth 
 and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not 
 be able to gainsay nor resist. And no weapon 
 formed against thee shall prosper. But the 
 end approacheth of all who oppose the righte- 
 ous cause of God on earth, the enemies of the 
 genuine church, the true followers of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, will be consumed by the breath of 
 God's anger, "Fire proceedeth out of their 
 mouth and devoureth their enemies." 
 
VII. 
 
 THE POWER OF THE WITNESSES. 
 
 Verse 6. "These have power to shut heaven, 
 that it rain not in the days of their prophesy : 
 and have power over waters to turn them to 
 blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, 
 as often as they will." 
 
 The Jews, the lesser witness, possessed of 
 fewer privileges than the christian ivitness, ex- 
 ercised extraordinary power in almost every 
 period of their history, even when they were 
 held by their enemies in captivity in Babylon, 
 and thereby glorified God, and exalted His name 
 among the nations of the earth, until their final 
 dispersion, after their rejection of the Messiah, 
 when they lost their national character. 
 
 Moses turned the waters of Egypt into blood ; 
 and Elijah shut up heaven that it rained not by 
 the space of three years and six months. Those 
 deeds of power and wonder, were not efi'ected 
 by their own wisdom or strength, but through 
 the instrumentality oi faith, A comprehensive 
 
39 
 
 view, and an honorable list of the effects of faith, 
 is presented in the eleventh chapter of the Epis- 
 tle to the Hebrews, where, after enumerating 
 the wonderful deeds effected through the power 
 of faith by a number of Jewish worthies, the 
 author of that interesting epistle says, "For the 
 time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, 
 and of Samson, and of Jephtha, of David also, 
 and Samuel, and of the prophets ; who through 
 faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, 
 obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge 
 of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, 
 waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies 
 of the aliens. Women received their dead raised 
 to life again ; and others were tortured, not ac- 
 cepting deliverance ; that they might obtain a 
 better resurrection. And others had trials of 
 cruel mockings, and scourgings, yea, moreover, 
 of bonds and imprisonments ; they were stoned, 
 they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were 
 slain with the sword : they wandered about in 
 sheep skins, and goat skins ; being destitute, af- 
 flicted, tormented, (of whom the world was not 
 worthy ;) they wandered in deserts and in moun- 
 tains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And 
 
40 
 
 these all having obtained a good report, through 
 faith, received not the promise; God having 
 provided some better thing for us, that they 
 without us should not be made perfect." It re- 
 quired the testimony of the other, and more im- 
 portant witness, the christian church — Jesus 
 Christ crucified, revealed and preached to the 
 world, to establish their claim, and secure to 
 them the glories of heaven. 
 
 We are aware of the mortifying fact that 
 the important witness, the christian church, has 
 not now the power ascribed to the apocalyptic 
 witnesses. Though it is said they have the power 
 to turn water to blood, and smite the earth with 
 all plagues, it is not said they will exercise that 
 power. It should be a reflection upon the char- 
 acter of the christian church to be deprived of 
 this extraordinary power, whereas the lesser 
 witness, the Jews, with less light, and fewer 
 privileges retained and exercised it for so many 
 centuries. This is evidently an additional proof 
 that we are clothed with ^^sackeloth,'' especially 
 in view of the following plain declarations, and 
 the great and precious promises made to the 
 church of Jesus Christ. 'Tor verily I say unto 
 you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, 
 
41 
 
 ye 'shall say to this mountain, remove hence to 
 yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing 
 shall be impossible unto you." Matt, xvii, 20. 
 "Jesus answered and said unto them, verily I say 
 unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye 
 shall not onlv do this which is done to the % 
 tree, but also, if ye shall say unto this mountain 
 be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, 
 and it shall be done. And all things whatsoever 
 ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." 
 Matt, xxi, 21, 22. "Verily, verily, I say unto 
 you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do, 
 shall he do also; and greater works than these, 
 shall he do ; because I go unto my Father." 
 John xiv, 12. 
 
 In the commission given by Christ to His dis- 
 ciples, which is the same we act under, if our 
 authority is valid, the power given to this wit- 
 ness, to the minister of Christ's church, is fully 
 established. "And He said unto them, go ye 
 into all the world, and preach my gospel to every 
 creature. He that believeth and is baptized, 
 shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall 
 be damned. And these signs shall follow those 
 that believe ; in my name they shall cast out 
 devils ; and they shall speak with new tongues. 
 
42 
 
 They shall take up serpents ; and if they drink 
 any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them : they 
 shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall re- 
 cover." Mark xvi, 15, 16, 17, 18. Christ's au- 
 thority is the only valid commission we can act 
 under as gospel ministers, in the present, or any 
 other age of the church's history. If we refuse to 
 accept, or claim our privileges, or have bartered 
 them away for the smiles, or wealth or honors 
 of this world, so much the greater will be our 
 condemnation when we shall be called to give 
 an account of our stewardship. There is a great 
 deal of meaning in our Saviour's expression, 
 when he says, "Nevertheless when the Son of 
 Man Cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" 
 Luke xviii, 8. Which clearly implies tha-t faith, 
 in its legitimate character, in its original, and 
 unchangeable 'power, will not be found on earth. 
 If, therefore, unlimited power has been grant- 
 ed unto the church, through the exercise of gen- 
 uine faith, and no direct nor indirect proof can 
 be adduced that the power, the glorious privi- 
 lege, has been revoked or taken from the church, 
 then indeed may it be said in truth, and unequiv- 
 ocally of those witnesses, "They have power to 
 smite the earth with all plagues as often as 
 
43 
 
 they will." Whether the witness exercises this 
 power or not, cannot change the case, or annul 
 the privileges with which the church — the min- 
 isters of the gospel — have been invested by the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. If we have indeed bartered 
 this pearl of great price, this fine gold of the 
 gospel away for naught, the greater will be our 
 shame and condemnation. This subject, like 
 many others, needs honest investigation, and 
 shall be noticed more fully hereafter. 
 
VIII. 
 
 THE WAR WAGED AGAINST THEM, AND THEIR 
 DEATH. 
 
 Verse 7. "And when they shall have finished 
 their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of 
 the bottomless pit shall make war against them, 
 and shall overcome them and kill them." 
 
 When the prophesies are all fulfilled, when 
 the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, the 
 beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, 
 shall make war with them, and overcome them, 
 and kill them. This will be an awful, a momen- 
 tous period. May all our readers wisely pre- 
 pare for those soul-trying scenes. 
 
 We can hazard nothing in saying that the 
 beast ascending out of the bottomless pit, is 
 the devil. His malice and hatred of the wit- 
 nesses cannot be doubted ; and when his chain 
 is sufficiently lengthened, he will commence his 
 work of destruction. As a prelude to this dread- 
 ful drama, he will, no doubt, diffuse widely the 
 spirit of infidelity. The events and circum- 
 
45 
 
 stances which have been transpiring for the last 
 half century, has been admirably calculated to 
 induce, and diffuse a spirit of infidelity abroad 
 in the earth. The divisions and discord which 
 has attended the different branches of the church 
 for many years must increase the power of the 
 beast, and result in ruinous consequences. 
 Union and purity is life, and imparts strength ; 
 division and discord, is death. Almost every 
 branch of the church has been visited, and sun- 
 dered by the invisible hand of the beast — the 
 demon of discord. Even the mild, peaceable 
 Friends, the Quakers, so called, have not es- 
 caped this malaria, they have been riven asun- 
 der, and fierce contention and strife has arisen 
 among them. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church has suffered 
 loss and pain from the spirit of confusion and 
 discord, and within a few years past has been 
 divided into two nearly equal parts; nor has 
 the unholy fire ceased to burn within her bosom, 
 and agitate her borders. The Presbyterian, the 
 Baptist, the Episcopal, and nearly every branch 
 of the Protestant church has been visited by 
 this unholy demon. 
 
 The different factions and isms that have 
 risen up in great numbers, all point to the same 
 
46 
 
 ruinous result, all directly calculated to engen- 
 der and promote a spirit of infidelity, and 
 strengthen the beast for his last fatal conflict. 
 
 Mormonism, and mesmerism, and spiritualism 
 all belong to the same army, commanded by 
 different officers, and battling under different 
 colors. Under different guises, he is now mar- 
 shaling his hosts for the last conflict between 
 light and darkness — for the battle of Armaged- 
 don — the great day of God's wrath. May the 
 trumpet not give an uncertain sound — may 
 we not be ignorant of Satan's devices, but stand 
 firmly on the Lord's side, nor permit the beast 
 to place his mark either on our forehead, or in 
 our hand. 
 
 Our text says, the witnesses shall be slain — 
 must be killed. Hence we conclude, that the 
 present organization of the churches will be 
 overthrown — ^^killed." This, most of our read- 
 ers will not be willing to believe. It is very 
 difficult, if not impracticable, to persuade any 
 man, or any set of men to believe that which 
 they do not wish to believe. 
 
 The Jews in their prosperity were altogether 
 unwilling to believe that their nation, and their 
 beloved temple, would be abandoned of God, 
 and overthrown — that they would be dispersed 
 
47 
 
 over the whole world, a proverb and a bye- word 
 for their enemies, though their own prophets 
 had plainly declared that such would be the 
 case. 
 
 We, as christians, should act more wisely, by 
 carefully examining our position, and our dan- 
 ger, and in time confess and forsake our sins, 
 that in the general conflict we may be found 
 among the Noahs and the Lots, that we may 
 stand before the Son of Man and escape those 
 things which are coming upon our sin- defiled 
 world. 
 
 Let us, therefore, candidly and honestly ex- 
 amine the probability, nay the unmistakable 
 evidences that an awful overthrow will be the 
 certain doom of the witnesses — of the impure — 
 the unholy church. We should not shut our 
 eyes to truth, nor hide from danger behind the 
 mouldering walls of a house daubed with un- 
 tempered mortar — then, indeed, great will be 
 the fall. 
 
 The first proof we shall furnish in confirma- 
 tion of this dreadful conflict, of the death of the 
 witnesses, shall be from our blessed Saviour's 
 own lips. He says, "A house divided against 
 itself cannot stand," Surely no one will pre- 
 5* 
 
48 
 
 tend to deny the fact, that the church is divided, 
 the evidence is so glaring that he that runs may 
 read, and if Christ's words be true, the church 
 in its present condition cannot stand. The 
 Lord Jesus says again, "But as the days of Noah 
 were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man 
 be : for as in the days that were before the flood, 
 they were eating, and drinking, marrying and 
 giving in marriage, until the day that Noah en- 
 tered into the ark, and knew not until the flood 
 came and took them all away, so shall the com- 
 ing of the Son of Man be." Matt, xxiv, 37, 38, 
 39. Again, "Likewise also as it was in the 
 days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they 
 bought, they sold, they planted, they builded ; 
 but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, 
 it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and 
 destroyed them all ; even thus shall it be when 
 the Son of Man is revealed." Luke xvii, 28, 29, 
 SO. "And there shall be signs in the sun, and 
 in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the 
 earth, distress of nations, with perplexity ; the 
 sea and the waves roaring ; men's hearts failing 
 them for fear, and for looking after those things 
 which are coming on the earth ; for the powers 
 of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they 
 
49 
 
 see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power 
 and great glory. And when these things begin 
 to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your 
 heads ; for your redemption draweth nigh. And 
 He spake to them a parable, behold the fig tree, 
 and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, 
 ye see and know of yourselves that summer is 
 nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this gen- 
 eration shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." 
 (That people, the Jews, as a separate and dis- 
 tinct people, have not yet passed away, nor will 
 they, until Christ's kingdom shall be set up on 
 earth in universal triumph and glory.) "And 
 take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your 
 hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunk- 
 enness, and cares of this life, and so that day 
 come upon you unawares, for as a snare shall it 
 come on all them that dwell on the face of the 
 whole earth." Luke xxi, 25 to 85. 
 
 Those solemn and awful scenes cannot refer 
 to the final consummation of all things, the day 
 of final judgment, as many suppose they do, for 
 the plain reason that there is a day promised 
 when all shall know the Lord from the least 
 unto the greatest, when it will be no longer ne- 
 cessary for one to teach another, because all 
 shall be holy and happy — a day when the lion 
 
50 
 
 and the lamb shall lie down together, when 
 nothing shall hurt or destroy in all God's holy 
 mountain. After this glorious period, it is not 
 possible that all shall become corrupt as were 
 the antideluvians, and the Sodomites. 
 
 The holy scriptures abound with plain de- 
 scriptions of the awful scenes which will precede 
 and accompany the death of the witnessses. 
 We will advert to a few more passages which 
 point to that momentous period ; as the churches 
 will, no doubt, be very unwilling to believe that 
 God will cast them off, and overthrow the pres- 
 ent constituted state of things. 
 
 "For behold the day cometh that shall burn 
 as an oven ; and all the proud, yea, and all that 
 do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that 
 cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of 
 hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor 
 branch." Malachi iv, 1. 
 
 Commentators have supposed that this pre- 
 diction was fulfilled in the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem, and the dispersion of that people among 
 their enemies ; but this cannot be correct, for 
 one plain reason, that all the proud, and all the 
 wicked, were not then destroyed, which the pre- 
 diction unequivocally says shall be done. The 
 
61 
 
 apostle to the gentiles, in his first letter to the 
 church at Thessalonica, and, it is presumable in 
 reply to an inquiry made by that church in re- 
 gard to the time "when Christ would establish 
 His kingdom on earth in universal triumph and 
 glory, says : *'But of the times and seasons, 
 brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, 
 for yourselves know perfectly that the day of 
 the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 
 For when they shall say peace and safety, then 
 sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail 
 upon a woman with child, and they shall not 
 escape." 1 Thess. v, 1, 2, 3, 4. And in his sec- 
 ond letter to the same church, he says : "And 
 to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the 
 Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His 
 mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance 
 on them that know not God, and that obey not 
 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall 
 be punished with everlasting destruction from 
 the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of 
 His power ; when he shall come to be glorified 
 in His saints, and to be admired in all them that 
 believe (because our testimony among you was 
 believed) in that day." 2 Thess. i, 7, 8, 9, 10. 
 The above passage may be considered irrelevant, 
 
52 
 
 because it said that the Lord Jesus shall inflict 
 the fatal blow, and in the account of the death 
 of the witnesses, it said the least shall kill them. 
 It is well known that the Almighty frequently 
 uses the wicked as His sword, thus what they 
 do, may, in one important sense, be attributed 
 to God. Hence it is said that God moved 
 David to number the Israelites. 2 Samuel, xxiv, 
 1. And again it is said of the same transac- 
 tion, that Satan provoked David to do this deed, 
 1 Chron. xxi, 1. 
 
 There are many passages in the Book of Rev- 
 elation which point to the awful scenes, or the 
 day under consideration ; we shall advert to a 
 few of them. "And there followed another angel, 
 saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, 
 because she made all nations drink of the wine 
 of the wrath of her fornication. And the third 
 angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if 
 any man worship the beast and his image, and 
 receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
 the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of 
 God, which is poured out without mixture, into 
 the cup of His indignation ; and he shall be tor- 
 mented with fire and brimstone in the presence 
 of the holy angels, and in the presence of the 
 
53 
 
 Lamb ; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth 
 up forever and ever ; and they have no rest day 
 nor night who worship the beast and his image, 
 and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." 
 Rev. xiv, 8, 9, 10, 11. 
 
 The term Babylon applies to the fallen or 
 corrupt church, not only to the Roman Catholic 
 church, but to every branch of the church bear- 
 ing the mark of the beast, viz. sin in its most 
 modified and modern forms — either pride, or 
 transgression, or the love of the world, or unbe- 
 lief. And, alas ! where shall we find, even 
 among Protestants, a church or people entirely 
 free from all those dark traits — the mark of the 
 beast ? 
 
 how few among the best of us, fear God 
 and keep all His commandments always, who 
 feel no fear of man — who have the mind and 
 spirit of Jesus — no stain or blemish — no con- 
 formity to the spirit, the fashions and customs 
 of this ungodly world. Wherever any of these 
 traits of sin are found, whether openly in our 
 foreheads, or concealed in our hand, all such must 
 fall. 
 
 That dreadful day is more vividly snd awfully 
 described in the same chapter : "And another 
 
64 
 
 angel came out from the altar, whicli had power 
 over fire ; and he cried with a loud cry to him 
 that had the sharp sickle, saying, thrust in thy 
 sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine 
 of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. And 
 the angel thrust in his sickle into the^earth, and 
 gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into 
 the great wine press of the wrath of God. And 
 the wine press was trodden without the city, 
 and blood came out of the wine press, even unto 
 the horses' bridles, by the space of a thousand 
 and six hundred furlongs." Yerse 18, 19, 20. 
 
 CHRIST'S COMING-. 
 
 The following declaration and exclamation, 
 from the mouth of the inspired, the evangelical 
 Prophet, is strikingly descriptive of Christ's first 
 and second coming, and of the momentous 
 scenes which will immediately precede the in- 
 troduction and establishment of Christ's trium- 
 phant kingdom on earth — the millennial morn, 
 when God's will shall be done universally on 
 earth, as it is done in heaven. "Who is this 
 that Cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
 from Bozrah ? This that is glorious in his ap- 
 parel, traveling in the greatness of his strength ? 
 
55 
 
 I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 
 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy 
 garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat ? 
 I have trodden the wine press alone ; and of the 
 people there was none with me : for I will tread 
 them in mine anger, and trample them in my 
 fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon 
 my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 
 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and 
 the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, 
 and there was none to help ; and I wondered 
 that there was none to uphold ; therefore, mine 
 own arm brought salvation unto me, and my 
 fury it upheld me. And I will tread down the 
 people in mine anger, and make them drunk in 
 my fury, and I will bring down their strength 
 to the earth." Isaiah Ixiiii, 1-6. 
 
 The above strong and awfully descriptive 
 language cannot refer exclusively to Christ's 
 first coming — to his incarnation and crucifix- 
 ion ; but it refers to and includes His final 
 triumph, and points unequivocally to the battle 
 of Armageddon, the great day of God's wrath — 
 to the death and resurrection of the two wit- 
 nesses — to the introduction of the glorious 
 day of the millennium — when the great work of 
 6 
 
56 
 
 man's redemption will be consummated in tri- 
 umphant glory. Our inmost soul should cry 
 out, come Lord Jesus, and come quickly. 
 
 The solemn, the thrilling scenes described in 
 those numerous and alarming passages of God's 
 holy word, doubtless, point to the death of the 
 two witnesses. Those events cannot refer to 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, because this book 
 was written after that period, and those descrip- 
 tions are too strong and comprehensive to have 
 received their fulfilment in the overthrow of that 
 nation : nor can they refer to the final judgment 
 day — the consummation of all things beneath 
 the sun, for the plain reason that God, who can- 
 not lie, has promised that the earth shall be 
 renovated, and filled with righteousness, after 
 which it is not reasonable to suppose that such 
 a universal state of depravity could exist, as 
 those passages plainly intimate, shall be found at 
 the time adverted to. And to suppose that they 
 received their fulfillment in the overthrow of 
 one, or more of the nations of the earth, at any 
 period since the introduction of the gospel into 
 our world is equally absurd. None of those 
 scenes meet the magnitude of the case, and they 
 have been so numerous and vague, that almost 
 every writer on the subject in modern times, 
 
67 
 
 has given them different applications, according 
 with his own views and opinions. We, there- 
 fore, confidently believe, that the death of those 
 witnesses is yet to be realized — is still in the 
 eventful future, and should make a deep and 
 solemn impression upon the heart and mind of 
 every member of the church, not only in the 
 corrupt Roman Catholic, but also in every 
 branch of the Protestant church. We should 
 cease to contend and persecute each other. Our 
 prejudice should be laid aside, because it is evi- 
 dently a mark of the beast, and cannot be ad- 
 mittted into heaven. 
 
 Our inquiry should be, are our own garments 
 white and clean ? Are our own hearts pure and 
 holy ; free from pride or prejudice, or wilful 
 transgression, or any other mark of the beast 
 even in our hand ? Have we the wedding gar- 
 ment on, and are we anxiously and momentarily 
 looking for and ardently desiring the approach 
 of the Bridegroom ? When the Master comes, 
 it will then be too late to correct our errors, or 
 secure gospel privileges. It will then be said, 
 "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." 
 
IX. 
 
 THE PLACE WHERE THE WITNESSES WERE SLAIN. 
 
 Verse 8th. "And their dead bodies shall 
 lie in the street of the great city, which spiritu- 
 ally is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our 
 Lord was crucified." 
 
 It is presumable and reasonable to suppose 
 that their maladies will be of a spiritual nature, 
 and their death a spiritual death, which will be 
 infinitely more painful and degrading than a 
 literal death could be. In death literal the 
 struggle is soon over, and surviving friends 
 soon forget what was at the time an alitiost in- 
 supportable bereavement. But not so a spiritu- 
 al death ; the pain — the shame — the stigma re- 
 mains an indelible blot upon these unfortunate 
 witnesses. 
 
 The place where this awful scene is to be ex- 
 hibited, is called, spiritually, Sodom and Egypt^ 
 where also our Lord was crucified. Our blessed 
 Saviour was not crucified literally either in 
 Sodom or Egypt, but where they had all the 
 abominations of those devoted places. It will 
 
59 
 
 be prudent and profitable now to examine care- 
 fully and candidly this fearful subject, which 
 may give us some idea of the extent of the pre- 
 dicted malady, and where the tragedy will be 
 performed, and also who will be the victims. 
 The place specified is, ''where our Lord was cru- 
 cified,''' Spiritual sufi'erings are more painful 
 than those of a literal, mental or physical char- 
 acter. It will, therefore, be transacted where 
 Christ has been spiritually crucified, and all who 
 are found guilty of the awful crime, and have 
 not repented, will be the sufi'erers in the dreadful 
 scene. 
 
 Let us now inquire honestly how we may 
 crucify Christ spiritually. To ascertain this 
 momentous fact correctly, we must examine care- 
 fully the circumstances connected with the cru- 
 cifixion of our Saviour in Judea. Christ says 
 himself, "No man taketh my life from me, 
 I lay it down of myself ; I have power to lay it 
 down, and I have power to take it again." 
 
 All the powers of darkness combined, with all 
 the wicked men on earth, could not have taken 
 Christ's life — could not have slain Him. It was 
 sin that caused His death, and every wilful sin 
 we commit, we drive the nails, (spiritually,) 
 6=^ 
 
60 
 
 afresh into his hands, and the act cries aloud in 
 God, the Father's ear, crucify Sim, crucify 
 Him ! Thus we may perceive that the Lord 
 Jesus is crucified spiritually, every day and in 
 every part of Christendom where the gospel has 
 been published, and preached in our christian 
 land. 
 
 The heathen world have not been guilty of this 
 awful act of cruelty ; they indeed, like the wicked 
 Jews, are sinners before God, yet they know 
 not what they do ; but with our eyes open, and 
 the New Testament in our hands, we wilfully and 
 thoughtlessly act our part in crucifying the Son 
 of God ! Now this solemn and awful fact, (if 
 the book of God was silent on the subject,) 
 should admonish us of our danger, and warn us 
 of our approaching doom ; that we are drawing 
 near to that momentous period of our world's 
 history when the witnesses will be slain, when 
 the present confused and discordant state of 
 things will be overturned and put down. It is 
 called in the bible by different names, such as. 
 The battle of Armageddon — The great day of 
 God's wrath — The Lord's controversy for Zion. 
 It will, no doubt, be the last conflict between 
 the opposing powers of light and darkness. 
 
61 
 
 It behooves us, therefore, to look well into our 
 own hearts, that we may not be implicated in 
 this cruel crime, and fall like the antideluvians, 
 and the wicked Sodomites. That we may not 
 be numbered with the enemies of Christ, and 
 betray Him with a kiss ; this we may do when 
 we make a profession of religion, and wish to 
 gain the applause of man. That we may not be 
 like the traitor who betrayed his Master for a 
 few pieces of silver. This we virtually do when 
 we love money — when we swerve from the high 
 and honorable principles of truth and righteous- 
 ness for the sake of gain, or when we have one 
 desire in our heart to procure any article for 
 less than its real value, or when we are willing 
 to take more for an article than it is really 
 worth. Every unjust person must fall when the 
 witnesses are slain. 
 
 Every child that takes his father's money 
 without his permission, is guilty, is unjust. As 
 the silver and gold all belongs to our heavenly 
 Father, do we always ask his permission, when 
 we use his money, however small the amount ? 
 Our souls and our bodies belong to God. He 
 says. Son give me thy heart ? If vre keep back 
 any part of our affections, and place them in 
 
62 
 
 part upon gold, or silver, or the honors and 
 pleasures of this world, we defraud the Divine 
 Being, and become desperately unjust. 
 
 In our dealings and transactions with our fel- 
 low beings, do we act as justly and as conscien- 
 tiously as a friend of ours, who sold an article 
 at auction which was bid off for more than its 
 real value. In his settlement our friend in- 
 formed the purchaser that he had given too 
 much for the carriage ; it was made, said he, in 
 my own shop, and I know its value, and can 
 receive no more for it. God loves a just and 
 honorable man, and he shall be safe when the 
 world is burned up. 
 
 Our blessed Saviour says, "He that is un- 
 just in the least, is unjust also in much." Nor 
 can any shade of injustice, (any more than pride, 
 or the love of the world,) be admitted into 
 heaven. When a man is convicted of a crime, 
 he is from that moment morally dead — dead in 
 the estimation of all good and honorable men. 
 Thus will it be when the witnesses are slain. 
 Their real character will be clearly developed 
 and exposed to the eye of every individual in 
 the open streets. He will be exposed to dis- 
 grace, public ridicule and contempt. The real 
 
63 
 
 character of the witnesses will be ascertained 
 by the application of the measuring reed ad- 
 verted to in the 1st and 2d verses of the chap- 
 ter which records their character and doom. 
 That reed or rod may be called God's holy word, 
 with the light of the Holy Spirit shining upon 
 every page and every word. 
 
 Christ has unequivocally said, "He that 
 believeth not shall be damned," and asks the 
 important question, "How can ye believe who 
 receive honor one of another, and seek not the 
 honor that cometh from God only ?" 
 
 And yet many of us, willingly and joyfully 
 receive honor of our fellow mortals — we are not 
 afraid to be called, Rahhi, Rev., Right Rev., D. 
 D., or Professor, &c. 
 
 On the other hand, very few of us are willing, 
 as our Divine Master has directed us to take the 
 lowest seat when we are bidden to a feast. When 
 traveling in the cars, we are not generally willing 
 to take the second class car among the poor, 
 though our Divine Master was numbered among 
 the transgressors, and publicly proclaimed His 
 own poverty ; nor was He ashamed to associate 
 with the poor of the land. Now the Lord know- 
 eth the proud afar off, and they are an abomina- 
 
64 
 
 tion in His sight. We notice these things that our 
 friends, and those who may condescend to read 
 these pages, may not be deceived, either in the 
 estimation of their own character, nor be igno- 
 rant of the true condition and certain prospects 
 of the church, the prominent and most import- 
 ant witness in the premises. 
 
 This is the more necessary and important as 
 the Lord's prophet has said, *'the heart is deceit- 
 ful above all things, and desperately wicked, 
 who can know it?" And the Lord Jesus has 
 said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, 
 Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; 
 but he that doeth the will of my Father which is 
 in heaven. Many will say unto me in that day. 
 Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? 
 and in thy name have cast out devils ? and in thy 
 name have done many wonderful works. And 
 then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : 
 depart from me ye that work iniquity." Matt. 
 vii, 21, 22, 23. 
 
 Thus from our Lord's own words, many who 
 have preached the gospel, and sinners have been 
 converted through their instrumentality, will be 
 deceived and carry their delusions into the eter- 
 nal world. 
 
65 
 
 Therefore we cannot be too careful in the in- 
 vestigation of our own character, in applying 
 the measuring reed to our hearts honestly and 
 faithfully, that we may measure fully up to 
 the gospel standard, and inwardly digest, and 
 thoroughly weigh all our thoughts, words and 
 actions in the scale of truth and rifrhteousness. 
 
X, 
 
 THE DISGRACE AND CONTEMPT CAST UPON THE 
 WITNESSES. 
 
 Verse 9. "And they of the people, and kin- 
 dreds, and tongues, and nations, shall see their 
 dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not 
 suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves." 
 
 "And they of the people, and kindreds, and 
 tongues, and nations." This statement affords 
 evidence that these two witnesses were not sim- 
 ply two faithful servants of God raised up from 
 time to time to testify to the truth of the gos- 
 pel ; neither can they be the Old and New Tes- 
 taments, but the Jews, and the christian church 
 scattered abroad throughout the world. The 
 people generally, shall see them conquered by 
 the beast, and their nakedness exposed to public 
 view; nor will they (their enemies) suffer their 
 dead bodies to be put in graves, viz. to be con- 
 cealed. Could they be hid in their difficulties, 
 in their fallen and degraded condition, it would 
 be a partial relief, a drop of water to cool their 
 
67 
 
 parched tongues ; but even this mercy will be 
 denied them ; and literally for the space of three 
 days and a half, (three years and a half,) which 
 will probably be the duration of their extreme 
 sufferings, their death-like condition, when no 
 pity will be felt for them nor sympathy expressed 
 for their sorrows, ^'and their dead bodies shall 
 not he 'put in graves.'' 
 
 The Lord's prophet Jeremiah has pointed to 
 this awful period, with the precision and cer- 
 tainty of a faithful historian. "For lo I begin 
 to bring evil on the city, (Jerusalem,) which is 
 called by my name, and should ye be utterly 
 unpunished, (ye Gentiles, the christian church,) 
 ye shall not be unpunished, for I will call for a 
 sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, 
 saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore prophesy 
 thou against them all these words, and say unto 
 them, the Lord shall roar from on high, and 
 utter His voice from His holy habitation ; He 
 shall mightily roar upon his habitation; He 
 shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, 
 against all the inhabitants of the earth ; for the 
 Lord hath a controversy with the nations ; He 
 will plead with all flesh ; He will give them that 
 are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus 
 7 
 
68 
 
 saith the Lord of hosts, behold evil shall go 
 forth from nation to nation, and a great whirl- 
 wind shall be raised up from the coasts of the 
 earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that 
 day from one end of the earth even unto the 
 other end of the earth ; they shall not be lament- 
 ed, neither gathered, nor hurled; they shall be 
 as dung upon the ground." Jer. xxv, 29 — 33. 
 
 Language could not be made stronger, nor 
 could words more fully specify and confirm the 
 awful death of those witnesses. Another prophet 
 has also pointed to this momentous event in plain 
 unmistakable language, and also to the intimate 
 connection that exists between those scenes and 
 the introduction of the millennial morning — the 
 universal sabbath promised to fallen, restless 
 man. "Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the 
 Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey, 
 for my determination is to gather the nations^ 
 that I may assemble the kingdoms^ to pour upon 
 them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; 
 for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of 
 my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people 
 a pure language, that they may all call upon the 
 name of the Lord, to serve Him with one con- 
 sent." Zephaniah iii, 8, 9. 
 
69 
 
 This prophet then addresses himself to the 
 Jewish witness, the natural descendants of Abra- 
 ham, in the most consoling and triumphant lan- 
 guage, "Sing, daughter of Zion, shout, Is- 
 rael ; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, 
 daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken 
 away thy judgments. He hath cast out thine ene- 
 my; the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in 
 the midst of thee ; thou shalt not see evil any 
 more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusa- 
 lem, Fear thou not; and to Zion, let not thine 
 hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the 
 midst of thee is mighty ; He will save. He will 
 rejoice over thee with joy ; He will rest in his 
 love, He will joy over thee with singing. I 
 will gather them that are sorrowful for the 
 solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the 
 reproach of it was a burden. Behold at that 
 time I will undo all that afflict thee ; and I will 
 save her that halteth, and gather her that was 
 driven out ; and I will get them praise and fame 
 in every land where they have been put to 
 shame. At that time will I bring you again, 
 even in the time that I gather you ; for I will 
 make you a name and a praise among all people 
 of the earth, when I turn back your captivity be- 
 fore your eyes, saith the Lord." iii, 14 — 20. 
 
70 
 
 From the strong language of scripture, both 
 in the Old and New Testaments, it is presumable 
 that the triumphs of infidelity will be so com- 
 plete over those witnesses for a little season, 
 viz. three years and a half, that they will not 
 be able even to avoid their enemies' scorn and 
 contempt. "They will not suffer their dead 
 bodies to be put in graves." 
 
THE JOY THEIR ENEMIES FEEL, ON ACCOUNT OP 
 THEIR DEATH. 
 
 Yeesb 10. "And they that dwell upon the 
 earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, 
 and shall send gifts one to another ; because 
 those two prophets tormented them that dwelt 
 on the earth." 
 
 The spirit and feelings, manifested on account 
 of their victory in the defeat and death of their 
 enemies, those two witnesses, are perfectly nat- 
 ural in our fallen world. It is the same feeling 
 which influenced the priesthood, and the Cath- 
 olic church on the occasion of the massacre of 
 the Protestants, in Paris. A scene of horror 
 and outrage which should have caused fiends to 
 blush and weep ; yet those poor misguided, de- 
 ceived, and so called, christians, rejoiced with 
 exceeding great joy ; illuminated their city, and 
 villages, and caused their rejoicings to be heard 
 throughout the kingdom. So will it be when 
 
 infidelity, the beast, triumphs over Christianity. 
 7'* 
 
XII. 
 
 THEIR ENEMIES REJOICE, BECAUSE THOSE WIT- 
 NESSES TORMENTED THOSE THAT DWELT 
 ON THE EARTH. 
 
 "They sent gifts one to another because these 
 two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the 
 earth." They tormented them by preaching 
 the terrors of the law, by threatening the wick- 
 ed with the torments of hell, with eternal pun- 
 ishment. Notwithstanding these witnesses had 
 in a great measure lost the life and power of 
 religion, the spirit and pu7'ity of the gospel, the 
 meek and lowly and self-denying spirit of Je- 
 sus Christ, and were clothed in sackcloth, yet 
 they proclaimed the general principles of the 
 gospel, which condemn sin and vice of every 
 kind; this rendered them the objects of the 
 implacable hatred and enmity of wicked and 
 ungodly men ; their own consciences condemn- 
 ed them in view of gospel truth. They were 
 not only tormented in this way, but those two 
 witnesses harassed and tormented them by an im- 
 portunate and incessant application for their 
 
73 
 
 money; thus they were glad to see them put down, 
 and willingly joined in effecting their overthrow. 
 That the servants of the Lord Jesus, might 
 be less oppressive to their friends and benefac- 
 tors, and more independent and honorable in 
 their own character, our Divine Master express- 
 ly enjoined upon all His followers, a rigid course 
 of economy and self-denial, and says, "Except 
 ye deny yourselves, and take up your cross 
 daily, and folloio me, ye cannot be my dis- 
 ciples." But in those last days they had great- 
 ly degenerated, and become very much like 
 other men, in the indulgence of their passions 
 and appetites. Though they were obliged by 
 the plain doctrine of the gospel, to declare that 
 the love of money is the root of all evil, and 
 if any man love the world, the love of the Fath- 
 er is not in him, yet their incessant and press- 
 ing applications for money, made to their ene- 
 mies, gave them an opportunity to urge against 
 those witnesses the plea of inconsistency. Mon- 
 ey has always had, and ever will have, a direct 
 tendency to vitiate the morals, and corrupt the 
 pure stream of humble, ardent love, which should 
 dwell richly in every christian's heart, regula- 
 ting and influencing all the rivulets issuing 
 therefrom. 
 
74 
 
 Money — the love, and imprudent use of it, 
 has, no doubt, been the efficient cause of the 
 present corrupt state of the Roman Catholic 
 Church ; the shameful stratagems and unjusti- 
 fiable means her popes and priests have adopt- 
 ed to procure money, aroused and exasperated 
 an abused community ; hence the deep and gall- 
 ing stab she received from Luther and his friends 
 in the reformation. 
 
 We have been plainly and faithfully warned 
 by the Lord Jesus Christ, against the love of 
 money and its fatal influence upon the soul. 
 What is Catholicism but corrupted Christianity; 
 and the efficient moving cause of this unholy 
 work, has doubtless been the love of money. 
 
 We are men of like passions with others, and 
 corrupt Protestanism will be as offensive to God, 
 as corrupt Catholicism. The same cause will 
 produce the same effect ; and as money has a 
 direct tendency to corrupt and harden our hearts, 
 and blind our eyes, we should view it always 
 with prudent caution, and guard against its ear- 
 liest inroads into our hearts. There are none 
 so rich and independent as those who have no 
 wants. Hence, our beloved Saviour has coun- 
 seled us to adopt a strict — a rigid course of self- 
 
75 
 
 denial, which He has enforced by His own wise 
 and honorable example. 
 
 God has mercifully condescended to make 
 himself our debtor, and to allay all our fears, 
 and strengthen our hearts, He says, "When thy 
 father and thy mother cast thee off, I will take 
 thee up." And assures us, "That thy bread 
 shall be given, and thy water shall be sure." 
 Again, our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, 
 has assured us, that "All things shall work to- 
 gether for good to them that love God." And 
 has therefore positively forbidden all anxious 
 care about the things of this world — what we 
 shall eat, or drink, or wear : so that to indulge 
 any of these fears, or any anxiety about these 
 needful things, is not only wrong, but inexcu- 
 sable in the child of God, because it not only 
 leads us to distrust the goodness and mercy of 
 God, but it impeaches His veracity also. We 
 must guard against enthusiasm, however ; we 
 are not to suppose that God will feed and clothe 
 us without using the means. The promises of 
 God are always connected with reasonable con- 
 ditions. Thus while we diligently and ration- 
 ally use the means God has placed in our reach, 
 and enjoined upon us, our minds should be calm 
 i. 
 
76 
 
 as the water's surface unrufl3ed by a breath of 
 air. Our duty is plain, both in spiritual and 
 temporal things. Therefore we should idle 
 away no time, but diligently improve every pass- 
 ing moment. No idle conversation, or idle 
 habits, are compatible with the •purity of the 
 christian character, or pleasing in the sight of 
 God. Our time and our money, are talents for 
 our improvement, and while the christian must 
 improve every fleeting precious moment of his 
 time, he cannot waste unnecessarily one cent of 
 his Divine Master's money. Therefore the 
 child of God can purchase nothing designed to 
 administer to the indulgence of the eye, or the 
 taste, as all that is in the world, the lust of the 
 eye, and the lust of the flesh, and the pride of 
 life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, 
 and the world, and the lust thereof pass- 
 eth away, but he that doeth the will of God a- 
 bideth forever. Thus, when we administer to 
 our fallen appetites, we become earthly and sen- 
 sual. But when we act in all things, whether 
 we eat, or drink, or wear, exclusively to please 
 God, promote our health, and with a pure de- 
 sire and design to administer, (as far as in us 
 lieth,) to the good of our fellow beings, we act 
 
77 
 
 spiritually and wisely; and if our hearts are 
 pure^ and the love of God is the impelling prin- 
 ciple of all our actions, then, and only then, 
 can we claim the great and precious prom- 
 ises of God ; then, and only then, can we live 
 and take no thought (no anxious care) for the 
 morrow. Thus, by living under the guidance 
 and influence of the Holy Spirit of God, we 
 shall have no inducement to resort to unjustifi- 
 able measures to raise money. We should not 
 then have to weep over the mortifying specta- 
 cle, of children of the Most High God, soliciting 
 aid from the children of the devil ! No need 
 oi fairs and tea parties, and thereby bowing to 
 the world to get gain. Were christians to act 
 their part faithfully, there would be no need of 
 eloquent speeches to influence us to cast our 
 money gifts into the Lord's treasury ; nor would 
 it be nece. sary to proclaim publicly — that A, 
 will be one often, to give 50 or 100 dollars each. 
 Those devices are seen, and will in time swell 
 the stream of indignation, which may greatly 
 contribute to the overthrow and death of the 
 witnesses, "They tormented those that dwelt 
 on the earth, by circumscribing their pleasures, 
 and preaching eternal punishment, and also by 
 an incessant application for their money." 
 
XIII. 
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF THE WITNESSES. 
 
 Verse 11. "And after three days and a half, 
 h spirit of life, from God, entered into them, 
 and they stood upon their feet ; and great fear 
 fell upon those which saw them." 
 
 "Three days and a half," viz. three years and 
 a half ; which will probably be the time of 
 their extreme suffering, their shame, their spir- 
 itual death ; after which they stood upon their 
 feet, prepared to march, or to fight the battles 
 of the Lord. "And the spirit of life from God 
 entered into them." Their spiritual life and 
 energies were paralyzed. They had long in- 
 dulged in the spirit and customs of an ungodly 
 world ; but now the spirit of life from God, 
 enters into them. Now, no more conformity 
 to the world, no more fear of man shall again tar- 
 nish their character, nor dishonor their God. 
 They shall be raised gloriously and triumphantly; 
 they now bear the perfect and exclusive image 
 of God, their Heavenly Father. 
 
79 
 
 Thus gloriously raised from death, and res- 
 tored to life, the life of God now dwells richly 
 in them, and they are clothed with the spotless 
 garments of salvation, armed with the whole 
 armor of righteousness on the right hand, and 
 on the left, they will become a terror to their 
 enemies. 
 
 *'And great fear fell upon those which saw 
 them." 
 
 In the early days of Methodism, though her 
 ministers were persecuted by the wicked, yet in 
 the presence of these men of God, their enemies 
 were awed into reverence. If sinners were en- 
 gaged in deeds of infamy and vice, and one of 
 these holy men made his appearance, the trans- 
 gressors felt ashamed, and ceased from their 
 deeds of sin and folly. But, alas, is it so 
 now ? Why this change ? It is not because 
 infidels or sinners have become more pious. Is 
 not the change on our part? "We have become 
 more assimilated to the world, we have seen 
 and feared Goliah, and have been unwilling to 
 trust in the Lord Jesus Christ ; we are unwill- 
 ing to meet our foes in the plain armor of our 
 God; the shepherd's sling and the smooth stone 
 of simple, poioerful faith, have been laid aside, 
 8 
 
80 
 
 and we have arrayed ourselves in Saul's armor. 
 We have qualified and prepared ourselves with 
 learned arguments to meet and conquer the 
 beast, the spirit of infidelity ; but alas, they now 
 fear us not ; they know the nature and strength 
 of our weapons, and they regard them not. 
 Had David have met and fought with Goliah, 
 arrayed in Saul's armor, he would have fallen 
 an easy prey beneath the iron grasp of his 
 mighty foe. But trusting in the strength of the 
 omnipotent arm of God, without any visible de- 
 fensive armor, and his ofi"ensive weapons quite 
 contemptible and insignificant in appearance, 
 he gained a complete and triumphant victory 
 over his mighty, his infidel foe, and the name 
 of the God of Hosts, in whom alone he trusted, 
 was magnified in the sight of Israel, and the 
 Philistean army. 
 
 We now fight the beast — the spirit of infidel- 
 ity, with learned, and we think, powerful and 
 conclusive arguments, so much so, that our foes 
 are well nigh silenced ; no respectable man is 
 now willing to be called an infidel; yet their 
 enmity and malice remains unchanged, and will 
 burst out when a favorable time arrives, in furi- 
 ous and overwhelming vengeance on the heads 
 
81 
 
 of their christian enemies, ■whom, in their inmost 
 hearts they despise. 
 
 To show the superiority of simple, pure, pow- 
 erful faith, the legitimate armor for the children 
 of God, over Saul's armor, viz. learning and 
 philosophy, we will insert an extract from the 
 life of Thomas Smith, formerly a member of the 
 Philadelphia Conference, a plain, successful 
 Methodist preacher, where the following thrill- 
 ing incident is related. 
 
 March 25. ^'Quarterly meeting was held at 
 New Mills. The Rev. Thos. Ware presided. 
 It began well, progressed well, and ended well. 
 On Saturday night, Bro. S. Hutchinson preach- 
 ed, and mighty power from on high came 
 among the people. I saw a young man sally- 
 ing around in the crowd, and coming to the left 
 of the pulpit, I made my way to him, and in- 
 quired into the state of his mind. He told me 
 he was in great distress on account of his sins* 
 While conversing with this young man, three 
 gentlemen came up and insisted on his going 
 away. I asked them if they were his guar- 
 dians ? They said, no. I desired them to be 
 quiet until I was done talking with him. They 
 remarked there was no necessity for talking 
 
82 
 
 "with that young man, on the subject of religion. 
 "Perhaps, gentlemen, " said I/'you do not believe 
 in the christian religion." They said, "no, we 
 do not." I said, "Gentlemen, will you suffer 
 us to gather around you, and pray for you, for 
 thirty minutes? after which, if there be no 
 change in your minds, on the subject of the 
 christian religion, I will agree to give it up my- 
 self." They replied, "Well, sir, we will take 
 you at your own proposal, you shall pray for 
 us for thirty minutes, and we will stand our 
 ground until the thirty minutes shall have ex- 
 pired, and if any change be wrought in our 
 minds, by any supernatural power, we will, as 
 honest' men, confess it; but if there be no 
 change in our minds as to the truth of the 
 christian religion, you shall, on your part re- 
 nounce it before this congregation. 
 
 My answer was, "Gentlemen, I will most 
 solemnly do so. Then, it is a bargain, amen." 
 I then called the attention of the congregation 
 to this awful contract. Many faces turned pale ; 
 others trembled with fear lest I should be a 
 ruined man that night forever. I then requested 
 the friends to give up the whole block of seats 
 next to the pulpit. ''' Infidelity and Christianity 
 
83 
 
 are fairly at issue, and may the God of Abra- 
 ham, Isaac and Jacob answer by fire." I then 
 called on all the official members of the church, 
 and all who could pray in faith, to come up to 
 the help of the Lord against the mighty. In 
 one minute there were scores around us. But 
 before we kneeled I delivered them a charge ; 
 and that was, "brethren you are not to offer one 
 prayer for the conversion of these gentlemen. If 
 you do that prayer will be lost. But send your 
 petitions to the throne of grace that God may 
 convict them as He did Saul of Tarsus on his 
 way to Damascus." This being understood, I 
 cried, "Let us pray J" At that moment I reckon 
 there were twenty watches drawn from the 
 pocket to mark the time. If I ever saw a time 
 of prayer it was that night. The whole congre- 
 gation was one mouth, and one breath. The 
 foundations of the house seemed to tremble. I 
 held my watch and proclaimed the time. "Five 
 minutes of the time are gone ! Ten minutes 
 of the time are gone ! Fifteen minutes of the 
 time are gone!" and down came a Saul of Tar- 
 sus to the floor. And was there not a shout ? 
 It was like the tumbling down of the walls of 
 Jericho. "Twenty minutes of the time are gone !" 
 8* 
 
84 
 
 and down come the second. tlie prayer I and 
 how the house did shake ! "Twenty-five minutes 
 of the time are gone !" and the third gentleman 
 took his seat. After the time allotted for prayer 
 had expired, two gentlemen on the floor, and 
 the third seated, I requested the congregation 
 to be seated, and to be quiet ; for the spirit of 
 the prophets is subject to the prophets. I then 
 called on those three gentlemen to tell the con- 
 gregation whether any change had taken place 
 in their minds, and whether they then believed 
 in the christian religion. So many of them as 
 could stand, arose, and most solemnly declared 
 that their minds had changed, and that they 
 then believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of 
 God. Christianity did at that time triumph 
 over infidelity. To God be all the glory ! Amen. 
 We consider T. Smith's exercise of faith, on 
 that occasion, not inferior to the victory gained 
 by David over Goliah. 
 
 It is most certain that if those three infidels 
 had have read carefully all the books that have 
 ever been written on the subject of infidelity, 
 and in proof of the christian religion (the Bible 
 excepted) they would not have been as clearly 
 convinced of the truth of divine revelation, and 
 
85 
 
 the power of the gospel, as they were in those 
 eventful thirty minutes. A living, powerful faith 
 in Jesus Christ, accompanied with the power and 
 influence of the Holy Ghost, is the ground work 
 of all true and genuine religion. That which 
 is not founded on this Boclc^ viz. Jesus Christ 
 revealed to the soul of guilty men through the 
 operation of the Holy Ghost, must go down, 
 must and will fail in the trying hour. 
 
XIV. 
 
 THE EXALTATION OF THE WITNESSES. 
 
 Verse 12. "And they heard a great voice 
 from heaven, saying, come up hither, and they 
 ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their 
 enemies beheld them." 
 
 The restoration of those witnesses to life, will 
 be a glorious event. God's omnipotent voice 
 awakes them into spiritual and powerful exist- 
 ence. They will then possess all the elements 
 of christian life, viz. power and purity. Their 
 sackcloth will fall off, and they shall be clothed 
 with rich garments of salvation, and fully armed 
 with the armor of righteousness on the right 
 hand and on the left. They will no longer confer 
 with flesh and blood. They will henceforth make 
 no compromise with an ungodly world. Their 
 loins will be girt about with the omnipotent girdle 
 of truth, unmixed with error or fiction. Their 
 breastplate of righteousness will shine so bright 
 that their enemies will be awed into silence in 
 their presence, and fall before the majesty of 
 their appearance, like Dagon before the ark of 
 God. Their feet, then shod with the prepara- 
 tion of the gospel of peace, they will, at the 
 bidding of the great Captain of their salvation, 
 
87 
 
 march triumphantly in the King's high way of 
 holiness, and fight the battles of the Lord with 
 universal success. Their shield of faith will 
 securely protect them from every assault, and 
 ward off all the fiery darts of all their enemies. 
 Their heads will be forever and securely pro- 
 tected from every assault of their enemies, by 
 the impervious helmet of salvation ; and with 
 the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, which 
 will then, indeed, be quick and powerful, they 
 will fight the battles of the Lord triumphantly, 
 and with glorious and universal success. Their 
 every breath will be prayer; nor will they ever 
 again slumber on their post, but with sleepless 
 vigilance watch every movement of the enemy, 
 both from without and from within. 
 
 "And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud." 
 Heaven is a place of holiness — the presence of 
 God, and whether it be on earth, or in the eter- 
 nal world, it will be heaven where there is no 
 sin, and where God's benign presence is mani- 
 fested. "And their enemies beheld them." 
 The wicked, with eternal shame and confusion, 
 will be permitted to behold their new and glo- 
 rious character and privileges. The rich man 
 saw Lazarus afar off in Abraham's bosom, while 
 there was an impassable gulf between them. 
 
XV. 
 
 COMMOTIONS CONNECTED WITH THIS EVENTFUL 
 PERIOD. 
 
 Verse 13. "And the same hour was there a 
 great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city 
 fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men, 
 seven thousand ; and the remnant were affright- 
 ed, and gave glory to the God of heaven." 
 
 Earthquakes are, in the scriptures, indicative 
 of commotions and convulsions, which will doubt- 
 less, in a peculiar manner, attend the momentous 
 events prefigured and specified in the eventful 
 history of those witnesses. The term seven 
 thousand, may be used a certain for an uncer- 
 tain number. Seven is a sacred — a scripture 
 number, as the seven angels, the seven churches, 
 the seven candlesticks, the week composed of 
 seven days, or it may indicate one-seventh part 
 of the inhabitants of the earth. The true mean- 
 ing of those obscure terms, will be made known 
 in due time — in God's own time. Secret things 
 belong to God, and those that are revealed, to 
 us and our children. 
 
89 
 
 "The remnant were aifrighted, and gave glory 
 to the God of heaven." The omnipotent hand of 
 God will not only be exerted in an extraordinary 
 manner, but men, all mankind, saints and sin- 
 ners, believers and infidels, will perceive evi- 
 dently the Hand Divine in those wonderful 
 scenes, and will be constrained to give the glory 
 to God, when they see His wisdom, and His 
 power, and His mercy, fully displayed in the 
 presence of an astonished universe. Then will 
 it be seen, that not only does the kingdom belong 
 to Christ, but that the power is His, and His 
 shall be the glory also. Heaven and earth shall 
 be filled with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
XVI. 
 
 THE JOY EXPRESSED IN HEAVEN" AT THE COM- 
 MENCEMENT OF CHRIST'S MILLENNIAL REIGN. 
 
 Verse 15. "And the seventh angel sounded ; 
 and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 
 the kingdoms of this world are become the 
 kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and 
 He shall reign forever and ever." 
 
 At the resurrection of the witnesses — the pu- 
 rified church shining forth in the glorious image 
 of her Redeemer the Holy One of Israel, their 
 garments washed and made white in the blood 
 of the Lamb, will the glorious day of the millen- 
 nium commence, when all shall be of one heart 
 and of one mind. Then will the lion and the 
 lamb lie down together, and nothing shall hurt 
 or destroy in all God's holy mountain. Heaven 
 and earth will then rejoice together, and the an- 
 gelic host shall raise their voice of wonder and 
 praise, proclaiming aloud, the kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and 
 of his Christ ; and he shall reign forever and 
 
91 
 
 ever. Then shall the mystery of redemption 
 be fully developed to the wondering and ador- 
 ing multitude of saints and angels. Then, and 
 not until then, will it be fully understood why 
 God bore so long with sinful rebels — why the 
 Lord Jesus did not assume His great power and 
 bring in universal righteousness sooner. Then 
 will the wisdom, the mercy and love and loower 
 of the Saviour of our lost world, the mighty 
 God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of 
 Peace, be the theme and wonder of adoring and 
 worshiping multitudes through an unending 
 eternity. 
 
 Connected with the spiritual death of the two 
 witnesses, it is presumable the fire of God's an- 
 ger will literally consume all the monuments of 
 pride and vanity erected by the folly of man, 
 and this globe will be purified by fire, and the 
 curse of God be forever removed, and the earth 
 restored to her primitive, her paradisical beauty 
 and glory. Then will the important petition 
 expressed in our Lord's prayer, "Thy kingdom 
 come. Thy will be done on earth as it is done 
 in heaven," be fully realized in the universal 
 salvation of God's people. There vnll then ex- 
 ist in the human heart, no impure or unholy de- 
 9 
 
92 
 
 sires, or motives, or purposes; all shall be of 
 one heart, and of one mind — all shall be essenti- 
 ally 07ie, and God our Redeemer shall be all in all. 
 
 Surely this glorious consummation — this final 
 scene of redemption, should be the constant 
 theme, and the ardent desire of every heart. 
 Our incessant and importunate prayer should 
 be, "Thy kingdom come, thy will b'e done on 
 earth as it is done in heaven." It is even now 
 the distinguished privilege of every child of God, 
 to have Christ's kingdom set up in his heart — 
 to have no will of his own, but to do the will of 
 God daily and hourly ; such, and such only, can 
 be accounted worthy of a place in Christ's glo- 
 rious millennial kingdom, for nothing impure or 
 unholy can be admitted there ; nor can death 
 change our nature, or wash out one stain — no, 
 nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash the 
 dismal stains of sin away, and qualify our souls 
 for an eternal residence with the saints of light. 
 
 The Psalmist in speaking by Divine inspira- 
 tion of the period when Christ shall display His 
 power in the presence of an astonished world, 
 says, "Thy people," (the Jews,) "shall be willing 
 in the day of thy 2^ower, in the beauties of holi- 
 ness from the womb of the morning" (the millen- 
 
 I 
 
93 
 
 nial morn) "thou has the dew of thy youth." 
 Jew and Gentile shall then be united, and there 
 shall be one fold, and one Shepherd. Now 
 no more divisions among men, nor discordant 
 sound heard in heaven or on earth, Amen. 
 Come Lord Jesus, and come quickly. The 
 kingdom is thine — the power is thine, and thine, 
 blessed Saviour, shall be the glory, forever 
 and ever. 
 
XVII. 
 
 ADDITIONAL PROOF OF THE CORRECTNESS OP 
 THOSE VIEWS. 
 
 In our fallen sin-disordered state, we gener- 
 ally (as did the Jews) love to hear smooth things 
 prophesied. The cup of flattery, though we ap- 
 prehend that it contains deadly poison, is more 
 palatable and pleasing to our taste than plain 
 wholesome truths that wounds our consciences, 
 and condemns us before the world. It is pre- 
 sumable that the views and sentiments exhibited 
 in the preceding remarks, however reasonable, 
 and well sustained by scripture they may be, 
 will not be favorably received by the church in 
 the present day. Ministers will doubtless pre- 
 fer their favorite theories. Most of them be- 
 lieve that the instrumentalities now in opera- 
 tion will in due time effect the great object and 
 design of the gospel, and the purpose for which 
 Christ came into the world, viz. to destroy the 
 works of the devil, and establish a state of uni- 
 versal peace, purity and righteousness on earth. 
 
95 
 
 We will, therefore, assign some further reasons, 
 sustained by clear scripture proof, in regard to 
 the identity to the apocalyptic witnesses, their 
 overthrow, their death, and their resurrection 
 and ultimate triumphant victory. 
 
 The present state of the church, and her past 
 history renders the idea of her ever reaching 
 the elevated position assigned to her in God's 
 word by the process now in operation, visionary 
 in the extreme, if not impracticable. 
 
 The church in her present condition dishonors 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, as her great Head and 
 Founder. In the work of creation, Christ's 
 signature is ordei', harmony^ and perfection. 
 There exists no flaw in creation's frame, except 
 where sin has marred her form. No blot found 
 upon creation's page. All created nature, all 
 things in heaven and upon earth, harmonize, 
 and unite in ascribing ivisdom^ and power, per- 
 fection and mercy to their great Creator ; they 
 declare aloud in reason's ear, "the hand that 
 formed us is divine.'' 
 
 Not so the church, discord is^legibly written 
 
 on almost every feature of her existence. Nor 
 
 has this dark trait, this suspicious mark, received 
 
 any improvement from age and experience. 
 
 9* 
 
96 
 
 During the last half century division and dis- 
 cord has been on the advance. In the last 
 twenty or thirty years, almost all the prominent 
 religious sects have been sundered, divided and 
 subdivided. Every reflecting and intelligent 
 mind must acknowlege that family discord is 
 not only painful in its nature, but dishonorable 
 and ruinous in its results. This blemish is seen 
 by every eye, by all our reflecting enemies ; 
 and they know it is not Christ's signature. 
 Jews and infidels prefer this charge against us ; 
 and we, to ward off their darts, and hide our 
 torn garments, apologise for our nakedness, and 
 say, "that in all essential principles we agree, 
 we are united ; it is only in small items, in non- 
 essentials we disagree. Love is not a non-essen- 
 tial principle, it is this Divine element, that con- 
 stitutes the quintessence of Christianity. It 
 was the existence of this heavenly principle, 
 that caused the bitter enemies of Christ's early 
 followers, to cry out, "see how these christians 
 love!'' Love is the golden chain which binds 
 all the inhabitants of heaven together ; not one 
 jar, or discordant note is heard in all the heav- 
 enly world — the family there are all one, indis- 
 solubly ONE, and God is all in all. No jarring 
 
97 
 
 note or sound is heard among the multitude 
 who sing the new song, one sound, one senti- 
 ment, one feeling, one motive, one intent ; ten 
 thousand thousand are their tongues, but all 
 their joys are one, Jesus Christ, the great arch- 
 itect and builder of His church, has taught us 
 to pray, 'Hhy will he done on earth as it is done 
 in heaven.'' Therefore, as there is no flaw nor 
 discordant feeling in heaven, neither should 
 there be on earth. The necessity and import- 
 ance of ijerfect harmony or unanimity among 
 the saints on earth, the members of God's fami- 
 ly, the church, will appear more clearly from 
 the relation we bear to God. The Bible says, 
 thy Maker is thy Husband, the church in the 
 New Testament is called the "Bride, the Lamb's 
 wife." In this endearing relation there can be 
 no flaw, no suspicion — the love must be -perfect. 
 "For this cause shall a man leave his father and 
 mother, and cleave to his wife, and the twain 
 shall be one flesh." Mark x, 7, 8. Hence rea- 
 son and revelation, and the divine principles of 
 righteousness harmonize in their sentiments, the 
 perfect union of the church on earth. 
 
 There exists, it is true, an opinion generally 
 among the children of God, that we cannot per* 
 
98 
 
 fectly harmonize in all things, and this may be 
 true as it regards our judgment, while we see in 
 part; but the heart, the affections of the heart — 
 love, will admit of no discord ; all, all in that 
 heavenly and divine element must perfectly 
 harmonize ; no flaw, no suspicion, no division. 
 Love, like its great original, is a unit. God is 
 love. This glorious principle is opposed to all 
 evil; like honesty and dishonesty, like virtue 
 and vice, they are antagonistic principles. No 
 man can be honest and dishonest at the same 
 time. No compromise in those high and essential 
 elements of Christianity are admissible. We 
 must be on the Lord's side, or we must take part 
 with His enemies. 
 
 The most common observer must, if divested 
 of prejudice, perceive that the Bride is not pre- 
 pared to meet the Bridegroom. Was the Lord 
 Jesus to call the church to meet him this hour, 
 how few now on earth would meet Him with as 
 much joy and delight as an affectionate wife 
 would meet her husband who had been absent 
 only a few months ! Should not this plain ra- 
 tional view of the subject alarm us all, for we 
 may be called to meet the Lord Jesus this night, 
 the next hour. 
 
 No sober minded rational christian, can sup- 
 
99 
 
 pose that Christ possesses less sensibility than 
 poor fallen man; nor can we rationally believe 
 that He views with indifference a slight aliena- 
 tion of our affections from him. ^o, He rep- 
 resents Himself as being a jealous God, and 
 with His piercing eye, discerns the inmost 
 thoughts and intents of our heart. We some- 
 times console ourselves, and strive to quiet our 
 consciences by shrouding our hearts with the 
 mantle of our numerous infirmities and imper- 
 fections, in contrast with the powe?^ tvisdom, 
 and intrity of God ; and thus endeavor to per- 
 suade ourselves, that the mercy of our blessed 
 Saviour, will influence Him to look over errors 
 and frailties, — that He will not expect to find 
 perfection in such frail, imperfect creatures as 
 we are. This is doubtless a correct sentiment 
 in regard to our real infirmities, such as our 
 knowledge, perception, judgment, memory, &c. 
 But the affections of the heart can, and must 
 be perfect. The redemption price, paid for that 
 precious jewel, has been too great to make any 
 compromise or allowance in the premises. The 
 blood of Jesus is sufiicient to wash out every 
 stain, and His grace can support us every mo- 
 ment, can keep the wedding garment undefiled, 
 without ^'■spot or wrinkle, or any such thing,'' 
 
100 
 
 It is therefore in view of the price paid for 
 our soul, and the character of the Author of 
 our redemption, and the high and holy connec- 
 tion which must exist between the living God, 
 and his redeemed subjects, that Christ says un- 
 equivocally, '^Be ye therefore ferfect^ even as 
 your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'' 
 Matt. V, 48. The beloved disciple also enforces 
 the same sentiment, when he says, ^^And every 
 man that hath this hope in him, purifieth him- 
 self even as He is pure.'' 1 John iii, 3. A 
 merciful and good God does not require us to be 
 perfect in knowledge^ nor in our judgment, nor 
 in the exercise of our perceptive faculties^ nor 
 our memory ; these infirmities will doubtless 
 remain with us until this mortal shall put on 
 immortality ; as even those innocent infirmities 
 cannot be admitted into heaven, they will be 
 left in the grave, when we are raised in Christ's 
 glorious image ; then shall we know even as we 
 also are known, then will there be no disparity 
 between the bridegroom and the bride. Yet 
 does the Lord Jesus reasonably and unequivo- 
 cally require us to be perfect, even in this world, 
 in love, our affections must be pure. If the 
 virtuous wife can, and does love her husband 
 
101 
 
 perfectly, we can, and must love God perfectly. 
 The honorable husband would be unwilling to 
 share his wife's affections with the best man on 
 earth, nor would it afford his wounded heart 
 the slightest relief, to hear his wife assure him, 
 that she loved him better than his rival. There- 
 fore, "if any man love the world," (more or less,) 
 "the love of the Father is not in him." 
 
 On this important subject the strong language 
 of scripture should cause us to fear and tremble 
 before the righteous Judge of all the earth. 
 The inspired writer says, "Ye adulterers and 
 adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of 
 the world is enmity with God? Whosoever 
 therefore will he the friend of the world, is the 
 enemy of God." James iv, 4. 
 
 Alas ! how many of our leaders in Israel, of 
 our great men in the Church, will stand con- 
 demned when the above declaration is read out 
 in the judgment day ! 
 
 Very few of our great and learned men are 
 willing to be slighted, or persecuted; they 
 would much rather be honored and applauded by 
 the rich and influential part of community. Many 
 of us forget Christ's omnipotent^ but plain words, 
 and seem to attach no importance to them, when 
 
102 
 
 He says, "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate 
 you, and when they shall separate you from 
 their company, and shall reproach you, and cast 
 out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's 
 sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy ; 
 for behold your reward is great in heaven. Woe 
 unto you, when all men shall speak well of 
 you." Luke vi, 22, 23, 26. 
 
 where shall we find the spirit, evidently 
 required of us as christians, in those passages 
 of God's word ? Again, Christ asks a plain, a 
 most important question, "How can ye believe, 
 which receive honor, one of another, and seek 
 not the honor that cometh from God only ?" 
 
 As it regards the spirit and import of this 
 plain and comprehensive inquiry, it must be 
 conceded that our Quaker friends are in ad- 
 vance of nearly every other branch of Christ's 
 church. that they were as faithful in the 
 observance of all Christ's words and commands, 
 and precepts. We shall all find in the great 
 day of eternity, that God's word is quick and 
 powerful, and every jot and tittle thereof will 
 stand as immutably sure as God himself, and all 
 of us who slight or neglect the commands and 
 precepts of Jesus Christ, found in the New Tes- 
 
103 
 
 tament, must be found guilty before God, and 
 shut out of heaven. 
 
 After candidly and impartially considering 
 the character and condition of the church as it 
 now exists, and contrasting it with what it 
 should be, as described in God's word, in the New 
 Testament, where we are required to be ]oure in 
 hearty and holy as God is holy, to do (Jod's will 
 on earth as it is done in heaven, to love our 
 neighbors (viz. all mankind) as ourselves ; we 
 may at least perceive the probability that the 
 judgments of God must affect what His mercy 
 has failed to accomplish. It is reasonable to 
 suppose that the rubbish will have to be burned 
 up, before that holy state of gospel purity shall 
 exist among men generally, which the word of 
 the Lord promises, and God's character demands 
 of his church. 
 
 God has power to cast down and to build up, 
 to kill and make alive. The kingdom is Christ's, 
 and the power is His, and His shall be the glo- 
 ry. It is therefore, both reasonable and pre- 
 sumable, from scripture authority, to suppose 
 that those witnesses clothed in sackcloth will be 
 cast down, will be slain, spiritually slain ; shall 
 be despoiled of all their present power and glo- 
 10 
 
104 
 
 Yj, and at the proper time, raised again in pu- 
 rity, and power and splendor, clothed no longer 
 in sackcloth, but adorned with the white robes 
 of righteousness, unsoiled by the touch of a cor- 
 rupt world, and unspotted by one particle of 
 prejudice, or pride, or love of the world ; with- 
 out one discordant element in the heart, or in 
 the entire family. Thus raised again spiritually 
 and gloriously into life, they will bear their 
 Saviour's image, and dwell together in harmony 
 and love. They shall then, indeed, walk with 
 Christ, for they are worthy. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 FURTHER EYIDENCB OF CORRECTNESS OF THE 
 FOREGOING THEORY. 
 
 As further evidence of the truth of the fore- 
 going views, of the death of those witnesses, we 
 will advert to the following impressive and im- 
 portant declarations of our blessed Saviour : 
 "But as the days of Noah were, so shall the 
 coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the 
 days that were before the flood, they were eat- 
 ing and drinking, marrying and given in marri- 
 age, until the day that Noah entered into the 
 ark, and knew not, until the flood came, and 
 took them all away ; so shall the coming of the 
 Son of Man be." Matt, xxiv, 37, 38, 39. 
 
 "Likewise, also, as it was in the days of Lot ; 
 they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, 
 they planted, they builded ; but the same day 
 that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and 
 brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all ; 
 even thus shall it be, when the Son of Man is 
 revealed." Luke xvii, 28, 29, 30. 
 
 Those declarations are awfully expressive of 
 some dreadful event yet in the future, and most 
 
106 
 
 refer to Christ's second coming, when the wit- 
 nesses shall be slain. It is true, that wise and 
 learned commentators, have applied those scenes 
 described by Christ, to the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem ; but this cannot be correct. Dreadful 
 as was that event, it will not justify the strong 
 and comprehensive language used by our Savi- 
 our. When the antideluvians were destroyed 
 there was but one family saved ; and when Sod- 
 om was consumed, only part of one family es- 
 caped the awful deluge of fire. 
 
 Neither can those solemn declarations refer 
 to the scenes that shall take place at the final 
 consummation of all things, the general judgment 
 day, for the plain reason, that there are consol- 
 ing and unequivocal promises given to us in 
 God's word, that a period shall arrive in the 
 history of our world, when righteousness shall 
 universally obtain; of that happy day it is said, 
 "All shall know the Lord, from the least unto 
 the greatest." Here, also, commentators have 
 endeavored to allay the fears and damp the 
 hopes of the honest inquirer after truth, they 
 say that at the specified period, all shall under- 
 stand the plan of salvation, or, righteous knowl- 
 edge will then be universal, or, that the righteous 
 
107 
 
 will then govern the world, as the wicked now 
 bear rule. 
 
 The prophet, however, is more specific, and 
 says, "And they shall teach no more, every 
 man his neighbor, and every man his brother, 
 saying, know the Lord, for all shall know the 
 Lord, from the least of them, unto the greatest 
 of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their 
 iniquities, and their sins will I remember no 
 more." Jer. xxxi, 34. And a still more expres- 
 sive description is given by the evangelical proph- 
 et, of that happy day, he says, "The wolf and 
 the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall 
 eat straw with the bullock, and dust shall be the 
 serpent's meat. They shall no more hurt or de- 
 stroy in all my holy mountain ; saith the Lord." 
 Isaiah Ixv, 25. After that glorious period, when 
 all shall be righteous, even the most ferocious an- 
 imals shall be tamed, and dwell together in per- 
 fect harmony. It is not therefore presumable, 
 if possible, that after the universal spread of 
 righteousness over the earth, that all should be- 
 come again corrupt and be destroyed by the 
 breath of God's anger. If that awful event, spe- 
 cified by our Saviour, cannot refer to the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, nor to the final judgment day, 
 10* 
 
108 
 
 it must take place at Christ's second coming, to 
 establish His kingdom on earth, in glorious tri- 
 umph ; when the witnesses clothed in sackcloth 
 shall be slain, and after three years and a half, rise 
 again in loeace and purity. The saints of the 
 Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess 
 the kingdom for ever and ever." Daniel vii, 18. 
 Thus it is said of the risen witnesses. Rev. xi, 
 15, ''The kingdoms of this world are become 
 the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and 
 He shall reign for ever and ever." 
 
 In adverting to that awfully solemn day, our 
 Saviour says, "Nevertheless, when the Son of 
 Man Cometh, shall He find faith on the earth." 
 Clearly intimating, that faith in its legitimate 
 and perfect form, will not then be found on 
 earth. This, however, cannot be said of the 
 period when Jerusalem was destroyed, there 
 were still some of the apostles living, and others 
 who had not defiled their garments, even in that 
 evil day. And surely it cannot refer to any 
 period of time subsequent to the universal diffu- 
 sion of righteousness and peace, which must be 
 realized on earth, before time shall end. But 
 that fearful declaration is, in one important 
 sense, strictly true of our world at this time, 
 
109 
 
 notwithstanding the prevailing opinion to the 
 contrary. Most certainly we cannot find the 
 kind of faith once delivered to the saints ; the 
 faith that characterized the Jewish witnesses 
 nearly all through the days of their prosperity ; 
 that faith which honors God, and Christ says 
 shall remove mountains, that faith which has 
 been made by Christ himself, the test proof of 
 our christian character as his ministering ser- 
 vants. The genuine commission given to every 
 minister of the gospel, runs thus, "And he said 
 unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach 
 my gospel to every creature. He that believ- 
 eth and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he that 
 believeth not shall be damned. And these signs 
 shall follow them that believe ; in my name shall 
 they cast out devils ; they shall speak with new 
 tongues ; they shall take up serpents ; and if 
 they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt 
 them ; they shall lay hands upon the sick and they 
 shall recover." Mark xvi, 15, 16. The min- 
 ister who does not act under this commission, 
 had better return home again to his farm, or 
 shop, or desk. The authorities of the church 
 may and should endorse this commission, to 
 prevent imposition and fraud, but the legiti- 
 
110 
 
 mate authority must come, even to the latest 
 generation of men, frcm the great head of the 
 church ; from the Lord Jesus Christ. How can 
 we rationally account for the fact, that we re- 
 ceive our commission to preach the gospel from 
 Christ, but refuse his certificate ; we claim the 
 authority, but deny the power. For it must be 
 conceded that the kind of faith specified in the 
 original, the genuine commission, is not only 
 not found now on earth, but it is positively re- 
 jected. The authorities of the church (of any 
 respectable branch of the church) would silence 
 or disown the minister who would advocate the 
 doctrine of miracle working faith; or assert 
 that Christ's declaration describing the true ev- 
 idence of our commission, is binding on us now. 
 Yet the very tenor of the commission proves 
 that it was to be in force to the end of time, for 
 He adds, "io I am with you always, even unto 
 the end of the world.'' The men who received 
 their authority to preach from the lips of their 
 Divine master, could not continue to the end of 
 the world ; consequently Christ included in the 
 commission, and the test given of its genuineness, 
 all His ministers to the close of time, of our pro- 
 bationary state. If therefore this plain, legiti- 
 
Ill 
 
 mate kind of faith is indispensable in the Church 
 is plainly and publicly repudiated, surely it can- 
 not be found upon earth, even in this day of 
 extraordinary light and privilege. 
 
 If, however, we view faith in its most com- 
 mon aspect, its lowest grade, in its most feeble 
 form, viz. a firm belief in the attributes of God 
 as an omnipresent Being ; this sentiment or 
 act of faith is indelibly engraven on the mind 
 and consciences of every honest infidel, hence 
 in many instances when professed infidels have 
 been suddenly exposed to imminent danger, 
 they have either voluntarily or otherwise, called 
 on the name of God for help, for deliverance 
 from the jaws of death, which would be an act 
 of downright folly, if they did not believe that 
 God was present, and heard their prayer. 
 
 In this divine attribute, in the omnipresence 
 of God, we all profess to believe — so at least 
 we think and speak; but is it really true ? Do 
 we fully and consistently believe this simple, 
 plain, but important truth ? All of us who say 
 or do any thing we would not say or do if the 
 Lord Jesus was personally present, do not con- 
 sistently and fully believe this undeniable truth ; 
 for He (Jesus Christ) is really (spiritually) pre- 
 
112 
 
 sent, and hears every word we speak. Alas — 
 alas, how few there are, even among professing 
 christians, that do and say nothing, which they 
 would not do and say if the Lord Jesus was 
 personally present ! Perhaps a Lot or a Noah 
 could now be found on earth. 
 
 Again, we all profess to believe God's word as 
 it is revealed in the Bible ; but is it really so ? Do 
 we firmly and consistently believe all God's writ- 
 ten word ? If I say to my friend, "I believe 
 nearly all your statements, one declaration how- 
 ever I cannot receive," I dishonor my friend 
 and make him a liar. If, therefore, we do not 
 consistently, and universally believe all God's 
 written word, we dishonor the Lord, and 
 fall under that condemnatory sentence, ^'he 
 that believeth not shall be damned." Surely 
 we should examine this all important subject 
 honestly in the sight of God. Do we fully 
 believe that solemn declaration, "but the day 
 of the Lord will come as a thief in' the night; 
 in the which the heavens shall pass away 
 with a great noise, and the elements shall melt 
 with fervent heat ; the earth also, and the works 
 that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter 
 iii, 10, 
 
118 
 
 Do not many of us read that soul-thrilling 
 declaration with great indifference ! We can 
 retire to bed unprepared to meet that solemn 
 scene, to meet the Righteous Judge of all the 
 earth, and yet feel little or no concern about 
 the awful event. 
 
 Was our neighbor to inform us that he over- 
 heard a number of incendiaries arrange a plan 
 to burn down our house one night next week, 
 would we, after hearing that declaration, retire 
 to bed carelessly, without making a suitable 
 preparation to meet that dreadful event ? Not 
 so ; we would place a guard around our house, 
 and take every precaution in our power to pre- 
 vent the destruction of our property, and the 
 life of our family ; and we would act thus ration- 
 ally, because we believed our neighbor's word. 
 But when God speaks and declares that He will 
 come as a thief in the night, and may come this 
 night, to burn up the world, and yet we repair 
 to bed without making a good and sufficient prep- 
 aration to meet the awfully important case, 
 and feel little or no concern about the matter ! 
 Is it not, therefore, most certain that in all such 
 cases (and they are innumerable in the church) 
 that we do not believe God's word ? We be- 
 
114 
 
 lieve and honor man when he speaks, but difi- 
 helieve and dishonor God when He speaks. 
 ''Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, 
 shall He find faith on the earth?" 
 
 The above declaration of Jesus could not refer 
 to the destruction of Jerusalem, for the plain 
 reason that some of His apostles were then liv- 
 ing who had doubtless retained that invaluable 
 treasure, the faith once committed to them. Nor 
 is it reasonable to suppose that such a gloomy 
 state of things will exist at the final close of pro- 
 bationary time, when the dead, small and great, 
 shall be summoned to appear at the judgment 
 seat of Christ, after the glorious period of uni- 
 versal righteousness; hence we conclude that 
 the destitution of faith spoken of, and the gen- 
 eral prevalence of infidelity plainly intimated in 
 the text must refer to the period of Christ's 
 second coming to establish His kingdom in truth 
 and righteousness on earth, to the period when 
 the witness shall be slain, shall be killed, and 
 raised again, possessed of the life of God, and 
 the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the faith that works 
 powerfully by love, and realizes fully all the 
 promises of the gospel. 
 
 The following prediction clearly points to the 
 
115 
 
 death, and also to the resurrection of the wit- 
 nesses, to the restoration of the Jews, and the 
 introduction of the millennial reign. "There- 
 fore wait ye upon me saith the Lord, until the 
 day that I rise up to the prey, for my determina- 
 tion is to gather the nations, that I may assem- 
 ble the kingdoms, to pour out my indignation, 
 even all my fierce anger ; for all the earth shall 
 bo devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For 
 then will I turn to the people a pure language, 
 that they may call upon the name of the Lord, 
 to serve Him with one consent." Zephaniah 
 iii, 8, 9. 
 
 In the above passage the Lord, by his prophet, 
 calls on His people, the Jews, to wait patiently 
 under their long and sore trials and sufferings, 
 in their sackcloth state, until the cup of the 
 Gentiles shall be full — until the period when all 
 the prophesies shall be fulfilled, when the fire of 
 His righteous anger shall be kindled against 
 the gentile world, including the corrupt church, 
 then at, or about, that time shall the poAver and 
 glory of the God of Israel be displayed in the 
 resurrection of His people, of His church, both 
 Jew and Gentile. Then will the mighty angel 
 come down from heaven having a chain in his 
 11 
 
116 
 
 hand, and Satan the adversary and deceiver of 
 the nations shall be bound. The demon of dis- 
 cord will be permitted no more to sow his un- 
 hallowed seed among the redeemed of the Lord. 
 Then shall there be indeed one fold and one 
 shepherd, and nothing shall hurt nor destroy in 
 all God's holy mountain. In the renewed and 
 purified earth, restored to its paradisical purity 
 and glory. Happy, glorious day ; should not 
 our unceasing and anxious prayer be, "come 
 Lord Jesus, and come quickly, come and claim 
 thine own, and sway thy sceptre and reign on 
 earth as thou dost in heaven, and dwell in the 
 midst of thy saints." 
 
XIX. 
 
 AN OBJECTIOJf ANSWERED. 
 
 "But will not this view of the subject, have 
 a tendency to discourage the ministers of the 
 gospel, especially in their missionary opera- 
 tions?" By no means. Their duty is to oc- 
 cupy until the Master comes — and, as it was in 
 Sodom and the antideluvian world, there will 
 be a Noah, a Lot, a few who will be found 
 righteous before God, who follow the Lamb 
 whithersoever He goeth — who have not received 
 the mark of the beast either in their forehead 
 or their hand, who have not bowed the knee to 
 Baal, nor bowed the head to Haman. Who 
 have spurned the world from their embrace, 
 and have not conformed internally or externally 
 to the spirit or customs and maxims of an un- 
 godly world, neither in their houses, their fur- 
 niture, their apparel, nor in any other way. 
 Their eye has been single, and their constant 
 motive has been to please God, and bear the 
 cross of Jesus Christ. They can consistently, 
 
118 
 
 and understandingly, and honestly, and cheer- 
 fully look the poor suffering widow and her na- 
 ked orphans, and say, without fear of contradic- 
 tion or shame, ''we loved you as we loved our 
 own souls.'' We have considered your spiritual 
 and temporal welfare, as much as our own. 
 These, however numerous or few their number 
 may be, shall walk with Christ in white for they 
 are worthy. 
 
 And could the servants of God, the ambassa- 
 dors of Christ be instrumental in saving one 
 such soul, it would be infinitely more important 
 than to gain all the wealth of the earth, and all 
 the honors of the world, so frequently sought 
 after at the risk and sacrifice of their souls. 
 All the titles of distinction, such as Rev., D. D., 
 Professor A., &c., &c., will be blown away and 
 burned up as the chaff of the summer's thrashing 
 floor. While one poor, humble, blood-bought, 
 and blood- washed soul, though found at the rich 
 man's gate begging for crumbs, saved and 
 brought home as a sheaf for our Master's gran- 
 ary in heaven, to live and reign with Lazarus, 
 and that innumerable company who have gone 
 up through great tribulation, having washed 
 their robes and made them white in the blood 
 
119 
 
 of the Lamb, will out weigh all our flimsy honor, 
 and popularity, and the glory of man, a million 
 of times over. Then let us go forth bearing 
 precious seed, and in due time we shall return, 
 bringing our sheaves with us. 
 
 Let us, therefore, occupy until the Master 
 comes, but let us do so faithfully and diligently. 
 Let us make no compromise with an ungodly 
 world. Let us not confer with flesh and blood. 
 Let us measure ourselves by the only true stan- 
 dard, by the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be care- 
 ful to have His Spirit, who, when He was re- 
 viled, reviled not again, and faithfully follow 
 His glorious example — imitate constantly and 
 faithfully Christ's self-denying and self-sacrific- 
 ing life — knowing that those, and those only, 
 who sufier with Him shall reign with Him. If 
 we be dead with Christ (to the riches, honors, and 
 pleasures of the world) we shall also live with 
 Him, shall sit down with Him on His throne, as 
 He has overcome and has sit down with His 
 Father on His throne. Discouraged? No, 
 never, until I am debarred from the cross of 
 Christ ; never, until Christ frowns and the world 
 smiles on me, then, and not until then shall my 
 soul sink in unholy doubts and fears. 
 11* 
 
120 
 
 While we have great and precious promises 
 to cheer and comfort us by the way, we have 
 also many solemn and admonitory lessons to be 
 cautious, to be always on our guard, and watch- 
 ing unto prayer. 
 
XX. 
 
 ADDITIONAL WARNINGS AND ADMONITIONS IN 
 REGARD TO COMING EVENTS. 
 
 Our Divine Master has given us many faith- 
 ful and solemn warnings, among others the fol- 
 lowing, which should make a deep impression 
 on our hearts. After having described some of 
 the signs and wonders that should precede and 
 accompany His second coming, and the reverses 
 and afflictions that should befall the Jews. He 
 adds, "and they shall fall by the edge of the 
 sword, and shall be led away captive into all 
 nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down 
 of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles 
 be fulfilled." (Until the measure of their iniqui- 
 ty is full.) "And there shall be signs in the sun, 
 and in the moon, and in the stars ; and upon the 
 earth, distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea 
 and the waves roaring ; men's hearts failing them 
 for fear, and for looking after those things which 
 are coming on the earth; for the powers of 
 heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they 
 see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with 
 
122 
 
 power and great glory. And when these things 
 begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up 
 your heads ; for your redemption draweth nigh. 
 And He spake to them a parable, Behold the 
 fig-tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot 
 forth, ye see and know of yourselves that sum- 
 mer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when 
 you see these things come to pass, know that 
 the kingdom of Gfod is nigh at hand. Verily I 
 say unto you this generation shall not pass away 
 till all be fulfilled." [That generation, that 
 people has not yet passed away, nor will they 
 until these great events shall be fulfilled. This 
 itself is an admonitory miracle.] 
 
 "Heaven and earth shall pass away ; but my 
 words shall not pass away. And take heed to 
 yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be over- 
 charged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and 
 cares of this life, and so that day come upon you 
 unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all 
 them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 
 Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye 
 may be accounted worthy to escape all these 
 things that shall come to pass, and to stand be- 
 fore the Son of Man." Luke xxi, 24 to 36. 
 
 To the prudent, reflecting mind, those discio- 
 
123 
 
 sures and admonitions, clothed with the authori- 
 ty they are, should make a deep and solemn im- 
 pression on our hearts, knowing that the period 
 specified is just at hand. But learned and wise 
 men have lulled their readers into a state of in- 
 difference, if not of carnal and ruinous security. 
 They have asserted, that all these awful events 
 expressed by our Saviour, had direct reference 
 to the destruction of Jerusalem ! How strange 
 that wise men could themselves believe that 
 those things exclusively pointed to the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, when it is expressly said, 
 that their favorite city shall be trodden down of 
 the Gentiles until the time adverted to. These 
 things cannot refer exclusively to the overthrow 
 of Jerusalem, neither can they point to any 
 period after the entire conversion of the world. 
 Those days, nor any other event, can overtake 
 them as a snare, for they are all prepared for any 
 and every event which the wisdom of God may 
 direct or permit to visit our lower world. There- 
 fore the time specified must be the period when 
 Christ shall come to establish His kingdom uni- 
 versally on the earth. 
 
XXI. 
 
 ANOTHER OBJECTION MET. 
 
 We are generally very unwilling to believe 
 any thing, however plausible, which we do not 
 wish to believe. We cannot think that the 
 present constituted state of things will be over- 
 turned. What ! our churches, our missionary, 
 and Bible, and tract, and Sabbath school, with 
 many other excellent gospel institutions, those 
 cast off and overthrown ! Impossible ! So 
 thought the Jews of their beloved temple, the 
 most splendid and costly edifice the world has 
 ever seen, and their chosen and favored city, 
 Jerusalem, surely God will not forsake us. He 
 will not cast off His people ! And his own word 
 throws around us a cord of perfect security ; it 
 cannot be ! Yet it was so, and their overthrow 
 the most abject and complete — and though they 
 are and have long been clothed in '^sack- 
 cloth," have drank the cup of sorrow and degra- 
 dation to its dregs. They have been for more 
 than eighteen centuries, politically and morally 
 
125 
 
 dead, without a home, a country, a temple, an 
 altar to offer their sacrifices on — buried in ob- 
 livion atid shame, a proverb and a by-word, 
 and a hissing among all nations, yet God, the God 
 of Abraham, a covenant keeping God, has his mer- 
 ciful eye upon them, and the strong, wise arm of 
 His divine and overruling providence is thrown 
 around them, and when they shall have finish- 
 ed their testimony, when all the prophesies are 
 fulfilled, they will be raised into life, and beauty, 
 and power; those dry bones shall live again, 
 and become an exceeding great army, for strong 
 is the Lord God of their fathers, and He will 
 visit them in due time. 
 
 Let us now examine a few of the reasons the 
 Jews had to believe that their God would not 
 forsake or cast them off, and we shall find them 
 more numerous and powerful, than we have to 
 hope or believe, that we, as God's people. His 
 church will not be cast off and spiritually slain, 
 cast down, forsaken. 
 
 "They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount 
 Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for- 
 ever. As the mountains are round about Jeru- 
 salem, so the Lord is round about His people, 
 from henceforth even forever." Psalms cxxv, 1, 
 
126 
 
 2. "Sing, heavens ; and be joyful, earth ; 
 and break forth into singing, mountains ; for 
 the Lord hath comforted His people, and will 
 have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, 
 the Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath 
 forgotten me. Can a woman forget her suck- 
 ing child that she should not have compassion 
 on the son of her womb ? Yea, they may for- 
 get, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have 
 graven thee on the palms of my hands; thy 
 walls are continually before me." Isaiah xlix, 
 13, 14, 15, 16. 
 
 "Thus saith the Lord which giveth the sun 
 for light by day, and the ordinances of the moon 
 and of the stars for a light by night, which di- 
 videth the sea when the waves thereof roar ; the 
 Lord of hosts is his name ; if those ordinances 
 depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the 
 seed of Israel also shall cease from being a na- 
 tion before me forever. Thus saith the Lord ; 
 if heaven above can be measured, and the foun- 
 dations of the earth searched out beneath, I 
 will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all 
 they have done saith the Lord." Jeremiah xxxi, 
 35, 36, 37. "But fear not thou, my servant 
 Jacob, and be not dismayed, Israel ; for be- 
 
127 
 
 hold I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed 
 from the land of their captivity; and Jacob 
 shall return and be in rest and at ease, and 
 none shall make him afraid. Fear thou not, 
 Jacob my servant, saith the Lord ; for I am 
 with thee ; for I will make a full end of all na- 
 tions whither I have driven thee ; but I will not 
 make a full end of thee, but correct thee in 
 measure, yet will I not leave thee wholly un- 
 punished." Jeremiah xlvi, 27, 28. 
 
 It is not surprising that the Israelites after 
 their return from their Babylonian captivity 
 should have been so confident that God would 
 never again leave nor forsake them, having re- 
 ceived such strong assurances of that fact (at 
 least in man's estimation) in the above promises 
 and predictions ; yet they have been scattered 
 over the face of the whole earth, a proverb and a 
 by-word among all nations. God's word is as 
 immutable as His own existence, and the decla- 
 ration contained in the above promises to the 
 Jews, viz. that He will make a full end of all 
 nations, should cause us to pause, and fear, and 
 not be too confident that we shall not be cast 
 off. 
 
 Seeing that there is such a strong propensity 
 12 
 
128 
 
 to look only on the bright side of the picture 
 in regard to ourselves, and thereby to deceive 
 ourselves, we will give one more quotation from 
 the evangelical prophet, to show what power- 
 ful reasons the Jews had to believe firmly that 
 their God would never forsake them, at least 
 after their first captivity, especially as they 
 could have no just idea of their awful fall and 
 rejection after the crucifixion of their Redeemer, 
 the Holy One of Israel. Fearful and awful as 
 was their conduct in crucifying the Son of God, 
 we can show by the most just, and plain scrip- 
 ture arguments that our conduct under the shin- 
 ing rays of the gospel, has been worse, and more 
 cruel than theirs. 
 
 "Fear not ; for thou shalt not be ashamed ; 
 neither be thou confounded ; for thou shalt not 
 be put to shame : for thou shalt forget the shame 
 of thy youth, and shalt not remember the re- 
 proach of thy widowhood any more. For thy 
 Maker is thy husband ; the Lord of hosts is His 
 name ; and thy Redeemer the Holy Onie of Israel : 
 The God of the whole earth shall He be called. 
 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman for- 
 saken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, 
 when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a 
 
129 
 
 small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with 
 great mercies will I gather thee. In a little 
 wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment ; 
 but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy 
 on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For 
 this is as the waters of Noah unto me : For as I 
 have sworn that the waters of Noah should no 
 more go over the earth ; so have I sworn that I 
 would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee. 
 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be 
 removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from 
 thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be 
 removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on 
 thee." Isaiah liv, 4 to 10. 
 
 With the solemn and impressive warning ad- 
 ministered by the conduct and fate of that pe- 
 culiar people, we should fear and tremble in the 
 presence of the mighty God of Jacob, and work 
 out our own salvation with fear and trembling. 
 
 We should, therefore, give the more earnest 
 heed to the things which we have heard, lest at 
 any time we should let them slip, for if the word 
 spoken by angels was steadfast, and every trans- 
 gression and disobedience received a just recom- 
 pense of reward, how shall we escape if we 
 neglect so great salvation? The angel com- 
 
130 
 
 manded Lot's wife to escape to the mountain, 
 and not look back, she transgressed, she looked 
 back, and was promptly turned to a pillar of 
 salt, to continue as a solemn warning to all gener- 
 ations not to follow her guilty conduct. And 
 the Lord Jesus admonishes us to remember Lot's 
 wife. Her crime in the estimation of man would 
 appear to be very insignificant; yet it was a 
 violation of law, of God's word, though spoken 
 by angels. She had also a powerful incentive 
 to commit the crime — her daughter was in the 
 devoted place about to be destroyed — yet when 
 God speaks, man or woman must not equivocate, 
 or plead inducements, or infirmities as a pallia- 
 tion of their ofi'ence. At the judgment bar of 
 God we shall meet Lot's wife, and then remem- 
 ber Christ's injunction. 
 
 Can we possibly imagine that a just and holy 
 God would condemn that woman for a slight of- 
 fence, and a powerful inducement to impel her to 
 its commission, and acquit and receive us into 
 heaven though we have disobeyed Christ's plain 
 commands and precepts ? Such a supposition is 
 neither just nor reasonable. There are some of 
 our Saviour's precepts and commands that none 
 but the pure in heart can obey fully. None but 
 
131 
 
 the pure in heart can love God with all their 
 heart, strength and mind, and their neighbor as 
 themselves ; but all can comply with the follow- 
 ing duty, "When thou makest a dinner or a sup- 
 per, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nei- 
 ther thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors ; lest 
 they also bid thee again, and a recompense be 
 made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call 
 the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And 
 thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recom- 
 pense thee ; for thou shalt be recompensed at 
 the resurrection of the just." Luke xiv, 12, 13, 
 14. 
 
 Yet are there many, very many members of 
 the church who are profoundly indiiferent about 
 the observance of Christ's words in the above 
 text, and many other passages written in the 
 New Testament. And yet all are confident that 
 they will be received into heaven, notwithstand- 
 ing they trample the laws and precepts of our 
 Divine Redeemer beneath their feet, pay no re- 
 gard to them whatever, though the Lord Jesus 
 has said, heaven and earth shall pass away but 
 not one jot nor tittle of my word shall fall to 
 the ground. The Righteous Judge, has also 
 cautioned us by saying. Many will come in that 
 12* 
 
132 
 
 day, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us, we have 
 done many wonderful things in thy name, and 
 have cast out devils, sinners have been converted 
 under our preaching, let us come in. Then 
 will I profess unto them I never knew you, de- 
 part ye workers of iniquity into everlasting fire. 
 I could not know you as my faithful followers 
 and servants, ye were not such, ye have, there- 
 fore, deceived your own souls. And the Reve- 
 lator says, '^Bj thy sorceries were all nations 
 deceived." Yet we think it is impossible that 
 God can, or will forsake and overthrow His dis- 
 cordant and disobedient church. It is most true 
 He will not cast off His faithful followers, those 
 who have the Spirit of Christ, who, when He was 
 reviled, reviled not again, and with His expiring 
 breath prayed for His murderers, who obey all 
 His commands and precepts fully. Those will 
 be saved as was Noah and Lot. Those have 
 nothing to fear from men or devils. 
 
XXII. 
 
 FURTHER REASONS GIVEN FOR THE DEATH AND 
 RESURRECTION OF THE WITNESSES. 
 
 If, however, the witnesses are not to be slain 
 at the coming of Christ, what does he mean by 
 the following declarations ? 
 
 "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth 
 seal, and lo there was a great earthquake ; and 
 the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and 
 the moon became as blood. And the stars of 
 heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree 
 casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken 
 by a mighty wind. And the heavens departed 
 as a scroll when it rolled together ; and every 
 mountain and island were moved out of their 
 places. And the kings of the earth, and the 
 great men, and the rich men, and the chief cap- 
 tains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, 
 and every free man, hid themselves in the dens 
 and in the rocks of the mountains ; and said to 
 the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us 
 from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, 
 and from the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great 
 
134 
 
 day of His wrath is come ; and who shall be 
 able to stand ?" Rev. vi, 12—17. 
 
 Those awful scenes cannot refer to the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem, for the plain reason that 
 they were written after that period; neither 
 can they be applied to a period of universal 
 holiness, which God himself has declared, shall 
 mark our world's history ; therefore they must 
 have direct reference to Christ's second coming, 
 to destroy His enemies, and establish his king- 
 dom on earth, in universal peace and righteous- 
 ness. That glorious day must, and will come, 
 nor can it be introduced in any other way than 
 that specified in so many parts of the Old and 
 New Testaments ; Noah's flood and Sodom's 
 fate, have been by the Lord Jesus, held up 
 as strikingly typical of that great day, called 
 "the great day of his wrath." 
 
 There is another awful description given of 
 that day, which cannot, for reasons already as- 
 signed, be ascribed to the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem, nor can it possibly take place after the in- 
 troduction of the millennium, when righteous- 
 ness shall fill and cover the whole earth. So 
 that those dreadful scenes can take place, only, 
 when Christ shall come again to establish His 
 
135 
 
 kingdom on earth. "And another angel came 
 out of the temple which is in heaven, he also 
 having a sharp sickle. And another angel 
 came out from the altar, which had power over 
 fire ; and he cried with a loud voice to him that 
 had the sharp sickle, saying, thrust in thy sharp 
 sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of 
 the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. And 
 the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and 
 gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into 
 the great winepress of the wrath of God. And 
 the winepress was trodden without the city, and 
 blood came out of the winepress, even unto the 
 horses bridles, by the space of a thousand and 
 six-hundred furlongs." Rev. xiv, 17 — 20. 
 
 This dreadful description of an event in which 
 we are all deeply concerned, should cause our 
 ears to tingle and our hearts to quail. In most 
 cases, however, it is to be feared that we read 
 of those solemn and awful scenes with indiffer- 
 ence, as though we were not at all interested in 
 them ; or if our attention is called to them, we 
 conclude they refer exclusively to the Roman 
 Catholic Church, or that they will, if ever, take 
 place at some far — far distant period of our 
 world's history, and thus quiet our conscience, 
 
1S6 
 
 and rest contented, and thus that day will come 
 upon as a thief in the night. The apostle to the 
 gentiles, says, when they shall say peace and 
 safety, then, sudden destruction will come upon 
 them, as travail upon a woman with child, and 
 they shall not escape. It is the unholy church, 
 the christian witness that is concerned in these 
 things ; and that no one need be deceived, we 
 have a clear description of those who shall fall in 
 this awful conflict, drawn by the unerring hand 
 of Divine inspiration, whether they be Catholics 
 or Protestants, or by whatever name they may 
 be designated. Let us read, and apply the mark 
 to our own hearts, honestly, ^^'And the third 
 angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 
 if any man worship the beast and his image, 
 and receive his mark in his forehead or in his 
 hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the 
 wrath of God, which is poured out without mix- 
 ture, into the cup of his indignation ; and he 
 shall ^ be tormented with fire and brimstone, in 
 the presence of the holy angels, and in the 
 presence of the Lamb ; and the smoke of their 
 torment ascendeth up, forever and ever ; and 
 they have no rest, day nor night, who worship 
 the beast and his image, and whosoever re- 
 
137 
 
 ceiveth the mark of his name." Rev. xiv, 
 9, 10, 11. 
 
 The beast is the devil, and sin is his mark ; 
 nor can we be deceived in this conclusion ; 
 hence, it is morally certain that wherever sin 
 or its mark is found, either on the forehead, viz. 
 where we wilfully and openly transgress God's 
 laws and precepts, or whether the mark be 
 found by the scrutinizing eye of Jehovah, to 
 exist only in the hand, viz. covered up from 
 others and from ourselves in part ; when we are 
 unwilling to investigate the true bearing and 
 character of every act, especially of every motive, 
 perhaps a trait of pride, or love of the world, its 
 pleasures, or its applause, &c., the symptom is 
 ominous. Surely we should deal honestly with 
 our own souls in the presence of a heart-search- 
 ing and a reign-trying God, and in view of those 
 awful and thrilling scenes, which He has de- 
 clared shall be visited on our devoted, our evil 
 world. 
 
 The past and present condition of the minor 
 witness — the Jews, their unparalleled suflferings 
 and degraded state, which has been borne by 
 them so long, should cause us to fear and trem- 
 ble before the God of Abraham, of Isaac and 
 Jacob. What was their sin ? What has called 
 
138 
 
 down those heavy and almost unmitigated judg- 
 ments on their heads ? 
 
 They rejected the Messiah, and crucified the 
 Eternal Son of God ; but Christ Himself says 
 they done it ignorantly, '■''They know not what 
 they do.'' Let us now honestly compare and 
 contrast their conduct, their sins with ours. 
 Do we not crucify our Saviour afresh (spiritu- 
 ally) and put him to open shame, all through 
 our christian land, and a large and learned, and 
 respectable portion of the orthodox church, de- 
 clare openly we cannot do otherwise ; neither 
 the Jews, nor the power of the Roman empire 
 could have crucified the Son of God, in one im- 
 portant sense, the Lord Jesus says, no man 
 taketh my life, I lay it down of myself; I have 
 power to lay it down, and I have power to take 
 it again. It was sin that caused the Saviour's 
 death, and every wilful sin we commit, we cry 
 in reality, crucify him, crucify him ! This is a 
 solemn, an awful consideration, especially when 
 many of our teachers in Israel declare that we 
 cannot live without sin. With this momentous 
 view of the subject staring us in the face, and 
 in full view of the overthrow and sufi"erings of 
 the Jews, shall we fold our arms in unhallowed 
 
139 
 
 security, and cry, the temple of the Lord, the 
 temple of the Lord are we ! Shall we point to 
 our societies, Missionary, and Bible, and Sab- 
 bath School and Tract, &c., and vainly suppose 
 that God cannot dispense with those instrumen- 
 talities, he cannot, he will not cast us of, though 
 discord darkens almost every future and form 
 of the church. Notwithstanding the mark of 
 the beast is perceptible in our hand generally, 
 and frequently in our forehead, while we cruci- 
 fy the Son of God afresh, daily, and put him to 
 open shame ! The apostle to the Gentiles, in 
 addressing the church, (and such only as will be 
 owned of Christ in the day of eternity as His 
 Church,) says, "Ye are dead, and your life is 
 hid with Christ in God." Although this is the 
 real character of christians — they are dead, 
 Alas, how few in any branch of the church can 
 claim this distinguishing and honorable trait of 
 character. To realize this state, we must be dead 
 to the world, say wealth, just as willing to be 
 poor as to be rich, as willing to suffer as to en- 
 joy, otherwise we cannot be dead, in the proper 
 scripture gospel sense of the term. Dead to the 
 opinion of the world, as willing to be despised 
 and hissed at as to be applauded. This truly 
 
140 
 
 elevated state is fully recognized by our Sa- 
 viour's words, when he says, "Blessed are ye 
 when men shall hate you, and when they shall 
 separate you from their company, and shall re- 
 proach you, and cast out your name as evil, for 
 the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day 
 and leap for joy ; for behold your reward is 
 great in heaven." Luke vi, 22, 23. How many 
 can we now find in any branch of the church, 
 who really bear this mark ? Alas, how few ! 
 Where shall we find them ? 
 
 We generally put a patch upon our torn gar- 
 ments by saying, if they were to treat us in this 
 manner for Ohrisfs sake. If we are truly 
 Christ's servants, God's children, they must do 
 it for Christ's sake, unless we serve two masters, 
 which no man can do without shame and con- 
 demnation. how few of us honor our Divine 
 Master who has done so much for us, by doing 
 and saying, all we do and say to please the 
 Lord Jesus ! Yet if we are not governed by 
 this reasonable rule, we are vainly striving to 
 serve two masters. These remarks are made to 
 show our friends that the church is not what 
 she should be, not what she must be. Hence, 
 our present position is not permanent, is not 
 
141 
 
 safe. Nothing but that which is 'pure can stand 
 the fire of God's anger. And if the fountain 
 is pure, the streams issuing therefrom will of 
 necessity be pure also ; Christ says, a good tree 
 cannot bear corrupt fruit, nor can a corrupt tree 
 bear good fruit ; that the tree is known by its 
 fruit. ''Doth a fountain send forth at the same 
 place, sweet water and bitter? Can the fig 
 tree, my brethren, bear olive berries ? Either 
 a vine, figs ? So can no fountain yield both salt 
 water and fresh." James iii, 11, 12. Hence it 
 is not only a gospel truth, but a philosophical 
 principle, established by the divine law which 
 regulates all things on earth and in heaven. 
 Therefore if the heart is pure^ (and without ho- 
 liness no man shall see the Lord,) our iJwughts 
 and words and actions will be pure; our desires 
 and motives must be pure also. If our motives 
 are impure, it argues a desperately depraved 
 heart. Whether, therefore, we speak or act, 
 whether we eat, or drink, or wear, in all things 
 our motives should be to please God. Enoch 
 had the testimony that he pleased God, not on- 
 ly in some, but in all things. If therefore the 
 church in the present day is tarnished with dis- 
 cordant sentiments, and scarcely one member 
 
142 
 
 composing the church can be found without spot 
 or toriyiMe of some kind, few, very few, can 
 stand before God unblamable and unrebukeable 
 in his sight. Is the idea absurd, to suppose a 
 pure and Holy God will cast her off? That 
 Christ will spew the lukewarm church out of 
 His mouth ? and bring in a purer, better state 
 of things in the church on earth. God prom- 
 ised to conduct the Israelites from Egypt, to a 
 land flowing with milk and honey, and although 
 there were more than six hundred thousand 
 men who received that promise, yet only two 
 out of all that number, entered into the prom- 
 ised land. Hence the apostle to the Gentiles ad- 
 monishes the church in these significant words, 
 "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left 
 us of entering into His rest^ any of you 
 should seem to come short of it." Heb. iv, 1. 
 We should fear with a prudent, precautionary 
 fear, at every step we take ; fear lest we should 
 err from the straight and narrow path marked 
 out for our pursuit, by the Saviour's tears, and 
 sweat, and blood. Fear lest we should at any 
 time grieve the Holy Spirit of God, and cause 
 Him to depart from us. Fear lest we should 
 transgress the pure and holy law of God, and 
 
143 
 
 be found guilty before Him. "For whosoever 
 shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one 
 point, he is guilty of all." James ii, 10. The 
 man that steals one cent, has no honesty left in 
 his character, he is altogether a rogue. 
 
 Thus in view of God's holy character, His 
 hatred of sin, and the delinquent state of the 
 church, and more especially when we reflect on 
 the dealings of God with His chosen people, 
 both before and since the incarnation of the 
 Eternal Son of God, we should tremble for our 
 fate. Should fly to the fountain for sin and 
 pollution, to the blood of the Lamb, nor ever 
 rest until every stain of sin is washed away, and 
 then watch and i?ray always with strong faith 
 in Christ, that our garments may be kept pure 
 and undefiled. We should strive to enter into 
 the ark of safety with Noah, not now a wooden 
 ark, but into Christ's arms of redeeming and 
 purifying love ; then, and then only, shall we be 
 safe. With Lot we should leave Sodom — the 
 spirit, and customs, and fashions of an ungodly 
 world, and escape to the mountain of Jesus' dy- 
 ing love ; nor like Lot's wife, ever look back. 
 When the witnesses are slain, the j!9Mre in heart, 
 the spotless children of God will be safe, and 
 13* 
 
144 
 
 saved from the fire of God's anger wliich shall 
 consume all who are found bearing the mark of 
 the beast, viz. sin in its most refined shade, in 
 its most imposing and deceptious garb. 
 
XXIII. 
 
 ADDITIONAL REASONS TO CONVINCE THE IN- 
 CREDULOUS. 
 
 To those who are still incredulous, unwilling 
 to believe that any evil will befal the church, 
 although they cling to it with as much tenacity 
 and as much delusive obstinacy as the Catholics 
 cling to Peter, as the rock against which the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail, we would ask 
 what is the real, the rational meaning of our 
 Saviour's words, when he says, in regard to one 
 of the witnesses, the Jews, "And they shall fall 
 by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away 
 captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be 
 trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of 
 the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke xxi, 24. There 
 are two particulars embraced in this declara- 
 tion, first, the fulness of the Gentiles, and sec- 
 ondly, the restoration or the resurrection of those 
 Jewish dry bones. In regard to the first, viz. 
 the fulness of the Gentiles, many suppose it 
 means their entire conversion, when they shall 
 
146 
 
 be converted to God, and filled "with the fulness 
 of God, shall shine forth in the image of God, 
 and influenced by the meek and lowly spirit of 
 Christ. But, judging from the past and the 
 present discordant and imperfect state of the 
 church, (when we use this word, we must in- 
 clude the Catholic church as well as the Prot- 
 estant — Christ is not divided,) what rational hope 
 is there to influence the expectations of the 
 most credulous, that a time will ever arrive 
 when the entire church will perfectly harmonize 
 and honor her great head by dwelling together 
 as one family of God upon earth. Of such an 
 event, of such a state existing in our world's 
 history, efi"ected by the instrumentalities now in 
 operation, the most sanguine member or minis- 
 ter of the church, must despond, there is no 
 prospect, there is no hope. Hence, we argue 
 that the fulness of the Gentiles, must mean the 
 period when the cup of their iniquity is full. 
 That state described by the angel, when he com- 
 manded the angel having a sharp sickle in his 
 hand, to thrust in his sickle, and reap, for the 
 harvest of the earth is 7'ipe ; the Gentiles have 
 had their day, and have filled up the full meas- 
 ure of their iniquity, that period specified in 
 the following awful declarations : 
 
147 
 
 "After these things I saw another angel come 
 down from heaven, having great power ; and the 
 earth was lighted with his glory. And he cried 
 mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon, 
 (viz. the corrupt church, Catholic and Protes- 
 tant,) the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become 
 the habitation of devils, and the hold of every 
 foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hate- 
 ful bird. For all nations have drunk of the 
 wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the 
 kin^s of the earth have committed fornication 
 with her, and the merchants of the earth are 
 waxed rich through the abundance of her deli- 
 cacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, 
 saying. Come out of her, my people, that ye be 
 not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive 
 not of her plagues. For her sins have reached 
 unto heaven, and God hath remembered her in- 
 iquities. Reward her even as she rewarded 
 you, and double unto her double according to 
 her works ; in the cup which she hath filled, fill 
 to her double. How much she hath glorified 
 herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment 
 and sorrow give her : For she saith in her heart 
 I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see 
 no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come 
 
148 
 
 in one day^ death and mourning, and famine ; 
 and she shall be utterly burned "with fire ; for 
 strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And 
 the kings of the earth, "who have committed for- 
 nication and lived deliciously mth her, shall be- 
 wail her, and lament for her, when they shall 
 see the smoke of her burning. Standing afar 
 off for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, 
 that great city Babylon, that mighty city ! for 
 in one hour is thy judgment come. And the 
 merchants of the earth, shall weep over her ; 
 for no man buyeth their merchandise any more. 
 The merchandise of gold and silver, and precious 
 stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, 
 and silk, and scarlet, and all thyne wood, and 
 all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner 
 of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, 
 and iron, and marble,, and cinnamon, and odors, 
 and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and 
 oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and 
 sheep, and horses, and chariots and slaves, and 
 souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted 
 after are departed from thee, and all things 
 which were dainty and goodly, are departed 
 from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at 
 all. The merchants of these things which were 
 
149 
 
 made rich by her, shall stand afar off, for fear 
 of her torment, weeping and -jailing, and say- 
 ing, Alas, alas ! that great city, that was clothed 
 in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked 
 with gold, and precious stones, and pearls ! For 
 in one hour so great riches is come to naught. 
 And every ship-master, and all the company in 
 ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, 
 stood afar off, and cried when they saw the 
 smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like 
 unto this great city ! And they cast dust on their 
 heads, and cried weeping and wailing, saying, 
 Alas, alas ! that great city, wherein were made 
 rich all that had ships in the sea, by reason of 
 her costliness ! for in one hour is she made des- 
 olate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye 
 holy apostles and prophets ; for God hath 
 avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took 
 up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into 
 the sea, saying, thus with violence shall that 
 great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall 
 be found no more at all. And the voice of 
 harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trum- 
 peters, shall be heard no more at all in thee ; 
 and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, 
 shall be found any more in thee ; and the sound 
 
150 
 
 of a millstone shall he heard no more at all in 
 thee ; and the light of a candle shall shine no 
 more at all in thee ; and the voice of the Bride- 
 groom and of the Bride, shall be heard no more in 
 thee : for thy merchants were the great men of 
 the earth ; for by thy sorceries were all nations 
 deceived. And in her was found the blood of 
 the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that 
 were slain upon the earth." Rev. xviii, entire. 
 
 The characters described, and the scenes ex- 
 hibited in this chapter cannot refer to the peo- 
 ple of the world, but to the church, clothed in 
 sackcloth, first to the Catholic, and secondly to 
 the Protestant Church, as far as she is impli- 
 cated, nor can the dreadful scenes refer to the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, as this book was writ- 
 ten after that awful scene. Nor can they be 
 applied to any period after the introduction of 
 the millennium, after all shall become righteous, 
 such a supposition is neither reasonable nor pos- 
 sible ; hence the whole scene, the awful drama, 
 and the actors therein, must be realized at the 
 second coming of Christ — at the commencement 
 of the millennial reign of Christ on earth, when 
 the witnesses shall be slain. 
 
 Were we to dissect and analyze the picture 
 
161 
 
 given in this chapter, we should find a striking 
 likeness to the churches of the present day. 
 We Protestants nearly all believe that the pic- 
 ture of the Catholic branch cannot be painted in 
 colors too dark for truth. 
 
 Let us, therefore, compare some of the traits 
 given and features exhibited in this apocalyptic 
 picture, with the character of the Protestant 
 branch, as corrupt protestantism will be as offen- 
 sive in the sight of God, as corrupt Catholicism. 
 It is said that the kings of the earth have com- 
 mitted fornication with her. This charge points 
 unequivocally to the church as one of the guilty 
 party. Let us inquire what will constitute this 
 crime under the laws and regulations of the gos- 
 pel. The words of gospel inspiration are, "Ye 
 adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that 
 the friendship of the world is enmity with God ? 
 Whosoever, therefore, will be the friend of the 
 world, is the enemy of God." James iv, 4. 
 Therefore a desire to gain the friendship and 
 the esteem of the world, viz. of the wealthy, the 
 learned and the rulers of the world, will deter- 
 mine our character in the sight of God as spir- 
 itual adulterers. Nay further, to desire the 
 riches, or honors, or pleasures of the world, 
 14 
 
152 
 
 proves that our hearts are placed, in part at 
 least, on those things ; consequently we cannot 
 love God, our legitimate husband, with all our 
 hearty and all our strength^ and all our mind ; 
 we become double minded, and in the eye of a 
 pure and holy God, spiritual adulterers. If our 
 readers should think that these views are ultra, 
 that we run to extremes, that we raise the stand- 
 ard too high, let us bring the thing home 
 honestly to our own hearts, our own most re- 
 fined feelings. Let the honorable husband learn 
 from good authority, that his wife does not love 
 him ferfectly^ but has placed her affections in 
 part only^ on another man, and will he say, 
 "this is reasonable, it is natural, it is a small 
 matter." Not so, though his wife may solemnly 
 protest that she loves him letter than his rival, 
 it will only aggravate the crime, and completely 
 destroy the good man's peace, and render his 
 life a burden, will make him a miserable man. 
 This is both a reasonable and a righteous princi- 
 ple when applied to man ; and is it either reason- 
 able, or righteous, to say or think that the eter- 
 nal, the glorious God, who has condescended to 
 say {of the church) thy Maker is thy Husband, 
 that because of the greatness, and purity^ and 
 
158 
 
 goodness of His character, will not notice these 
 things, will permit His Bride to place her affec- 
 tions (even in part) on gold, or silver, or houses, 
 or farms, or earthly ornaments ; or even on fame, 
 and learning, and the corrupt breath of popular 
 applause f It is neither reasonable nor righte- 
 ous to think this of God, neither will he be 
 mocked, but in due time, in the great day of 
 B^is wrath, those acts of fornication will be ex- 
 posed and punished with everlasting banishment 
 from the presence of God, and the glory of His 
 power, when He shall come to be admired by 
 all His saints, and to place His legitimate and 
 purified Bride on His own throne of dignity, and 
 power, and great glory. 
 
 Then will not the spiritual adulterers, and 
 those who cried croaker, croaker, ultra, fanat- 
 icism, on earth, rise in their dignity, and say with 
 triumphant assurance, now you see that God 
 was not that rigid, and unreasonable Being you 
 represented him to be. You now see that we 
 shine in glory and honor, without one tinge of 
 shame on our cheek, thouorh we did indult]re in 
 the good things of earth, though with the digni- 
 taries of the world we lived deliciously, though 
 we did love to be called Rabbi, Rabbi, and because 
 
154 
 
 of our talent and learning we claimed the high- 
 est seats in the synagogue, and were called Rev. 
 and D. D., our learned and distinguished friend, 
 &c. 
 
 Beloved readers, in that great day, the scene 
 will be changed, and the humble, holy, self-de- 
 nying faithful followers of Jesus will with Him 
 be honored and exalted to wear a crown of eter- 
 nal glory ; while those who loved the world in 
 any of its refined modifications, though they 
 may come saying, "Lord, Lord, have we not 
 prophesied in thy name ? and in thy name have 
 cast out devils? and in thy name have done 
 many wonderful works? And then will I pro- 
 fess unto them, I never knew you : depart from 
 me, ye that work iniquity." Matt, vii, 22, 23. 
 They were deceived and carried their delusion 
 to the gate of heaven, and there plead their own 
 good works, their mixed service, and all was 
 done too in Christ's name. They had preached, 
 and sinners had been converted — thus they had 
 cast out devils in Christ's name, and yet will 
 He declare, on that momentous occasion, "I 
 never knew you," I never knew you as my hum- 
 ble, holy, cross-bearing followers, ye were not 
 such — and now you must depart from my pre- 
 sence and the glory of my power forever. 
 
155 
 
 Seeing, therefore, that many have been de- 
 ceived, and many will be deceived and ruined 
 for ever, should we not carefully examine our 
 hearts, our conduct, our desires, and our motives 
 in all our actions through life ? Our eye must 
 be single^ our heart must be pure^ and then will 
 all the rivulets issuing therefrom be pure also. 
 Self^ the old Adam, must be crucified^ and Christ 
 must be all. All must proceed from Christ, 
 and all must return to the Lord Jesus. ChrUt 
 in us the hope of glory — and with the apostle 
 to the Gentiles, we should say honestly and un- 
 derstandingly, "For to me to live is Christ, and 
 to die is gain." Phil, i, 21. We should be able 
 to say, for to me to live is Christ, to do Christ's 
 will, to have an eye single to His honor and 
 glory in all things — therefore we live not to 
 gratify self, or to accumulate wealth, or to se- 
 cure the favor or applause of men — Christ is, 
 and must be, our Alpha and our Omega. All 
 must begin and end in Christ, not in name, but 
 in truth and righteousness. 
 
 14* 
 
XXIV. 
 
 A CASE OF CONSCIENCE, OR OUR MOTIVES EX- 
 AMINED. 
 
 Let us now examine for a moment a point of 
 infinite importance, because it is the most dan- 
 gerous. 
 
 In pursuing our literary studies, in gaining 
 earthly knowledge, is our eye single ? is our 
 motive pure f is our object and desire honestly 
 to please Christ, and save souls ? Self left out 
 of sight — while Christ's glory and the salvation 
 of souls is purely our object and desire ! Are 
 we studying in these fields of science very hard 
 to qualify us the better to preach the gospel to 
 the 'poor ? to whom in an especial manner we 
 are sent ? Though the rich, and great, and 
 wise ones of the world may be saved, yet their 
 number will be few, and their case is almost 
 hopeless. Thus, while Christ says, the poor 
 have the gospel preached unto them, and it is as 
 hard for a rich man to enter into heaven as for 
 a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. 
 
157 
 
 And the apostle to the Gentiles, that "wise Mas- 
 ter builder marks out our duty, and says, "For 
 you see your calling, brethern, how that not 
 many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty^ 
 not many nohle are called : but God hath chosen 
 the foolish things of this world to confound the 
 "wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of 
 the world to confound the things which are 
 mighty." 1 Cor. i, 26, 27. If, therefore, our 
 motives, as ministers of Christ, in the pursuit of 
 literary knowledge is not to qualify us to preach 
 the gospel as Christ and His apostles have di- 
 rected us, our motive may possibly be sinister, 
 self-interest, our own character, as ministers, 
 the applause of others, &c. The same honor- 
 able gospel rule should be observed in all things, 
 in all we do, and say. Not self, but Christ, not 
 ease or wealth or fame, but souls — blood-bought 
 immortal souls. 
 
 Is the cross a prominent point in all our 
 studies ? While we are ardently pursuing the 
 path of literature, is the cross kept in view — 
 can we say this will be a cross to us, but we will 
 bear it for Christ's sake. The great men will 
 mock and despise us but we will endure it all. 
 
 If I am anxious to shine in the literary cir- 
 
158 
 
 cle, to be honored and applauded of men, and 
 thus gain the ''^friendship'' of the world, I array 
 myself as an enemy against God, and thus be- 
 come a spiritual adulterer. The rock is to be 
 found in the ocean, in every part of it, through 
 •which we all have to sail, self-ease, honor, 
 money, property, equipage, dress, furniture, 
 these are all arrayed on the side of the world to 
 draw us away from Christ. Through the ocean 
 of life those dangerous rocks are scattered, and 
 frequently they lie so deep that the eye without 
 spiritual anointing cannot see them, and ere we 
 are aware of our position we find our little bark 
 on some one of those sunken broken craggs 
 emanating from the original quarry — the love of 
 the world — self-love, the friendship of the world, 
 which will finally wreck our souls in the gulf 
 of spiritual adultery, while we call God our 
 Father, and ourselves the Bride, the Lamb's 
 wife. It is said in the above description of 
 character, "the kings of the earth have commit- 
 ted fornication, and lived deliciously with her." 
 It is now quite common to have political charac- 
 ters of the highest order, to deliver speeches 
 and addresses at our popular meetings to raise 
 money. We have been pained and mortified to 
 
159 
 
 see the lawyer, and the statesman, without any 
 pretensions to piety, (whose moral characters 
 would not bear the light of close examination,) 
 in our churches, houses dedicated to, and set 
 apart for the worship of the living God, deliv- 
 ering popular lectures to influence the wander- 
 ing audience to give their money to do the work 
 of God ! The character and ability of these 
 wicked men who have no real fear of God be- 
 fore their eyes, is sounded aloud by the church 
 previous to the meeting, and after their service 
 and speeches are closed, their performances are 
 published, and lauded and flattered in the most 
 disgusting strains ! Thus the kings, the rulers 
 of this world, and the church meet together in 
 fraternal afi"ection, and are guilty of spiritual 
 fornication ; notwithstanding the awful declara- 
 tion of God, that whosoever was found with the 
 mark of the beast on his forehead, or in his hand, 
 shall drink of the wine of God's wrath which 
 shall be poured without mixture on them for 
 ever. And yet we cry peace, peace, while sud- 
 den destruction is coming upon us. Our Saviour 
 says, "If the bUnd lead the blind both shall fall 
 into the ditch." may we hearken to the ad- 
 monitory voice of God before it shall be forever 
 
160 
 
 too late — calling, "Awake thou that sleepest 
 and arise from the dead, and Christ will give 
 thee light." Come out of her my people. Be ye 
 not unequally yoked together with unbelievers ; 
 for what fellowship hath righteousness with un- 
 righteousness ? and what communion hath light 
 with darkness ? and what concord hath Christ 
 with Belial ? or what part hath he that believeth 
 with an infidel ? And what agre;,ement hath the 
 temple of God with idols ? For ye are the tem- 
 ple of the living God ; as God hath said, I will 
 dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be 
 their God, and they shall be my people. Where- 
 fore, come out from among them, and be ye sep- 
 arate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean 
 thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Fa- 
 ther unto you, and ye shall be my sons and 
 daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having, 
 therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us 
 cleanse ourselves from all fiUhiness of the flesh 
 and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of 
 Qodr 2 Cor. vi, 14 to 18, and vii, 1. 
 
 There is an old and true adage, that birds of 
 a feather will flock together. A plain, but close 
 observer of human nature says, show me your 
 company, and I will tell you your character. 
 
161 
 
 Not only do we invite and bring into the Lord's 
 house worldly minded and unholy statesmen and 
 lawyers, but our ministers are in turn invited 
 to open their political meetings and public exhi- 
 bitions, and even balls and parties, with prayer, 
 to sweeten and sanction their unhallowed doings 
 by the semblance of religion. 
 
 May it not, therefore, be said, even of the 
 Protestant church, that the kings or rulers of 
 the earth have committed fornication with her. 
 And of a large majority of us, the cutting lan- 
 guage of inspiration is strictly applicable — 
 "Ye adulterers and adultresses know ye not that 
 the friendship of the world is enmity with God, 
 and whosoever will be the friend of the world is 
 the enemy of God." The Lord Jesus speaks 
 in plain, strong, unmistakeable language, and 
 says, "Except ye deny yourselves, and take up 
 your cross, and follow me daily, ye cannot he 
 my disciples.'' 
 
 Yet most of us pay no attention to the forego- 
 ing thrilling declaration, we are not willing to 
 fast even one day in a week, though Paul informs 
 us that he was oft in fasting. Thus, to an alarm- 
 ing extent, we disregard the injunctions and 
 example of our Divine Master, and His disci- 
 
162 
 
 pies ; but the moment the world speaks, almost 
 every ear is attent, and every knee is seen to 
 bow at the shrine of that flimsy, fickle goddess, 
 fashion. Let her order a change in our cos- 
 tume, coat or vest, bonnet or dress, and obedi- 
 ence or conformity is not only promptly seen, 
 but universally practiced. It is a crime of no 
 ordinary magnitude to obey the greatest men on 
 earth more than God, but to disregard God and 
 yield implicit obedience to the dictates of the 
 most degraded portion of an ungodly world, pre- 
 sents a spectacle too dark and mortifying for 
 serious contemplation. And do we really sup- 
 pose that the Divine eye is blind to those scenes, 
 or that He has so far changed his character as 
 to behold sin, at least with allowance ? or do we 
 really believe that His word is a nullity ? That 
 word that is quick and powerful, and sharper 
 than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the 
 dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, of joints 
 and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart. That word can no 
 more change or fall to the ground than God 
 himself can cease to be; nor can God's great 
 mercy annul His most rigid justice. No, justice 
 must stand forever. Could man have been re- 
 
163 
 
 deemed without meeting the full and perfect 
 demand of justice, without the payment of the 
 whole amount of the penalty incurred by the 
 violation of God's law, it is more than presumr 
 able that Christ would not have died to meet in 
 guilty man's stead, the stern and immutable de- 
 mand of Divine Justice. Hence, our Saviour's 
 prayer in vicAV of that awful scene, "0 my Fa- 
 ther, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." 
 If, therefore, the Eternal Son of God suffered 
 death to meet the demand of Divine Justice, 
 that God's word should not be impaired in the 
 slightest degree, is it not perfectly reasonable, 
 that man, as far as it is in his power through 
 the grace imparted by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 should keep the law of God ? Does not justice 
 demand it ? Jesus not only died to meet the 
 infinite demand of the law, to magnify, and make 
 it honorable, but to enable us (all mankind) to 
 fear God, and keep all His commandments al- 
 tvays. 
 
 If, therefore, we neglect this great salvation, 
 how shall we escape ? The soul that sinneth, it 
 shall die. Sin is the transgression of the laiv. 
 Therefore we should give the more earnest heed 
 to the things which we have heard, lest at any 
 15 
 
164 
 
 time we should let them slip ; for if the word 
 epoken bj angels was steadfast, and every trans- 
 gression and disobedience received a just recom- 
 pense of reward, how shall tve escape if we ne- 
 glect so great salvation ? Though we are not 
 saved by the works of the law, yet through the 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we may, we can 
 and must keep all the commandments and re- 
 quirements of God's law. Hence the beloved 
 disciple says, "Hereby we do know that we know 
 Him, if we keep His commandments. He that 
 saith, I know him and keepeth not his command- 
 ments, is a liar and the truth is not in him." 1 
 John ii, 3, 4, 
 
XXV. 
 
 AN EXPOSTULATION ADDRESSED TO THE CHURCH. 
 
 In view, therefore, of the purity of God's 
 character and rigid demands of divine justice, 
 and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ freely 
 offered to poor fallen man, to enable him to obey 
 the gospel of the Son of God, and to keep all 
 His commandments, is it unreasonable or unjust 
 ■or cruel, that delinquents should be cut off? 
 When the Lord Jesus comes again to restore 
 the kingdom to Israel, to establish His kingdom 
 •of truth, and righteousness and love, upon earth, 
 it will be said — "He that is unjust, let him be 
 unjust still." It will be too late to correct er- 
 rors, and secure slighted mercies. Our blessed 
 Saviour has plainly informed us, that at that 
 momentous period it will be as it was in the days 
 of Noah, when the antideluvians were overthrown, 
 and when wicked Sodom was destroyed. Then 
 will the delinquent witnesses be slain. The 
 awful scenes and circumstances that will be ex- 
 hibited at that time, have been described and 
 
166 
 
 adverted to in God's holy book from Genesis to 
 Revelation ; if therefore we are found without 
 the wedding garment, unprepared, we must 
 perish, and our blood will be upon our own 
 heads. 
 
 Few there are, we are well convinced, that 
 will be willing to believe that the present state 
 of the church will be overturned. The Catholics 
 cling to the rock, and feel assured that the 
 gates of hell shall never prevail against them, 
 notwithstanding the multitudes who are recog- 
 nized as legitimate members of the church, and 
 are guilty of almost every crime to be found in 
 the catalogue of sin and iniquity. They belong 
 to the original church, are placed upon the rock 
 and must be safe, hence their priests will give the 
 worst of them, at the close of life, (if they 
 have not been guilty of the unpardonable sin of 
 heresy,) a passport to secure a safe passage into 
 purgatory, and then, if their living friends have 
 money, in due time they will be prayed out of 
 that nondescript abode, safe into heaven. We 
 Protestants, however, can give those poor de- 
 ceived mortals up for lost, without hope or 
 mercy; but not so with our church, we have 
 protested against the corruptions of that fallen 
 
167 
 
 church, and we must be saved. Our doctrine 
 and usages are all orthodox, our instrumental- 
 ities, our numerous and most excellent societies, 
 amply supported by the liberality of the friends 
 of genuine religion, so much money raised, and 
 so many missionaries, and agents and colporters? 
 &c. in the field, so many tracts and papers pub- 
 lishing every month, and annually, the great 
 success of our party — to suppose that God 
 will cast them off and overturn those blessed 
 institutions ! It is impossible, we cannot believe 
 it. And besides all these things, witness the 
 testimony of thousands upon thousands who do 
 assure us that God has not only pardoned their 
 sins, but that he has purified their hearts ; and 
 besides those living witnesses, multitudes die, 
 bearing a decided testimony that they are going 
 to heaven ; and yet your views would unchris- 
 tianize nearly the entire church, and invalidate 
 their dying testimony. To all these things we 
 reply, that our business is not to condemn any 
 human being, (the law of God does that,) but 
 to be co-workers with Christ in saving the world, 
 by pointing sinners and formal professors to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ as their atoning sacrifice, and 
 to His spirit and example for their pattern, and 
 15* 
 
168 
 
 all His words, His law of perfect love as the 
 rule, and only infallible rule, both for their faith 
 and practice. Christ teaches us to pray (nor 
 could He ever lead us into error) that God's 
 will may be done on earth, as it is done in 
 heaven. This elevated state must be practica- 
 ble, or that petition will lead us into error. 
 Though we are not qualified, and are forbidden 
 to judge our brother, yet may we safely adopt 
 and use the rule given to us by the Master, 
 ''By their fruits ye shall know them." Judging 
 by this rule, how many can we find in any 
 branch of the church, who do the will of God 
 as it is done in heaven ? Are there any ? Alas, 
 how few the number, hardly exceeding the No- 
 ahs and the Lots. And yet we presume to 
 assert that God will not cast us oif. His own 
 declaration to the contrary notwithstanding ! 
 We do not wish it to be so, therefore we will 
 not believe it. Thus the Omnipotent Saviour 
 of our sin-disordered world, must continue ever 
 to be dishonored by our imperfect service, and 
 sinful imperfections. 
 
 Let us by the same gospel rule, try another 
 standard. ''Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself:' 
 
169 
 
 How many now in the pale of the church, 
 can meet the heathen who lived and died with- 
 out the bible, when we were living at our ease, 
 clothed in purple and fine linen and faring 
 sumptuously (compared with thousands) every 
 day, and say, honestly, we loved your souls, as 
 our own souls ; we have done all we could to 
 enlighten your minds and save your souls? 
 How many of us who are called respectable 
 christians, and compassed about with the com- 
 forts of life, can meet the poor suffering widow 
 and her hungry orphans, and say confidently 
 and honestly, I loved you as myself ? The 
 number would not very far exceed the Noahs 
 and the Lots ; and yet we think it dreadful, 
 even fanaticism to suppose that God will cast 
 us off, though He destroyed the antideluvians, 
 and the Sodomites, while their light and priv- 
 ileges were not one-hundredth part as great as 
 ours ! 
 
 Let us profit by the admonitory precaution 
 administered to the Gentile or christian church. 
 "For if God spared not the natural branches 
 take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold, 
 therefore, the goodness and severity of God, 
 on them which fell, severity ; but towards thee, 
 
170 
 
 goodness, if thou continue in His goodness ; 
 otherwise thou shalt be cut off." Rom. xi, 21, 22. 
 This is a precautionary admonition, couched 
 in prophetic language. We have not continued 
 in Christ's '^goodness,'' viz. in the plain precepts 
 and spirit of the gospel. Judging from the 
 most favorable symptoms for the past half cen- 
 tury, how long will it be, before the whole world 
 shall be converted to God, and all God's family 
 live together in perfect harmony and love, 
 when God's will shall be done on earth as it is 
 done in heaven ? Would that desirable period 
 ever arrive ? Reason says, never ; experience 
 says, never; but God's immutable word of prom- 
 ise, says it can and shall be so ; Christ's prayer 
 will not always continue to be a dead letter ; 
 the will of God shall yet be done on earth as it 
 is done in heaven, when all shall know the Lord, 
 from the least unto the greatest, when nothing 
 shall hurt nor destroy in all God's holy moun- 
 tain, when the lion and the lamb shall lie down 
 together in peaceful harmony and love. 
 
XXVI. 
 
 A REASONABLE INQUIRY ANSWERED. 
 
 An important inquiry will here be made. 
 When shall that happy day be ushered in? 
 God has reserved the knowledge of this glori- 
 ous event to himself, to whom secret things 
 belong, and those things only which are reveal- 
 ed to us and our children. It is best that it 
 should be so ; if the hour of our death had here 
 been revealed to the human family, it would 
 have been an evil of serious import. Neither 
 is it proper or important that we should know 
 the precise time when the millennial glory shall 
 dawn upon our benighted world. The apos- 
 tle to the Gentiles, in reply to an inquiry 
 made by the church of Thessalonica, says : "But 
 of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no 
 need that I write unto you. For yourselves 
 know perfectly that the day of the Lord so 
 cometh as a thief in the night. For when they 
 shall say peace and safety ; then sudden de- 
 struction cometh upon them, as travail upon a 
 
1T2 
 
 woman with child, and they shall not escape." 
 1 Thess. V, 1, 2, 3. 
 
 In regard to the introduction of that glorious 
 period, our Divine Master says, '''Watch, there- 
 fore, for ye know not what hour your Lord 
 doth come. But know this, if the good man of 
 the house had known in what watch the thief 
 would come, he would have watched, and would 
 not have suffered his house to be broken up. 
 Therefore, be ye also ready ; for in such an 
 hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh." 
 Matt, xxiv, 42, 43, 44. 
 
 The Lord Jesus has also informed us, that 
 great efforts would be made, previous to the in- 
 troduction of that day. Zealously engaged in 
 the cause of Christ, deceiving and being deceiv- 
 ed, and in view of those things, he gives us the 
 following caution and information. "Then if 
 any man shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ, 
 or there; believe it not, for there shall arise 
 false Christs and false prophets, and shall show 
 great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it 
 were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 
 Behold, I have told you before, wherefore, if 
 they shall say unto you, behold, He is in the 
 desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret 
 
173 
 
 chambers ; believe it not. For as the lightning 
 Cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto 
 the west ; so shall also the coming of the Son of 
 Man be." Matt, xxiv, 23—27. Further in re- 
 gard to that great day, and the imposing and 
 delusive scenes and efforts to make proselytes, 
 rather than humble, holy, bible christians ; 
 Christ gives us the following salutary caution. 
 *^And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time 
 your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and 
 drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that 
 day come upon you unawares. For as a snare 
 shall it come on all them that dwell on the 
 face of the earth. Watch ye, therefore, and 
 fray always, that ye may be accounted worthy 
 to escape all these things that shall come to 
 pass." Luke xxi, 34, 35, 36. The Lord Jesus 
 has given us further instruction in regard to the 
 coming of the great and dreadful day of the 
 Lord, the introduction of His glorious kingdom 
 when He shall reign, as He now rules in heav- 
 en. "And 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 
 
174 
 
 destroyed them all. Likewise, also, as it was in 
 the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they 
 bought, they sold, they planted, they builded ; 
 but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, 
 it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and 
 destroyed them all ; even thus shall it be in the 
 day when the Son of Man is revealed." Luke 
 xvii, 26—30. 
 
 In the face of all those solemn and momen- 
 tous declarations in regard to coming events, it 
 behooves us to attend to the injunction, "5e ye 
 also ready^'' stand among the Noahs and the 
 Lots, unblamable and unrebukable in God's 
 sight. We can lose nothing, and may gain 
 everything by being ready, holy in heart, in life, 
 and in all manner of conversation, knowing that 
 for every idle word we speak, we shall have to 
 give an account in the day of judgment. 
 
 INTIMATIONS OP ITS NEAR APPROACH. 
 
 The signs of the times — the troubled ele- 
 ments which characterize the days in which we 
 live, are indeed ominous, and proclaim aloud in 
 wisdom's ear, the day of the Lord draweth nigh. 
 The great and dreadful day of the Lord, when 
 Christ shall come again in power and great glo- 
 
175 
 
 ry, to establish his kingdom in universal tri- 
 umph, when God's will shall be done on earth 
 as it is done in heaven, when the kingdoms of 
 this world shall become the kingdoms of our 
 Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for- 
 ever and ever. Amen. Come Lord Jesus and 
 come quickly, and let all the world say, amen. 
 We may infer from the rapid increase of 
 light now shining, and rapidly on the increase, 
 the near approach of Christ. The Lord Jesus 
 says, '^I am the light of the tvorld." All light, 
 whether moral or intellectual or scientific, must 
 emanate from the incarnate Son of God. As 
 the sun is the source of all the light with which 
 our world is favored ; so Christ is eminently the 
 sun of righteousness, from whom all light must 
 proceed. When we see the morning star, we 
 know the sun is near ; when the day dawns, he 
 is still nearer, and as the light increases, until 
 the king of day appears in full view to enlight- 
 en, comfort and invigorate our gloomy world. 
 
 16 
 
XXVII. 
 
 AN ADDITIONAL OBJECTION ANSWERED. 
 
 Good, and wise, and learned men of God, cry 
 out indignantly, away with such a fellow from 
 the earth ; his views are wild and absurd — is 
 this indeed the order of God ? Has a wise and 
 merciful being done so much for the human 
 family, and all to be destroyed ? We cannot 
 believe it. The great work of redemption will 
 continue to progress and increase more and 
 more, until the whole lump is leavened, until 
 the whole earth shall be filled with the knowl- 
 edge and glory of God. "Upon this rock will 
 I build my church, and the gates of hell shall 
 not prevail against it." 
 
 It is not intimated, nor presumed in the 
 above theory or view of coming events, that 
 they will take place in harmony with the divine 
 arrangements for men's redemption, or in strict 
 accordance with the decrees and order of God, 
 but in consequence of man's derangement, his 
 disorder, rebellion and folly. 
 
177 
 
 Why was the antideluvians destroyed, and 
 also the cities of the plain ? "Was it by the or- 
 der or decree of God ? Was it arranged in the 
 divine plan to make a world, and people it with 
 rational human beings, and then drown them 
 all but one family ? Not so, but the wickedness 
 of wicked men, caused the anger of God to be 
 poured forth upon the rebellious inhabitants of 
 the earth. Nor would it be difficult to prove to 
 the satisfaction of any intelligent mind, unbias- 
 ed by prejudice, that the wickedness of the 
 present day (notwithstanding all our light, and 
 learning, and talent, and money) is greater than 
 it was when the antideluvians were destroyed, 
 or the Sodomites, when their city was consumed 
 and sunk. The significant and awful declara- 
 tion of our Saviour, in comparing some event 
 yet in the future, to those dreadful visitations 
 upon the antideluvians and the Sodomites, is 
 conclusive evidence that the wickedness of the 
 people at that eventful period will be as great, 
 or greater than the sins of those people devoted 
 to destruction. "> 
 
 We have already proved, to the satisfaction 
 of every unprejudiced mind, that those awful 
 events predicted by the Lord Jesus, cannot yet 
 
178 
 
 have been fulfilled, nor can they ever be, after 
 the introduction of the millennium, when all 
 shall be purified and made righteous before 
 God. 
 
 Those who deny that the wickedness of the 
 inhabitants of the christian world is as great or 
 greater than those of the old world, must remem- 
 ber that a just and holy God will not measure our 
 amount of guilt, so much by the actions of our 
 life, as by the light we have enjoyed, the privi- 
 leges we have slighted. Hence, Christ said to 
 the proud Jews, including the Pharisees, (who 
 were more rigid, by far, in the observance of the 
 law of Moses, than we are in regard to Christ's 
 law,) "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and 
 Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for you." 
 Not, we presume, because their acts of infamy 
 were greater, but because of the increased priv- 
 ileges enjoyed, and shamefully slighted by the 
 latter. Therefore, judging by this sacred and 
 divine rule, will not our punishment be greater 
 than that inflicted upon either the antideluvians, 
 the Sodomites or the Jews? Let us now for a 
 moment, examine the piety of the Pharisees, 
 and the sins of the Sodomites. 
 
 We have the character of the former, given 
 
179 
 
 in the following prayer, *'God, I thank thee 
 that I am not as other men are, extortioners, 
 unjust, adulterers, or even as the publican. 
 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that 
 I possess." The Lord Jesus did not accuse 
 this Pharisee of making a false statement, and 
 yet He declared that it should be more tolera- 
 ble for Sodom than for that generation, in the 
 day of judgment. It is greatly to be feared 
 that we cannot find many in our highly favored 
 day, who can fully measure up to the standard 
 expressed in the Pharisee's prayer. Nor were 
 the Pharisees as a sect few in number in our Sa- 
 viour's day. Another of that sect, of high 
 standing in the church, and not inferior to any 
 of the disciples of our Lord, could say, "Men 
 and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience 
 before God until this day." This declaration, 
 doubtless, refers to Paul's integrity and honesty 
 when he was a sinner and a Pharisee, while he 
 was thus in darkness, he lived up fully to his 
 privileges, as far as he understood them. 
 
 Let us now look into and investigate the 
 
 character and crimes of the Sodomites, given 
 
 by the highest authority, even God himself, 
 
 *'As I live saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sis- 
 
 16* 
 
180 
 
 ter, hath not done, she nor her daughter, as 
 thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 
 Behold, this was the sin of thy sister Sodom, 
 pride, fulness of bread and abundance of idle- 
 ness was in her, and in her daughters, neither 
 did she strengthen the hand of the poor and the 
 needy." Ezekiel xvi, 48, 49. Such were the 
 crimes of Sodom, as preferred against her by 
 the righteous Judge of all the earth ; doubtless 
 they were guilty of others. 
 
 Let us now impartially look into the heart of 
 most of our large christian cities, and our eyes 
 will be disgusted and our hearts sickened with 
 the sight, the deeds of deep and nameless de- 
 pravity found there, and exposed to public view 
 every day, and published in the daily records of 
 the day. But who can form a correct idea of 
 the awful picture which lies obscured from hu- 
 man vision, and seen only by the eye of an om- 
 niscient God ! And when we turn our eyes 
 away from this repulsive scene, and look into 
 the church, God's house on earth, we can scarce- 
 ly find one member who is (as he has been 
 taught to pray) doing the will of God as it is 
 done in heaven ; a,nd very few who can humbly 
 and honestly say, they are living up to all their 
 
181 
 
 gospel privileges. And yet our wise brethren 
 are insulted, and think it a dreadful heresy to 
 suppose that God will destroy us, as He did the 
 antideluvians, though our light is more than an 
 hundred-fold greater than was theirs, and our 
 crimes, at least equal if not greater than theirs 
 were. It is true we have a few righteous men 
 left in our Sodom, to preserve and keep us from 
 destruction ; a few Lots, and a few Noahs ; yet 
 it is greatly to be feared, that the number of 
 those holy men is decreasing ; the alluring, de- 
 ceptious world is drawing them away from the 
 cross, and binding them fast in the arms of 
 Mammon, while the watchmen assure us that the 
 ark is moving on most successfully ; hence, that 
 day will come upon us unawares ; for as a snare 
 shall it come upon all them that dwell on the 
 face of the whole earth. 
 
 As it regards the sin or the morality of the an- 
 tideluvians, we know but little ; they had all cor- 
 rupted their way and become desperately wick- 
 ed, with one honorable exception — one family 
 was then found righteous before God. Their 
 light, however, when compared with ours, was 
 profound darkness. 
 
 Some learned and intelligent writers think 
 
182 
 
 that there were as many men on the earth at 
 the time of the flood, as there are in the pres- 
 ent day ; and yet they had but one preacher of 
 righteousness and no bibles, no printing presses, 
 nothing, no, nothing compared with our highly 
 favored day ; yet they were all swept away with 
 the flood. This should be a salutary, as it is a 
 solemn warning to us, especially as the Lord 
 Jesus Christ has assured us that the approach- 
 ing doom of mankind (or His second coming) 
 will be like the fate of the wicked antidelu- 
 vians, and the more wicked Sodomites. 
 
 We should not, therefore, condemn and find 
 fault with a plain, rational view of a most im- 
 pressive and highly important portion of God's 
 word, because it specifies the exposure and over- 
 throw of a discordant and impure people, who 
 are called the Church of Christ; but inquire 
 honestly, are we living up to all our gospel du- 
 ties and privileges ? Are we what we should 
 be? Are we what the gospel requires us to be? 
 Are we well prepared to meet the bridegroom 
 at his approach, should it be at the midnight 
 hour, should it be this night ? Could we meet 
 the Lord Jesus with as much confidence and joy 
 as an affectionate wife would meet her husband 
 
183 
 
 who had been absent a few months ? Have we 
 the spirit of Christ ? If we have not, the plain 
 word declares we are none of His ! When 
 Jesus was reviled, he reviled not again, and 
 with His expiring breath prayed for His mur- 
 derers ! Have we the spirit which thus influen- 
 ced and governed our blessed Saviour, through 
 life, and in death ? 
 
 If we discover that in these things we are 
 deficient, greatly deficient, let us not cry peace, 
 peace, when sudden destruction may be at our 
 door. 
 
 If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who 
 shall prepare himself for the battle ? Should 
 we not rather sound an alarm in Zion, not en- 
 thusiastically, but righteously, rationally and 
 scripturally, that we and our friends may not 
 perish, and perish eternally. May we all take 
 the alarm, and now begin in earnest to set our 
 house in order, that we may not die eternally, 
 but live and reign with Christ, in His kingdom, 
 when all sin and sinners shall be destroyed, 
 when nothing shall hurt or destroy in all God's 
 holy mountain. 
 
 Let us begin, like good Josiah, to cleanse the 
 temple, the important temple of our heart, that 
 
184 
 
 the church of Christ, purchased with His own 
 blood, may be found without spot or wrinkle, 
 that we may stand before God unblamable and 
 unrebukable in His sight. Amen. 
 
PIOUS KEFLECTIONS, 
 
 WRITTEJJ AND PUBLISHED SOME YEARS SINCE 
 
 m THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN REPOSITORY, PHILADELPHIA, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 PRACTICAL PREACHER, OHIO, 
 
 AFFECTIONATEY RECOMMENDED 
 
 TO ALL 
 
 Who Love the Lord Jesus Christ 
 
 IN SINCERITY. 
 
 "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove 
 your ownselves. Know ye not your ownselves, how that 
 Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates," 2 Cor. xiii,5. 
 
CHKISTIAN PURITY. 
 
 PURITY ELEVATES AND HAPPIFIES. 
 
 "And every man tJiat hath this hope in him puri- 
 fieth himself, even as he is pure " 1 John iii, 3. 
 
 This text exhibits the christian's hope ; its 
 character^ its ohjeet, and the salutary influence 
 it exerts on his life and conduct. 
 
 1st. Its character. It is a rational, a living 
 hope. "Blessed be the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His 
 abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a 
 lively hope." 1 Peter i, 3. It is not only a 
 ^Hiveli/,'' or living hope, because the poor dead 
 sinner has been born again, and adopted into 
 God's family on earth, but it has for its foun- 
 dation an unclouded present knowledge of the 
 fact. '^Now are we the sons of Crod." It is 
 not an object of hope, that he has been born 
 again, and that he is now a child of God — this 
 he has fully realized ; on this solid basis firmly 
 rests his hopCj and from that strong position, 
 17 
 
188 
 
 and holy eminence, his hope stretches her arms 
 into the deepest recesses of eternity, confidently 
 grasping all the realities and blessings of an un- 
 ending heaven, where the child of God is placed 
 beyond the reach of death, or of human contin- 
 gencies. 
 
 2d. Its object. The object on which the 
 Christian's hope places her eyes, and around 
 which she throws her unyielding arms of expec- 
 tation and desire, is the appearance of Jesus 
 Christ. " When he shall appear." Ver. 2. This 
 glorious event is more dear to him, and more 
 to be desired than life, and all the glories of this 
 sin disordered world. More anxious is he to 
 see his Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, than 
 the affectionate wife is to see the return of her 
 absent husband ; although he has only been from 
 home a few months, the appearance of her hus- 
 band absorbs all other thoughts, and excites an 
 indescribable anxiety to realize that to her of 
 all other objects the most important. She does 
 not inquire, nor is she anxious to know, how he 
 will come ; whether he will return walking on 
 his feet, or riding on his horse, or in his car- 
 riage ; this to her is matter of indifference ; her 
 great desire is to see her absent husband ; nor 
 
189 
 
 is she particular as it regards the hour of his 
 arrival, whether it be in the evening, or morn- 
 ing, or at midnight — "welcome, welcome hus- 
 band at any moment !" Would not this be the 
 sentiment, and the language of every virtuous 
 wife whose husband had been long absent ? And 
 shall the Bride, the Lamb's wife, manifest indif- 
 ference in regard to the appearance of the 
 Bridegroom ? If so, is it not conclusive evi- 
 dence that her love has waxed cold, if indeed it 
 has not been placed on some other object? 
 Should not the ardent, unceasing language of 
 every child of God be, "come. Lord Jesus, and 
 come quickly — now, this moment?" 
 
 If the affectionate wife had no good reason to 
 expect her absent husband's return soon, yet 
 would she hopcy and look with intense anxiety 
 for that most desirable event. Not so the 
 church. She has strong reasons to expect the 
 immediate appearance of the Lord Jesus — she 
 has his own gracious promise that he will come 
 and will not tarry. "And behold I come quick- 
 ly ; and my reward is with me, to give every 
 man according as his work shall be." Rev. xxii, 
 12. And yet his Bride, the Church, manifests 
 indifference on the subject, and would rather 
 
190 
 
 not see Him soon ! 0, shame, where is thy 
 blush ! Should not the language of every sin- 
 cere Christian's heart be, "come. Lord Jesus, 
 and come quickly ?" Yes, his incessant cry is, 
 "I do ho'pe for, and ardently desire the coming 
 and glorious appearing of Him who died for 
 me ; he will bring with him a crown of eternal 
 life, and not for me only, but for all those who 
 love His appearing.'" This is the great ohject 
 of the Christian's hope, 
 
 3d. The influence this hope exerts on the 
 Christian s life and conduct. "He purifieth 
 himself, even as he is pure." This standard is 
 very high, and exalts the child of God to au 
 elevated eminence — "even as He" (God) "is 
 pure." There exists a very great disparity be- 
 tween the infant, and his wise, learned and weal- 
 thy father. The child is perfectly weak, help- 
 less and ignorant, and yet his distinguished 
 father, though he be a governor, or a king, con- 
 siders his infant child as standing on a perfect 
 level with himself; the child is equally honora- 
 ble in his character, and perfectly identified as 
 one with his father. This natural and plain 
 illustration, give us at least an imperfect idea 
 of the high and honorable state which every child 
 
191 
 
 of God sustained ; while there exists an infinite 
 disparity between the ignorent, helpless indi- 
 vidual who had been born again, and by regen- 
 eration adopted into the family of God, and his 
 holy, wise, omnipotent Father ; yet by virtue of 
 his adoption into Christ's family, he becomes 
 dear to God, and in a very important sense, 
 raised to an equality with his heavenly Father. 
 The child, however, is not to remain a helpless 
 infant; as a new born babe he should receive 
 the sincere milk of the word that he may grow 
 thereby ; and thus in accordance with the sen- 
 timent expressed in our text, he ''purijieth him- 
 self." 
 
 1st. He purijieth hia affections : he examines 
 his heart carefully and impartially. He knows 
 that he must love God with all his heart, with 
 all his strength^ with all his mind, and his neigh- 
 bor as himself. He also knows that if he loves 
 the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
 He therefore compares himself, his principles 
 and affections, with the young man in the gospel, 
 who had kept all the law, yet refused to sell his 
 earthly possessions and give them to the poor, 
 when his Saviour required him to do so. By an 
 application of his Master's salutary rule, he can 
 17* 
 
192 
 
 ascertain definitely whether he loves the world 
 more or less ; and if he for one moment doubts 
 the purity of his affections he immediately adopts 
 the Saviour's rule, he sells all and gives it to 
 the poor, which has a direct tendency to purify 
 his affections as it regards the world, viz. money 
 or property. He would rather cut off his right 
 hand, than entertain any doubts or fears res- 
 pecting the purity of his affection for his Re- 
 deemer, the Holy One of Israel. He further 
 asks his own heart, "if all my costly goods and 
 possessions were taken from me by any contin- 
 gency, could I with good old Job bear it patient- 
 ly, and praise God for that peculiar dispensa- 
 tion of his providence ?" As a candid, honest, 
 honorable man, he attends to this duty not only 
 faithfully^ but promptly. He is well convinced 
 that if his wife's affections were not purely placed 
 on him now, although she might assure him that 
 she would love him purely and exclusively at 
 some future period, at least before her death, it 
 would be cruel mockery. Therefore he does not 
 defer this momentous business with his Maker 
 until to-morrow ; he purifieth his affections 
 promptly, 
 
 2d. Re purifieth his motives, Christ declares 
 
193 
 
 that no man can serve two masters ; and says, 
 *'if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be 
 full of light." Enoch walked with God three 
 hundred years, nor can two walk together unless 
 they be agreed — unless they perfectly harmo- 
 nize in sentiment and disposition. The patri- 
 arch had the testimony that he pleased God ; 
 this should be the good man's motive in all 
 things, and at all times : therefore, whether he 
 eats, or drinks, or wears, or buys, or sells, he 
 does all to please God. In eating, his motive 
 is not to gratify his appetite, but to promote his 
 health. His motive in wearing any kind of ap- 
 parel is not to please any individual on earth, 
 but furely to meet the approbation of the Lord 
 Jesus, and humble his own heart, knowing that 
 God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the 
 humble. Likewise in preaching, his motive is 
 exclusively to please God, and benefit man ; he 
 is well convinced that if his motive in part is to 
 secure a good name, and gain the favor of man, 
 or to increase his temporal gain, his motive is 
 not pure, and will not stand the scrutinizing eye 
 of God in the judgment day. In his literary 
 pursuits, his studies, his motive is exclusively to 
 please God, and benefit his hearers. He pre- 
 
194 
 
 pares himself to preach the gospel (like his Di- 
 vine Master) to the poor, and if the rich are 
 profited thereby, he is well pleased. He ])urifieth 
 his motives. 
 
 3d. He purifieth his thoughts. "For from with- 
 in, out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, 
 adulteries, fornication, murders." Mark viir, 21. 
 "Casting down imaginations and every high 
 thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge 
 of God, and bringing into captivity evevT/ thought 
 to the obedience of Christ." 2 Cor. x, 5. By 
 way of purifying his thoughts, he honestly asks 
 his own heart, "if all the thoughts I have indulg- 
 ed through the past week were published to the 
 world, would I feel as calm and composed in 
 view of the fact as I now do ?" If not, then do I 
 fear man more than God, which is very corrupt. 
 Solemn reflection, that all our thoughts are per- 
 fectly known to God ! He, therefore, purifieth 
 his thoughts by indulging none for a moment of 
 which he would feel ashamed if they were all 
 published to the world, nor of which he would 
 feel ashamed in the judgment day. If evil or 
 impure thoughts are pressed suddenly upon his 
 mind by surrounding and evil circumstances, he 
 instantly rejects them, and flies promptly to the 
 
195 
 
 Lord Jesus for succor and deliverance. Jffe 
 purifieth his thoughts. 
 
 4th. He purifieth his words, "But I say 
 unto you, that every idle word that men shall 
 speak, they shall give account thereof in the 
 day of judgment. For by thy ivords shalt thou 
 be justified, and by thy words shalt thou be con- 
 demned." Matt, xii, 36, 37. "For our conver- 
 sation is in heaven." Phil, iii, 20. He honestly 
 asks his own heart, "would I be willing to have 
 all the ivords that I have spoken, during the 
 past day, or week, rehearsed in public ? If not, 
 do I not fear man more than God ? They are 
 all recorded in heaven, and will soon be read 
 out before a congregated world. The child of 
 God purifieth his words by the exercise of a 
 living consistent faith, which always realizes 
 the presence of God, therefore, his words are 
 all spoken in the immediate presence of the Lord 
 Jesus, and to please God, nor will he be ashamed 
 or condemned when they are publicly proclaimed 
 before the whole world. He has never used 
 any dissimulation at any time, or under any 
 circumstances; nor said anything behind any 
 man's back which he would not have said to his 
 face. All his words have been spoken in truth 
 
196 
 
 and sincerity, and in a spirit of pure love. He 
 
 purifieth his words. 
 
 5th. His desires. "Whom have I in heaven 
 but Thee ? and there is none upon earth that I 
 desire beside Thee." Psalm Ixxiii, 25. The 
 child of God so far purifieth his desires, that he 
 only wishes to possess and enjoy God, and all 
 earthly things in, and by, Him. He does not 
 desire riches or poverty, ease or pain, life or 
 death, but God only. 
 
 In the arms and favor of his Heavenly Fa- 
 ther, he enjoys all things richly, and can re- 
 joice in tribulation, and take pleasure in neces- 
 sities, in distresses, in persecutions ; he is per- 
 fectly willing to be accounted as the filth and 
 offscouring of all things, for Christ's sake. In 
 God he has all his desires fully realized. £[e 
 purifieth his desires. 
 
 6th. His actions. All his works are wrought 
 in God, and in perfect accordance with his re- 
 vealed word. Therefore, he does not conform 
 to the world, its fashions, maxims and customs, 
 because God's w^ord forbids it. For the same 
 reason, he has no desire or intention, to lay up 
 treasure on earth. He gives liberally to all 
 who need, as of the ability he possesseth, not 
 
197 
 
 suffering his right hand to know what his left 
 hand doeth ; all, all is done in God's immediate 
 presence, and designed purely to please the 
 Lord Jesus Christ; and in strict conformity 
 with His divine law, he loves his neighbor as 
 himself. He visits the widow and the father- 
 less in their affliction, and keeps himself unspot- 
 ted from the world, knowing that this is esteem- 
 ed pure and undefiled religion before God and 
 the Father. He is not willing to indulge in the 
 comforts and gratifications of life while his Sa- 
 viour's mother, sister, or brother may need any 
 of the necessaries of life, and knowing that 
 those who are dear to Christ, are in very many 
 instances, in suffering circumstances, it compels 
 him to deny himself the comforts of life, and to 
 take up his cross and follow the Lord Jesus, in 
 his holy self-denying life daily. He does nothing, 
 no nothing to be seen of men, nor to secure 
 their favor, but 'purely to please Grod. Ee puri' 
 fieth Ms actions. 
 
 Dear readers, turn your eyes away from the 
 pomp and vanity of this evil world, and your 
 ears from the contention and discord which 
 marks our present evil day, and attend to the 
 above specified duties and privileges, and you 
 
198 
 
 need not be afraid or ashamed to meet the Judge 
 of all the earth, and an assembled world, when 
 the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed in the 
 Judgment Day. 
 
SPIRITUAL. VISION. 
 
 ''And anoint tJiine eyes with eye-salve tJiat tJiou 
 may est see." — ^Rev. iii, 18. 
 
 . It is a melancholy fact, perceptible to the 
 eyes of the most superficial observer, that men, 
 since the apostacy of our first parents, are uni- 
 versally born blind — intellectually and morally 
 blind. Sin has despoiled all the original beauty 
 and glory of man ; the image of God has been 
 erased from his soul, and the likeness of Satan 
 has been inscribed on every feature of his im- 
 mortal part. The child born a few years since 
 heir to the crown of Great Britain, was as 
 blind (ignorant) as the infant born in the dark 
 land of Africa. That disability or blemish, 
 however, can and will be removed by natural 
 means. The child's intellectual eyes must, and 
 will be anointed with the light of science, ap- 
 plied by human effort. He must commence just 
 where the beggar or the slave begins, viz. with 
 A, B, C, and thus by care, skill and effort, in 
 time his intellectual eyes will be opened, so that 
 18 
 
200 
 
 he may behold and enjoy all the beauties and 
 privileges of literature and science. The moral 
 eyes, however, are not affected either more or 
 less (necessarily) by this process ; nor can they 
 be opened by the wisdom or power of men. 
 God alone can open the eyes of one born mor- 
 ally blind. It may here be remarked, (and it 
 should make a deep impression upon the minds 
 of professing christians in the present age of 
 the world,) that all who have had their intel- 
 lectual eyes opened, perceive all literary objects 
 alike. The letters have the same appearance 
 and import ; figures convey an idea of the same 
 number; there is no discord in this respect 
 among those who can read. Should any num- 
 ber of individuals, (whose intellectual eyes have 
 been opened by education,) traveling on the 
 highway, meet with a sign post directing the 
 traveler to some distant point, say ten miles to 
 Philadelphia, they would all harmonize in their 
 sentiments — there would be no discord or dis- 
 sension in regard to the intelligence inscribed 
 on the mile post. But alas for the discordant 
 state of Christianity, even in the nineteenth 
 century ! God has given us plain written di- 
 rections, and established sign posts along the 
 
201 
 
 entire road leading from earth to heaven; from 
 a land of darkness, pain and death, to a world 
 of light, and peace, and joy, and life ; yet a 
 diversity of opinion exists in regard to the par- 
 ticular meaning of those directions. 
 
 The bible has been written in plain language 
 by a good and merciful God, who is our father 
 to guide and direct His ignorant wandering 
 children to the kingdom of heaven ; nor can we 
 possibly believe that God who gave His Son to 
 redeem and save our fallen and rebellious race, 
 could design or wish to bewilder His helpless 
 children on their journey to the eternal world, 
 who are approaching heaven or hell with every 
 step they make. 
 
 What, therefore, can be the real cause of the 
 diversity of opinion which obtains among chris- 
 tians, those who profess to be traveling on the 
 king's highway? Is it not because their moral 
 eyes have not been opened ? 
 
 As this is a point of infinite importance to 
 every christian, it will be prudent to examine it 
 thoroughly. If our moral eyes have indeed 
 been opened, we will see spiritually, and spirit- 
 ual objects as distinctly, and as satisfactorily as 
 we perceive terrestrial things with our natural 
 
202 
 
 eyes, or letters and figures with our intellectual 
 optics. If, therefore, our moral vision is perfect, 
 we shall always see God before our eyes — this 
 is a great and important truth, which no reflect- 
 ing man will attempt to deny. "Do I not fill 
 heaven and earth? saith the Lord." Our 
 blessed Saviour says, "For where two or three 
 are gathered together in my name, there am I 
 in the midst of them." God is as certainly 
 present every moment as the friend who now 
 stands before me. Do I, therefore, see him 
 with my spiritual, or moral eyes, or by the eye 
 of faith, as clearly as I perceive the friend with 
 whom I converse? If our eyes have been 
 opened, and we do not see and set God always 
 before our eyes, we will naturally perceive the 
 next most important object on earth, viz. the 
 Bible — God's word which has been given to us 
 for a directory, to point out the true and only 
 way to heaven, and perfectly understand the 
 real meaning of every command, of every pre- 
 cept, and every promise, with as much certain- 
 ty and harmony, as travelers see and read the 
 direction on the sign post. Then would every 
 discordant sound or sentiment among christians 
 cease, and every murmur be hushed, and every 
 
203 
 
 fear quieted ; while a perfect, constant, univer- 
 sal principle of confidence in God, and recon- 
 ciliation to His word and will, would naturally 
 secure to our souls peace and contentment under 
 all the vicissitudes of this eventful life. 
 
 When we turn our eyes to the heavenly 
 directory (the bible) and read "Be ye holy for I 
 am holy" — "Without holiness no man shall see 
 the Lord," and again, "Be ye, therefore, per- 
 fect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
 perfect." Realizing the import of those pre- 
 cious commands in our heart, we would perfectly 
 understand their salutary meaning without the 
 aid of learned commentators, or of controversy. 
 When the man with his eyes open reads the fol- 
 lowing inscriptions recorded in Matt, xii, 36, 
 and Ephes. v, 34, "But I say unto you, that 
 evert/ idle word that men shall speak, they shall 
 give an account thereof in the day of judg- 
 ment." "But fornification and all uncleanness 
 or covetousness, let it not once be named among 
 you, as becometh saints ; neither filthiness, nor 
 foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not con- 
 venient; but rather of giving thanks." He 
 knows perfectly those who indulge in those for- 
 bidden things, are walking in the road which 
 18* 
 
204 
 
 leads to death and ruin. To what an alarming 
 extent do these vices obtain in the church ! 
 Idle words, foolish talking and jesting, alas 
 how common, even among those of us who min- 
 ister in holy things. Surely we do not recollect 
 that it is written in that holy book, "If the 
 blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the 
 ditch." 
 
 The next object which will naturally attract 
 the attention of those whose eyes have been 
 made to see clearly, will be the good hand of 
 God, in regulating His divine providences. 
 Whether they are called to drink of the cup of 
 adversity or prosperity, they know that all 
 things shall work together for their good. 
 Thus they journey on through life, trusting in 
 God. Every moment they see His gracious 
 hand extended to guide all their steps — to de- 
 fend their defenceless heads, and to sustain and 
 comfort them in every hour of distress and dan- 
 ger. They fearlessly and faithfully follow the 
 Lamb whithersoever he goeth. They hear the 
 Lord Jesus say, "I am the light of the world ; 
 he that folio we th me shall not walk in darkness." 
 Therefore, from their enemies they have noth- 
 ing to fear, while they keep their eyes open, 
 
205 
 
 and steadfastly placed on a crucified Saviour, a 
 risen Redeemer. They possess the spirit of 
 Christ now, and have the promise of eternal 
 life in heaven, and they want no more. 
 
 Secondly. — Inquire how we may secure this 
 great and important blessing ? How may our 
 spiritual and moral eyes be opened? The 
 counsel directs us to "anoint our eyes with eye- 
 salve." By the eye-salve recommended, I ap- 
 prehend, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is 
 meant. As none but God can open the natural 
 eyes of one born blind, neither can our moral 
 blindness be removed, and spiritual vision re- 
 stored to the soul, but by the power and grace 
 of Jesus Christ. The grace of God should be 
 diligently sought for, and applied in our closet, 
 on our knees by humble, fervent, faithful pray- 
 er. Applications made to our natural eyes, 
 generally give acute pain, so with the grace of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ in its operation ; in the 
 form of deep and pungent conviction, it is ex- 
 ceedingly painful, especially if it is applied in 
 an evangelical manner. 
 
 When David felt its piercing influence, he 
 immediately cried, *'The sorrows of death com- 
 passed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon 
 
206 
 
 me ; I found trouble and sorrow. Then called 
 I upon the name of the Lord. Lord I be- 
 seech thee deliver my soul." The publican, 
 under the influence of converting grace, smote 
 upon his breast, and exclaimed in the agony of 
 his soul, "God be merciful to me a sinner." 
 When the blind man was requested to tell how 
 his eyes were opened, he said, "A man that is 
 called Jesus, made clay and anointed mine 
 eyes, and said unto me, go to the pool of Siloam 
 and wash ; and I went and washed and I re- 
 ceived sight." In like manner when the poor 
 blind sinner feels the grace of conviction pierc- 
 ing him deeply and painfully, he may go to the 
 pool of Siloam, the redeeming love of Jesus, 
 there he may wash by faith and receive his 
 sight. He then sees Christ crucified every mo- 
 ment before his eyes. He sees his duty and 
 his danger, and walks securely leaning on the 
 Lord Jesus. He would rather suffer death than 
 grieve the Holy Spirit of God, or trifle in his 
 Saviour's presence. Neither does he indulge 
 in gloomy or desponding reflections. He can 
 confidently say with the pious Psalmist, "Yea 
 though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with 
 
207 
 
 me ; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 
 He sees God ever before his eyes, in His word 
 and in his providences, and confidently claims 
 all his great and precious promises, and by faith 
 appropriates them to himself. Hence he is 
 rich in poverty; strong in weakness; wise in 
 ignorance, and happy and contented amidst all 
 the storms of this sin disordered world. 
 
 As there are two kinds of light, or vision, it 
 will be necessary to examine this important 
 subject with great care. The apostle exhorts 
 us to examine ourselves whether we be in the 
 faith ; prove your own selves, &c. Our Saviour 
 says expressively, ^'If the light that is in thee 
 be darkness, how great is that darkness." If 
 we mistake, and substitute intellectual and sci- 
 entific, for spiritual or moral vision, it will prove 
 ruinous to our souls. There is, however, no 
 necessity that we should be deceived, if we at- 
 tend prayerfully to the marks of distinction 
 which exists between these two sources of light. 
 
 Spiritual, moral light deeply humbles the 
 creature, man, and exalts the Saviour. Grace 
 causes us to dread the fatal influence of the 
 world; hence when our moral eyes are made 
 to see clearly, we avoid the smiles and applause 
 
208 
 
 of men, and dread popularity and wealth, as we 
 would deadly poison, while we cleave with fear 
 and trembling to the cross of Christ every 
 moment. 
 
 Intellectual light generally inspires much 
 confidence in our abilities and learning, and 
 excites within our bosom rather a desire than 
 a dread of the admiration and applause of men, 
 and naturally inclines us to be called Rabbi, 
 Rabbi, notwithstanding our Saviour's impressive 
 admonition, "How can ye believe which receive 
 honor, one of another?" Under the sacred in- 
 fluence of grace, true moral light or vision, in- 
 clines and ennobles us when we are reviled, to 
 bless ; when persecuted, to suffer it ; when de- 
 famed, to entreat ; and makes us willing to be 
 made as the filth of the world, and the offscour- 
 ing of all things. The language of grace is, 
 "God forbid that I should glory, save in the 
 cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the 
 world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
 world." 
 
 The light of science influences us generally, 
 to admire splendid talents, eloquence of lan- 
 guage, the beauty of rhetoric, &c., which has a 
 tendency to vitiate our taste, and renders the 
 
209 
 
 plain, unlettered, simple preaching of Christ 
 crucified insipid. Hence a grammatical error 
 or an awkward gesture or expression, is ofi'ensive 
 to the refined sensibility of the wise and learn- 
 ed, and they are ready to cry out, "Away with 
 such a fellow from the earth, how can he teach 
 us the way to heaven ?" Scientific light or 
 vision, unaccompanied with great grace, (which 
 is frequently the case,) causes the ofi'ence of the 
 cross to cease, and emboldens us to climb up 
 some other way than by the cross of Christ. 
 Hence, the great importance of the counsel in 
 our text. '^Anoint thine eye% with eye-salve 
 that thou may est see,'' 
 
JUSTICE. 
 
 "j0e that is faitliful in that lohich is least, is 
 faithful also in much ; and he that is unjust in the 
 least, is unjust also in inuch." — ^Luke xvi, 10. 
 
 Justice is a divine principle inseparably 
 blended with the eternal throne of God. "Jus- 
 tice and judgment are the habitation of thy 
 throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy 
 face." Psalms Ixxxix, 14. "The God of Israel 
 said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that 
 ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear 
 of God — And he shall be as the light of the 
 morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning 
 without clouds ; as the tender grass springing 
 out of the earth by clear shining after rain." 
 2 Sam. xxiii, 3, 4. "A false balance is abom- 
 ination to the Lord ; but a just weight is His 
 delight." Proverbs xi, 1. Justice is a funda- 
 mental principle in our holy religion, one of 
 the immovable pillars on which the Church of 
 Christ must ever rest. That well known sen- 
 timent expressed by the Athenians in reply to 
 an unrighteous proposition made by Themisto- 
 
211 
 
 cles, ^^Let justice prevail, if the pillars of 
 heaven shall fall," should cause many profess- 
 ed christians to blush. God himself could not 
 pardon one sinner, until the full measure of 
 justice in all its bearings had been met by His 
 Eternal Son. The slightest degree of injustice 
 (known to be such) will as certainly exclude us 
 from heaven, as murder. Nor will this divine 
 principle admit of any compromise. The laws 
 of justice are stern and inflexible. The moment 
 we diverge (knowingly) one hair's breadth from 
 the straight line of justice, we forfeit every 
 righteous claim to that elevated principle. 
 The man who steals, or defrauds his neighbor 
 only to the value of one cent, becomes a rogue 
 a dishonest man, as certainly as if he had have 
 stolen a thousand dollars. Hence we perceive 
 the infinite importance of our Saviour's declara- 
 tion, "He that is unjust in the least, is unjust 
 also in much." "What is a man profited if he 
 shall gain the whole world, and lose his own 
 soul ?" Every prudent man will therefore 
 pause, and weigh well his actions, desires, and 
 motives, lest peradventure he might be found 
 wanting, when he is weighed in the balance of 
 eternal truth and justice. 
 19 
 
212 
 
 If we have in our possession, anything which 
 belongs to another man, and he demands of us 
 that which is his own, and we have it in our 
 power, and refuse to comply with his request 
 by withholding any part thereof, it is an act of 
 injustice. It will be conceded by every intelli- 
 gent person, that all we possess in this world, 
 belongs to God — our souls and our bodies are His 
 — all we have and are, including our money and 
 property are His also. The earth is the Lord's, 
 and the fulness thereof. When God demands 
 our heart, and strict obedience to His divine 
 law, we are bound promptly to surrender all to 
 the rightful Sovereign of heaven and earth. If 
 we keep back any part even of our affections, it 
 is an unjust, and also an unrighteous act. If 
 we indulge one desire in our hearts to procure 
 any article for less than its real value, it is the 
 quintessence of injustice. Our Divine Redeemer 
 says, "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust 
 after her, hath committed adultery with her 
 already in his heart." This view of the subject 
 will bear very hard on every species of specula- 
 tion. Christ declares that it is as hard for a 
 rich man to enter into the kingdon of heaven, as 
 it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a nee- 
 
213 
 
 die. Few ever become rich except by specula- 
 tion. After man's apostacy from his Maker, God 
 said, "In the sweat of thy face, shalt thou eat 
 bread, till thou return unto the ground." 
 Therefore the only just and righteous way for 
 every man to procure his sustenance is by hon- 
 est labor, in the diligent pursuit of some honest 
 calling. It will be said, "in pursuing this course, 
 we must remain poor." Admit the supposition, 
 is it not the most desirable place for us, as 
 Christ blesses the poor, and denounces an awful 
 woe against the rich ? We should also reflect 
 seriously upon the case and fate of the rich 
 man and the beggar, related by the Lord Jesus 
 for our especial instruction. If we hire any 
 species of property of our neighbor, we are in 
 justice bound to give him a fair and righteous 
 consideration for the use of it, whether it be a 
 house, or a farm, or any other description of 
 property. If we borrow money, we are justly 
 bound to pay for the use of it the amount of 
 interest specified by the laws of the state or 
 country in which we live. It will be at once 
 admitted by every intelligent individual that the 
 silver and the gold all belongs to God, the cat- 
 tle also upon a thousand hills are His. God has a 
 
214 
 
 just and righteous claim on all things which His 
 hand has made. Our heavenly Father giveth 
 all His needy children their daily bread by 
 blessing their labor, and unequivocally com- 
 mends them not to lay up treasure on earth, 
 and enjoins upon them a constant and daily 
 course of self-denial. Since the introduction of 
 sin into the world, Satan claims this world as 
 his possession by virtue of the victory he gained 
 over man, for whose benefit all earthly things 
 were created. 
 
 The Lord Jesus did not deny Satan's claim 
 when he asserted it in Christ's presence. "And 
 the devil taketh him up into a high mountain, 
 and showed unto him all the kingdoms of the 
 world in a moment of time ; and the devil said 
 unto him, all this power will I give thee, and 
 the glory of them : for that is delivered unto 
 me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it." Al- 
 though the devil has no legitimate title to these 
 things, for they all belong to God, yet by vir- 
 tue of his conquest over God's children, their 
 claim to those earthly privileges have been for- 
 feited. 
 
 When Christ conquered Satan in the wilder- 
 ness, and finally and effectually on the cross, 
 
215 
 
 He deposed him of his boasted possessions ; 
 those earthly things are through Jesus Christ 
 restored to man, only in accordance with his 
 permission and directions. When, therefore, 
 we attempt to lay up treasure on earth, or to 
 accumulate more than a sufficiency for the plain 
 wants of life, we rebel against our rightful Sov- 
 ereign, and virtually say, "We cannot trust 
 thee, Lord, but if we have money or property 
 to lean upon in the cloudy day, we can rest con- 
 tented, and be perfectly happy." As this is a 
 solemn and important subject, one in which we 
 are all deeply interested, let us examine it 
 thoroughly. We see numerous persons with 
 very little property or money, live and support 
 their families ; why could we not do the same ? 
 Only one legitimate reason can be assigned, viz. 
 we are not willing to be poor. Will, not there- 
 fore, a just and holy God hold us strictly ac- 
 countable for all we possess over and above a 
 sufficiency to support our family in accordance 
 with the rules and regulations given by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ ? Do we make a just and 
 righteous estimate of all our extra 'property and 
 money — all our unnecessary furniture and cloth- 
 ing, &;c., and do we regularly pay into the 
 19* 
 
216 
 
 Lord's treasury annually the legal interest on 
 the amount ? If not, can we in the estimation 
 of a righteous Grod be considered just stewards 'J 
 The poor man who works for his daily bread, 
 will appear as a witness against us in the day of 
 judgment, and prove that we too might have 
 lived, and have supported one family as he did, 
 without having earthly possessions or money to 
 depend on. 
 
 As the church is the light of the world, and 
 compared by the Lord Jesus to a city set on a 
 hill, her light should uniformly shine on a be- 
 nighted world illuminating the path of every 
 wayfaring traveler passing from time to eternity. 
 We should not, therefore, shrink from the most 
 rigid investigation of our life and conduct at all 
 times, and under all circumstances. If we ap- 
 propriate that which belongs to another person 
 to our own use, without his permission, it is an 
 act of injustice. As, therefore, the silver and 
 gold all belongs to God, do we ask His permis- 
 sion when we apply it to our own use ? It is 
 reasonable and right that we should do so, be- 
 cause it belongs to God, and we may at any 
 time enter into our closet and ask Our Heav- 
 enly Father's permission when we are about to 
 
217 
 
 purchase any article, whatever the value may 
 be, much or little. 
 
 We live in an age of wonders — a day of great 
 and increasing light. It is reasonable to infer 
 from the pages of God's word and the signs of 
 the times, that the important period is at hand 
 when He whose right it is to reign, will take to 
 himself his great power, and establish on earth 
 his kingdom of universal peace and righteous- 
 ness. The revolutionary spirit now abroad in 
 the earth, and the convulsive throes felt by 
 nearly all nations — the power that is now cast- 
 ing down thrones, and kingdoms, and high heads, 
 will continue to exert all its powerful influence 
 until all oppression and pride, and injustice, and 
 evil of every kind which exists either in Church 
 or State shall be swept from the earth. It is, 
 therefore, very important that we should deal 
 faithfully with our own souls, and those whom 
 God in his wisdom and providence has placed 
 under our care. The day that cometh will re- 
 veal all the secret things of the heart. It will 
 be unwise and ruinous to cover or conceal one 
 spot or wrinkle, because those stains have ex- 
 isted in former times. Nor should we plead for 
 the harmlessness of one evil or error because 
 
218 
 
 our fathers were good men and they indulged 
 therein. They lived in a darker day than we 
 are favored with. The times of this ignorance 
 God winked at, but now he commandeth all men 
 everywhere to repent. May we all hear and 
 obey the voice of the Son of God and live. 
 May we who blow the gospel trumpet, not cause 
 it to give an uncertain sound, lest the blood of 
 the people be required at our hands. 
 
GOLD TRIED IN THE FIRE. 
 
 '^J counsel tliee to huy of me, gold tried in the 
 fire, that thou mayest he rich; and white raiment 
 that thou mayest he clothed, and that the shame of 
 thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine 
 eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see." — Rev. 
 iii, 18. 
 
 When the apocalypse was written, whicli is 
 addressed to seven different churches, five of 
 them at that early period in the history of 
 Christianity, were in a delinquent state, and the 
 most offensive church among the delinquents 
 was entirely unconscious of her deplorable condi- 
 tion. Her confident language was, "I am rich, 
 and increased in goods, and have need of 
 nothing." But the righteous Judge of all the 
 earth, decided that she was ''"wretched, and mis- 
 er able, and poor, and blind, and naked." From 
 those solemn and alarming facts, we perceive 
 that men and churches have been, and may 
 again be deceived by their own treacherous 
 hearts ; hence the importance given to the Lao- 
 dicean church ; let us profit thereby. 
 
 First. — The CounseL 
 
220 
 
 1. "Buy of me gold tried in the fire." This 
 is figurative language. The gold mentioned, 
 no doubt means faith ; and to buy it, we must 
 part with all our own sins and idols. In confir- 
 mation of this conclusion, the apostle says, "That 
 the trial of your faiih^ being much more pre- 
 cious than of gold that perisheth, though it be 
 tried with fire^ might be found unto praise, and 
 honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus 
 Christ." 1 Peter i, 7. Gold enriches its pos- 
 sessor, and possesses great power ; so does/azYA. 
 Gold as a coin, will pass current in every coun- 
 try on earth ; so the proper exercise of faith 
 will conduct us in safety through the journey of 
 life, and procure for us a triumphant entrance 
 into the heavenly world. 
 
 Having plainly adverted to the power of faith 
 in my last communication, it will now be only 
 necessary to enforce the counsel in the text, viz. 
 "Buy gold tried in the fire.'' No man can 
 know himself until he has been thoroughly tried. 
 
 It is said, that pure gold will lose noth- 
 ing by an application to it, of the most in- 
 tense heat; neither will genuine faith lose 
 anything by the severest trial. Christ has, 
 therefore, wisely and mercifully provided an or- 
 
221 
 
 deal for the purification of our faith, viz. the 
 cross. In the investigation of this part of our 
 subject, it will be profitable to advert to a few 
 characters whose gold was tested in a fiery 
 ordeal. 
 
 First. — The case of the rich young man, who 
 came to Christ, earnestly inquiring what he 
 must do, to inherit eternal life, is very instruc- 
 tive. Jesus informs him that he must keep the 
 law ; which he declared he had done. He was 
 moral, therefore, Jesus loved him ; he was also 
 amiable and sincere, which led him further to 
 inquire of Christ, "What lack I yet?" Jesus 
 replied, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell 
 that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou 
 shalt have treasure in heaven ; and come and 
 follow me." His gold could not stand this or- 
 deal — the dross appeared. He went away sor- 
 rowful, for he had great possessions. 
 
 Reader, if your gold was cast into the same 
 ordeal, would there be no dross ? If you were 
 commanded to sell all you have, and give the 
 proceeds to the poor, would you, like good, faith- 
 ful Abraham, comply cheerfully and promptly ? 
 
 Again. — The case of Peter afi'ords a lesson of 
 salutary instruction. Peter declared that he 
 
222 
 
 would never deny his master ; nay, he would 
 rather meet death than be guilty of such ingrat- 
 itude and infidelity ; and yet in the course of a 
 few hours afterwards, he positively denied that 
 he knew Jesus Christ, and even confirmed it 
 with oaths and imprecations ! He repented, 
 however, he went out and wept bitterly and was 
 freely forgiven. May every delinquent do like, 
 wise. how many there are, who with their 
 lips in the church, or closet, or in the pious cir- 
 cle, confess Jesus, and when they are in the 
 company of the wealthy and the worldly mind- 
 ed, by their appearance and their conversation, 
 and trifling conduct, deny the Lord Jesus, and 
 trample his sacred cross beneath their feet. 
 
 Turn we now with delight to the history of 
 a few worthies, whose gold when it was tried in 
 the fire, was found to be pure, without one par- 
 ticle of dross. 
 
 First. — Abraham, when God called and com- 
 manded him to go three days' journey, and up- 
 on a certain mountain offer up his son, his well 
 beloved son Isaac, a burnt ofi*ering, the patri- 
 arch obeyed promptly and without any kind of 
 equivocation ; he demanded no explanation, it 
 was God that spoke. He asked for no extenu- 
 
223 
 
 ation — he knew that God would require no more 
 of him, than he would give grace and strength 
 to meet. Abraham concealed those heavy ti- 
 dings from his beloved Sarah ; he determined 
 that no human being, nor any circumstance on 
 earth, should prevent him from strictly dis- 
 charging his duty. God's word shall be honor- 
 ed and obeyed, cost what it may. "Isaac, or 
 Sarah, or my own life — all — all shall be given 
 up freely when that God who gave those bless- 
 ings shall demand them at my hand." Nor 
 could aught on earth but the authority of that 
 Divine Being who had ordered him thus strange- 
 ly and {apparently/) unreasonably to act, divert 
 him from his purpose. Thus when his arm 
 was extended, and the knife at his son's heart, 
 God spake, and his hand, no doubt, gladly 
 fell, and Isaac was saved 1 how bright 
 his gold then shone, and how joyful was then 
 made his obedient, faithful heart. 
 
 Reader are you perfectly willing to give up 
 your Isaac? to cut off and cast away that which 
 may be as dear to you as a right hand, or a 
 right eye, should God require it? Do you im- 
 plicitly obey the voice and will of Abraham's 
 God ? When Christ says, ''Be not conformed 
 20 
 
224 
 
 to the world,'' its spirit, its customs, fashions, 
 &c., do you promptly and faithfully obey ? 
 When the Lord Jesus says, "Lay not up for 
 yourself treasure upon earth." Would you 
 rather die than violate His sacred word ? When 
 that plain command is read in the judgment 
 day, "When thou makest a dinner or a supper, 
 call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither 
 thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors, lest they 
 also bid thee again, and recompense be made 
 thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the 
 poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind," &c., 
 will you be prepared to meet it with joy and 
 confidence, saying "Lord it was done as thou 
 commandest?" Let God's commands be more 
 dear than life. 
 
 The three Hebrew children had their gold 
 literally tried in the fire, because they would 
 not bow down nor worship Nebuchednezzar's 
 golden image. Their gold — their faith was 
 perfectly pure. Are we sure that we do not 
 bow to the God of this world ? Do we honor 
 and respect the poor man, as we do the rich 
 and honorable of this world ? If we are not 
 perfectly impartial, James says, we commit sin. 
 Do we not feel conscious, that we would rather 
 
225 
 
 be independent and respected with our divine 
 Master to be poor and despised, and doomed to 
 bear the frowns and contumely of an ungodly 
 world ? how many bow to the God of this 
 world, not knowing what they do ! 
 
 Once more. When Job's extensive posses- 
 sions were swept away from him, he bowed his 
 head in submission and said, — ^'The Lord gave, 
 and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be 
 the name of the Lord." Would our gold stand 
 this ordeal, and suffer no more loss than did 
 Job's faith and patience ? If all our goods 
 were destroyed by wicked men, could we pa- 
 tiently submit and praise God for the trial of 
 our faith ? As no man can know himself until 
 he is tried, may we be more than willing, and 
 wisely consent to have our gold tried in the^re, 
 that we may be indeed spiritually and eternally 
 rich. 
 
 Secondly. "And white raiment, that thou 
 mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy 
 nakedness do not appear." 
 
 White is an emblem of innocence and furity. 
 Speaking of the Bride, the Lamb's wife, John 
 says, "and to her was granted that she should 
 be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for 
 
226 
 
 the fine linen, is the righteousness of the saints." 
 Rev. xix, 18. By the expression "white rai- 
 ment" — "holiness of heart" is no doubt meant. 
 Without this garment, we are as naked and as of- 
 fensive in the sight of God, as our bodies would 
 be in the eyes of man without covering. 
 
 This robe is called by our Saviour the wed- 
 ding -garment^ without which we could not be 
 admitted to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 
 "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." 
 Heaven, with all its joys, would be more intol- 
 erable to an unholy saint than hell. If, there- 
 fore, holiness be a necessary qualification to an 
 entrance into heaven, and we may die the next 
 hour, no reasonable being can be excusable for 
 living carelessly one hour without this blessing. 
 
 Holiness of heart embraces the image of God, 
 which is love, and the Spirit of Christ, who, when 
 He was reviled, reviled not again, and with His 
 expiring breath prayed for his murderers. God's 
 word expressly assures us that if any man have 
 not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. There 
 was no impatience, nor resentment, nor unkind- 
 ness found on Christ's spotless soul ; and John 
 says, "as He (Christ) is, so are we in this world — 
 and he that hath this hope in him purifieth him- 
 
227 
 
 self even as he is pure." Nothing can be more 
 rational, desirable, and delightful than pure love ; 
 it sweetens every bitter cup in life ; it smooths 
 all the rough paths of our fallen nature, and ex- 
 hibits a pleasing emblem of heaven in the soul. 
 It may be well here to make an important 
 inquiry, Do we honestly desire to possess this 
 pearl of great price ? If so, our gold well tried 
 in the fire, will enable us to secure it now. 
 When we approach a throne of grace with a 
 bleeding, broken heart, and weeping eyes, evinc- 
 ing unequivocally that we do hunger and thirst 
 after righteousness, then, and not till then, will 
 the pearl be ours; then will our pure gold, 
 unwavering faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, se- 
 cure that white garment. "To him that believ- 
 eth all things are possible." There is, however, 
 a very great resemblance between a well exe- 
 cuted counterfeit and one of genuine character, 
 yet there is an immeasurable distance between 
 the two. We must, therefore, be careful to 
 guard against a philosophical faith, beautifully 
 described and placed on the "altar of consecra- 
 tion," and that evangelical saving faith which 
 Paul calls believing with a heart unto righte- 
 ousness. 
 
 20* 
 
228 
 
 Could I give the honest inquirer after this 
 great salvation, a practical idea of the exercise 
 of genuine faith, I would point him to the patri- 
 arch wrestling all night with the angel of the 
 covenant — with Almighty God; and when the 
 angel said, "let me go for the day breaketh," he 
 cried out in the strong language of unwavering 
 faith, "I will not let thee go except thou bless 
 me." He had power with God, and with man, 
 and prevailed. Gold thus tried in the fire will 
 never fail to secure that white garment of infi- 
 nite value, purity — holiness of heart. Saul of 
 Tarsus fasted and prayed for the space of three 
 days and nights before he gained the important 
 object. He overcame ; he prevailed ; he kept 
 the faith even unto death, and received a crown 
 of eternal life, as his exceeding great reward. 
 
 As a white robe is more easily soiled than 
 one of any other color, we must be very careful 
 and diligent by watching unto prayer always, 
 lest after we have received through faith in 
 Christ, that beautiful and costly garment, we 
 should suffer it to be torn by the assaults of 
 Satan, or soiled by the touch of a corrupt world. 
 Our Saviour's salutary caution must be con- 
 stantly attended to, "watch and pray lest ye 
 enter into temptation." 
 
229 
 
 The seductions of an alluring world, softened 
 and enforced by the artful devices of Satan, are 
 so numerous and powerful that it will require 
 more than mortal power to save us from their 
 fatal influence. It is well, however, that our 
 sufficiency is not of ourselves — -Christ's grace is 
 sufficient for us; let us, therefore, wisely look 
 for, and expect divine aid every moment. 
 
 Sin in any modification is exceedingly oifen- 
 sive to God, but when it is indulged in by his 
 professed followers, it becomes most hateful in 
 His sight. We should, therefore, dread sin, 
 more than the sting of the poisonous adder, or 
 even the darts of death. The eye is a very sen- 
 sitive and glorious member of the body ; but the 
 immortal soul, made in the image of God, should 
 possess a greater degree of sensibility than even 
 the eye. Hence we should feel more acutely 
 the influence of sin — or an idle word or an im- 
 pure or an unholy thought, than the eye could 
 experience from ar wound made by the point of 
 a needle thrust into its most tender membrane. 
 
 ''Quick as the apple of an eye, 
 God my conscience make !" 
 
 Satan may, and no doubt will tempt every 
 child of God while he remains in a probation- 
 
230 
 
 ary state, and by reason of our infirmities, his 
 temptations may be difficult to resist and over- 
 come ; yet through the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and/a^YA in his name, and by the exer- 
 cise of constant and fervent prayer we may ward 
 off all his fiery darts, and gain a decided and 
 elevating victory in every conflict. "God is 
 faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 
 above that ye are able : but will with the temp- 
 tation also make a way to escape, that ye may 
 be able to bear it." Those temptations and spir- 
 itual conflicts may be necessary, and rendered 
 very important to every christian ; hence James 
 says, "My brethren count it all joy when you 
 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." Again, 
 "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation ; 
 for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of 
 life, which the Lord hath promised to them that 
 love him." James i, 2, 3, 4, and 12. We should, 
 therefore, stand continually upon our watch 
 tower, and the moment we feel an assault — the 
 slightest emotion of evil — even one discontent- 
 ed, or unkind feeling — an impure, or an unholy 
 
231 
 
 thought, we should promptly fly for refuge and 
 deliverance to a throne of grace, there we may 
 ohtain mercy and find grace to help in time of 
 need ; nor should we rest one moment until par- 
 don is secured, and the sweet peace and love of 
 God flows again through our purified souls. 
 The little child who cuts his finger, the moment 
 he sees the blood, or feels the wound, runs to 
 his mother with tears and loud cries to have it 
 bound up. 
 
 Were all christians to pursue this simple, but 
 even course, it would have a most salutary ef- 
 fect, and without controversy or difficulty ena- 
 ble them to live above the atmosphere of doubt 
 and fears — of strife and contention — they would 
 dwell and travel in the land of Beulah where 
 the sun never goes down. Then should they 
 indeed be the light of a benighted world, and 
 way-marks to the kingdom of glory. Then 
 should their peace flow as a river, and their 
 righteousness abound as the waves of the sea ; 
 and God would condescend to dwell in their 
 midst, and the whole earth would soon be brought 
 under the benign influence of perfect love. 
 
CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGE, THE GIFT 
 OF GOD. 
 
 '^For God hath not given us the spirit of fear ; 
 hut of power, and of love, and a sound mind. — 2 Tim. 
 ii, 7. 
 
 Not only are the general principles of Chris- 
 tianity clearly defined in the Bible, but every 
 landmark is particularly identified, so that he 
 ■who runs may read, understand, and be saved. 
 Man in his fallen state, is poor, and ignorant, 
 and defiled; he must, therefore, necessarily be 
 dependent upon the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ for all the good which he enjoys — con- 
 sequently it behooves us to act with the great- 
 est precaution and circumspection in the all-im- 
 portant work of our soul's salvation. Christ ad- 
 monishes us to watch and pray, lest we enter 
 into temptation. A wise and prudent daugh- 
 ter fears, and refuses to receive favors from the 
 hand of a stranger, even complimentary lan- 
 guage ; she turns disgusted from its unhallowed 
 influence. But from her father, she confidently 
 and gratefully receives favors, counsel, and 
 
233 
 
 even admonition, and never fails to be honored 
 and comforted by an implicit reliance upon her 
 father's judgment, and submission to his will. 
 So it should be with the child of God. 
 
 Our text clearly specifies what our Heavenly 
 Father has^ and what He has not given His 
 children. 
 
 I. — G-od our Seavenly Father has not given 
 us the spirit of Fear. 
 
 Cowardly, servile, guilty fear never fails to 
 degrade, disgrace and ruin all those who live 
 under its unhallowed influence. We have not 
 received this spirit from God — "aw enemy hath 
 done it.'' 
 
 We have not, therefore, received from God, 
 
 1. The fear of man. — Solomon says, "The 
 fear of man bringeth a snare," and one greater 
 than Solomon has said — "Fear not them which 
 kill the body," &c. The child of Qodi fears no 
 man ; he speaks as plainly to the king a§ he 
 does to the beggar. The respecter of persons 
 is virtually guilty of a violation of God's holy 
 law, and must be damned. "By faithfully re- 
 proving the king, John the Baptist lost his 
 head ;" but he thereby gained a martyr's 
 crown — a most glorious exchange ! 
 
234 
 
 While the christian fears God, and keeps 
 Him always before his eyes, acting in all things, 
 and speaking every word to please the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, he fears no man, but speaks and 
 acts in the presence of the rich, the wise, the 
 learned with perfect ease and independence, 
 warning every man, and teaching every man. 
 Though a christian would not improperly offend, 
 or wound the feelings of the beggar or the slave, 
 he never shrinks from responsibility, fearing 
 the displeasure of any man. 
 
 He fears not the persecuting tongue — for he 
 thereby gains a great reward. His divine 
 Master has said — "Blessed are ye when men 
 shall hate you, and when they shall separate 
 you from their company, and shall reproach 
 you, and cast out your name as evil, for the 
 Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, 
 and leap for joy; for behold your reward is 
 great in heaven." Luke vi, 22, 23. The child 
 of God rejoices to be evil entreated, because his 
 reward will be great in heaven. He, therefore, 
 bears the cross of Christ fearlessly and uni- 
 formly, treading every moment in the steps of 
 his crucified Saviour. He desires in all things, 
 internally and externally, to be like the Lord 
 
235 
 
 Jesus, therefore, he dreads to look like the 
 children of this world, knowing that whosoever 
 will be the friend of the world, is the enemy 
 of God. 
 
 2. The fear of contingencies. — 1. Adversity, 
 Christ was poor, and Lazarus was poor. He 
 knows, also, that God has chosen the poor of 
 this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the king- 
 dom which He has promised to them that love 
 Him. He hears the sound of God's voice, de- 
 nouncing the rich, — "Woe unto you that are 
 rich." If, therefore, he has any choice, as it 
 regards the condition in life he is to fill, he 
 prefers poverty to riches, choosing poverty; 
 rather to suffer afflictions with the people of 
 God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a 
 season. He fears not poverty, therefore, he 
 can meet his Redeemer's injunction with joy — 
 "I say unto you take no thought" {no anxious 
 care) "for the morrow." The child of God is 
 well assured that the way of indulgence leads 
 to death and ruin, and the way of self denial, 
 to life and glory, he is, therefore, careful to 
 deny his fallen propensities every day ; like 
 Paul he keeps his body under, and brings it in- 
 to subjection; then he is oft in fasting. 2. 
 21 
 
236 
 
 Affliction. David says, "It was good for me 
 that I was afflicted." Of one greater than 
 David it is said, He was made perfect through 
 suffering ; and Jesus says, they that suffer with 
 me shall also reign with me. Affliction is fre- 
 quently the ordeal — the furnace in which God 
 purifies our gold, consequently the children of 
 God can rejoice while passing through the fiery 
 furnace, knowing that those light afflictions 
 which are for a moment, worketh for them a 
 far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 
 They can confidently and submissively exclaim, 
 with afflicted Job, "Though He slay me, yet 
 will I trust in Him." The children of God ex- 
 pect soon to join that victorious company, of 
 whom it will be said, "These are they that have 
 come out of great tribulation," — therefore they 
 do not fear affliction. 3. Death. Death is the 
 gate to endless joys, nor do we dread to enter 
 there. "The sting of death is sin ; and the 
 strength of sin is the law ; but thanks be to 
 God who giveth us the victory through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 We now proceed to examine, 
 
 II. — The blessings ivhich our Heavenly Fath- 
 er graciously imparts to all His children. 
 
 God our Heavenly Father, has given us, 
 
237 
 
 1. Power. — Faith now supplies the 'power 
 which man lost in the fall. Though none but 
 an omnipotent Being could redeem man from 
 the iron grasp of a violated law, and impart un- 
 to him eternal life ; yet this power is attributed 
 to faith — Christ said to the diseased woman, 
 "Thy faith hath made thee whole." Though 
 Christ alone is the christian's foundation — the 
 author and finisher of our redemption — yet is 
 faith uniformly considered as the instrumental 
 cause of our salvation. "If ye have faith as a 
 grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this 
 mountain, remove to yonder place, and it shall 
 remove ; and nothing shall be impossible unto 
 you." Matt, xvii, 20. Faith gives us power 
 with God. Jacob, after wrestling all night with 
 the angel of the covenant, cried out in the en- 
 ergetic language of faith — "I will not let thee 
 go until thou bless me." The angel replied, 
 "As a prince hast thou power with Gfod, and 
 with men, and hast prevailed." It is true, 
 christians are compared to little children, yet 
 has the helpless infant, power to control the pa- 
 rent at any time, the piteous cry of the babe 
 will call to its relief the parent's hand of sym- 
 pathy and affection at the midnight hour. 
 
238 
 
 Thus, when the helpless child of God cries to 
 his heavenly father for aid, the Lord Jesus is 
 touched with the feeling of his infirmities, which 
 moves the hands, which made the world, and calls 
 the mighty God of Jacob to his instant and un- 
 limited relief. "Ask and ye shall receive.'' 
 
 God's children under the law, the faithful 
 Israelites, exercised extraordinary power^ and 
 thereby honored their Maker, and confounded 
 the heathen world. Paul in adverting to the 
 character of those worthies, remarked — "And 
 what more shall I say ? for the time would fail 
 me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of 
 Sampson and of Jepthae, and of David, also, 
 and of Samuel, and of the prophets; who 
 through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought right- 
 eousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths 
 of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped 
 the edge of the sword, out of weakness were 
 made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to 
 flight the armies of the aliens. Women received 
 their dead raised to life again ; and others 
 were tortured,*^ not accepting deliverance, that 
 they might obtain a better resurrection." Heb. 
 xi, 32 — 35. If God gave his faithful servants 
 who lived in the legal dispensation, extraordi- 
 
239 
 
 nary and honorable power, will He refuse to 
 grant His children under the benign influence 
 of the gospel, equal or even greater power ? The 
 Apostle says, "For if that which was done 
 away was glorious, much more that which re- 
 maineth is glorious." 2 Cor. iii, 2. Whether, 
 therefore, we claim it, or not, it is the christian's 
 prerogative to possess "power with God. "To him 
 that believeth, all things are possible." 
 
 1. Poiuer over the devil. — "Resist the devil 
 and he will flee from thee." Satan is now a 
 conquered enemy, and can exert no positive 
 power over the children of God, since Christ 
 has redeemed them and taken them from under 
 the curse of the law, and placed them under the 
 benign influence of grace. The devil can now 
 only exert his power through the medium of de- 
 ception and temptation. Hence our Saviour's 
 salutary injunction, "Watch and pray, lest ye 
 enter into temptation." Paul says, "We are 
 not ignorant of his devices." While the chris- 
 tian walks in the light, watching over every ri- 
 sing desire of his heart, and carefully avoids 
 the wide way — the way of self indulgence^ and 
 walks diligently in the King's highway of ho- 
 liness, looking momentarily unto Jesus for 
 21* 
 
240 
 
 grace and wisdom to guide and direct all his 
 steps, he will walk securely, and have power 
 over the devil, 
 
 3. Poiuer over the loorld. — Satan now uses 
 this world as a snare to allure and destroy im- 
 mortal souls. He spread his net for our Sa- 
 viour's feet, when he presented to his view all 
 the kingdoms of this world, and said, "All this 
 power will I give thee, and the glory of them ; 
 for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoev- 
 er I will, I give it. If thou, therefore, will 
 worship me, all shall be thine." And the grand 
 adversary of God and man, still uses the same 
 bait, to allure and deceive poor mortals ; but 
 the children of God meet his wily suggestions 
 as did the Lord Jesus — "get thee behind me 
 Satan." The most feeble child of God, spurns 
 from his presence all the glories of this world — 
 all its beautiful objects — rich and delicious food 
 — together with its honors and titles of distinc- 
 tion. Hence, he will not consent to be called 
 Rabbi, Rabbi ; no, nor Rev. — Right Rev., much 
 less D. D. He neither seeks nor desires the hon- 
 or of men, but the honor which cometh from God 
 only. He is, therefore, as willing to be hissed 
 at as to be applauded. He daily bears the 
 
241 
 
 cross of Christ, and triumphantly exclaims with 
 the Apostle to the Gentiles — "God forbid that 
 I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified 
 unto me, and I unto the world." 
 
 4. Poiver over self. — Self is perhaps the most 
 potent enemy we shall have to meet on the 
 christian's battle ground. It imperceptibly in- 
 tertwines itself into all our actions, words, de- 
 sires and motives. If we, however, honestly 
 unmask this enemy and exhibit him in his true 
 colors, he wears a most despicable visage. A 
 selfish father who disregards the wants and 
 comforts of his children, if bis own comforts are 
 supplied, would be held up to universal con- 
 tempt. A selfish husband would be still more 
 despicable ; while the noble and disinterested 
 man, who would risk, or even lose his life, to 
 save or benefit his fellow mortal, would be uni- 
 versally esteemed and admired. 
 
 The dark principle of selfishness, if it exists 
 in its mildest forms in our heart, will appear far 
 more despicable in the day of eternity, when 
 the secrets of all hearts shall be made known, 
 than it does here when viewed in its most de- 
 formed features. Hence, the importance that 
 
242 
 
 self should be crucified. The idol self must bo 
 slain; therefore, every prudent child of God, ele- 
 vates Christ and sinks himself. He dreads the 
 smiles, and applause of men, and feels willing, 
 with Paul, to be counted as the filth and ofi"- 
 scouring of the world, rather than have his 
 name honored by the admiring breath of dying 
 mortals. The child of God has 'power over self, 
 2. Love. — Pure undefiled love. The child of 
 God bears his Heavenly Father's image, viz. 
 love — he loves with sincere sympathy, and ar- 
 dent affection, his greatest enemy. He never 
 reviles, however much he may be reviled and 
 injured, but like his Lord and Master, he prays 
 for his worst enemies. He knows that Christ's 
 spirit is a spirit of pure love, and if he does not 
 possess Christ's spirit, or striving hard by fast- 
 ing and prayer to gain it, he is neither a child 
 nor a servant of Christ. When the christian's 
 heart is filled with love, it excludes every unholy 
 principle ; no envy, no resentment, no emula- 
 tion, no unkind or sour feeling can commingle 
 with the pure, sweet stream of love. The same 
 fountain does not afford fresh, and occasionally 
 salt water ; neither can the fig tree bear olive ber- 
 ries. God the Father, therefore, gives all his 
 
248 
 
 cliildren a spirit of 'pure love — the pure Spirit 
 of Jesus Christ, which assimilates them to 
 God, and alone can qualify them for heaven. 
 
 3. A sound mind, — God, not only gives all 
 his children, power and love^ but wisdom. This 
 precious jewel, more valuable by far than fine 
 gold, our Heavenly Father gives to all his chil- 
 dren freely. ''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." 
 James i, 5. 
 
 Here, however, we must be very cautious that 
 we do not receive counterfeit coin. Paul says, 
 "the wisdom of the world is foolishness with 
 God." We must be careful in the examination 
 of this precious treasure, the fine gold of the 
 sanctuary, that it is not mixed with alloy. 
 There is a most striking resemblance between 
 a well executed counterfeit and a genuine bank 
 note, yet are they as dissimilar as day and night, 
 as virtue and vice. No two things on earth, are 
 in reality more unlike each other, and yet fre- 
 quently the most experienced judge is unable to 
 detect the fraud. The inspired writer, how- 
 ever, has given us a plain description of the spu- 
 rious, and of the genuine coin, by which we may 
 
244 
 
 be enabled to judge correctly, and avoid decep- 
 tion. "Who is a wise man and endued with knowl- 
 edge among you? let him show out of a good 
 conversation his works with meekness and wis- 
 dom. But if ye have envying and strife in your 
 hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. 
 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is 
 earthly, sensual and devilish. For where envy- 
 ing and strife is, there is confusion and every 
 evil work. But 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 hypocrisy." James iii, 
 13 — 17. We learn from the above rule that 
 where there is bitter envying and strife, the 
 gold is not genuine. Those dark traits are 
 too often seen in modern days, in the several 
 branches of Christ's church ; do they not place 
 the mark of reprobation on every heart where 
 they are found to exist ? When we seek for 
 happiness in any earthly object, such as gold, 
 silver, property, food and raiment, &c., we be- 
 come irrational and sensual, and are thus im- 
 perceptibly transferred into the image of the 
 devil, the very essence of whose character is de- 
 ception. Those dark traits of character are 
 
245 
 
 further developed by a desire to occupy the 
 highest seats in the synagogue, and to be called 
 of men Rabbi, Rabbi, desiring to be something 
 when they are nothing ; thus not only deceiving 
 others, but their own souls — deceiving and be- 
 ing deceived. But the wisdom which character- 
 izes the children of God, and cometh from above, 
 is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, 
 full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, 
 and without hypocrisy. The christian consid- 
 ers every human being as his Father's child, 
 and treats the poor beggar (of moral character) 
 with as much respect and affection, as he feels 
 for the more wealthy and honorable members of 
 society. If he becomes a respecter of persons, 
 he violates God's holy law of love, and must be 
 excluded from heaven. The child of God is also 
 free from hypocrisy. While he is poor, he does 
 not assume the appearance of the rich man, but 
 dresses, and strives to appear to others just 
 what he is — as willing that every beholder should 
 see his heart, as his face. How striking the con- 
 trast between the wisdom of this world, and that 
 which cometh from God ; and how pleasing and 
 encouraging the reflection, that true wisdom 
 though indescribably lovely and desirable, and 
 
246 
 
 placed above price, is by our Heavenly Father 
 given freely to all His children without money 
 and without price. This is the wedding gar- 
 ment, the robe in which the redeemed will ap- 
 pear at the marriage of the Lamb. God's chil- 
 dren have "a sound mindJ^ 
 
CHRISTIAN WARFARE. 
 
 For the loeapons of our loarfare are not carnal, 
 hut mighty through God, to the pulling down of 
 strongholds. 2 Cor. x, 4. 
 
 We find ourselves placed in a world of con- 
 flict, and of danger, surrounded by a mighty 
 host of enemies. Good and evil — virtue and 
 vice, are irreconcilable enemies. If we secure 
 any earthly good, we have to fight for it. It re- 
 quires labor, and care, and diligence to gain the 
 necessary comforts of food and raiment; to in- 
 sure success, we have to wage war with animate 
 and inanimate nature. After we have toiled to 
 prepare the ground, and have deposited the 
 seed therein, both wild and domestic animals 
 will array themselves in hostility against the 
 labor of our hands ; hence we have to close the 
 ground to guard against their incursions — the 
 birds of the air, the crawling reptiles of the 
 earth will endeavor to destroy the good seed. 
 Thus every article of real value which grows 
 out of the earth, is surrounded by enemies, 
 22 
 
248 
 
 while the weeds and briars grow spontaneously 
 without care or culture 1 Not only has the 
 earth been cursed on account of man's sin, but 
 the atmosphere is full of deadly poison. The 
 human heart in a very especial manner is ex- 
 posed to the assaults of deadly foes. The devil 
 goeth about like a roaring lion seeking whom 
 he may devour ; he also assumes the form of a 
 serpent, and transforms himself into the appear- 
 ance of an angel of light, the more effectually 
 to destroy poor, frail mortals. And further, to 
 increase our danger and call forth our energies 
 in life's conflict, we have to meet and conquer 
 enemies in our own bosom — our degenerate 
 heart. Our passions and our appetites are our 
 deadly foes. Indulge children in all their de- 
 sires, and they will be invariably and inevitably 
 ruined — men are but children of a larger growth. 
 Thus in our present fallen condition, we must 
 fight or fall — conquer or be ruined forever. 
 There can be no neutrals in this war. There- 
 fore in the improvement of our present subject, 
 we will, 
 
 1. Advert to the character of our in- 
 veterate ENEMY, (the devil,) AND EXPOSE 
 TO VIEW A FEW OF HIS "STRONGHOLDS." 
 
249 
 
 1. His character. — He is. an active, restless 
 foe — he goeth about like a roaring lion. A 
 malicious enemy, hence he is called Satan. An 
 artful, deceptious foe, his strength now lieth in 
 his cunning — his artifice — his deceptions. Paul 
 says, we are not ignorant of his devices. It 
 will, therefore, be necessary that we have not 
 only the wisdom that cometh from above, but 
 divine power also to enable us to meet and con- 
 quer this artful, insidious enemy. 
 
 2. His strongholds. — As the devil has been 
 foiled and conquered by the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 his hope of success now depends not only on 
 his devices, but he erects entrenchments and 
 fortifications to aid him in his work of destruc- 
 tion. On the present occasion we will only no- 
 tice three of his strongholds, viz. Infidelity — 
 Pride — Love of the World. 
 
 First stronghold — Infidelity. — The devil 
 can now gain very little by an avowal of open 
 infidelity. Learned and pious men of God, by 
 writing and preaching, have well nigh demol- 
 ished this stronghold of Satan ; there are now 
 very few open and avowed infidels — their theo- 
 ry will not bear the light. 
 
 This artful seducer however, has covertly 
 
250 
 
 gathered up the fragments of this favorite for- 
 tification, and while by his crafty devices, he 
 denounces infidelity, and even his open friends 
 are unwilling to appear entrenched within its 
 tottering walls, he transposes the name, and 
 enters the church, where he carries on his work 
 of ruin and infidelity under cover of Christianity. 
 Hence, upon a close examination, it will be found 
 that many professors of religion, both in the 
 ministry and the membership, are only specious 
 infidels ! Alas — what a multitude of professing 
 christians are living at ease in Zion — are slum- 
 bering in a lukewarm state ; nor do they believe 
 Christ's solemn declaration, when He says, He 
 will spew them out of his mouth. All those 
 who are living carelessly — viz. without fasting, 
 and diligent, persevering prayer, that they 
 may be purified and made holy now, not to-mor- 
 row, do not believe that sin is hateful to God, 
 and must exclude us from heaven. Again, there 
 are many professors who do not really believe 
 in the existence of the attributes of God — 1st. 
 His omnipresence — "Do not I fill heaven and 
 earth, saith the Lord Almighty." But who 
 really believes it ? No man that says, or does 
 any thing which he would not say or do, if the 
 
251 
 
 Lord Jesus were personally present. But who, 
 may we not ask, uniformly observes this rule ? 
 2nd. God's omniscience. Who really and con- 
 sistently believes in the existence of this attri- 
 bute ? No man who wishes to conceal from man, 
 his actions, thoughts, motives, and desires. 
 Surely if he is ashamed of those secret things 
 before men, he should feel infinitely more 
 ashamed to disclose them to the view of a pure 
 and holy God. May we not find infidels ? viz. 
 unbelievers in the bosom of the church. Again 
 there are many who would feel insulted were 
 you to call them infidels or unbelievers, and yet 
 they do not believe God's holy word ! 
 
 If there is one declaration in the holy bible 
 which I do not believe, I may as well disbelieve 
 every word written therein. The word of God 
 says — this night thy soul may be required of 
 thee, and without holiness no man can see the 
 Lord ; if therefore, I am not in possession of 
 that pearl of great price, or striving with all 
 my ransomed powers to secure it, I either do not 
 believe God's word, or I place a very low esti- 
 mate upon the value of my soul. In God's 
 word it is written — "But the day of the Lord 
 will come as a thief in the night ; in the which 
 22* 
 
252 
 
 the heavens will pass away with a great noise, 
 and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 
 the earth also and the works that are therein 
 shall be burned up." 2 Peter iii, 10. That 
 awful day will come as a thief in the night — in 
 an unexpected hour. Do we believe this sol- 
 emn declaration ? All of us who are living un- 
 prepared to die, viz. in an unholy, an unsancti- 
 fied state, without making every exertion in 
 our power to realize a pure heart, do not really 
 believe it. To prove this fact, let us suppose a 
 case — a stranger informs us that an incendiary 
 will burn down our house one night next week, 
 he heard the plan arranged for doing this dread- 
 ful deed ; would we during that week retire to 
 bed without making a judicious preparation to 
 guard against the impending calamity ? We feel 
 conscious that we would not ; and yet when Al- 
 mighty God speaks, and unequivocally declares 
 that He may burn up the world this night, and 
 under those solemn circumstances, we retire to 
 our slumbering bed with an entire indifference, 
 conscious that we are not prepared to meet our 
 God. Now if we regard the word of man, more 
 than the word of God, can we meet the Judge 
 of all the earth with joy ? We believed our 
 
253 
 
 neighbor, and we promptly acted, God speaks, 
 and we disregard His word. Are we not there- 
 fore virtually unbelievers — infidels ? This spe- 
 cies of infidelity forms a favored position, a 
 stronghold for the devil. 
 
 2. Pride. The pride of the heart, forms a 
 most pleasing lurking place for Satan. God 
 hates a proud look, and he that exalteth him- 
 self shall be abased. In the arms of our infidel- 
 ity Satan feels himself secure, for God has said, 
 "he that believeth not shall be damned," but 
 the devil revels and takes peculiar delight in the 
 heart where pride is countenanced. A proud 
 beggar would be truly a contemptible character ; 
 and the devil knows we are all beggars, depend- 
 ent on God for every drop of water, and every 
 crumb of bread. A poor culprit condemned to 
 be executed to-morrow and inflated with pride, 
 would present a most despicable sight in the 
 eyes of reflecting men. All mankind are con- 
 demned to die, and may meet their solemn doom 
 the next moment. As pride in its nature is 
 unnatural, unreasonable, hateful to God, and 
 destructive to human happiness, it behooves us 
 to examine our hearts with great care, and can- 
 dor, lest a particle of this soul-degrading, God- 
 
254 
 
 dishonoring principle in "which Satan delights, 
 should be found to exist within. A desire to 
 be seen and admired of men, is unequivocal 
 proof of the existence of this evil in the heart. 
 Can anything but pride influence a dying, con- 
 demned mortal to wear fine and costly apparel, 
 or build elegant and expensive houses, and fur- 
 nish them with costly furniture only to be seen 
 and admired ? It is, however, frequently as- 
 serted that we may be as proud when dressed in 
 osnaburgs, as in broadcloth. While the possi- 
 bility of this supposition is admitted, the sub- 
 ject involved in the case is of too much impor- 
 tance (even the loss of the soul) to pass over the 
 argument carelessly. We must appeal to higher 
 authority than poor, erring men ; we must 
 hear what Almighty God says in regard to this 
 important subject : 
 
 When Ahab laid aside his royal robes, and 
 put on sackcloth (a coarse hairy garment) and 
 fasted, the Lord beheld it, and said to Elijah : 
 *'Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before 
 me, I will not bring this evil in his days." 
 Our Saviour's words are in perfect accordance 
 with the above declaration. "Woe unto thee, 
 Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the 
 
255 
 
 mighty works which were done in you, had been 
 done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have re- 
 pented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Matt, 
 xi, 21. 
 
 When Almighty God expressly declared that 
 sackcloth, a coarse, hairy garment, worn by a 
 man, was a mark of humility, will mortal men 
 say, that to wear gay and costly apparel is no 
 evidence of pride in the heart ! Let God be 
 true, though every mortal man be found guilty 
 of falsehood. Therefore, prudence and common 
 sense dictates to us that we should imitate the 
 conduct of Ahab, and also of the Ninevites, by 
 laying aside every mark of wealth and show in 
 our houses, our furniture, and our apparel, es- 
 pecially as our blessed Redeemer laid aside his 
 exalted glory, and bore the cross, and despised 
 the shame, being born in a stable, and having 
 marked the pathway to heaven, in and through 
 the deep valley of humility and self-denial ! 
 let'us imitate the example of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 in this great conflict. May we, like our Lord 
 and Master, be clothed with the beautiful gar- 
 ment of genuine humility, and thus drive Satan 
 from his favorite haunt of pride in our heart. 
 
 3dly. Love of the World. — When the 
 
256 
 
 devil has been driven from his haunts of infi- 
 delity and pride, he retires, as his last subter- 
 fuge, into the stronghold of the love of the world. 
 Here he generally makes his most powerful and 
 and successful attacks upon the heart of man. 
 Satan well knows that the love of the world, is 
 the darkest crime a human being can be guilty 
 of — the most malignant and fatal disease to 
 which he is exposed in this unhealthy clime. 
 It was the only disease the Great Physician 
 failed to cure when he was on earth. When 
 the rich young man was directed by the Lord 
 Jesus to sell all his possessions and give the pro- 
 ceeds to the poor, he went away sorrowful, for he 
 had great possessions. how powerfully and 
 successfully did the devil fight for this impregna- 
 ble fortress erected in this amiable young man's 
 heart ! And to the present day this strong- 
 hold is Satan's favorite rendezvous. 
 
 Let us therefore examine this point with care 
 and candor. Were we called on to sell all our 
 earthly possessions, and give the proceeds to 
 the poor, could we promptly and cheerfully 
 comply with the requisition ? Or would we not 
 rather go away, like the rich young man, from 
 Christ, with a sorrowful heart ? If so, would it 
 
25T 
 
 not afford proof positive that we love the 
 WORLD, and thereby afford the devil a most de- 
 sirable stronghold in our heart. 
 
 Again, were we only tried as was the old 
 patriarch, who lived in a very dark age of the 
 world, could we meet the trial and triumph as 
 did Job ? When all his large possessions were 
 swept away, he bowed in submission and praised 
 the Lord ! Satan well knows that if we love 
 the world, its money, its property, its honors, 
 its gratifications, more or less, we cannot love 
 God, and must be banished forever from His 
 presence, and the glory of His power. There 
 are many who deceive their own souls by say- 
 ing — "I love God better than I love the world." 
 Were the wife to use this specious argument 
 and comfort her husband, by assuring him she 
 loves him better than the other favorite, it would 
 be mockery ; and yet many who pass for good 
 Christians, will cast this dark reproach upon 
 the Saviour, and wipe their lips and say, "I 
 have done no wrong," Others console their 
 own hearts by saying, "It is true I am not yet 
 sanctified wholly, I still feel the remains of the 
 carnal mind, but I intend and expect to secure 
 the wedding garment, viz. pure love before I 
 
258 
 
 die." Was the wife to adopt this language, 
 and comfort her husband by assuring him that 
 it was her sincere desire and intention to love 
 him perfectly before she died, when she be- 
 came old and wrinkled, it would be an insult 
 which human language cannot describe, and yet 
 professing Christians will carelessly assume this 
 ruinous position in regard to the Holy One of 
 Israel, and sit down contentedly and smoke and 
 laugh and jest, and murder their precious mo- 
 ments, which should be spent in fasting and 
 prayer. Hence the love of the world may be 
 considered Satan's most favorite lurking place, 
 his principal stronghold, the last from which 
 he will be driven. 
 
 Having briefly and imperfectly examined 
 some of the devil's strongholds, proceed we. 
 
 Secondly — To notice the nature of the con- 
 flict, and the means through which we may gain 
 a triumphant victory. 
 
 1. The nature of the conflict. It is a spirit- 
 ual warfare, hence the weapons of our warfare 
 are not carnal, &c. It is a good cause ; "Fight 
 the good fight of faith." It is an incessant con- 
 flict. If we are only one minute off our guard, 
 the insidious enemy will take advantage of that 
 
259 
 
 careless moment to inflict a deadly wound. It 
 is an important battle, if we are conquered, 
 eternal ruin must ensue, including shame and 
 ceaseless misery. ''These shall go away into 
 everlasting punishment — Who shall be punished 
 with everlasting destruction from the presence 
 of the Lord and from the glory of his power." 
 Matt. XXV, 46 ; 2 Thess. i, 9. If we are cou- 
 rageous and gain the victory — eternal life shall 
 be our great reward, including an inheritance, 
 incorruptible, and undefiled, that fadeth not 
 away. A home — a house not made with hands 
 eternal in the heavens, and to crown the vic- 
 tor's head, a glorious crown of life shall be given. 
 It is enough— it is an important conflict in which 
 we are engaged. 
 
 2. The PREPARATION for BATTLE — the Chris- 
 tian ARMOR. "The weapons of our war- 
 fare." 
 
 The ancients used both ofi'ensive and defen- 
 sive armor, and as our foes are numerous, insid- 
 ious and malignant, and we shall have to fight 
 at every step through life, for liberty, and all 
 our gospel privileges, it will be important and 
 necessary that we put on the whole armor of 
 God. As cowardice invariably marks the boI- 
 23 
 
260 
 
 dier's character with shame and disgrace, all 
 slavish fear must be laid aside. 
 
 The apostle to the Gentiles, has given us a 
 full description cf the Christian soldier's armor. 
 Eph. vi, 13—18. (1.) ^'Stand, therefore, hav- 
 ing your loins girt about with the truth." 
 God's word is truth. The girdle for our loins 
 must be composed of scripture doctrine. If our 
 doctrine is defective or not true, when the dis- 
 covery is made, it will weaken our loins, and 
 cause our knees to smite together. It behooves 
 us, therefore, to receive and preach that doctrine 
 which will stand on the judgment day, viz. the 
 proper divinity of Jesus Christ, that by his 
 death, he made an atonement for us — that by 
 repentance and faith, only, we may receive par- 
 don, regeneration, and sanctification ; and that 
 through faith in Jesus Christ, we may live holy, 
 righteous and godly lives on earth, and enjoy 
 eternal life in heaven. He that believeth shall 
 be saved, and he that believeth not stall be 
 damned." 
 
 2d. The breastplate of righteousness. 
 Nothing but this breastplate can protect our 
 vital parts from the assaults of our enemies. 
 Our hearts must be made perfect, and right, and 
 
261 
 
 pure, and good, by the mighty power of that 
 God who has done all things well, whose signa- 
 ture is purity and perfection. We must keep 
 this important piece of armor bright by faith 
 and prayer. May our righteousness never be- 
 come dim or rusty. 
 
 3d. Your feet shod with the prepara- 
 tion OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE." We must ex- 
 pect to meet with briers and thorns in our path- 
 way to heaven. We shall be assailed frequently 
 by persecution and sore temptation, piercing 
 our feet most painfully. Our feet, therefore, 
 must be shod with peace. A pure spirit of 
 peace and love in connection with a pure heart, 
 will enable us to trample all the briers and thorns 
 beneath our feet, not only those which proceed 
 from the mouth of bitter and enraged men, but 
 also devils. God will shortly bruise Satan under 
 your feet. Let us, therefore, put on the gospel 
 shoes of peace — peace and love. 
 
 4th. "The shield of faith." A defensive 
 piece of armor used by the ancients, sometimes 
 made of metal, but more frequently of tanned 
 hides that were anointed with oil, in order to 
 render them smooth, compact and firm. Faith 
 is the Christian soldier's shield, which if dexter- 
 
262 
 
 ously managed, will successfully ward off all the 
 fiery darts of the wicked one. Infidelity — un- 
 belief constitutes Satan's most successful strong- 
 hold, but faith, strong faith, demolishes that for- 
 tification at a blow, and leaves the enemy ex- 
 posed to the triumphant assaults of humble, fer- 
 vent prayer. All things are possible to him 
 that believeth. We should, therefore, always 
 keep the shield of faith in active exercise. The 
 Christian is never safe, no not for one moment, 
 without the shield of faith. Paul says, "Eor 
 we walk by faith, not by sight." So that every 
 step through life should be regulated by the rule 
 of faith. "Whatever is not of faith is sin," so 
 that whatever we do or say, should be done and 
 said to the glory of God. 
 
 5th. *'The helmet of salvation." God is 
 my salvation, therefore, I will not fear what 
 men can do unto me. The saving power, and 
 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ should al- 
 ways rest upon the Christian soldier's head; 
 add to this, "the sword of the spirit," "which 
 is the word of God." This is our two-edged 
 sword, its promises foil our enemies, and crowns 
 us with peace and safety ; its commands, denun- 
 ciations, and inflexible justice, conquers and 
 
263 
 
 slays every assailant. let us wield this sharp 
 sword dexterously, and wisely, and certain vic- 
 tory wil ensue. We must not fail, however, to 
 accompany all our efforts with prayer, humble 
 fervent prayer. It is not the soldier, but the 
 Captain who gains the victory in all our bat- 
 tles ; hence we must implore and secure the 
 presence and aid of the Lord Jesus Christ in 
 every conflict. In our prayers we must be care- 
 ful to avoid formality, they must be accompanied 
 with, and enforced by supplication in the Spirit. 
 We must strive, fight, press our cause upon our 
 knees, we must pray without ceasing. And yet 
 farther, we must watch as well as pray, "Watch- 
 ing thereunto with all perseverance." We must 
 watch every motion of the enemy, either from 
 without or from within, watch diligently every 
 thought, every word, every desire, every motive 
 and every action. 
 
 By a judicious application of the Christian 
 armor, we shall learn that the weapons of our 
 warfare are not carnal, but mighty through 
 God, to the pulling down of all Satan's strong- 
 holds. Thus through the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, we may gain and secure a glori- 
 ous, a triumphant victory over all our enemies, 
 23* 
 
264 
 
 and enter through the gates triumphantly into 
 the New Jerusalem, the Holy City of God, to go 
 no more out forever, where we shall lay the 
 weapons of our welfare by, where eternal peace 
 shall be proclaimed to all Christ's faithful, val- 
 iant soldiers. Amen. 
 
WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMETH 
 
 SHALL HE FIND FAITH ON 
 
 THE EARTH. 
 
 "NevertJieless, ivhen the Son of man cometli shall 
 He find faith on the eaHh.'^^ — Luke xviii, 8. 
 
 The evidence that there is a God, and that 
 He hears the cry of His dependent children on 
 earth, and supplies all their wants, is as conclu- 
 sive to the eye of faith, as the father's hand, or 
 the judge's authority is seen, felt and realized 
 daily in the different occurrences of life, by our 
 physical senses ; yet our Saviour more than in- 
 timates that when he comes again, he will not 
 find faith on the earth. "We presume He 
 means strong^ living, consistent faith. We 
 will consider : 
 
 First. — The supposed condition of the world 
 when the Son of Man shall come ; viz. without 
 living, strong, consistent faith, 
 
 1. The power or life of faith, — Faith now 
 supplies the strength which man lost in the fall. 
 Under the legal economy, or Mosaic dispensa- 
 tion, faith possessed almost an unlimited power. 
 
266 
 
 Jacob by the strong arm of faith, held the an- 
 gel, and would not let him go. Hence, the 
 angel said, ^'For as a prince hast thou power 
 with God, and with men, and hast prevailed." 
 The Apostle in adverting to the character of a 
 host of ancient worthies, says, "Who through 
 faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, 
 obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 
 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge 
 of the sword; out of weakness were made 
 strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight 
 the armies of the aliens ; women received their 
 dead bodies raised to life again," &c. Those 
 mighty and miraculous deeds were performed 
 by the exercise of faith in God, through the 
 grace of a promised Messiah. Nor can we ra- 
 tionally suppose that this divine principle would 
 lose its power and efficacy under the sacred in- 
 fluence of the gospel. In contrasting the legal 
 and evangelical dispensations, the Apostle says, 
 "For if the ministration of condemnation be 
 glory, much more doth the ministration of 
 righteousness exceed in glory." 2 Cor. iii, 9. 
 Our Saviour in describing the faith of the gos- 
 pel day, says, "For verily I say unto you, if ye 
 have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall 
 
26T 
 
 say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder 
 place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall 
 be impossible unto you." Matt, xvii, 20. Again, 
 "If thou canst believe, all things are possible 
 to him that believeth." Mark ix, 23. And 
 when the Lord Jesus commissioned His disci- 
 ples to go into all the world and preach the 
 gospel, He added, "He that believeth and is 
 baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth 
 not shall be damned." And as a security 
 against Antinomian and Universalian corrup- 
 tions. He guards the principle of saving faith 
 by an important declaration, viz. "And these 
 signs shall follow them that believe : in my 
 name they shall cast out devils : they shall 
 speak with new tongues ; they shall take up 
 serpents ; and if they drink any deadly thing, 
 it shall not hurt them ; and they shall lay 
 hands upon the sick, and they shall recover." 
 Mark xvi, 17, 18. 
 
 It is now believed, however, that this power 
 was only imparted to the Apostles, and was ta- 
 ken from the church soon after their day. Is 
 there any scripture proof of this fact ? I know 
 not one text that will prove it even by implica- 
 tion. If those signs were only to attend and 
 
268 
 
 confirm the preaching of the Apostles, why- 
 were they written in that holy book without 
 any reserve, all of which we are bound to obey ? 
 Those signs are inseparably connected with our 
 commission. If we are sent to preach the gos- 
 pel, we must receive our authority from Christ, 
 and in Matthew's gospel, He adds these words, 
 "And lo I am with you always, even unto the 
 end of the world." This gracious promise is 
 not applicable to the Apostles exclusively, but 
 unequivocally to His ministers in all ages, even 
 to the end of the world ; nor is there any inti- 
 mation in Grod's word that the 'power of faith 
 was ever to be taken from the church ; and yet 
 it has ceased to be exercised; nay, it has been 
 voluntarily and formally given up and excluded 
 from every branch of the Protestant church ; 
 and if it cannot now be found in the church, we 
 presume it cannot be found on earth. It is 
 said, however, that there is now no need for 
 extraordinary faith, since the gospel has been 
 established in the world. Even this apology I 
 fear is very unsound, for to the present day, 
 more than one-half of the inhabitants of the 
 earth, have not received the gospel, neither 
 have they heard that Jesus Christ, the eternal 
 
269 
 
 Son of God, is the only Saviour of our ruined 
 race. If our missionaries possessed this power 
 of faith, how different would be their success in 
 heathen lands. 
 
 Nor is it reasonable, nor would God deal im- 
 partially with all men, were he to give irresisti- 
 ble and conclusive proof of the divinity of the 
 gospel to the few, and leave the many without 
 such evidence. 
 
 Again. Is there no necessity that the servant 
 of God should possess power to heal that poor 
 lunatic, whose maladies lie beyond the reach of 
 medical skill or power ? Is it not greatly to be 
 feared that w^e have sat down on the lap of 
 Delilah (the god of this world, ease and wealth,) 
 where our locks have been shorn off, and we 
 have become weak and feeble as other men ? 
 And by way of quieting our conscience, we say 
 there is now no necessity for extraordinary 
 faith ! 
 
 But leaving this important, this vital princi- 
 ple of faith, which cannot now be found on earth, 
 let us inquire further. Can we now find 
 another very important feature of faith, viz. an 
 unwavering and consistent belief, or faith in 
 the attributes of God ? say His omnipresence. 
 
270 
 
 Where can we find that faith which uniformly 
 realizes that great truth, "Thou God seest me ?" 
 Who believes that God hears every word he 
 speaks, and that he is constantly in his immedi- 
 ate presence ? Where shall we find that indi- 
 vidual, who says or does nothing which he 
 would not say and do if the Lord Jesus were 
 personally present ? Can he be found on 
 earth ? We may hope, but alas ! our fears rise 
 above our hopes. 
 
 Further, where shall we find the man who 
 fully and consistently believes God's holy word? 
 We must believe all that is written in God's 
 book, or it will profit us nothing. Who really 
 and constantly believes the following declara- 
 tion ? "But the day of the Lord will come as 
 a thief in the night ; in the which the heavens 
 will pass away with a great noise, and the elc 
 ments shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth 
 also, and the works that are therein shall be 
 burned up." 2 Peter iii, 10. As that momen- 
 tous day will come as a thief in the night, we 
 should expect it this night — the next hour, but 
 who does ? Alas ! how few there are who live 
 and act as if they were even willing to see the 
 Lord Jesus come. Had even a stranger have 
 
271 
 
 informed us that a band of incendiaries would 
 burn down our house one night during the next 
 week, what a deep impression it would have 
 made on our mind ; it would drive peace and 
 sleep far away, unless we were well prepared to 
 meet the event, but when God speaks, and 
 makes a more awful declaration, we feel but 
 little concerned about the event; perhaps we 
 retire to our bed unprepared to meet that sol- 
 emn doom which will come on us as a thief, and 
 may come this night. 
 
 The Apostle says, "For we walk by faith^ 
 not by sight," and "whatever is not of faith, is 
 sin." 2 Cor. v, 7 ; Rom. xiv, 23. Thus every 
 act of our life, should be an act of faith, believ- 
 ing confidently that it will please God. "Wheth- 
 er, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye 
 do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor. x, 31. 
 how few there are now on earth who live by 
 faith ; who regard not the opinion of men ; 
 neither their own secular interest, but believe 
 confidently that what they say and do will 
 please the Lord Jesus Christ, and benefit the 
 human family ! All these things, living — con- 
 sistent faith fully realizes. But can we find its 
 existence on earth ? 
 24 
 
272 
 
 Secondly, — The coming of the Son of Man. 
 
 We may inquire into the design, the manner 
 and the time of His coming, 
 
 1st. The design. — It is presumable that the 
 great object of Christ's second coming, will be 
 to establish His kingdom on earth in peace, 
 and truth ; when individual and universal right- 
 eousness shall obtain. Then, and not until 
 then, will God's will be done on earth as it is 
 done in heaven. 
 
 In that happy day, all mankind shall dwell 
 together as one great family of God on earth ; 
 nor will there be one discordant sound or sen- 
 timent heard among men, any more than those 
 sounds are heard among the multitudes in 
 heaven. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples 
 and followers to pray for this glorious era, by 
 using that comprehensive petition, "Thy will be 
 done on earth, as it is done in heaven." Our 
 faith, however, has been very weak, and our 
 work (in regard to doing God's will as it is done 
 in heaven) has been even more defective. 
 Hence, we have ceased ardently to desire the 
 consummation of Christ's great work of re- 
 demption, either in our own souls, unless it should 
 be effected near the close of life, on the brink 
 
273 
 
 of the grave. And its universal effect, we have 
 placed far, far away, even at some remote period 
 of the world's history, which we are quite 
 willing shall not be in our day. 
 
 The prophets have spoken in the most eleva- 
 ted and glowing strains in regard to the Messi- 
 ah's kingdom and reign on earth ; when nation 
 shall not lift up sword against nation, neither 
 shall they learn war any more, but their swords 
 shall be beat into plough-shares, and their 
 spears into pruning hooks. Wlien the lion and 
 the lamb shall lie down together, and nothing 
 shall hurt or destroy in all God' holy moun- 
 tain. 
 
 In the New Testament, Christ's coming and 
 kingdom is spoken of in exalted terms — "For 
 the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His 
 Father, with His angels ; and then shall He 
 reward every man according to his works." 
 Matt, xvi, 27. "When Christ, who is our life, 
 shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him 
 in glory." Col. iii, 4. "So Christ was once offer- 
 ed to bear the sins of many ; and unto them 
 that look for Him, shall he appear the second 
 time without sin unto salvation." Heb. ix, 28. 
 Texts might be multiplied in regard to this 
 
274 
 
 subject ; I will add but one more. "And the 
 seventh angel sounded ; and there were great 
 voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, 
 and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever 
 and ever." Rev. xi, 15. 
 
 2d. — The manner of His coming. 
 As He went into heaven, so will He come 
 in like manner again ; so said the angels to the 
 astonished disciples. "And while they looked 
 steadfastly towards heaven as he went up, be- 
 hold, two men stood by them, in white apparel ; 
 which also said, ye men of Gallilee, why stand 
 ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus 
 which is taken up from you into heaven, shall 
 so come in like manner, as ye have seen Him 
 go into heaven." Acts i, 10, 11. All consistent 
 christians, believe that Christ ascended up into 
 heaven, in the same body in which he appeared 
 to His disciples at different times after His re- 
 surrection. Therefore, it is fairly presumable 
 that He will come personally. Again. "Be- 
 hold, He Cometh with clouds ; and every eye 
 shall see him, and they also which pierced 
 Him ; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail 
 because of Him. Even so. Amen." E-ev. i, 7. 
 
275 
 
 The objector may say that Christ cannot 
 come personally, as in that case He could not 
 be omnipresent — that every eye could not behold 
 him on earth if He were confined to a physical 
 location. These difficulties exist not with an 
 omnipotent God. Nor should we limit the 
 Holy One of Israel in this day of wonderful — 
 almost miraculous light. Fallible, ignorant 
 men, can now regulate and control the magnet- 
 ic fluid so perfectly and mysteriously, that dis- 
 tance is almost annihilated, and those who are 
 separated by hundreds and thousands of miles, 
 can converse together ! 
 
 It is not, however, important that we should 
 either know, or be able to define the manner 
 of Christ's coming, it is enough for us to know 
 that He will come ; the manner we leave to a 
 God of infinite wisdom and omnipotent power. 
 
 3d. The time. — Man should not presume to 
 be wise above that which is written. Secret 
 things belong to God, and those which are re- 
 vealed, to us and our children. As God 
 has wisely and mercifully concealed from man 
 the day of his dissolution, so has He seen good 
 to conceal from us the time of His coming. 
 Christ has plainly informed us that it will be as 
 24* 
 
276 
 
 a thief in the night — at an unexpected hour. 
 Therefore, every prudent individual should look 
 for, and expect that glorious event, every day, 
 every hour ; nor presume or dare to live one 
 day, or one hour unprepared to meet the Lord 
 Jesus with joy at His coming. Who of us 
 would rejoice, to see Christ make His glorious 
 appearance now — this moment ? To all such I 
 would say, be of good cheer, the night is far 
 spent, the glorious morning is at hand, when 
 the Sun of Righteousness shall arise to set no 
 more. 
 
 The present state of the world, and of the 
 church, indicate the immediate appearance of 
 Christ as conclusively as the budding of the 
 trees bespeak the opening spring, and the re- 
 turn of summer ; those signs, and the fearful 
 representations given of that day, should alarm 
 us all, and cause us to live momentarily prepa- 
 red for that great event. The Lord Jesus gives 
 us the following salutary caution, in regard to 
 that day : "And take heed to yourselves, lest 
 at any time your hearts be overcharged with 
 surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of 
 this life, and so that day come upon you una- 
 wares. For as a snare shall it come on all 
 
277 
 
 them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." 
 Luke xxi, 34, 35. 
 
 Again. — "Likewise also as in the days of 
 Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, 
 they sold, they planted, they builded ; but the 
 same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained 
 fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed 
 them all. Even thus shall it be, when the Son 
 of Man is revealed." Luke xvii, 28 — 30. 
 
 With these solemn and alarming declarations 
 continually sounding in our ears, can we live 
 carelessly one moment, without a pure and holy 
 heart ; and perhaps contending earnestly about 
 meats and drinks^— about forms and ceremo- 
 nies ? Nay, should we not rather fast and pray, 
 day and night, until our hearts are purified by 
 the precious blood of Jesus — until we can stand 
 by faith, continually before God, * unblamable 
 and unrebukable in His sight? Amen. Lord 
 awake a guilty world ; and a slumbering church 
 to a sense of our imminent danger. 
 
LEARNING AND LEARNED INSTI- 
 TUTIONS. 
 
 I NOW approach a subject of vital importance 
 to the church ; and I am fully aware that in the 
 expression of my sentiments in regard to it, I 
 shall stand far — very far in the minority. Few, 
 very few, particularly in the ministry, will con- 
 sider my sentiments either orthodox or reason- 
 able. If, however, I can have God's word and 
 reason's voice with me, I shall have nothing to 
 fear. Noah stood almost alone in his day. Lot 
 found very few who were willing to go with him 
 when he fled from a devoted city. The Lord 
 Jesus and his little band of followers were very 
 far in the minority, but they were not cast down. 
 I will, therefore, take courage — put my trust 
 alone in Israel's God, and venture to show my 
 opinion also. 
 
 My remarks in this place will be confined 
 to the subject of learning and learned institu- 
 tions in connection with the church. I do not 
 intend to undervalue knowledge or human learn- 
 ing — I do not believe the unsound and enthusi- 
 
2T9 
 
 astic doctrine that "ignorance is the mother of 
 devotion." It will, however, be admitted by 
 every unprejudiced mind, either in, or out of 
 the church, that good things, nay, the best 
 things on earth, may be abused and misplaced, 
 and thus become curses rather than blessings ; 
 even literary institutions, when they are found 
 out of their legitimate place, may induce discord 
 rather than harmony. I assume the position that 
 colleges and literary institutions belong to the 
 world's department, and not to the church. 
 The Lord Jesus says of his followers, who con- 
 stitute the church — Ye are not of the world, I 
 have chosen you out of the world, marvel not, 
 therefore, that the world hate you. Money has 
 been called the mammon of unrighteousness — 
 THE GOD OF THIS WORLD ; and one reason why 
 it is so called, is on account of the power it pos- 
 sesses, and the homage generally paid to those 
 who have it in their possession. Learning, (by 
 which I mean a finished collegiate education,) 
 has still greater power. The rich man may op- 
 press the poor, and cause his power to be felt 
 in divers ways ; yet were he an ignorant man, 
 he would be looked on by men of refinement 
 with pity and contempt ; but an accomplished 
 
280 
 
 education will procure for its possessor an hon- 
 orable reception in kings' courts, and secure to 
 him (if he is an upright man) the friendship and 
 admiration of the distinguished men of the world 
 universally. In ordinary cases neither the rich, 
 nor the learned and wise men, will willingly bow 
 to the CROSS of Jesus Christ, or treat those who 
 consistently bear it, with common respect ; 
 should they be members or ministers of the 
 church, when they speak on the subject of the 
 cross, they confine all the pain, and shame, and 
 reproach connected therewith to Jesus Christ 
 exclusively, nor will they touch it with one of 
 their fingers. Paul gloried in the cross of 
 Christ, not only in theory or imagination, but 
 in reality ; by it he was crucified unto the world, 
 viz. he was exposed to nakedness, and buffeting, 
 and persecutions ; and was counted as the filth 
 and ofi'scouring of all things — in these he glo- 
 ried ; but generally our learned and wise men 
 will beg to be excused from such exultation. I 
 know there are, and have been, in every age of 
 the world, honorable exceptions to this general 
 rule. When the circumstances of the church 
 require the aid of human learning, God can call 
 a Moses from the king's court, or a Saul of Tar- 
 
281 
 
 sus from tlie feet of Gamaliel, and when they 
 are powerfully convicted and converted to God, 
 they will choose rather to suffer affliction with 
 the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures 
 of sin for a season — they will esteem the re- 
 proaches of Christ greater riches than the trea- 
 sures of Egypt; their language will be, "Yea 
 doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my 
 Lord ; for whom I have suffered the loss of all 
 things, and do count them but dung, that I may 
 win Christ, and be found in him not having on 
 mine own righteousness which is of the law," &c. 
 In modern times there have been many burn- 
 ing and shining lights in the church, who were 
 men of extensive learning, as they were also of 
 deep piety. The Wesleys and Fletcher, and 
 others connected with them, shone as flaming 
 heralds of the cross, and were abundantly suc- 
 cessful under the influence of divine grace, in 
 reforming and purifying the church, and also a 
 wicked world. It was not, however, necessary, 
 nor agreeable to the order of the divine econo- 
 my that all who preached the gospel should be 
 learned men in that day ; the greater part of the 
 labor, even of preaching, was performed by un- 
 
282 
 
 learned men. Especially was the implanation, 
 and the triumphant progress of Methodism, or 
 pure and undefiled religion, in these United 
 States eifected principally by unlearned men. 
 And at the commencement of the gospel of Jesus 
 Christ on earth, the principal part of the labor 
 and efficient work, was performed by ignorant 
 and unlearned men. Now, is it reasonable to 
 suppose that the Lord Jesus when he laid the 
 corner stone of his church on earth, could make 
 a mistake, or set an example which his follow- 
 ers in all after ages could not pursue with safety 
 and success ? Jesus Christ could have called in 
 to his aid the learned and wise men of his day, 
 but he chose in his wisdom to act otherwise, he 
 called his disciples generally from the lower 
 walks of life — from the fishing net, &c. If there 
 ever was a time or circumstances that called for 
 human learning, it was at the commencement of 
 the gospel dispensation, when an error in doc- 
 trine, or in experience, or in practice, would 
 have been attended with the most pernicious, if 
 not ruinous consequences. It may be said that 
 the apostles acted under the immediate influence 
 and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. True, and 
 who can prove by the word of God, that the in- 
 
283 
 
 fluence of the Holy Spirit has ever been (by 
 divine appointment) withdrawn from Christ's 
 church and his ministering servants ? If (as it 
 is believed by many) the gospel and the grace 
 of God shines brighter when it emanates from 
 men of learning, than when it is preached by 
 unlearned men, why did not Christ select all 
 his apostles from the learned circle ? Surely 
 wisdom and prudence would unequivocally dic- 
 tate that course, as the best which could be con- 
 sidered greatly preferable at a later period in 
 the history of the church. 
 
 If, therefore, the church of Christ was origi- 
 nally built up principally by unlearned men ; 
 and when God greatly revived the cause of pure 
 religion in the earth, and visited his people in 
 great power in the eighteenth century through 
 the instrumentality of J. Wesley and others, the 
 work was effected principally by unlearned men, 
 is it reasonable to suppose that it must now be 
 perpetuated, and secured from error only by 
 human learning ? Learning has not a tendency 
 to harmonize and unite the church of Christ, or 
 to dissipate the clouds and difficulties which 
 seem to rest_on many parts of God's written 
 word ; on the contrary, extensive and ruinous 
 25 
 
284 
 
 discord has been introduced into the bosom of 
 the church by learned and pious men. The doc- 
 trine of election and reprobation, which has 
 filled the Protestant churches with bitterness 
 and discord, and still continues to becloud the 
 glory of the Sun of Righteousness in many parts 
 of the Lord's vineyard — even this unreasona- 
 ble theory emanated from a man of talent, and 
 learning, who is also represented to have sus- 
 tained a good and pious character. Although 
 this extraordinary system of divinity, has been 
 ably, and I think conclusively refuted by many 
 learned and pious authors ; and never was it 
 made to feel its own weakness and deformity as 
 sensibly as it was under the ministry of the 
 early, but unlearned Methodist preachers, who 
 assailed it with the powerful weapons of truth 
 and reason, under the omnipotent influence of 
 the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven ; yet it 
 is still believed and advocated by many learned 
 and wise, and professedly pious ministers of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Many of the advocates 
 of the numerous and conflicting creeds which 
 abound in the present day, are learned, and 
 wise, and good men ; yet they inflexibly adhere 
 to the doctrine which has been installed into 
 
285 
 
 their minds by the force of education; and 
 their prejudices are generally, if not uniformly 
 strengthened and confirmed by the power of 
 their superior learning, which enables them to 
 fortify and defend their errors by learned and 
 specious arguments. It may, therefore, be said, 
 without fear of successful contradiction, that 
 learning does not particularly qualify ministers 
 to enforce the plain, simple, experimental and 
 practical truths of the gospel, as efficiently as 
 it does to defend their own peculiar views and 
 tenets, and to explore what they esteem the er- 
 rors of others. Hence a perpetual war is kept 
 up by learned divines, not so much in support 
 of truth and righteousness, as to establish and 
 confirm their own peculiar sentiments. V7hen 
 young men are educated with a view to the 
 ministry, they naturally conclude that as they 
 know more than others, they must be better ; 
 consequently they frequently, and almost uni- 
 formly assume an air of importance, altogether 
 incompatible with the holy religion of their meek 
 and lowly Redeemer. Nor does this unholy 
 leaven exist in a latent state ; they soon begin to 
 think that their talents and intellectual advanta- 
 ges entitle them to a higher seat in the syna- 
 
286 
 
 gogue than their unlearned but pious brother. 
 Hence a train of evils are engendered in their 
 own bosom, which soon diffuses its influence 
 among others, and contaminates the house of 
 God with pride and dissension, where nothing 
 but hupiility, contentment and love should exist. 
 Our learned young men soon become critics, 
 and esteem a grammatical error made by a 
 preacher, a sufficient crime to expel the ignora- 
 mus from the ministry. Many old veterans of 
 the cross, who have borne the burden and the 
 heat of the day, and into whose labors those 
 young students have entered, are afraid to speak 
 in their presence, lest they should make a mis- 
 take, and thereby become objects of ridicule. 
 This is a grievous evil, which many worthy ser- 
 vants of the Lord Jesus have been doomed to 
 writhe under in silent anguish for years. 
 
 As extensive learning is not an essential 
 qualification for a gospel ministry, their divine 
 Master has promised to give them a mouth and 
 wisdom which all their adversaries shall not be 
 able to gainsay nor resist. They speak by the 
 authority of God, accompanied with the sacred 
 influence of the Holy Ghost, and their word 
 reaches the sinners' hearts, and becomes the 
 
287 
 
 power of God unto salvation. It is not reason- 
 able to suppose that God calls foolish and im- 
 proper characters to the work of the ministry ; 
 and though they may not have the wisdom or 
 the learning of the world to lean upon, yet have 
 they the more important wisdom which cometh 
 from above, and fully qualifies them to preach the 
 gospel in its purity with power and efficiency. 
 They are taught of the Holy Spirit of God ; 
 hence they do not strive about words to no 
 profit, but to the subverting of the hearers ; 
 they study to show themselves approved unto 
 God, workmen who need not be ashamed, right- 
 ly dividing the word of truth. It is worthy of 
 notice, that the gospel shines brighter, and God 
 is more glorified, by the ministry of unlearned 
 than of learned men. When Paul (who was 
 known to be a learned man) reasoned power- 
 fully before Festus, he cried out, "Paul, thou 
 art beside thyself, much learning doth make 
 thee mad ;" thus giving the praise and glory to 
 learning; but when Peter and John healed 
 the lame man, and preached Christ powerfully 
 to the audience, they gave the glory to God. 
 ''Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and 
 John, and perceived that they were unlearned 
 25* 
 
288 
 
 and IGNORANT men, they marvelled ; and took 
 knowledge of them, that they had been with 
 Jesus." 
 
 If extensive learning is an essential qualifica- 
 tion for a minister of Jesus Christ, and will 
 indeed (as many believe) qualify its possessor 
 to enjoy a higher degree of happiness in heaven, 
 than an ignorant and unlearned man, Christ 
 certainly erred when he delivered the following 
 benediction, accompanied with a most solemn 
 malediction, "Blessed be ye poor, for yours is 
 the kingdom of God. But woe unto you that 
 are rich ! for ye have received your consola- 
 tion." There are very few of the poor of this 
 world, who are, or can ever hope to be men of 
 learning, unless it is through the charity of those 
 who are w^ealthy; while the rich men of this 
 world, are almost uniformly favored with learn- 
 ing ; yet hath God chosen the poor of this world, 
 rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which 
 he hath promised to them that love him. 
 
 I shall now appeal to the law and to the tes- 
 timony, by the authority of God's holy word, 
 and that rigidly and faithfully applied, must 
 we all stand or fall. There is not, I apprehend, 
 one plain text in the New Testanaent, which 
 
289 
 
 proves that earthly learning or wisdom is 
 necessary to qualify a minister of Jesus Christ, 
 for his holy duty. Christ says, "I thank thee, 
 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because 
 thou hast hid these things from the wise and 
 PRUDENT, and hast revealed them unto babes, 
 even so Father, for so it seemed good in thy 
 sight." Matt, xi, 25, 26. May it not be, that 
 in accordance with this divine declaration, the 
 purity, simplicity, and harmony of the gospel 
 has been *'hid" from our D. D's, therefore, 
 division and discord has fallen on the M. E. 
 Church ? When John sent his disciples to 
 Jesus to inquire whether He was the Christ or 
 not, the Lord Jesus said, in reply to those 
 messengers, "Go and show John again those 
 things which ye do hear and see ; the blind 
 receive their sight, and the lame walk, the 
 lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the 
 dead are raised up, and the poor have the gos- 
 pel preached unto them." Matt, xi, 4, 5. The 
 poor are not often found among the wise and 
 learned of this world ; neither does it require 
 extensive learning to qualify a man to preach 
 the gospel to them. It may be said, "If we 
 are qualified to preach the gospel correctly and 
 
290 
 
 learnedly to the rich, the poor may receive it 
 also." Not so; the poor cannot comprehend 
 or understand the import of many words and 
 phrases in common use among the learned ; 
 but on the contrary, if we speak the plain una- 
 dorned language of propriety, simplicity and 
 the holy scriptures, the rich and learned can 
 fully comprehend the bearing and import of 
 every word and sentiment expressed. Thus 
 the wise and learned individual cannot but with 
 the utmost difficulty obey the command of Je- 
 sus Christ — go and preach the gospel to every 
 creature, for they have received a language in 
 the college, which renders them partially bar- 
 barians to the ignorant and the unlearned. It 
 will, I apprehend, be generally, if not univer- 
 sally conceded, that the real design of exten- 
 sive learning is not to qualify us to preach the 
 gospel to the poor and the illiterate, but to the 
 rich and the learned. Were the point conce- 
 ded, (which is not the case,) that extensive 
 learning is a necessary appendage to qualify us 
 to preach the gospel to the learned and the 
 rich, would it be wise or prudent to qualify 
 every minister, (that too at a considerable ex- 
 pense of money and of time,) to preach to a 
 
291 
 
 portion of the community who are seldom call- 
 ed ; and so slender is their hope of salvation, 
 that our divine Master says, that it is easier 
 for a camel to pass through the eye of a nee- 
 dle, than for a rich man to enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven — the anathema of our di- 
 vine Redeemer rests on them — "woe unto you 
 that are rich;" and as it regards this subject, 
 Paul makes the following strong remarks : "For 
 ye see your calling, brethren, how that not 
 many WISE men after the flesh, not many 
 MIGHTY, not many noble are called : but God 
 hath chosen the foolish things of this world to 
 confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the 
 weak things of this world to confound the 
 things which are mighty ; and the base things 
 of this world, and the things which are despis- 
 ed, hath God chosen, yea, and things which 
 are not, to bring to nought things that are." 
 1 Cor. i, 26 — 28. I cannot conceive how it is 
 possible for any individual possessed of common 
 understanding, to misunderstand the apostle's 
 argument in the above passage, which will cer- 
 tainly prove anything else, rather than that the 
 learning and wisdom of this world is necessary 
 to qualify a minister of Christ to preach the 
 
292 
 
 gospel. The same Apostle expressly declares 
 that the wisdom of this world is foolishness 
 with God. Again he says, "For Christ sent 
 me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel ; 
 not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of 
 Christ should be made of none effect." I might 
 transcribe nearly every paragraph in the first, 
 second, and third chapters of Paul's first letter 
 to the Corinthian church, with many other 
 passages interspersed throughout the New Tes- 
 tament, to prove that extensive learning is not 
 necessary to the success of a gospel preacher, 
 but frequently a direct hindrance. I will only 
 advert to the following quotation, to which I 
 must beg the reader's most serious attention. 
 "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came 
 not with excellency of speech, or of wisdom, 
 43claring unto you the testimony of God. For 
 I determined not to know anything among you, 
 save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I 
 was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in 
 much trembling. And my speech, and my 
 preaching, was not with enticing words of 
 man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the 
 spirit, and in power. That your faith should 
 not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the 
 
293 
 
 power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom 
 among them that are perfect ; yet not the wis- 
 dom of this world, nor of the princes of this 
 world, that come to nought. But we speak the 
 wisdom of God in a ministry, even the hidden 
 wisdom which God ordained before the world, to 
 our glory." Paul was evidently, himself, a learn- 
 ed man ; but he laid even his learning down a 
 willing sacrifice at the shrine of his divine Mas- 
 ter's cross, together with his other numerous 
 earthly distinctions, and went out, in obedience 
 to the call and command of the Lord Jesus, in- 
 to the streets and lanes of the city, and into 
 all the world preaching the gospel to the poor 
 and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind ; nor 
 did he fail to warn the rich, and the wise of their 
 imminent danger, while he invited them to for- 
 sake those vanities, and seek mercy and eternal 
 life, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was 
 intimately acquainted with human nature, and 
 also the power and efiicacy of divine grace 
 when he said — "Knowledge pufieth up, but 
 charity edifieth." As God hates a proud look, 
 should we not feel somewhat afraid of that 
 which has a direct tendency to swell a haughty 
 worm, and thereby render us offensive in the 
 
294 
 
 sight of God? We should dread more than 
 death, any circumstance, or creature, or thing 
 which may by any means turn us from the un- 
 frequented, but honorable path of deep and 
 genuine humility, which always bears the im- 
 press of the meek and lowly Saviour's foot- 
 steps. 
 
 The Lord Jesus asks the important question, — 
 "How can you believe which receive honor one 
 of another, and seek not the honor that cometh 
 from God only ? In open view of that danger- 
 ous error, he carefully guards us against giving 
 or receiving titles of distinction. He says, 
 "The Scribes and Pharisees love greeting in the 
 market, and to be called of men, Rabbi — Rabbi, 
 but be not yet called Rabbi, for one is your 
 Master even Christ, and ye are all brethren. 
 But he that is greatest among you shall be your 
 servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself 
 shall be abased." Now, are not our colleges 
 openly and palpably arrayed against the senti- 
 ments and the positive commands of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ? Those institutions of learning 
 deal out carelessly titles of honorable distinc- 
 tion, and many of our leading men in Israel re- 
 ceive them without one objection. God ! the 
 
295 
 
 God of our fathers, arouse the church, and may 
 her strong men of Israel leave the lap of Deli- 
 lah, and escape from the arms of the god of this 
 world, before the Philistines put out both our 
 eyes. 
 
 From the weight of testimony found in the 
 New Testament against extensive learning as a 
 qualification for the ministry, and the little t-hat 
 is said in favor of it, should we not pause, and 
 reflect, and fast and pray for pure light from 
 heaven on this momentous subject ? Is it not 
 possible that we may be found on the side of 
 the world, fighting against God, and the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ ? As the gospel 
 breathes a constant stream of mercy to the poor, 
 and denounces the rich, if we must interfere in 
 the subject of education, should we not rather 
 recommend and encourage schools for the ben- 
 efit of the poor, something similar to the district 
 schools, now established in most of our states 
 and counties. 
 
 Very few except the rich are benefited by our 
 colleges. A poor man cannot pay the board and 
 incidental expenses connected with any of our 
 colleges, were he to receive the tuition gratis. 
 Nor is it reasonable or right in the sight of God, 
 26 
 
296 
 
 to receive money from the poor to educate rich 
 men's children. Let the wealthy part of the 
 community and of the church manage their own 
 concerns, while we turn with the blessings of 
 the gospel to the poor ; and if their education 
 devolves on the church even in part, let us re- 
 commend all our members to give their children 
 a good English education — nay, let us see that 
 it is done ; and then teach them (by example 
 and precept) to save the money now wasted for 
 fine clothes, and houses and furniture, and rich 
 food, and live like our Divine Master, a self-de- 
 nyingjlife in all things ; and teach them further, 
 to apply the money thus saved to the purchase 
 of good religious books, including ancient and 
 modern history ; and then let all the time now 
 wasted in visiting and idle conversation, be oc- 
 cupied in reading, meditation and prayer. An 
 individual with a good plain English education, 
 and a mind well stored with scripture and his- 
 torical knowledge, is better prepared to make a 
 good and a useful citizen, than that man who has 
 been polished for years within the walls of a 
 college, and far better prepared to make a good 
 and successful minister of Jesus Christ, when 
 God converts his soul, and fills it with holy zeal 
 and burning love for God and all mankind. 
 
297 
 
 Can our wise and learned men account for 
 the simple, but astounding fact, that in the early 
 days of Methodism, though she was frowned on 
 and despised by the wise and great men of this 
 world, and her preachers were generally un- 
 learned men, yet she fought her way trium- 
 phantly through every opposing dijQficulty to a 
 high and holy eminence in piety, in numbers, 
 and in influence ; and now in these last days, 
 we have raised up colleges and seminaries of 
 learning in abundance, and our learned men, 
 our D. D's abound everywhere, while our beau- 
 tiful fabric, raised up by the 2eal and purity and 
 faith of our unlearned fathers, totters,>nd God's 
 house is divided in twain, which portends, by 
 divine authority, speedy ruin ; even now dis- 
 cord abounds through our ranks generally north 
 and south ; confidence is fearfully shaken, and 
 the prospect before us, to every piouSj rational 
 mind, is anything but prosperous ? May we 
 not lean on the world for support, either its 
 money, its popularity, or its polished learning, 
 but return to the feet of Jesus, and there learn 
 to do our first works over again, that we may 
 live and not die ? 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 Jim 1 &mn 
 
 
 
 bBi 1 ,fi- 
 
 S/\ T 
 
 
 
 ^M**ii"*«"^^ 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORO 
 
 
 
 PRINTED INU.S. A.