•mm
m
Zion’s Landmark.
47
cmk;1usui-('. aiu! had never had any
‘Ueh recogiiition of being sheep as
the Jews had. The Jews esteemed
'he.-ie (ientiies as very unfit olyccts to
receive au'i'cy (roin God. Even Pe
ster eschew('[ all idea of polluting
himself hy leeding on such ooinmon
and unclean beasts as the Gentiles, as
seeti enehned in the net let down
Iroin heaven. How much more
would the Pharisees scorn equality
with such, since their prnfessio7ts were
that thev were better than other men.
They could not tolerate a common
man—a sinner— f the Jews even.
In another limited sense it would
apply to the Jews, according to tlteir
I ationality, and to ciiristians too.—
Tiiey were all sheep, that is, manifestly-..
so—had been in the fold. The 'hist'
one takes his journey into afarcoan-
trv—depai'ts from truth and obdi-
ence, whicli atfords the only pastures
land for sheep, and goes into the for
bidden ways. Sheep are very much
disposed to stray, considering what
innocent, helpless creatures they are,
how utterit" unable to protect them
selves and really are not disposed
to do mischief; and when it is also
cxinsi()tred tliat they have such a
kind, good shepherd, and such good
pasture land, and withal they love it
yo well, and enjov it so much while
in it, and hate false ways ,so muclr,
and are sure to fare so bad when
they get in forbidden ground : yet
they do stray so much. Witness the
younger .son who left his fither and
spent all his substance iii riotous.liv
ing. flow quickly he comes to swine’s
food, yet none pities him. How low
bers his father’s house. But how
graciou.-^lv his father receives him.-- j
fSo there is joy in heaven over one ;
sinner that re,jents. Yet tiie brother ^
who nevt'r went oft raises the great- j
est obiection. Some Christians who
have nmiained with Christ all the ;
while and have never strayed (if I
there be such,) cannot well fellow- .
ship a poor erring brother who de- i
parts so far from the truth; but, :
oven when be returns and the fatted -
call'is killed for him—and there is j
rejoicing, will complain that there |
was never made any ado over them
—that they have always obeyed yet
they r.ever r(‘ceived as much as a
kid. Well, if they have never trans-
gre.ssed the laws of Christ (I mean
after becoming chriAtians), but have
always walked orderly, there is no
need of killing a calf for them ; they
have plenty without that; they are
all right any way. But the poor
straggler is full of shame any way,
and needs .some great encouragement
for him. After all, the obedient,
well-behaved Christian is far better
off, even if there is no great rejoicing
over him. All is his. ^ye fb» not
.spread a feast every day for our wive.s,
like we would for a visitor, yet we
love our wives much more, and they
really have all. Those Christians
that err and blunder a great deal,
and fall among wolves and get strip
ped, and have to bo hunted up, awd,
when found or reclaimed, there is
great rejoicing over them, and now
and then they get a good feast, but
generally are nearly starved, are, af
ter all, nothing like as well off as the
i«'od. ordv*rlv, well-behaved chris-
tJ J » f-
tians who abide in Christ, and yet
who feel that they have no experience
hardly, no kid, no manil'estations of
love, no joys, &c.
TJimi) PAUT.
Brother J. H. Carter, of Georgia,
desire.', my view of Zech, 13 : 8, 9.
“At d it shall come to pass, that in all the
land, saith the Lord, two irart.'? th.ercin slfall
he ctit ofl'and die; hut the third shall be left
therein.
“ .And I will hiin?: the third part through
the fire, and will refine them as .silver is re
fined, and will try them as gold is tried : they
shall call on my name, and [ will hear them :
I will sav. It is my peo))le : and they shall
say. The Lord i.s my ttod.”
Zeelniriah was a bright prophet,
dwelling very prominently on the
Messiah’s kingdom—both in types,
such as thesecond temple, Zerubbahel,
&c., and also In direct declarations of
of
the advent of Christ and nature
liis kingdom.
He also refers to the character of
the Jews, and the effect of Christ’s
coming upon them. In the text Im-
fore us (which I will briefly treat of,)
two [larts, or a very large proportion
of the Jews, at the coming of Chri.st,
siiall be cut off and die ; wliile a tliird,
or only a small portion, shall be left
or shall he .saved. The meaning of
which i.s., that the faf*^ eater portion
of the Jews would be left desolate.—
] “Behold jour house/is left unto you
j,,desolatewould reject Christ and
I be condemned by his word, and- be
; de.stroyed by their enemies. But a
' small juimber would be preserved,
, called, and saved, or would find mer
cy and be brougiit through the^dire
and relined. Christ shouldsuddeiily
thono'h all looked for him. He wfr/ld '
^ ' ... 1
,«et as a refiner and juirifier of gold j
and silver, and [lurify the sons of Le
vi and purge them as gold and sil
ver, that thev might offer unto the
the children of Adam.
When men began to multiply on
the earth, and daughters were born
uiilo them, (that is wicked men,)
these sons of God began to marry
their daughters, according to their
own corrupt choice.
This was wicked: for corrupt
marriages have always been a source
and flood gale of much wickedne.ss.
When Christian men or women mar
ry tlirougli wantonne.ss, or are joined
to ungodly people in the solemn tie of
matrimony, merely through lust, it is
wicked. See among the .Jews wliat
wickedness was committed by uniaw-
fill nmrriages, and what punish
ments overtook them.
The offspring of these iiiijiroper
marriages was corrupt. The chil
dren were giants or mighty men in
wickedne.ss, Giants were always en-
eniios to Israel. In early days
mighty men, great .hunters, cfee., were
great robbers, great warriors, ami
great disturbers of the pcaci.' of man
kind. In this day great men, sucii
as warriors, are great enemies of man.
Men of renown are usually men fa
mous . for aceomplishiiig ambitious
and x^kiked designs, and wh.o prey
thus npoii the downfall of others.—
Sosne of the mo.st monstrous .corrup
tions of modern times are theoffspring
of unholy,alliances between tho.se
professing godIine.ss and the adulter
ous daughters of men—or worldly'
institutions hearing the name of re
ligion. The Iamb-like beast was the
greatest destroyer.
Jn eonseqneiice of this great cor-
rnptu)ii# which had spread far and.
time to the flood. This wa.« consid
erable res|)ite, showing the long-suf
fering of God in the days of Noah.
The flooii comes and destroys all
hut Noah and his family. What a
blousing to find favor in the eyes of
the LorJ. Oh the great ble.ssing for
God to lift up his countenance upon
us and give us peace.
OIVINfil NONE OFFENCE.
We sometimes are placed in cir
ca mstances where a strictly legal ob
ligation would not require us to do a
certain thing; but tho'O opposing u.s
expect us to do so and so; and if we
fail to do so they will reproach us
for not being honest—and merciful
as our professions represent us to be.
In such cases we had better suffer
wroiui, and thus blunt the sharp edge
of ridicule or malice. An example
for this occurs in scripture. They
asked Peter if his Master paid trib
ute. Peter ■■'aid he did : (iliongh in
truth he was frie,) and thus not un
der tribute. Tlie Savior reminds
Peter that tribute was
of strangers. Jbit Peter
the collectors had led t.k
tribute of Ifqy.
’.V/Api
- i ‘ ih:
ter a fishing, and
the first fish
moutii he wo
and-with th ^
thus avoid gi
in the proper
offense, we fl '
lietter tha«-gold
places we^would
poet to find a
SI.
Lord an offering in rigliteousne.ss.
Which answers to another prophet;
“I will als ) leave in the midst of thee
an afflicted and poor people, and they
shall trust in the name of the Lord.”
When being purged in the furnace
ofafillctiou how poor tliey feel. For
the furnace discovers dro.ss and prec
ious metal too. They will not per
ish, for the Lord will bring the third
part through tJiejire. They shall fol
low him through the regeneration,
and also in a personal, individual
quickening, leading to conviction.
mourmiur
repentance, &c., and en-
and twenty years and deterfftTi^
destroy him from the earth. By |
the.se improiier marriagesjie had be- 1
come flesh, or had corrupted his way. j
He was literal flesh before, as much |
as he was after that: but the mean- :
ing is, he had become exceedingly |
carnal or corrupt,so that every imagi
nation of the thought of his keart
was onlv evil ami that contiuually.
So it repented the Lord that he had
made man on the earth, and it griev
ed him at his heart. He had no
pleasure in such a creature, and said,
he would destroy him. Did he know
; beforehand what man would do? If
! he did not, how is he God ? He
I knew from the iiegiuning what man
I would do. But for a wise purpose of
I his own glory he made him, and for
.Jlfering in tl
WiflPIX iS \V0k8E ?
dure unto the end, like Peter did; i ^ purpose he destroyed him;
of
and they shall call on the name
the Lord, and he will hear them.
The Lord will own them as his
own people; he will not be aslnimed
of any that call on him truly : and
they shall receive the Spirit of adop
tion whereby they call God Father,
and shall say, “The Lord is my God,”
as Tliomas did.
1 y'ct it grieved him at his heart. God
! is a God of mercy and pity, and takes
I no pleasure in the death of the sin-
; ner.
I He changed his administration and
I de.stroyed man,&c. He does not re-
I pent as men do. He is not a man
thus to repent. He never does any-
t
tiling lorong or foolish to repent oj, as
To think wrong—or to both think
and act wrong? We sometimes heifr
people say one might a.s wefl prac
tice \vickednesii-. as to have foolish
thougiits which is sin._^ We ai’Q not
apologizing for vain thoughts; we
should hate them ; but it is worse to
put them in execution than merely
to entertain them. Do they ent.^’-
tain us? If one truly hates vain
thoughts he will not barber them and
much less will he execute thorn; hut
if one says it is no worse to practice
moanness than it is to think of it,
perhap.s that may be a plea of his in
defense of his bad condad.
The things that defile a man are
such as Jesus enumerate.s, as evil
i thoughts, murders, adulteries, forni-
' cation, thefts, false .witnesses, blas
phemies. They proceed out of the
‘ mouth and come forth from tlie heart.
I Of course evil thoughts are the be
ginnings of defilements, but if they
I are abhorred and su'piiressed that is
very different from cherishing them
and ])utting them into execution.
After all, a new heart is Kiven to
a Christian, a clean, sound iiTind,
which liates vain thoughts. What a,
precious sign of salvation therefore is
' it if one feels vile and abhors him
self for having foolish, wicked
r
%
WICKED MARUiAGES-GIANTS-
FLOOD.
man does. No power al)ove him ; thoughts, and feels that it is as bad,
can.ses him to repent, as man is oper- ] for him merely to have vain thoughts,
Brother John Proctor, of Georgia,
desires my view of Geu. 6 : 1, 6.
The sous of God I understand to
be the .sons of Seth, the offsiiriiig giv
en in the place of Abel. Lor when
Seth was born then men began to
call upon the name of the Lord, and
hence they are called the sons of God.
Bat the.^e &«ns of God were by nature
ated on to do so.. But it repented the
Lord. That is, he is just as much
God and a sovereign in his ehauging
his administration nr refienting, as he
is in any other of his indepeiidant ac
tions.
YYt man’s days shall be one hnn-
died and twenty years. The Ijord
was merciful even thus to give him
go much time. It was about that
as it IS
fill' another to }iut them m
practice. But very different is thf'
ca.se of the one who practices wieked-
! ne.ss, and pleads that it is no worse to
i do this than to prevent doing it. To
‘ the riglit .sort of a [lerson it is wretch-
1 ed to be harrowed with vile though ts.
1 How could he then bear to practice
' them? How much better to starve
^ them than to feeil and fatten them
I It is tlie things that C/m i out q,
' one’s heart that defile him.