1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUBE. 



535 



JllYgEIiF WD jaY]\[EI(5pB0R?. 



Whether ye feat, or Uriiik, or whatsoever ye do, 

 do all to the glory of God.— I. Cob. 10: 31. 



fNE great reason why we fail in having 

 pleasant relations with all of our 

 neighbors is because we have different 

 opinions in regard to different mat- 

 ters. It is true, we have often been 

 advised to agree to disagree on disputed 

 points, and so let the matter drop. But 

 this state of affairs is often unfortunate, ' It 

 was recently stated in my hearing, that, in 

 a certain town in the Stale of Ohio, having 

 a population of about 500 people, there are 

 seven different churcli buildings. Notwith- 

 standing this ample opportunity of giving 

 every individual, as it would seem, the 

 privilege of worshii)ing God according to 

 the dictates of his own conscience, the facts 

 are, that, when the speal^er visited that 

 town in behalf of the Sunday-schools of 

 Ohio, the whole seven churches, except one, 

 were standing idle, without services of any 

 kind; and this one church had preaching 

 only once in four weeks, and the minister 

 came from some other place to preach the 

 gospel to this town of 500 people. I hope 

 this statement is an exaggeration ; and in 

 thinking it over I have felt that it must be 

 an exaggeration. And yet I remember that, 

 in little towns within a few miles of my 

 home, there are churches that cost consid- 

 erable money, standing empty and idle. In 

 one place, where there is but little more 

 than a store and a blacksmith shop, there 

 are four churches— two of them unoccupied. 

 I do not know whether these different de- 

 nominations liave agreed to disagree, and 

 drop the subject, or not ; but it is certainly 

 a very sad state of affairs to contemplate. 

 It certainly is not according to the spirit of 

 our text, to do all for the glory and honor of 

 God, that tins state of affairs should con- 

 tinue. Unbelievers can hardly be blamed 

 for looking on with a smile, and pe.haps 

 even jesting and making sport of those who 

 profess to be God's people. I can hardly 

 blame them fitr saying, " See, these Chris- 

 tian people have so many separate notions 

 that they have built seven different church- 

 es ; and even noic they are not satisfied. 

 With all these accommodations they can 

 not scrape up enough Christian grace to 

 keep up regular services in even one of 

 them. Had they not better tear them down or 

 use them for some useful purpose, and do as 

 we doV Are not our chances of heaven (if 

 there be any) just as good as theirs?" 



Many of us have been fondly hoping that 

 the state of affairs mentioned above is pass- 

 ing away ; that the walls between different 

 denominations are slowly coming down, 

 and that Christ's spirit is drawing all man- 

 kind nearer to each other ; that intolerance 

 and bigotry are passing away. 1 do believe 

 that such is the case, dear friends •. but may 

 God help us in the urgent need that every 

 Christian believer shall closely examine his 

 own heart to see if it be not possible that 

 he is a stumbling-block in the way of allow- 

 ing God's kingdom to come, and his will be 

 done on earth as it is in heaven. The above 



thoughts were prompted by a kind letter, 

 part of which I give you below. 



KEKPING SATURDAY INSTEAD OF SUNDAY. 



Mr. Root:— I have recently read an extract from 

 an article said to have been written by you, to the 

 effect that you would not gather your maple sap 

 from 13 o'clock at night on Sunday until the same 

 time upon the following night. In your A B C book 

 I also find similar sentiments in regard to hiving 

 bees upon that day; and from this and other of 

 your writings I gather the idea that you have a 

 high regard for sacred things, and do not allow the 

 cares of this world to absorb your attention to the 

 exclusion of things more enduring, as most busy 

 people do. Will you now pardon me for taking a 

 portion of your valuable time with thoughts of 

 mine? I also, though leading a busy life, am much 

 interested in eternal things, and feel the necessity 

 of a careful observance of the Sabbath, and also of 

 the remaining nine commandments. I lay aside the 

 cares of the week to perform the duties of Sabbath- 

 school superintendent and church elder; but while 

 I am engaged in this work, the workman's saw and 

 hammer may be heard in your factory, and the 

 busy hum of a thousand enterprises can be heard in 

 the land, perhaps with greater vigor than upon other 

 days, preparing for the morrow's rest; for our lit- 

 tle band of forty persons or more lay our burdens 

 down Friday eve, as the sun disappears in the west, 

 and labor ceases until the same sign proclaims 

 the Sabbath ended upon the following evening. 

 Thus in this land of ours two days are kept, each 

 held sacred by its adherents, and both parties zeal- 

 ous in the cause of (Jod. I am a humble member 

 of one class, you of the other. One of us must be 

 wrong, and no other conclusion can be reached. If 

 it is 1 who am zealous in observing a false Sabbath, 

 week after week, then some friend, imbued with 

 the Spirit of the Master, has a duty to perform in 

 demonstrating to me my mistake; and if it is you, 

 then a similar duty lies upon some one (and why 

 not me?) to do the same to you. Each of us, no 

 doubt, is sure of his ground. Every variety of be- 

 lief necessarily implies this where opinions differ. 

 * * * ********* 



BEGINNING THE SADBATH AT SUNDOWN. 



You seem to legard the sin of Sabbath-breaking 

 as beginning at midnight. Do you not know that 

 this is the civil day, and comparatively modern in 

 its origin? Do you think God is so plastic or elastic 

 as to mold himself to human customs and whims? 

 This would cause the Lord to reason something like 

 this: " 1 have said. From even until even shall ye 

 celebrate your Sabbaths, Lev. 33:33; and in Neh. 

 13: 19 1 have made this same thing plain to you, but 

 you want it from midnight to midnight. Have 

 your own way if you want it; mine doesn't amount 

 to any thing." 



\'ou will find in Matt. 38:1 these words: "In the 

 end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the 

 first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and 

 the other Mary to see the sepulcher." Have you 

 any idea they came at midnight to sec the sepul- 

 cher? + * ******** 



Can we trust a day that has no divine sanction, 

 but cdtideiTination only? I have for a long time 

 concluded that 1 can not, and find it no cross to 

 submit to the inconvenience. Did not Paul say. 

 Acts 30: 30, that he kept back nothing that was prof- 

 itable unto you? He certainly kept back the mat' 



