FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

SERIES III.

VOL. IV.	B E T H A N Y, AUGUST, 1847.	NO. VIII.

      IT is indeed in the assembly of the saints, that gladness and rejoicing should fill the heart. It is here that we are, in an especial manner, permitted to draw near to Him that is the source of every pure and blissful emotion. In his presence there can be no sorrow, for there all tears are wiped away, and there are "pleasures forevermore." In the contemplation of his glory, which also he permits us to enjoy; in the ever-opening mysteries of redeeming love; in the radiance of that divine illumination which penetrates the moral and intellectual powers, and reveals the past, the present, and the future, what unfailing sources of happiness are found!

      And how delightful the reflection that this happiness can never end! That Infinity itself is our treasury of joy, in which are stored "the unsearchable riches of Christ"--that new discoveries await us, which Fancy's bright imaginings but dimly sketch, and that these shall give place to hopes more radiant, and a fruition still more glorious! It is thus that the unknown may forever continue to gratify our love of knowledge; and the untold mysteries of the universe augment that blissful experience which serves but to enlarge the capacity for enjoyment.

      How strangely attractive indeed, to us, are the mysteries by which we are encompassed! How wisely arranged is our progress, that new scenes continually open to our view, and lead us onward to a better future! How appropriate here the reflections of Chateaubriand, that all 'the beauty, sweetness and grandeur of life reside in its mysteries; and that no condition can be more deplorable than that of a man who can learn no more? What delight continually fills the heart of youth which knows as yet so little! What satiety depresses the feelings of age to which life's changes have been all revealed! How fortunate for the latter, when the secrets of life are ending, those of eternity commence! [450]

      'The feelings of love and modesty; of friendship and gratitude, are involved in obscurity; yet how strongly do they move the heart! The angelic virtue of charity loves to withdraw itself from all regards, as though to conceal its celestial origin. The pleasures of thought, also, are in those sciences which always leave something to be discovered, and fix our regards upon a perspective which is never to terminate.

      'If, in the bustling city, we survey a modern monument, whose origin or purpose is known, it excites no attention; but if we meet upon a desert shore a broken column or mutilated statue, worn by the lapse of ages, its pedestal covered with unknown characters, how interesting a subject of meditation it presents to the mind! Every thing is concealed, every thing is hidden in the universe. Man himself is the greatest mystery of the whole. Whence comes the spark which we call existence, and in what obscurity is it to be extinguished? Our birth and death are placed by the Eternal, like two veiled phantoms, at the two extremities of our career. The one produces the inconceivable gift of life--mysterious amidst its light; the other quenches that brilliant spark in the obscurity of its own impenetrable darkness.'

      It is not surprizing that men should have availed themselves of the influence of mystery upon the human mind, to impose upon it the chains of superstition. An affected sanctity; a claim of angelic visions; or of a miraculous power to heal, secure at once the wonder and submission of the throng. The strange accents of the unknown language of the Mass; the awful mystery of transubstantiation; the solemn ceremonies of a worship imperfectly comprehended, and rendered still more imposing by symbolic images, and mysterious scrolls dimly perceived in the empurpled light of stained and Gothic windows, or through the smoke of fragrant incense, these all are calculated to take hold of the imagination and enchain the soul.

      Surely, however, it is not incongruous with the real mysteries of religion, to throw around them those pleasing shades and grateful harmonies which so well display their nature and extend their power. The ancient tabernacle was shrouded in curtains; and while the gorgeous temple shone in all the elegance of architecture, it had its deep recesses; its secret chambers; and its veiled mysterious sanctuary. Even the presence of the Deity was indicated by the cloud that filled these sacred abodes. For He who conceals himself in "light that no man can approach," "makes darkness also his secret place; his pavilion round about him dark waters and thick [451] clouds of the skies." And it is but a just conformity to the fitness of things, and an efficient aid to devotional feeling and the solemnity of public worship, to exclude at least the glaring brilliancy of day from the house of prayer. For however well suited may be the dazzling beams of day to the town-hall, or the market, where men transact the business of this world; the painful glare transmitted by uncurtained windows, revealing the naked walls, the rude benches, the rough table, and the clumsy rostrum usually met with in our houses of worship, seems illy to comport with the circumstances of the place and the solemnities of religion. Though we may indeed dispense with the "long-drawn aisle and fretted vault," the clustered pillars, the gorgeous tapestry, the carving and the gilding which merely gratify a love of worldly splendor, surely a decent respect for the service of the house of God should induce a careful attention to every means calculated to favor devotional feeling, and sanctify those rites whose mysterious import claims the undivided attention of the soul!

      How often may we justly impute to the absence of such aids, that want of reverence which is so conspicuous! How often are those wandering thoughts, those restless glances, those distracted feelings which are so readily marked, occasioned by those unpropitious arrangements by which the things and thoughts of the world are continually pressed upon the attention! In vain would Heaven assist our faith by the sacred symbols of divine love, and allure the heart to dwell upon spiritual joys, when the glare and bustle of every day life are permitted to intrude themselves into the house of the worshiping assembly.

      It is here that every thing should promote that solemn stillness and that reverential awe, which prepare the heart for communion with God, and a better appreciation of the deep mysteries of his grace. It is in the contemplation of these that the soul reaches forward into an unseen eternity, and anticipates the day, when, freed from the trammels of mortality, it shall be free to explore those wonders now so imperfectly perceived and understood. It is in making new discoveries in the depths of divine wisdom, and in gaining clearer insight into his unsearchable judgments, that the Christian realizes the blissful privileges he enjoys. Here, then, may the boldest fancy tempt its most adventurous flight, and the mind expand its noblest powers, and the pious heart experience its purest and holiest emotions. For there are no boundaries to the ocean of divine love! There are no limits to the riches of the divine wisdom! There are no fears that man shall ever find an end, or weep that he [452] can know, and wonder, and enjoy no more. "Praise thou the Lord, O my soul." "Sing unto the Lord a new song and his praise in the congregation of saints." "Praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord!"

R. R.      

[The Millennial Harbinger, Series, 4 (August 1847): 450-453.]

      Robert Richardson's "Communings in the Sanctuary--No. II" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 1847. The electronic version of this meditation on Psalm 122:1 has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1847), pp. 450-453. Its first book appearance was as Chapter II. in Communings in the Sanctuary (Lexington, KY: Transylvania Printing and Publishing Company, 1872), pp. 13-20.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. Inconsistencies in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and typography have been retained; however, corrections have been offered for misspellings and other accidental corruptions. Emendations are as follows:

 Page       Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 450:    Lord " [ Lord."
 p. 451:    recesses,; [ recesses;
 

      The following differences in the text of the meditation are noted from its first publication in The Millennial Harbinger to its first book appearance in Communings in the Sanctuary:

 Pages      The Millennial Harbinger [ Communings in the Sanctuary
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 450 / 13   --PSALM cxxii: 1. [ Psalm cxxii. 1.
            IT is indeed [ IT is indeed
            saints that [ saints, that
     / 14   never end! [ never end;
            That Infinity [ that Infinity
            Christ"--that [ Christ;" that
            knowledge; and [ knowledge, and
            view, and [ view and
            sweetness and [ sweetness, and
            more? [ more!
 451 / 15   modesty; of [ modesty, of
            but if [ but, if
     / 16   surprizing [ surprising
            sanctity; a claim [ sanctity, a claim
            visions; or [ visions, or
            Mass; [ mass;
            imperfectly comprehended, [ imperfectly understood,
            incense, these [ incense: these
            all are calculated [ are all calculated
     / 17   and while [ and, while
            recesses; its [ recesses, its
            chambers; and [ chambers, and
            place; his [ place--his
 452 /      For however [ For, however
            town-hall, or [ town-hall or
            world; the painful [ world, the painful
            usually met [ sometimes met
     / 18   Heaven assist [ heaven assist
            every day life [ everyday life
     / 19   God, and [ God and
            day, when, [ day when,
 453        soul." [ soul!"
            his praise [ his praise,
     / 20   his power. [ his power!
            mighty acts: [ mighty acts;
            greatness. [ greatness!
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
373 Wilson Street
Derry, PA 15627-9770
e_stefanik@msn.com

Created 15 June 2000.