FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

SERIES III.

VOL. IV.	BETHANY, AUGUST, 1847.	NO. VIII.

      THE following things, respecting the subject and intention of our holy profession, are most sincerely and affectionately recommended to the consideration of all concerned.

      Brethren and friends, we hope you need not be reminded, that the highly important object of the proposed reformation, for which we have been humbly and earnestly pleading for nearly forty years--i. e. from the year nine of the present century--is Christian union upon Christian principles; or, the exhibition and enjoyment of pure primitive apostolic Christianity, in letter and spirit, in principle and practice. Now, in order to effectuate this, we must be divinely enlightened and assisted; and, therefore, must make the due use of the Bible and of the throne of grace: for the thing we want to restore and enjoy is no where to be found but in the Bible; and had we the talents of the Apostles, we could effect nothing without the divine co-operation: see 1 Cor. iii. 6, 7. "I [Paul] have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So, then, neither is he that plants any thing, nor he that waters; but God that gives the increase." Wherefore our success depends entirely upon making the proper use of the Word of God and prayer. Therefore, we go to the Bible to learn the principles and effects of pure primitive Christianity; and to the throne of grace for strength to realize and enjoy them. Thus we have been led to resume the original platform and standard of our holy religion, as the only rule and expression of our faith and duty: and in compliance with this; to make the good confession of our faith in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God and the [443] Saviour of the world, before many witnesses, by being baptized into his death, for the enjoyment of the promised salvation; being persuaded of the truth of his promise, that--"Whosoever believes and is baptized shall be saved." Now the all-important matter is to realize the blissful intention of our baptism. And how is this to be accomplished, but by the obedience of faith? See Matth. xxviii. 20. "Teaching them [the baptized] to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." And Rom. xvi. 25.--"Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel,--even the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest; and by the scriptures of the Prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." Now this obedience necessarily presupposes the due use of the divinely appointed means for obtaining the necessary information, with a truly sincere intention of reducing it to practice. Wherefore the important query is, Have we got this far in our way towards the enjoyment of the proposed reformation? Let this, then, be the subject of our present investigation. Now this necessarily suggests the following query: What are the divinely appointed means for the enjoyment of the proposed salvation? To this comprehensive and all-important query we answer thus:--1. A reverential, sincere, persevering, studious attention to the holy scriptures, in order to a clear apprehension and distinct retention of their doctrinal contents. 2. A conscientious practical attention to the divine commands and promises, prohibitions and threatenings, contained in the sacred volume, so as conscientiously and gratefully to embrace and obey the former; and, with equal scrupulosity, to guard against and avoid the latter. This twofold use of the divine volume, for the threefold purpose of acquiring that knowledge, faith, and obedience, which constitute our present salvation, and prepare us for the enjoyment of that which is yet to be revealed in the last time, is the constant and immediate duty and high privilege of every disciple of Christ, that would realize and enjoy his profession. For in the doctrinal knowledge, and practical obedience of the sacred oracles, consists our present enjoyment of the revealed salvation, as well as our preparation for the future: and therefore it is, that they are divinely represented as the food and feast of the soul; and that the constant study and teaching of them are so often and so solemnly enjoined, as we see in the following quotations:--"These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when [444] thou sittest in the house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deut. vi. 6. "Ye shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates; that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children,--as the days of heaven upon earth." Deut. xi. 18-21. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Josh. i. 8. "My foot has held his steps; his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips: I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." Job xxiii. 11, 12. "Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord; and who meditates on his law day and night. Whatsoever he doth shall prosper." Ps. i. 1-3. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple: the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes: the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More are they to be desired than gold; yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey from the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." Ps. xix. 7-11. "The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver. I will never forget thy precepts; for with them thou hast quickened me."--"O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day."--"How sweet are thy words to my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding; therefore, I hate every false way."--"I have sworn and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments."--"Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever; for they are the rejoicing of my heart."--"Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judgments. Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. My soul has kept thy testimonies, and I love them exceedingly." Ps. cxix. 72, 93, 97, 103, 104, 106, 111, 164, 167. "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart." [445] Jer. xv. 16. "The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" Jer. xxiii. 28, 29. "Should not a people seek to their God?--not for the living to the dead." "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because their is no light in them." Isa. viii. 20. "They have Moses and the Prophets: let them hear them."--"If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Luke xvi. 29, 30. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Col. iii. 16. "Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus."--"And the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." 2 Tim. i. 13, &. ii. 2. "Continue thou in the things thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise to salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All holy scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished for all good works." 2 Timothy iii. 14-17. "I charge thee, therefore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, in his kingdom; preach the word." 2 Tim. iv. 1. "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, to unfeigned love of the brethren; see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever:--therefore, laying aside all malice, as new-born babes desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." 1 Peter i. 22, and 2 i. 2. For--"Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth; that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures." From this brief exhibit of the contents, effects, and intents of the divine word, it as evidently appears to be the divinely appointed means for the conversion, edification, comfort, and salvation of man, as the sun is for the light and life of the world. Indeed the Psalmist presents us with a silent but implicit contrast to this effect in the nineteenth psalm, from which we have made an extract in the above quotations; whence it appears that the Bible is to our spiritual life, health, and enjoyment, what [446] the sun is to us naturally for similar purposes. And, alas! what a cold dreary world of darkness and death would this be, if the glorious luminary of day were annihilated! For even the pallid queen of night herself would then forsake us; she would die with him: so that we should no longer enjoy her feeble rays. Just as comfortless, dark, and desolate, would this world be in its present condition, without the Bible. These things being evidently so, (for where no vision is the people perish,) what remains, but that we make the divinely appointed use of the sacred writings both personally and socially--in the closet, in the family, and in the church? Seeing, that so doing, we have the divine assurance of being made "wise to salvation, thoroughly furnished for all good works."

      Now, for this purpose, it is necessary, in the first place, that the church be furnished with duly qualified teachers, as the scriptures direct. And, secondly, that these make the proper use of the Word, for promoting and securing, as far as possible, the edification of all concerned: see 1 Tim. iii. 1-7, and Titus i. 5-9, with Matth. xxiv. 45. "This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a Bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop, then, must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach: not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that rules well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them that are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."--"To Titus, my own son after the common faith:--For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.--If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly: for a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort, and to convince the gainsayers."--"Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. Verily, I say to you, he shall make him ruler over all his goods." Having, in [447] these quotations, a comprehensive description of the characteristic qualifications and duties of the divinely appointed teachers of the Christian community, it therefore behooves the churches to look out for such, and to avail themselves of their labors, especially to supply the lamentable deficiencies universally prevalent, with respect to the proper use of the holy scriptures. Now, in order to this, the present state of the churches evidently requires a special regular course of Bible teaching; beginning at the commencement of the book, and taking up a certain portion of it every week for the perusal and study of the congregation, to be publicly read by the teacher, or teachers, upon the ensuing first day, with such appropriate observations and exhortations as would exhibit its doctrinal contents, and impress them upon the minds of the students; that is, of the whole church, each one with his Bible in his hand, and the portion now read open before him, which he had also been studying during the past week. Nor, is even this general congregational reading and study of the holy scriptures under the direction of the teacher, all that is necessary to promote and secure the proficiency of the disciples; they ought, moreover, to be duly classed according to their age, attainments, and talents; and thus be personally or socially visited and examined by the teacher, with such frequency as to enable him to secure, as far as possible, their respective proficiency. Thus would the constant daily study of the holy scriptures become the daily practice of all the disciples; and, of course, their doctrinal contents would also become common property; which never can be the case, while the present course of church teaching continues. Indeed, how could it? For could any school, in any given time, become proficient in any science, occupying a book as large, and as diversified in its contents, as the Bible, by hearing a desultory discourse upon a few sentences of it once a week? And also, in the mean time, without any methodical attempt at studying the book? Surely no adequate proficiency could ever thus be made in any comprehensive elaborate science, and such surely is the sublime science of salvation. When we consider this sad and awful deficiency in the knowledge and use of the Divine Book, with its immediate connexion with our spiritual life, we need not wonder at the barren dead state of the generality of professors throughout Christendom. Is it not, therefore, the Christian teacher's incumbent duty to adopt such a course of teaching as will secure to all the disciples, as far as possible, the doctrinal knowledge of the Divine Book? Indeed, is it not the high privilege of all concerned, both teachers and taught? It will so appear, if we consider the doctrine [448] and example of the Apostle Paul upon this all-important subject--see the following quotations:--"I kept back nothing that was profitable, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house;--wherefore, I take you to record this day, that I am free from the blood of all men; for I have not shunned to declare to you all the counsel of God. Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood. Therefore watch, and remember that, by the space of three years, I ceased not to warn every one of you night and day with tears." Acts xx. 20, 26, 27, 28, 31. "Wherefore, when he [Christ] ascended up on high, he gave gifts to men;--He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Eph. iv. 8-13. "Till I come give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine;--give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all:--for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." 1 Tim. iv. 13-16. "Study to show thyself approved of God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim. ii. 15 --"Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must account: that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." Heb. xiii. 17. "Upon the whole, from all the scriptures quoted in this address; yes, and from the uniform tenor of the Divine Book, is it not most evidently apparent, that the Bible is the sole depository of that divine revelation, which God would have us to learn, believe, and obey, in order to the enjoyment of his favor and fellowship here; and of his divine presence and glory hereafter? Wherefore, of all books, it claims our supreme attention. And, if so, how is it, then, that the Christian ministry, whose office it is to teach those, who call and employ them, to understand and obey the good Book--are so deficient in this respect, that scarcely one of them ever attempts to make their people understand the Bible. And, in the last place, we would humbly ask the people;--Can any one study, understand, believe, or obey for another? If not, why should the Christian disciple come to his school (the church) without his book, or any knowledge of his lesson?--thus leaving both the study and the reading of [449] it solely to the teacher. Will he ever thus become an intelligent Bible scholar? Surely not. Those things being evidently so, it is therefore the incumbent duty both of teachers and taught to make the divinely prescribed use of the sacred oracles, as above described, for the infinitely important purpose for which they are divinely intended. See 2 Tim. iii. 14-17, above quoted.

THOMAS CAMPBELL.      

[The Millennial Harbinger (August 1847): 443-450.]

      Thomas Campbell's "The Means of Enjoying Our Holy Religion" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 4, No. 8, August 1847. The electronic version of the essay has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1847), pp. 443-450.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. I have let stand variations and inconsistencies in the author's (or editor's) use of italics, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the essay. Emendations are as follows:

            Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 444:    Christ, (according [ Christ, according
 p. 447:    boen taught, [ been taught,
 p. 448:    posslble, their [ possible, their
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 26 March 1998.
Updated 9 July 2003.