Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1873-10-18
For the Richland Beacon.
MALACHI Ill AND " CHAPTERS.

glorious advent foretold. OF course We all
have deep and thrilling interest in these
things. And then the solemn question is
asked: But who may abide the day of his
coming; &c, for he is lac a reiiuer, fire,
90. And he shall purify the sons Of
Levi,' >" But why should the sons of
Levi he purified; Or why should the son. and
daughters of men be purified; that they may
offer unto the Lord an Offering in righteous
ness.
And again, orr many-fold sins and trans.
gressions are spoken Of, and the Lord saith
"For am the Lord | change not; therefore
yc sons of Jacob are not consumed" We
should be spiritually blind indeed not to
perceive and make the application, for our
lands are unseasonably ,Lenched with rain.
the seeds fail to spring up, the residue is
burnt with drou'h or eaten up by the cater
pillar; our gold is corrupted (or rather we
have none, for our money is turned into rays)
and our garments are moth eaten or out of
fashion. And we cry out, by reason of OPP
! preston; and why ? again the Lord saith Eye
have robbed me, ereh this whole nation ye
/ have robbed me in t,hcs and offerings; my
/ poor are not cared for; my widows and or
/ plans are neglected my gospel is not sup
: ported ye have polluted my Sabbaths; We
have not paid your vows; We have not given
unto me the frnit of yonr lips" For we are
not required, as were the jews, to bring ma
ny offerings unto the Lord, but the only offer.
| ing that we can bring, ais that of Il broken
and contrite spirit, and to present our souls and
our bodies living sacrifice which is our reas-
enable service" "Let us prove the Lord as
he required the jews to do, and sec if he will
not pour us out blessing that we shall not
be able TO contain, that he may rebuke the de-
siroyer for our sakes, and that all nations may
call lis blessed whose God is the Lord that
we may say to all nations "1he Lord God
omnipotent reigneth, let the earth rejoice"
and prove that it is not vain thing to serve
God. The whole tenor of the teachings of
the scriptures are on this wise, that we sin
not. In the g and II verses, we have the
end and aim of class meeting and prayer
meeting. "Then they that feared the Lord
spake often one to another: and the Lord
hearkened, and heard IL, and book of re-
membrance was written before him for them
that feared the Lord, and that thought upon
his name''
Ii we pray unto the Lord he will surely
hear us, for he hath promised but this is not
all for a book Of remembrance is written be-
fore The Lord for the sake of them that think
on his name and serve him. And again.
'They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts,
in that day when | make up my Jewels and
| will spare them as man spareth his own
son that serveth him. What a glorious
promise! And the end, how worthy the most
earnest efforts Of an immortal mind if We
shall he accounted worthy to enter in, all will
be gained if not, all will be lost-lost,
Church Of the living God, where do you
stand to daya Are you earnestly working out
your own salvation! lfDot, we are approx
mating to a fearful state, having name TO
live while we are dead and, fear it will be
said: Let Ephra!In alone, he is joined to
his idols" Oh, fearful thought no more
messages of peace and love; no more soft
and gentle Influences of the Holy spirit; no
more inga,hering of ncigh5ors, children and
friends. Let us arouse from our lethargy and
work while it is day 70: when Zion travails
she will bring forth,
Ye pens in the hands of ready writers,
what are you doing we gifted ones, are We
idle, or are ye subverting your talents to I'M
worthy ends7 say unto you write, write,
write; or else where will you stand when it
shall be said ye knew your duty and ye did
it not.
Ye ministers of the everlasting covenant,
who stand on the walls of Zion, be strong in
the Lord. Oh that your lips were touched
with live coal from the altar, that you NIGH,
cry aloud and spare not; that you might
work, work, work for the nigh, cometl,
when no man can work.
CHAPTER ".
"yor, behold, the day cometh, that shall
burn as an oven and all the proud, yea, all
that do wickedly. shall be stubble :" &c. In
this verse, the punishment of the wicked i.
most fearfully foretold I'm the second verse
, the bessedness of the righteous is most beau
, tfully prefgured, and we can but admire thi:
passage. But how are our hearts affected by
it? have we fell this healing power rare we
living with wise reference to the day o.
, Eternity and the judgment seat Of Christi
We have some kind of conception here o.
) things that begin and have an end. but O
, things that have no end we know but little.
| We now find ourselves a; the end of the
Old Testament Scriptures, which conclude,
with an exortaton to faiihfulness and ol,cdi
ence, and another glorious promise, that be