The Present Truth, Vol. 16 (1900)

January 4, 1900

"The Unseen God. Isa. xiv. 8-15" The Present Truth 16, 1.

E. J. Waggoner

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, that they may bring forth salvation, and let her cause righteousness to spring up together; I the Lord have created it.

"Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto a father, What begettest thou? or to a woman, With what travaillest thou? Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker. Ask Me of the things that are to come; concerning My sons, and the work of My hands, command ye Me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even My hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways; he shall build My city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.

"Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine; they shall go over after thee; in chains they shall come over; and they shall fall down unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no god. Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour."

We will take the last verse as the key to the whole text, and the basis of our present study. God hides Himself. He is "the King eternal, immortal, invisible," "dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see." 1 Tim. i. 17; vi. 16. What then is the use of the command, "Behold, your God!" Why tell people to behold God, when He is invisible, and no man hath seen Him, and no man can see Him? He even hides Himself, so that nobody can see Him, and then sends us a message, saying, "Behold Me, behold Me." Isa. lv. 1. Where is the consistency?

This is a fair specimen of the fault that many people find with God and His Word. They make out what seems a very plausible case against Him, and think that they have abundant excuse for their unbelief. Now when it appears that there is not the least inconsistency here, nor shadow of unreasonableness, it ought for ever to put an end to all cavil. When God rests His case on the most inconsistent terms possible, and nevertheless shows Himself perfectly true, it necessarily follows that no case can possibly be made to stand against Him. "The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 1 Cor. i. 25.

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There is such a thing as seeing the invisible. The things that are impossible to human sight are very easy when the eyes of our understanding are enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Moses "endured as seeing Him who is invisible." Heb. xi. 27. Our light afflictions work out for us an eternal weight of glory, "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen." 2 Cor. iv. 18. If we would have pleasure in the place of pain, we must continually look at the things which are invisible, paying no attention to the things which are seen.

Once one of the twelve disciples said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus replied, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" John xiv. 8, 9. And then He added, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father which dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very work's sake."

"God was in Christ." Jesus was the manifestation of God, and yet there was nothing in His appearance to indicate the fact. It was impossible for anybody to ascertain by His appearance-His flesh and blood-that He was the Son of the living God. Matt. xvi. 16, 17. He was the brightness of the Father's glory, and the very impress of His substance (Heb i. 3), but He veiled His glory with the robe of humanity. Nevertheless "we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." He was the Saviour, yet He said, "The flesh profiteth nothing." John vi. 63. It was not that which could be seen, but that which could not be seen, that profited And the unseen, the hidden life, was made visible; "for the life was manifested, and we have seen it." 1 John i. 2. The visible is nothing; only the invisible is real. This, by the way, should teach all men the folly of trusting to forms and ceremonies for salvation. Ritualism is emptiness.

Where does God hide Himself?-In the light. He dwells in the light. But do we not read that "clouds and darkness are round about Him" (Ps. lxxxix. 2), and that "He made darkness His secret place"? Ps. xviii. 11. Yes; "His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies;" but "the darkness and the light are both alike to Him" (Ps. cxxxix. 2); "the night shineth as the day;" so that "at the brightness that was before Him His thick clouds passed." Although He dwells in darkness He covers Himself with light as with a garment (Ps. civ. 2.) "and the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness overcame it not." Light overcomes darkness.

Moreover, "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." 1 John i. 5. The case becomes more and more complex, but the very complexity is clearness. God hides Himself, but He hides Himself in light, and He Himself is light, and the light cannot be shut in by any darkness. Why then can we not see Him?-The only reason is that we do not have our eyes adjusted to view the light. If we will but get our eyes anointed with heavenly eye salve, we may see heavenly things. Rev. iii. 18. Then "if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." 1 John i. 7. We become one with Him. He hides Himself in us.

Very few take in the force of this last verse, 1 John i. 7. They seem to think that it is human fellowship that is referred to, whereas it is fellowship with God. If we walk in the light as God is in the light, we have fellowship with Him, and He with us. We and God have fellowship with each other-mutual fellowship. The French of Segond puts it clearly, nous sommes mutuellement en communion, we are mutually in communion.

Then where shall we look to find God? Look everywhere. Look within. "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, lo, there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke vii. 20, 21. "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." 1 John iv. 2. Confess that the Word, which was in the beginning with God, and was God, is come in your flesh, and dwells there, and you are born of God and know God. If haply you feel after Him, you will certainly find Him, for He is not far from every one of us, since "in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts vii. 27, 28. "Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and we are His" (Ps. c. 3); and the invisible things of God, even His everlasting power and Divinity, are clearly seen in the things that are made, so that that which may be known of God is manifest in all men. Rom. i. 19, 20. Who can charge God with unfairness because He has hidden Himself, when He is light, and hides Himself in the light, and sends the true light into every man that cometh into the world?

God hides Himself in His works. People look at Him, but do not see Him. Have you not often seen hidden faces in pictures? You were told that in a certain picture a face was concealed. You gazed at the picture long and steadily, turning it so as to see it from every possible point, and going away and coming back again, but you could see nothing but what was apparent. At last somebody placed his finger upon a certain spot, or put the picture before you in a certain way, when, lo, the hidden face stood revealed; and then you could not look at the picture without seeing it. In whatever position the picture was placed, you saw the hidden face, and you wondered how you could ever have been so blind as not to see it. It was concealed, yet wonderfully apparent. So God is concealed in His works; most people see nothing of Him; yet as soon as we have eyes for Him, we cannot see a thing without beholding His invisible face plainly revealed.

The skies pour down righteousness, and the earth brings forth truth. In this connection, read Job. xxxvi. 24-30:-

"Remember that thou magnify His work,
Whereof men have sung,
All men have looked thereon;
Man beholdeth it afar off.
Behold God is great and we know Him not;
The number of His years is unsearchable.
For He draweth up the drops of water,
Which distil in rain from His vapour;
Which the skies pour down
And drop upon man abundantly-
Yea, can any understand the spreadings of the
clouds,
The thunderings of His pavilion?
Behold, He spreadeth His light around Him;
And He covereth the bottom of the sea."

Wondrously does God hide Himself, so that every raindrop, every sunbeam, and every springing flower reveals Him. His doctrine drops as the rain, and His speech distils as the dew, "as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." Deut. xxxii. 2. If we but know where to find Him, we may drink in His righteousness in the rain that falls from heaven, and the light of His countenance will sparkle to us in the drops of dew upon the grass.

When we read verses 9-11 together, it seems evident that the latter verse is a question instead of a direct statement. Thus it is given some translations, "Do you ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands do you command Me?" "Shall

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the clay say to Him that fashioneth it, What makest Thou?" "Woe unto him that saith unto his Father, What begettest Thou?" God is our Father; we are but clay, and He is the Maker of all things; who are we that we should presume to question His ways? how dare puny man set himself to criticize God's work? He has made the earth, and created man upon it, and His hands have stretched out the heavens, and He has commanded all their host; yet men criticize and question His actions as though He were the merest apprentice. It would be better to look in quietness, and learn.

There shall come in the last days, the days of which Isaiah prophesized (see chap. vi. 11, 12), scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Peter iii. 3, 4. But they say falsely, without any thought of what has taken place. In this portion of Isaiah, together with that which we studied last week, we have one of the proofs that God has given us of the truthfulness of His word, and that, too, with special reference to the coming of Christ to save His people.

Recall the prophecy concerning Cyrus, and how long it was uttered before the event took place, or Cyrus was born. God said, "He shall build My city, and he shall let go My captives, not for price nor reward." God's people had been brought out of Egypt, to dwell in their own land, even the whole earth, which was promised to Abraham. Rom. iv. 13. But through lack of faith they never entered into the fullness of their inheritance. At the time of the nation's highest prosperity, the promised inheritance was still future (see 2 Sam. vii. 1-10), and King David on the throne, with wealth in abundance, was but a stranger and a sojourner, even as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 1 Chron. xxix. 15.

Because the people were no more fit to dwell in the land than the Canaanites had been, God sold them into the hands of their enemies, and they were taken captive to Babylon. But He did not forsake them. Before they were taken away, the exact length of their captivity, seventy years, was foretold. Jer. xxix. 10-14. By reading the words here referred to, we see that the deliverance from Babylonian captivity was to be the final, complete deliverance of God's people. "Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord; and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have drive you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place where I caused you to be carried away captive." If Israel had learned the lesson in captivity, that God designed they should learn, the close of the seventy years would have been the beginning of the time of the promise, even as the deliverance from Egypt was.

Promptly at the time appointed, God sent a man to release the people from Babylon. He fulfilled His word to the letter. But although everybody was free to return to Canaan, and representatives from all the tribes did return, in goodly number, they never really came out of Babylon. Babylon means confusion, departure from the simplicity that is in Christ. From that time even till now God's people have been in Babylon, so that still the call sounds, and still louder will it yet sound, "Come out of her, My people." Rev. xviii. 4. The coming of the Lord will mark the complete deliverance of God's people from Babylon; and He will come just as surely as Cyrus fulfilled God's word in the decree concerning Jerusalem and the temple.

Then will all the world know that God dwells in His people. They will come, saying, "Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no god." Christ is coming "to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." 2 Thess. i. 9, 10. But before He can come, His way must be prepared, so that He can dwell fully in His saints. Just as God was in Christ, so must He be in His church as a whole, and in each individual member, before Christ can be revealed to the eyes of all the world. It is only as men see God in His people, that they can fully know that there is only one God, the One who created all things. Christ, the fulness of God, must be fully formed in His people, and then will all "See what is the stewardship of the mystery which from all ages hath been hid in God who created all things; to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eph. iii. 9-11, R.V. Then will the world know that God hides Himself in man, in order that man may be glorified by His presence.

"A Real, Model Child. The Child Jesus Visits Jerusalem. Luke ii. 41-52" The Present Truth 16, 1.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke ii. 41-62)¹1

The visit of Jesus to Jerusalem when He was twelve years of age is the only recorded incident in His life from infancy to His baptism at the age of thirty, yet it throws a flood of light on the scene, and makes us feel as well acquainted with the youth of Jesus as we possibly could by means of any ordinary biography.

INCREASING IN WISDOM

Verse 40 tells us that "the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him." Those who have the Revised Version will me by the marginal reading that, according to the literal Greek text, He grew and waxed strong, "becoming full of wisdom." He was in no respect different from other children, except in submission to authority, to those immediately over Him, and to the Word of God. He was not born with all the wisdom which He afterwards exhibited, any more than He was born with a man's stature and strength. There are those who would have us believe that all men are born with all the wisdom that they will ever have, and that education consists merely in drawing it out of them,-an idea as absurd as it is dishonouring to God; but while comparatively few believe that piece of nonsense, very many seem to think that it is true of Jesus Christ,-that He differed from everybody else, in that He never had to learn anything. The Scripture tells us that "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature." Luke ii. 52. No one would think of such a thing as a child born into the world six feet tall; but that would not be nearly so marvellous as a child born into the world with a man's wisdom. The latter would be a monstrosity indeed.

At twelve years of age the Jewish child becomes a man ecclesiastically. No synagogue can be formed unless there were ten men, no matter how many women and

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children there way be. While this was not necessarily the case in the time of Jesus, the custom has probably arisen from the fact that it was at that age that the males first presented themselves in the temple before the Lord, according to the requirement of the law. See Ex. xxiii. 17. After this time Jesus undoubtedly went up to Jerusalem every year, but this is especially mentioned because it was the first occurrence.

A LESSON FOR PARENTS

The feast was over, and the people were on their way home. Joseph and Mary missed Jesus from their side, but gave themselves no concern over the matter, supposing Him to be with some of their acquaintances. But when after a day's journey they saw nothing of Him, they began to be alarmed, and, not finding Him with any of their friends in the company, they returned to Jerusalem, where another day was spent in search. To His mother's reproving words, "Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing;" He replied, "How is it that ye sought Me?" Surely in these words and in this record we have a lesson for parents. It was most certainly recorded for their learning. The lesson to be learned is that parents should know where their children are. "How is it that ye sought Me?" Sure enough; if they had been mindful of their duty in the first instance, they would not have needed to seek Him. That He was in no danger, and exposed to no special temptation, was not due to their care. The place for every child is with its parents, and every hour of the day and night the parents should know where it is, supposing or even knowing that a child is with "kinsfolk and acquaintance," does not relieve parents of their responsibility. Many a child has been ruined, or has at least acquired habits that required much discipline to overcome, by making what we supposed to be the most innocent visits. Parents cannot be too jealous in their watchfulness as to their children's associates. Nobody can take the place of the parent, and nobody should be expected to while the parent is alive. Nobody else can be expected to have the same watchful interest in the child that the parent has. No right-minded person will resent such watchfulness on the part of the parent, and no true parent will begrudge the time and trouble. Too much trouble to look so closely after children? Ah! how few parents understand that they themselves are the chief gainers by their care for their children. In bringing up children in a proper manner, the parents get most valuable discipline, and learn far more than the children do. The parent who does not learn more from his child than his child does from him, does not do his duty, or is very dull. Keep watch of the children! You need the discipline as much as they do.

THE WISDOM OF A CHILD

"They found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers."

It is not uncommon to see a representation of this, entitled, "Jesus disputing with the doctors." Nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus was the manifestation of God; God is love; and love "doth not behave itself unseemly;" but it would be most unseemly for a child of twelve years to dispute with old men. He was listening attentively, and asking questions, not for the purpose of puzzling the doctors and showing His skill, but for the purpose of learning; and He was also modestly answering their questions. This would be becoming in any child. He was "sitting in the midst of the doctors," at their feet as a learner (Acts xxii. 2); and not standing as an instructor.

The people were amazed at His understanding and answers. Here again is where most readers of this narrative fail to learn the lesson that is intended for them. They take it for granted that Jesus was an anomaly, "an exceptionally forward

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child," and that no other child of twelve could be expected to know as much as He did. All this is a mistake. It is no doubt true that very few, if any, other children have ever manifested the same wisdom and understanding at the age of twelve that Jesus had does not signify that they could not, He was made "like unto His brethren" in all things, in order that in all things His brethren might be made like unto Him. Not only in His suffering, but in every act of life. He was "leaving us an example, that ye should follow in His steps." 1 Peter ii. 21. Jesus showed just the wisdom that any well-trained child ought to show. He was a child as well as a man in order that children as well as men may live and be saved by His life. His life perfected in a child today will make that child even such as He was.

All that heard Him were astonished, but they ought not to have been. That is, if the Word of God had been heeded by them as it should have been, such things would have been common; it would not have been thought an extraordinary occurrence. It is a thousand pities and a burning shame that such wisdom is still so uncommon. If Christians had read this part of the record of the life of Jesus to profit, it would not be an uncommon thing for children to know as much of truth as most doctors of divinity do. And what then of the older people? Why, they would of course know correspondingly more.

God has revealed unto babes things that have been hid from the wise and prudent, and therefore we do often find children "wise beyond their years," as it is mistakenly said. No child is ever wise beyond his years, but thousands are less wise than they ought to be at any given age. And whenever a child does manifest some degree of the wisdom and understanding that God designs that every child should have, most people who see him are so ill-advised as to talk and act as though he were a prodigy, until his wisdom is in danger of becoming foolishness. The child that before was simple and natural, now supposing that he knew anything unusual becomes pert and self-conscious, and imagines that everybody in admiring him, or that if they are not they ought to be, and will take pains to attract attention to his supposed superior wisdom, which by that very act he loses. It is most pitiful that most people, by their failure to understand how much a child ought to know, directly hinder the advancement of children in knowledge. There is need to learn of the Lord Jesus.

THE SOURCE OF THE WISDOM

The wonder exhibited by those who heard the child Jesus in the temple wait the same as that afterward manifested by those who heard Him teach as a man. They said, "Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?" Matt. xiii. 54. "Is not this the carpenter's Son?" And again, "Is not this the Carpenter?" Mark vi. 7. Yet He knew no more than any carpenter may know. He Himself has told us the secret of His wisdom and power. "I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me. I speak these things." John viii. 28. "The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works." John xiv. 10. He who said, "If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John xiv. 33. "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father." Verse 12. "For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." Prov. ii. 6. That was the Word that dwelt in Christ. Then "let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom." Col. iii. 16.

All that Jesus knew He learned from the Word of God. Bear in mind that at that time the Old Testament Scriptures were all that existed. But it was not by simply poring over the leaves of the Bible, that Jesus got His wisdom. That it the Word of God, yet the Word of God would not be diminished in the least if every Bible were sought out and burned. Men's knowledge of the Word would be interfered with, but the Word would abide just the same, unharmed, The Word of God, which teaches wisdom is spread over the face of all nature. Every leaf of the forest helps to make God's great Book. Here Jesus learned, and it is from the Book that is open to the poorest, and is plain to the most unlettered, that Jesus taught the people. Yet everything that may be learned in all creation, is epitomised in the Bible. Just because Christians have not appreciated the Bible, has there been so great a mass of "science falsely so called" accepted in the Church as true wisdom. No school that ignores God's written and living Word can ever make a scholar equal to the man who may never have studied in the schools, but who has lived by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

The reason why the people were so astonished at the understanding of Jesus was that He held to the simple Word of God, while they knew nothing but the tradition of men. They were great sticklers to custom: He wished to know only what was right. The doctors dealt in imagination-the product of their own heads; Jesus held to facts-the infinite thoughts of God. Truth is simple, and very easy to comprehend; it is only man's envelopment of it with speculation, that has made it seem obscure. The Word of God is light (Ps. cxix. 105), and the opening of it given light; "it giveth understanding to the simple." Ps. cxix. 130. On Christ rested "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; making Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord" (Isa. xi. 2, 3); but the same Spirit is given freely to all who wish to receive in order to obey wisdom in seeking men, and begging them to accept her. She "crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets; she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates; in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scoring, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at My reproof; behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." Prov. i. 20-23. Whoever will heed the reproofs of the Lord, and profit by them, will have wisdom that this world knows nothing about.

THE FATHER'S BUSINESS

"Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business!" said Jesus when His parents found Him in the temple. "And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them." Although He was but a child, He knew that He was a child of God, and He knew His Father's will. Yet He was not puffed up by His knowledge; of course not, because whoever has the wisdom that comes from above, and who knows that it comes from above, and not from himself, cannot

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become puffed up or elated over it. People think it a strange thing that anybody should really know the will of the Lord, and what the Lord has for him to do, when the fact is that every child ought to know it.

What was the Father's business for the Child Jesus to attend to?-It was to be subject to His parents. He did not neglect His Father's business in going down to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary, and being subject to them. "Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well pleasing unto the Lord." Col. iii. 30. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right." Eph. vi. 1. Most people think that if they go about their Father's business, they must leave home, and engage in some "mission work." Well, Jesus was charged with the greatest mission ever committed to any being and He discharged it faithfully; and He was never more the Saviour of the world than when He was in Nazareth subject to His parents. There is a lesson here for old and young. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Eccl. i. 10. "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." Col. iii. 17. This is to be about your Father's business.

Finally: the sum of all that may be learned in this narrative is found in this: "The Word became flesh." The Word was God, and God was manifest in the flesh; but this was simply for a Iight to the world, that the same might be manifest in all men. "The Word of God is living and active, and sharper then any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow." Heb. iv. 12. Take the Word as your guide, become full of it, eat it and assimilate it and thus it will become flesh, and you will not only know, but will do, the will of your Father which is in heaven.

"For Little Ones. His Only Son" The Present Truth 16, 1.

E. J. Waggoner

Abraham's great trial, when God told him to offer up his only son lsaac as a burnt offering, was not only to test his faith, and see whether he would obey the word of God at any cost to himself, but also to teach him more of the Gospel than he had been able to understand before.

You know well the familiar story,-the faith and obedience of Abraham, and how he was at the last moment kept by the angel of the Lord from slaying his son Isaac.

But how much better now he could understand the wondrous love and sacrifice of God in giving up His only Son to die for us. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Think of the joy that Isaac was to Abraham and Sarah, and the sunshine that he brought into their home. "Born of the Spirit," a child of God from his birth, he was loving, gentle, kind, and obedient. The name Isaac means "laughter," and at his birth his mother Sarah said, "God hath made me to laugh; so that all they that hear will laugh with me."

There were many servants and friends in Abraham's household, but only one son, and none could take the place of Isaac in their home and hearts. Through this Abraham could better understand what it meant for God to give up His own only Son.

There are ten thousand times ten thousand angels, and cherubim and seraphim in the household of God, but who in the Father's house could take the place of the Son of God? "For unto which of the angels said He at anytime, Thou art My son; this day have I begotten thee?"

In the eighth chapter of Proverbs Jesus is spoken of under the name of Wisdom (for Christ is "the wisdom of God and the power of God";) and here we are shown that He was with the Father in the beginning before this world was made, and the Father and the Son worked together in the Creation, as in all things.

"When He appointed the foundations of the earth, then I was by Him as one brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him."

Speaking of the Father, Jesus Himself said, "I do always those things which please Him." But though He was the delight of His Father's heart, and the light and glory of the Father's house, God so loved you and me that He freely gave Him up that we "should not perish, but have everlasting life." "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things."

Not only did Abraham offer His Son, but Isaac also freely gave his own life to God. Remember how "they went both of them together" to the place of sacrifice. And so when God "gave His only begotten Son," it was at the choice of Jesus Himself who freely "gave Himself for our sins."

When He came into this world, as the plan of God was gradually unfolded, at each step of the way He delighted to do the will of the Father, until He "became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Something of this no doubt Abraham learned through the cheerful obedience of his own son Isaac when he learned what God required of him.

Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice, and in this also he was like Jesus, who, "bearing His cross, went forth unto a place . . . where they crucified Him."

Abraham carried the knife to slay his son, and would have used it if his hand had not been stayed by the Lord. Even so, it was the hand of God Himself that dealt the death-blow of His own Son. It was the hiding of His Father's face through "the iniquity of us all," which was laid upon Him, that broke the heart of Jesus, that the healing stream of His life blood might flow forth to wash away all the sin that separates us from God. Hear the bitter cry of Jesus just before He laid down His precious life: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me!"

Think, too, of the words of Abraham as he climbed the mountain with his son: "God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." How unexpectedly these words were fulfilled when Abraham saw the ram caught in the thicket by its horns, "and offered it up in the stead of his son."

Surely this taught Abraham, as it now teaches us, to behold the perfect Sacrifice that God has provided-"The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." "John [the Baptist] seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God."

Jesus is the One who takes our place and our sins, and all the sorrows that our sins have brought upon us, while we, like Isaac, may go free, rejoicing, for He has been offered in our stead.

"We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains He had to hear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

"He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to heaven
Saved by His precious blood.

"There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven and let us in."

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 1.

E. J. Waggoner

-At one church in London on Christmas morning, eighty-four couples were married before the regular service began.

-The total receipts from the sale of the Kipling poem, "The Absent Minded Beggar" up to Christmas amounted to a round ?50,000.

-Canon Henry John Ellison, the founder of the Church of England Temperance Society, died on Christmas morning, aged eighty-seven years.

-A million and a half of parcels passed through the chief London Post Office during Christmas week, being 250,000 over the number dealt with last year.

-The South African horse sickness, a very fatal malady, glanders and pink-eye, are making sad havoc among the English horses imported for war purposes.

-The mortality in Bombay is again seriously increasing. On the day before Christmas there were 246 deaths reported, a large share of which were due to plague.

-In the Darjeeling landslide 800 lives were lost, 14,000 cattle were killed, 25,000 huts were destroyed and altogether the loss of property amounted to 280,000 rupees.

-The Lancet states that the influenza has made its appearance in London, and that the disease is quite widespread, though of a somewhat milder type than in previous years.

-The Salvation Army in New York gave a monster dinner party on Christmas Day to the poor, in the great hall of Madison-square Garden, and fully 8,000 persons sat down to eat.

-The Navy Committee of the French Chamber has unanimously approved of the outlay of ?20,000,000 for the defence of the French coasts and of French naval stations, and for new war ships.

-Pottery makers in Great Britain and the United Sates of America are drawing up a price-list to govern prices in both countries. This is said to be the nucleus of the first international industrial combination.

-A mine explosion in the Braznell Coal Works, at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on the 28rd ult. totally wrecked the main gallery, and entombed forty-eight man, of whose rescue alive there is said to be little if any hope.

-The American Admiralty have drawn up a programme which has been adopted by the Secretary of War, for the construction of eighteen new war vessels, the whole to cost over five million sterling, exclusive of armaments.

-Dr. Carl Peters last week landed in London from the Cape, and has given to the newspapers an interesting account of his discovery near Zambesi, of the Land of Ophir, where it is supposed were the gold mines of King Solomon and Hiram.

-While the children attending the parochial school at Quincy, Illinois, U.S.A., were rehearsing for a Christmas entertainment, the dress of one of them caught fire from a gas jet, which spread to the others near by, and sixteen were fatally burned.

-An exchange states that it may surprise some to learn that among the stockholders of the great Guinness Brewing Company, there are one hundred and seventy-eight bishops and other clergy, and in another there are one hundred and thirty-three.

-According to official reports from Russia, the wheat yield of that country exceeds the ago of last year by twenty-five per cent., and the average crop for the last five years by seventeen per cent.

-A serious landslide occurred on the morning of December 22 at Amalfi, Italy. Several houses, including a monastery and a large hotel, were buried. Many lives were lost, and a number of sailing vessels lying in the harbour were seriously damaged.

-The Russian journal, Rossira, referring to the desperate love of peace which all the great powers profess with the lips, says notwithstanding: "It is impossible that Europe, In spite of its love of peace, should not awake and take advantage of Great Britain's difficulties."

-The new Lord Mayor of Liverpool lately elected is a Jew. Upon being installed into office, he publicly announced that he would make no engagements for Friday evening or Saturdays. A contemporary says: "We wish all Jews had such respect as that for the Sabbath."

-Bubonic plague in a serious form has broken out at Noumea, the capital of the French colony of New Caledonia, Australia. It is thought to have been introduced by jute bags from Calcutta. Stringent measures are being taken for its suppression, and it is hoped to confine it to its present location.

-A Washington (U.S.A.) dispatch states that the original copy of the Declaration of Independence is no longer to be seen by the public, because exposure to the air and light has made the tent and signatures almost illegible. It will hereafter be kept in a large safe in the Library of the State Department.

-The British steamer Ariosto stranded off the coast of North Carolina, U.S.A., on the morning before Christmas. Twenty-one of the crew took to the boats, declaring that they were doomed, but the remainder, with the captain, stayed on board. Later, those on beard the ship were rescued, while all who took to the lifeboats were drowned by the capsizing of their boasts close to shore.

-Mr. Wm. Jameson Reid has lately written an interesting volume entitled "Through Unexplored Asia," in which he speaks quite at length of the effects of opium there, saying, "The death rate from this source alone exceeds that from nearly all other causes." Then he goes on to say that "as the drug was introduced by a Christian nation, and its importance as an industry is augmented by Christian support, there is little hope of its suppression."

-An exchange refers to China's preparations to fight after the manner of Western nations as follows: "The dowager empress has authorised the building of a large number of factories for the manufacture of small rapid-fire cannon in alarming quantities. Six smokeless powder factories are in operation, and the Government estimate of the output is 50,000 nettles a month. The Government is said to have 2,000,000 cartridges loaded with smokeless powder in its mega:dues ready for intruders. Smokeless civilisation is flooding old China."

-The Crown Prince of Japan has had designed, and the contract is let for the construction, of an "earthquake-resisting, steel-framed palace." The foundations have been laid. The palace itself will be built of granite and marble around a steel skeleton. It is to be 270 feet by 400 feet, and the height will be 60 feet. A Chicago engineer has been called upon to design an elaborate heating and ventilating plant. An American ice manufacturing and electric light system is to be added. The palace itself will rest on 400 deeply-anchored steel columns, imbedded in concrete piers. The Carnegie Company will furnish the steel.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 1.

E. J. Waggoner

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." "He giveth more grace." "Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." Where the greatest sin is, there is the greatest grace with which to overcome the sin. Where the greatest weakness is, there is the greatest manifestation of God's "everlasting power and Divinity." "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful; who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Cor. x. 13.

Take notice that God does not propose to keep us from being tempted, which is the common lot of man. But God does not forsake us in the hour of temptation. No temptation can come to us but such as He permits. With the temptation He makes a way to escape, not so that we may be wholly free from it, but so that we may be able to bear it without its inflicting any injury upon us. That is, in Christ the very temptation itself brings its own remedy. If we but heed the words of the Lord, and abide in Him, every temptation that comes will be but the means of increasing our strength.

In a recent article of advice to the young with regard to reading, Mr. James Bryce said:-

To know even one subject pretty thoroughly is a great gain to a man. It gives him something to think about apart from his daily occupations. It forms in him the habit of sound criticism, and enables him, even in subjects with which he has only a speaking acquaintance, to detect imposture, and discover when a writer is really competent.

This is true, and it is really the secret of sound wisdom and understanding; for he who does not know one thing well, cannot know very much about anything. It is not the amount of different facts that one has stored in his memory, that makes him a truly educated man, but the ability to discriminate, and to detect truth from error. This discipline can be obtained only by the concentrated application necessary to master some one thing. This is true to a degree,no matter what the subject be; but it is pre-eminently true when the subject is the truth of the Gospel, as revealed in the Bible. The Bible is the simplest of all books, yet it deals with the deepest of all things-the deep things of God. Nothing else can broaden and strengthen one's mind so much as the conscientious study of the Bible. Nothing else can so quicken one's powers of discernment, for it covers every possible range of thought. For the proof of this, we are not dependent on the statement of Mr. Bryce, for we have the example of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, whose wisdom was greater than that of Solomon, and whose sole school was the Word of God.

"Going to Extremes" The Present Truth 16, 1.

E. J. Waggoner

This is one of the things that most people are afraid of. To say of a man that he is "an extremist," is to set him down as an unsafe man, one in whose words it will not do to place much confidence. "Extreme positions" are usually considered as dangerous as a rocky coast is to a sailor. Especially are "extremes" in matters of religion by common consent held to be the worst sort of folly. The one who goes to extreme positions in religion is generally called a fanatic-or an enthusiast. Concerning the matter of belief in God, and justification by faith, the writer has often heard it said, "Yes; faith is all right, and the doctrine of justification by faith is well enough, but one must not carry it to extremes."

Now it makes all the difference in the world in what road one it. It may be the worst possible thing, to go to extremes, and on the other hand, it may be the very best. If one is in the way of sin, it is certainly best not to go to the extreme, that is, to the end of it; for the end of that way is death. He should get out of that way as soon as possible. The further one goes in it, the worse it is for him. But if one be in the way of righteousness, then he should by all means follow it to the extreme; for the end of that way is life everlasting. The farther one goes in the way of righteousness, the better it is for him. When we consider that the extreme means simply the end, the farthest extent of a thing, it is easy to see how foolish, and even wicked, is the idea that an extreme position in that which is good is to be avoided. It is impossible to go to too great an extreme in the way of righteousness-in keeping the commandments of God. The Pharisees were very scrupulous, extremely particular, in their observance of the law, yet Christ said, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. v. 20. It is impossible to have "too much of a good thing," when that good thing is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And, by the way, the Lord Jesus is Himself an extremist, and one must go to extremes if he comes to Him. He says, "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." Rev. xxii. 13. In Christ, therefore, extremes meet, and we must go to them or else fail utterly. It is the curse of the professed church of Christ, to-day, that its members are so fearful of extremes in real Christianity. They halt between two opinions, inclining toward the good, but fearful of carrying it too far. They are so fearful of fanaticism, that they never rise to the level of perfect faith.

Be it known that true faith never leads to fanaticism. It is true that we very often see a man begin in faith and end in fanaticism, but that is because he leaves the faith. He is like a locomotive that has left the line. If it had kept the line, it would have been all right. It is possible for a man to lose the faith, and then any sort of fanaticism may be expected of him. He will then go to extremes that will be ruinous; but so long as he keeps to the line of faith, he is safe no matter how far he goes; the farther he goes the better.

How shall we avoid wrong extremes?-Easily enough: stick to the Word of God; hold fast to it. In it there is perfect safety. Run in that way as fast and as far as you can. Say with the Psalmist, "I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes, for ever, even unto the end," be extreme, and do not fear what people may say about you.

It is worth while, in this connection, to stop a moment upon the word "enthusiast." An enthusiast is one who has enthusiasm, and enthusiasm means filled with God. An enthusiast is one who has God in him. Another name for such an one is "zealot." Jesus was a true enthusiast. He said, "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up." Do not, then, be afraid of names, but hold fast to right principles as far as they will carry you. "It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing." Gal. iv. 18.

January 11, 1900

"The Preaching of John the Baptist. Luke iii. 1-17" The Present Truth 16, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

A MESSAGE FOR TO-DAY

When the messengers whom John sent from his prison to interview Jesus, and to ask if He were indeed the Messiah, had departed, Jesus said to the people, "What went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea; I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." Matt. xi. 9-11.

With this testimony before us, we are justified in saying that John the Baptist was more than a mere man. By this we do not mean that he was divine, or that he was as a creature anything more than any human being, but that he was the embodiment of a great movement that was greater than any man, and which continued after the man died, and which continues to-day.

He was the one spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all Sosh shall see the salvation of God." Luke iii. 4-6. This prophecy is found in Isa. xl. 3-5.

Now read Luke iii. 3, in connection with the verses just quoted: "He came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord," etc. From this we see that the message spoken of by the prophet Isaiah is one of remission of

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sins. The preparation of the way of the Lord is by preparing the hearts of the people. This is set forth in the inspired utteance of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist: "Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God." Luke i. 76-78. This is of itself sufficient to show that the message of John the Baptist cannot cease as long as there is any hope of sinners accepting the tender mercy of our God.

CHRIST'S COMING IN GLORY

Further, the "way of the Lord," which was to be prepared, is His coming in glory, to give the final reward to His saints. Isaiah had identically the same message that John had, and he was to proclaim it "until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land." Isa. vi. 11, 12. In the chapter where the work of John the Baptist is specially described, namely, the voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, we read, just following, "Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand, His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him." Isa. xl. 10. From Matt. xi. 13, 14, we learn that John and his work are mentioned in Mal. iv. 5, 6, where we read, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse," or, "with utter destruction." This is the plainest possible statement of the fact that the work of John the Baptist extends until the coming of the Lord in glory. Unless we know this fact, we cannot study the account of his work to any real profit; but when we know that his message is the message for our time, even until the last day of probation for sinners, then we shall know what there is for us to do, and how we are to do it.

THE ENTRANCE OF THY WORD

At a certain time, most minutely described, "the word of God came unto John the son of Zecharias in the wilderness." He was alone, yet he knew the word of the Lord when it came to him, and he did not need to go to Jerusalem, to consult with the priests and doctors of the law, to learn if it was really the word of the Lord that had come to him. If he had done so, they would most certainly have told him that he was mistaken, and that he ought to take a thorough course under them before he thought of such a thing as beginning to preach. We know as a matter of fact that they did not know anything about his work, nor recognise it as being from God. See John i. 19-25.

"The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." Ps. cxix. 130. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Verse 105. It certainly ought not to be a difficult thing for anybody to see the light when it comes to him. If he cannot, then he is blind; but "the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Ps. xix. 8), so the Word of God makes even the blind to see, if they will receive it when it comes to them. Everybody, therefore, may know the Word of the Lord, and may know just what it says to him, and what it demands of him, as well as did John the Baptist.

THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

John the Baptist was the greatest prophet that ever lived, yet he did not foretell any future event. He simply, quoted the Scriptures, and warned men to repent of their sins. He did no miracle (John x. 41), but preached the truth as it was recorded in the Bible. This therefore is to be the characteristic of all those who, living in the last days, are prepared for the coming of the Lord, and who give others knowledge in order that they may be prepared. Let us see from the Scriptures that this is so. At the command of the Lord, Moses in the wilderness selected seventy of the elders of Israel, and set them round about the tabernacle; "and the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders; and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease." But there were two men who remained in the camp, with the congregation, and did not come to the tabernacle with the other elders, and the Spirit rested upon them also, and they prophesied as well as the others. When Moses was informed of this, Joshua, full of zeal for his master, said, "My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them." Num. xi. 24-29. This was not an idle wish, but an indication of what might have been; and whatever gift may be received from the Lord, ought to be received. Now that such a state of things as Moses desired is possible, and the right thing to exist in the church, is seen from the words of the Apostle Paul: "Follow after love; yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man understandeth; but in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men for edification, and comfort, and consolation. He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. Now I would have ye all speak with tongues, but rather that ye should prophesy." "If all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all; and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth." "For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted." 1 Cor. xiv. 1-5, 24, 25, 31.

Read still further: When John the Apostle on Patmos was about to worship the angel who showed him wonderful things, the angel said: "See thou do it not; I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy." Rev. xiv. 10. Now put with this Rev. xii. 17: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." It is evident from this that the very same people who keep the commandments of God have also the Spirit of prophecy; and it is certain that all the people of God will keep the commandments of God; therefore it is also certain that every one of the people who are ready to receive the Lord when He comes, having finished the work that He gave them to do, will have the Spirit of prophecy.

WHAT IT IS TO BE A PROPHET

Let no one mistake the meaning here; there will be no danger of making any mistake, if we keep in mind what the Spirit of prophecy is. People in general

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have a fixed and narrow idea of what a prophet is, and what the Spirit of prophecy is. A prophet is one who speaks for God. The Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made thee a God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." Ex. vii. 1. Now read Ex. iv. 15, 16, concerning the relation of Aaron to Moses, and what his work was to be: "Thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God." Aaron was the mouth of Moses, to speak for him whatever he wished to say. Moses instructed the people through Aaron. That constituted Aaron the prophet of Moses. Just so whoever receives the words of God at His mouth, and speaks them to the people, is God's prophet. He may not foretell any future event, but he will speak the words of God. "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." 1 Peter iv. 10. "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God." John iii. 34. Thus may and should all the people of God prophesy, and until they do that, they are not giving the testimony to the world that God would have them give; they are not witnessing for Christ. God gives the Spirit in order that all may speak His words, and be faithful witnesses.

GOD'S PEOPLE SEERS

Still further: "Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer." 1 Sam. ix. 9. A seer is simply one who sees. Now God would have all His people see; for He says in a message for the very last days, "Anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev. iii. 18. Whoever can see will recognise the Word of God when it comes to him, and the Word will itself make him see if he will but gladly receive it. And so will all God's people be seers, knowing God's will, discerning the signs of the times, and making known the truth to the world. He who has not the Spirit of prophecy cannot discern that Spirit; for "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things." 1 Cor. ii. 14, 15.

HOW THE GIFT COMES

Let no one think that this gift comes arbitrarily, or that anybody can have it simply by declaring that he has it, or by any sort of mere profession that he may make. The Spirit of prophecy is the portion only of those who keep the commandments of God,-not of those who have the form of keeping the commandments, mind you, but of those who do indeed keep them. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. vi. 17), and the Spirit comes to everybody as the reprover of sin, first of all. The promise is coupled with this statement: "Turn you at My reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." Prov. i. 23. "The commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Prov. vi. 23. He who heeds the reproofs and instruction of the commandments of God, will receive abundantly of the Spirit of God, and will know the will of God; for "if any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." John vii. 17.

Here then we have the great lesson that is to be learned from the record of the work of John the Baptist. That which God is waiting for to-day is a people united not by a formal creed, but by the one Spirit, and thus all speaking the same thing. See 1 Cor. i. 10. A people filled with the Spirit, and so seeing light in the light of God, and reflecting the light to others. The message of John the Baptist-the preaching of the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins-was never more needed than it is to-day, but it cannot properly be given except by those who know the Word of God when it comes to them, and who are seers. They must receive the Word direct from God, and not from any man, and they must receive the Word first of all as a reprover of the sins of their own lives.

We have not said a word about the sayings of John; if we know what he stands for, we shall not have much difficulty with his message. Yet there is much that ought to be considered in the words that John spoke in answer to those who questioned him, and we shall in another paper call speciaI attention to some of them. Those who have read this article will be the better prepared to appreciate the importance of what he said.

"For Little Ones. 'A Sweet Savour'" The Present Truth 16, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

While we have talked together so much lately of the wonderful love of God, and how He has shown this love by giving up to us His own only begotten Son, have you not felt your heart warm with love for Him who has "so loved" you. "We love Him, because He first loved no." As we behold what manner of love the Father both bestowed upon us our hearts are drawn to Him in love.

Very likely at this season you have been receiving many gifts and little love tokens from your parents and kind friends. Perhaps you have been thinking what you can give to them, not only in return for their gifts, but because your love for them makes you want to do something to make them happy.

And as you think of the "unspeakable gift" of God,-His Son Jesus Christ in whom He has freely given as all things,-do you not long, dear children, to do something to show your love to Him in return, something that will please Him and make Him glad?

When you want to make a gift to anyone, you try to find out, do you not, just what that person most likes, or is in need of, so that your gift, besides being a token of your love, will give pleasure in itself, or be of use.

Now I want to tell you just what God is longing for,-what will please Him more than anything else, and make Him rejoice "in the presence of the angels." And that is, that you should take the gift that He has freely given, the Lord Jesus, to dwell in your heart by faith. For if you do this, He will see the Son of His love whom He gave up for you "formed in you," and so you will be able to give Him His own again.

You know that when seed is thrown upon the ground it seems to be quite lost to the one who sows it; but by and by, green leaves, and sometimes sweetest blossoms, and at last many seeds, are brought forth from the one seed that was given up.

God gave His only begotten Son that He might "bring many sons unto glory," all bearing His perfect image, and showing forth His beautiful, fragrant character. Then what will please Him more-or so much-as that you should give Him your heart to be the soil, the ground, where this precious Seed is sown?

"Wouldest bring a gift to Jesus
That He would count most sweet?
Say, 'Lord, my heart I give Thee;'
And lay it at His feet."

Then as His beautiful life appears in you, you will be "unto God a sweet savour of Christ" continually. Do you not enjoy a sweet smell? How much more we prize the fragrant flowers, even the little modest violet, than those which have no odour, though they be as large and showy as the gaudy peony.

As God sees any of the beauty of His Son in you,-as He sees you giving up your own will and ways for the sake of others; making little sacrifices that you may give help to those in need; being obedient and helpful to your parents; speaking loving, gentle words, and doing kind deeds,-these things are to Him "an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God."

In the temple worship of the Jewish people, sweet-smelling incense was offered with the sacrifices, to be to the people a figure of the beauty and perfection of the character of Christ, the Lamb of God, the one acceptable Sacrifice, whose goodness and purity atoned for their sins.

We have nothing of our own to bring to God, but we can take His own gift and give it back to Him in lives lovely and fragrant with the beauty and sweetness of His own Son whom He has freely given. Then like King David we can say, "All that we have is Thine; and of Thine own have we given Thee."

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

-Plague has broken out in Hawaii.

-An earthquake has destroyed ten small villages in the district of Achalkalak in the Caucasus.

-The wages of 40,000 operatives employed in the woollen Industry in New England were advanced on January 1.

-During the year just passed Bradford has exported 5,014,000,000 yards of cotton goods, the largest in the history of the city.

-The Assembly Herald states that it is estimated that 200,000 Chinese, most of them women, annually attempt to commit suicide by opium.

-The Yarmouth fishing fleet In its voyage ending Christmas week secured a catch of 343,200,000 herrings, which is the largest ever known.

-The United States has determined to transport from the Philippines to Spain all Spanish prisoners falling into the hands of Americans, also their families.

-The Royal Mint struck last year, in gold, silver, bronze, and nickel pieces, 145,008,400 coins, which exceeded the number struck the previous year by 46,909,188.

-Bush fires caused by the intense heat have recently occurred in many parts of Victoria, causing great destruction of property, and considerable loss of life.

-The S.S. Lucania left Liverpool on the 30th ult., for America, having on board 2,523 mail bags, the largest mail ever carried between Great Britain and the United States.

-The Royal Humane Society reports that during the past year 756 persons distinguished themselves by saving 659 lives and in trying to save seventy-four others.

-Dr. Richardson says, "It has been calculated that in ten years in the United States drink bas caused 200,000 women to become widows, and 1,000,000 children orphans."

-After repeated trials of the submarine torpedo boat Holland, the United States has accepted it, and the Naval Board has recommended the construction of fifty similar boats.

-Influenza is stated to have broken out at Aylesbury Prison, half of the prisoners being ill.

-By the burning of a building on a branch of the River Nene, five hundred tons of sulphuric acid was allowed to escape into the river, and thousands of fish were destroyed.

-The residents of England are said to have ?110,000,000 invested in mortgages in foreign countries. Phase investment annually bring in about ?5,500,000 in gold to England.

-The Chinese Inland Mission has seven hospitals and twenty-one dispensaries, beside forty-eight opium refuges. In connection with these it has eighteen physicians and sixty-nine trained nurses.

-Of the governments which participated in the Peace Conference at The Hague last summer, twenty-five have ratified the treaty formulated by that body for the creation of a permanent tribunal of arbitration.

-A general treaty of trade, navigation, and immigration between China and Mexico has been signed. Each country gets the most favoured nation treatment, and Mexico obtains extra territoriality in China.

-Over 1,000 workmen, employed at the Prince of Wales Pit, Abercorn (Wales), have been rendered idle through the action of three banksmen who refused to work after the management had declined their application for 3rd. advance.

-The colossal statue of Liberty at the entrance of New York Harbour is to have a rival, Mr. P. Sullivan, Minister of Public Works in New South Wales, having decided to erect in Sydney Harbour a similar statue of "Australia Facing the Dawn."

-Cats are held in great reverence in Persia. The Shah alone has fifty of them, says Dumb Animals (Boston), and each one has an attendant of its own, with a special room for meals. When the Shah travels, the cats go also, being carried by men on horseback.

-During the holidays seven railway accidents occurred in Austria-Hungary resulting In numerous deaths and injuries, as well as great damage. In one case carriages caught fire and a parcel-van containing money and parcels to the amount of ?250,000 were destroyed.

-The canal connecting Lake Michigan with the Mississippi river, via the Desplaines and Illinois rivers, costing over ?6,000,000, has now been opened. Its present object is to divert the sewage of Chicago from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river. The canal has been in process of building for over seven years.

-David Rankin, of Tarkio, Missouri, U.S.A., who is said to be the richest farmerin the world, made his beginning with no other capital than a horse. This he sold for ?10 10s., invested the money in calves, and bought an eighty-acre farm. He is now seventy-four years old, and owns 23,000 acres of land, worth from ?10 to ?20 an acre.

-Doctors Kepler and Thebot have informed the Academy of Medicine, Paris, that, in conjunction with M. Broca, a chemist, they have discovered and tested a specific serum against alcoholism. They claim that the serum which is extracted from the veins of a horse that has been alcoholised inspires the patient with a strong distaste for spirituous drinks.

-The supreme court of Italy has given a decision declaring that the Pope is not a sovereign, out is subject to all duties and obligations of a civilian, and that be is not entitled to the privilege of inviolability of his mails, such as the representatives of sovereign powers in Rome enjoy. It also disputes the right of the pope to receive deputations, ambassadors, or envoys from the various courts of Europe.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

A cookery book recently issued says, "If lettuce be eaten after dinner it cures drunkenness." A far better cure is to cease drinking liquor before and during dinner.

The bound volume of THE PRESENT TRUTH for 1899 may now be had for 5/-, postage 9d. extra. Any who have saved their weekly copies and desire to have them bound, may obtain covers for binding, price 1/6.

The trade edition of "Desire of Ages" is now ready. The reading matter is exactly the same as the illustrated subscription book. There are no illustrations except frontispiece. Size 5? x 7?, and contains 1,050 pages. Price 6/.

A tradesman in Peckham had a dispute in a public house about the War, and became so excited because his views were differed from, that he ran home and shot himself. That is a specimen of how men are allowing the evil spirit, the demon of war, to get control of them. "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

Here is a single item from one of Julian Ralph's letters to the Daily Mail, which makes the terrors of war seem very vivid. Speaking of the new one-pounder quickfirer, he says: "It goes off with a 'puttputt-putt,-putt,' like the ten-billion times magnified noise of water gurgling in a bottle. The force and violence and intensity of the noise make it seem that whatever is coming will perforate chilled steel. And then come the bullets, like so many jets of steam released from the highest pressure, and singing like little steam whistles."

Although in the year just passed the number of labour disputes has been smaller than for many years, the number of days of idleness on account of them has aggregated 3,375,000. This is less than one-sixth the number of days of idleness in 1898, yet it means the equivalent of a whole year's idleness for nearly eight thousand men. Strange that people whose living depends on their daily labour can be so foolish as to suppose that they can be benefited by lying idle; yet there are not lacking newspapers edited by men of ability who advise them to this suicidal course.

An OEcumenical Conference on Foreign Missions is to be held this month in New York. Ex-President Harrison is to be honorary president, and among those expected to attend are the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Aberdeen, ex-President Cleveland, Admiral Dewey, Captain Mahan, Principal Fairbairn, D. Munro Gibson, the Earl of Harrowby, Bishop Thoburn from India; Dr. Ashmore from China; Dr. M. L. Gordon from Japan; Miss Caroline Shattuck from Turkey; and Dr. Grattan Guinness. It should be an interesting meeting, and that which will contribute not a little to the interest will be the wonder what some of those mentioned can tell the world about missions.

In Italy, where the consumption of flesh meat averages 26 pounds for each person, there are 280 doctors to each million of population. In Germany the consumption of meat averages 64 pounds, and the number of doctors is 355 per million. In Great Britain 102 pounds of meat are consumed per head, and the number of doctors is 678 per million. In Australia the consumption of meat averages 270 pounds per head, and there are 718 doctors per million of population. He who runs may read these figures, and if he be not very dull he may understand their import.

According to the latest published returns, the scarcity or famine in India extends over an area of nearly four hundred thousand square miles, an extent more than three times greater than the whole of the United Kingdom, and affects a population of fifty-two and a half millions. Of this, two hundred thousand square miles, with a population of more than thirty millions, is British territory. Although the famine is only beginning, about two million people are already being relieved, which involves a monthly expenditure of about ?350,000. In His answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Jesus said, "Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." Matt. xxiv. 7. This is truly being fulfilled at the present time to the letter.

The Christian for this week consists of a "D. L. Moody Memorial Number," containing a biographical sketch and an excellent portrait of the famous Evangelist, which will doubtless be treasured by the many thousands who remember big remarkable missions throughout the United Kingdom in conjunction with Mr. Ira D. Sankey Illustrations of the birthplace and residence of Moody are also given, together with personal reminiscences by Preb. Webb-Peploe, M.A.; Dr. T. J. Barnardo; Rev. F. B. Meyer, B.A.; and others.

The total consumption of tea in the British Isles in the year 1899 was two hundred and forty-five millions of pounds, an increase of ten millions over the year 1898. In 1897 the quantity of tea averaged 5ï80 pounds for each individual; in 1898 it was 5ï85 pounds; and in 1899 it averaged 6ï01 pounds. The Chroncile says: "We are evidently becoming more and more a nation of tea-drinkers, and Russia will soon have to take a second place, if the popular taste continues to grow." And in proportion as the taste grows and is gratified, will nervous dyspepsia increase. There will have to be some modification in the song, "Britons never shall be slaves." There are scores of things that are enslaving them, body and soul, and they are being taken captive willingly.

"The Word which the Lord sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ." Luke x. 35. The one thing the human heart longs for, the one thing after which all the world is seeking, is here set forth. True all do not find it, but that is not the fault of God-they are not seeking it in the right way. In this text, however, the Lord tells where it is-in Jesus Christ-and that if is for all the Israel of God.

There is no need for discouragement. The provisions of God's grace are such that we can be raised above all difficulties. The secret is found in turning our eyes away from ourselves, from everything in this world, looking only to Jesus Christ, and there we find everything for which our souls long. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," is what the Apostle Paul exclaimed, and that strength is for us here in this day just as it was for him. Then let us take it, and go forth in the conflict of life with renewed courage, and the "Lord of peace Himself will give you peace always by all means."

"For Little Ones. Joseph and His Brothers" The Present Truth 16, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

Any of you would be able, when you have looked at the picture on our opposite page, to tell the story about it, who is the youth, and who the men in whose grasp he is struggling, what they are going to do with him, and why.

He is the grandson of Isaac, and the son of Jacob, who had twelve sons. You can see only ten of Joseph's brothers in the picture, for Benjamin, the, youngest, is at home with his father.

These men were shepherds, and as they had been away from home for some time with the flocks, their father sent Joseph to see, how they were getting on. But instead of being pleased to see their young brother, and to get news from home, they greeted him with angry looks, and said one to another, "Behold this dreamer cometh!" To understand what they meant by this we must go back a little in Joseph's history, and see what was the reason why his brethren hated him.

In the first place, Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children. He was not born until his father was quite an old man, and he was the first-born of his dearly beloved wife, Rachel. Besides this, we can see from the purity and faithfulness of his after life in Egypt, he was of a different character from his older brothers, and his gentle and truthful nature made him more dear to his father's heart, so that "he loved Joseph more than all his children."

From the way that Jacob treated Joseph, his brothers could easily see that he was the favourite. Some time before this, Jacob had made him "a coat of many colours," "a costly coat or tunic worn by persons of distinction," and "when his brethren saw that their father loved Joseph more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him."

Another thing that had made them angry was that Joseph, instead of joining with them in their evil ways, when he was helping them mind the flocks, carried to his father the news of their bad conduct. Remember that Cain killed his brother Abel "because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous," and you will not be surprised that Joseph's brothers soon wanted to get rid of him.

Besides all this, Joseph had had dreams, which he, perhaps foolishly, told to his brothers. We will let him tell these dreams in his own words: "Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about and made obeisance to my sheaf.

"And his brethren said to him, shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words.

"And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren and said: Behold I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold the sun and the moon and the eleven stare made obeisance to me.

"And he told it to his brethren brethren. And his father rebuked him and said: What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him, but his father observed the saying."

Now you see what they meant when they said, "Behold this dreamer cometh!" And as these words called the dreams to their minds, they grew more and more jealous and angry, until, like Cain, they were ready to take the life of their brother. They said, "Let us slay him and cast him into some pit; and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams."

But not wishing to shed his blood with their own hands, you we them, in spite of his cries and struggles, thrusting him alive into the pit, where they meant to leave him to parish with hunger.

But help was coming! Look in the distance and you will "a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt." It was no chance that they were passing by just then, for God was using the wicked purpose of these sons of Jacob to fulfil the very dreams that they were making a mockery of.

They did not feel at all comfortable with Joseph in the pit; they remembered that he was "their brother and their flesh," and the sight of the caravan showed them a way out of the difficulty It would never do to let Joseph go home again, after the way they had treated him, for he would be sure to tell his father the whole story. So they add him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and he was carried far away from his old home, and his loving father, down into the land of Egypt. His brothers took the coloured coat which they had stripped from Joseph, and dipped it in the blood of a kid. Then they carried it home to Jacob, who thought, of course, that his favourite son had been killed and eaten by some wild beast. The broken-hearted old man "rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days." All his other children tried to comfort him, but "he refused to be comforted," saying, "I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning for him. Thus his father wept for him."

See what a terrible thing is jealousy and into what other dreadful sins it leads if one is allowed to lodge in our hearts. First Joseph's brethren were jealous of him;

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then they hated him; then they agreed to kill him, and they deceived their poor old father into thinking he was dead. Hatred, murder, and deceit, all coming from the bitter root of envy.

But could they stop the plan of God, or in any way hinder it? No; for "He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will," and the life of Joseph wonderful example of this, as we shall see. All these hard trials were to "work together for good," not only for Joseph, but for the very ones who treated him so badly. God was even then sending Joseph down into Egypt by their hands, so that their lives might be saved when trouble and famine came upon them in the future. Next week we will follow Joseph into Egypt, and see, as his brothers did when they met him there years after, "what became of his dreams."

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

It is not war alone that is causing mourning in the land. Disease is making terrible havoc this winter. In London and the great towns the death rate has risen during the last six weeks by over 60 per cent. The deaths in London the week before last exceeded the average age for ten years by over 1,100. The inroads are greatest among the aged, who are falling like autumn leaves.

Next week we shall begin the publication of a series of contributed articles on the book of Daniel. They will not be dry exposition, but a live presentation of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Why should they not be brought before thousands of people who do not now read PRESENT TRUTH? They ought to be, and could easily be by a very little exertion on the part of the thousands who are now reading it. Will you not see that at least one person who is not now reading the paper has the privilege of doing so?

We have received from the publisher, Alfred Holiness, two small pamphlets, both dealing with the Roman question. One is Father Chinquy's Dying Confession, which is of interest simply as forestalling any attempt on the part of Roman Catholics to claim that he returned to the Church of Rome at the last. It gives also a brief sketch of the life of Father Chinquy. The other pamphlet is entitled "The Advance of Rome." Its name sufficiently describes its character. It is a very brief outline sketch of the apostasy from primitive Christianity, which has culminated in the Church of Rome. The book, costing sixpence, may well be circulated, and will be good, as it states only facts, and in a temperate manner. Of course it is impossible to put everything in one small pamphlet, but we should like to see more than a passing reference to the advance of Rome into the Protestant Churches. Romanism open and avowed is not so dangerous as its subtle working under the guise of Protestantism; nor are our "brethren within the Roman pale" in worse case or more "pitiably unconscious" than thousands who, even while combating "Romanism," are themselves leavened with Romish principles.

It is reported that "orthodox" kidnapping of the children of dissenters still continues in Russia. At Jurieff, two couples have been sentenced to two months' imprisonment "for not having brought up their children in the Greek Orthodox faith," and the children were handed over to relatives belonging to the Established Church, or, in default, to the Government, for education. Thereby the "Greek Orthodox faith" of Russia declares itself non-Christian, to say the least; for Jesus said, "If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not." John xii. 47. That Church which presumes to do things contrary to the teaching and practise of Christ, sets itself above Christ; and the same is true of every individual who deliberately chooses his own way in preference to that of Christ.

On the 18th inst. a large detachment of the new regiment of volunteers, the City Imperial Volunteers, known as the "Lord Mayor's Own," marched through the city to Waterloo Station, whence they were to start for South Africa. As they marched past the Mansion House, an old lady was heard to remark, "What beautiful men! what a shame for them to be killed!" That thought must find a response in many hearts. It is terrible to think of men being slaughtered by scores and hundreds; and yet no government on earth has ever risen or continued its existence except by bloodshed, and none ever can. Surely these things should make men long for the coming of Him whose kingdom is established for ever by the shedding of His own blood once for all, and whose reign will be peace. That which men fight for, they cannot obtain and hold, but the peace of God makes us possessors of an eternal inheritance.

"Official attacks on Christianity: or the Anti-Christian Crusade," is the title of a little book by Robert P. G. Corfe, which, if read, ought to open the eyes of the people to the great "failing away" that has taken place in the Church. It is not a loose indictment of the Church, and contains no "railing accusation;" but by direct quotations from clergyman, and even the highest dignitaries in the church, he shows that every fundamental truth of, the Gospel is being deliberately cast adds. The citations show that our Lord's miracles are doubted, and even His authority as an unerring teacher is discredited. When this is said, it is but to be expected that the atonement world be practically ruled out. "While men slept, the enemy sowed tares;" and while men have been absorbed in questions of ritual, "the weightier matters of the law" have been undermined. The pity is that the most of those who profess zeal for the church seem to have no thought but for this externals, and are alarmed only over "unlawful practices." This book should cause them to think of something else. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1s. 6d.

"Cause of Crime" The Present Truth 16, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

Cause of Crime .-The New Voice, of America, has recently sent out nearly 8,000 letters to as many jail-keepers in that country, inquiring as to the proportion of prisoners brought to their prisons through drink. Answers from 1,016 jails were received, and out of that, 257 placed the proportion at 90 per cent. and above; 525 placed it at 75; 73 at 50; while out of the entire number only 181 placed the percentage below 26. Of these, 66 were from prohibition localities, and reported empty jails.

January 18, 1900

"Fulfiling All Righteousness. Baptism and Temptation of Jesus. Matt. iii. 13-iv. 11" The Present Truth 16, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

It is a pity that so wonderful a thing as that the Man should come to be baptized by the man who preached the "baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," has ever had to be brought down to the level of a discussion as to how He was baptized, as though there ever could be more than one way. It is one of the devil's tricks to keep the minds of people away from the consideration of "the mystery of godliness."

If the second commandment is broken by the making of likenesses of any sort whatever, whether they are worshipped or not, the makers of the so-called pictures of the baptism of Jesus will certainly be counted guiltless on that score; for never yet was there a picture purporting to be of this event, whether by one of the "old masters" or by the new apprentices, that was like anything that ever happened in heaven or earth, or in the waters under the earth. To see the numerous pictures representing Christ as standing ankle-deep in the water, and John, high and dry on the land, pouring a few drops of water on Him from a shell or a basin, is enough to make one think that "art" is a caricature of nature, instead of an improvement upon it.

It is true enough that in our language words often come to have a very different meaning from their original; but the word "baptize" is not an English word, but a full-fledged Greek word, and its meaning now is exactly what it was the, day the Bible was written. We have a very plain but expressive word, namely, "dip," the meaning of which everybody knows. Dipping a garment in the dye is a far different thing from sprinkling it for ironing, and nobody would ever mistake the one for the other. When the Greek, whether scholar or peasant, said "baptise," he meant just the one thing,-to dip, to immerse, to submerge,-and that was all. In the Teutonic languages, to which our English belongs, and from which it is largely derived, and which are content to translate a word, instead of hiding its meaning by leaving it untranslated, we have even to this day the word "dip" instead of "baptize," and "John the Dipper," instead of "John the Baptist." Even so it would be in our Bibles, if it were not for the fact that the translators were under the spell of Rome. No person ever follows the Lord in baptism, unless he goes down into the water; for it is certain that no one can come up out of the water without first going down into it; and it was when Christ was "coming up out of the water" (Mark i. 10; Matt. iii. 16), that the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove came upon Him. If we are not "buried with Him by baptism" (Rom. vi. 4), how can we expect to be risen with Him? People will go hundreds of miles to stand in the very place Christ is said to have stood, or to see something that He is said to have worn, when they could "follow His steps" without leaving their homes, and they will not do it, but will instead get as far away as possible. It is in perverse human nature to love to be deceived.

Why did Jesus receive baptism at the hands of John? He Himself gives the answer: "to fulfill all righteousness."

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There are depths and breadths to the life of Jesus of Nazareth that no man has yet explored. In this act we see Him revealed as one with those whom He came to redeem. We must remember that although He was Divine, He was a Divine Man. He was "in the likeness of sinful flesh," "made under the law," having upon Him the sin of the whole world, and He felt oppressed by it as no other man before or since has ever felt for his own sins. But He yielded His members as instruments of righteousness, just as we are to do, and indicated His complete acceptance of the life of the Father. He declared that He lived by the Father (John vi. 57), and we are to live by Him. Only so can all righteousness be fulfilled, and even Christ could do nothing of Himself. Here is the strongest link that binds us to Him. He became one with us in our sin, that we might be one with Him in His righteousness. The fact that He fulfilled all righteousness, is proof that we also may in Him have the same fulness.

TEMPTATIONS NECESSARY

Jesus had the highest sign of approval that heaven could bestow, and then followed the temptation. In this world it is necessary that for a season we be "in heaviness through manifold temptations," in order that the trial of our faith may be found unto praise and honour and glory. 1 Peter i. 6, 7. "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.' James i. 2-4. Therefore "it became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of One; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Heb. ii. 10, 11. Jesus, having taken on Him "the form of a servant," must needs pass through all that the lowest servant has to endure. Having taken human flesh, He must bear all the infirmities of the flesh, and it was for that purpose that He came. Temptations are necessary to keep us humble, and to teach us our dependence upon God. Let the sorely tempted one remember from the experience of Christ that temptations do not prove that he is not a son of God. Remember, too, that the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness of temptation.

THE VICTORY IS WON

"In that He Himself suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted." Heb. ii. 18. "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." Isa. liii. 5. His victory is our victory, for it was our sins that He bore. Therefore if we keep in mind His temptations, His trial and His victory, we may save ourselves much trouble. "This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith." 1 John v. 4, R.V. The chief temptation that Christ had to endure, the one that was twice repeated, was to doubt that He was really the Son of God. Do not make the mistake of considering this a light matter. It was a life and death struggle, and Jesus was sorely tempted to doubt the words that He had heard at His baptism, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," and to doubt His mission. After forty days of fasting in solitude, seemingly forsaken by both God and man, and seeing no face but those of the ravenous beasts, doubts would very easily be suggested. But He did not yield to them. By His victory, we may repel the temptation as soon as it is presented. Remember that He "was tempted in all points like as we are" (Heb. iv. 16), and that no temptations came to Him but such as are common to men. But every temptation came to Him that ever comes to any man. Do not forget therefore that no man ever has a feeling of despondency or doubt that did not oppress the Lord Jesus. Read the twenty-second psalm, and you will see something of what He passed through, and how He came out. Just as surely as He passed through the struggle a conqueror, may we also, even though we have many times been overcome by the tempter, be "more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

The first temptation was naturally on the point of appetite. Where man lost his dominion, is the place where he must regain it. He who can control his appetite can conquer anything. The man who in Christ is absolutely master of himself, of his whole body, is master of the world. To him is given "power over the nations." Rev. ii. 26. It is just the point on which most people are most sensitive. They like to hear about the Gospel, but they do not like to hear anything about overcoming the appetite. Many who have made great sacrifices for their profession, will go back and walk no more with the Lord when a question of eating and drinking comes up. People who will give up their situation in order that they may keep the Sabbath, will draw back when asked to give up some dainty to which they are slaves. Ah, it is a grand thing to learn that "man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord." When we are content to live on the Word of God alone, then indeed have we fellowship with Him.

FAITH AGAINST PRESUMPTION

The second temptation was to presumption. If Satan cannot succeed in making us fall in one direction, when we draw back from it he will endeavour to push us over in the other. The first temptation had demonstrated the trust that Jesus had in the Father; therefore the devil would pervert that trust, and make it presumption. Do not imagine that trust in God can ever be carried to such an extreme as to make it presumption. Far from it. Presumption has no connection whatever with faith. It is directly opposed to it. Therefore Jesus did not fall under the temptation. His faith in God saved Him from presumption. It is true that God had promised to keep His children's feet from falling, but not when they go deliberately in the devil's path. It is those who have made the Lord their refuge, that are kept. See Ps. xci. 1-12. The promise was fulfilled in the case of Jesus, simply because He did not obey the suggestion of the tempter.

VAIN GLORY

There are endless applications that may justly be made of these temptations of Jesus, but it will be sufficient at this time if we learn from this that we are not at liberty to use our strength except in legitimate work. "Daring" feats, which should rather be called foolhardy, to show how much we can do or endure, are condemned by this victory. God gives us strength according to our day. He is faithful, and will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it. 1 Cor. x. 13. We do not need to experiment beforehand, to see if we shall be able to endure the trial when it comes. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." "It is good that a man should hope, and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Lam. iii. 22.

THE TEMPTATION TO AMBITION

The crowning temptation was ambition, and more than ambition, even the very same ambition that caused the fall of the angels. Showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, the devil said, "All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." For much less than that, many a man has sold himself to the devil. To have all the earth! why, that was just why Christ came to this earth, and here it was freely offered Him. No, not freely, for there was a condition attached that deprived the offer of all its value, and that was that He become the slave of the devil. But a slave is not a king, and the possessor of this earth must be a king. He "whose right it is" owns the earth because it is His by right of the righteousness which He posseses.

POSSESSION OF THE WORLD TO COME

Moreover it was not "this present evil world" that God would have man possess. Christ came, not for the purpose of giving it to us, but to deliver us from it. Gal. i. 4. Here is where many make a fatal mistake. It was "the world to come," that God put in subjection to man. The earth was new, free from all curse of sin, when God gave it to man. It is an inheritance of righteousness, to which God has called us. The promise to Abraham, that he and his seed should possess the world, was only "through the righteousness of faith." Rom. iv. 18. Christians have no claim upon this world as it now is. Christ was content not to have so much of it for His own as would furnish a resting place for His head; even as Abraham had not so much as standing room. Luke ix. 58; Acts vii. 5. Many Christians are making the mistake of thinking that by gaining power in this world they will advance the kingdom of God. They imagine that by wars and fightings the kingdom will be advanced, and the time hastened when the will of God shall be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Let every one understand well that in order to gain any portion of this world he must do obeisance to "the god of this world," the devil. Just in proportion as the church gains worldly power, she loses spirituality, and so at last when the church-not the true church of Christ, but that which fills the eyes of the world-shall have gained control of the whole world, so that it can dictate terms to governments, it will simply be the world. The moment when it begins to celebrate what it will call its victory over the world, will mark its complete fall under the dominion of the devil. Beware of taking favours from the devil; there is always a strong chain fastened to them, and every link is a trap.

POWER OVER THE DEVIL

"Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him." There was the power that overcometh the world. The devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of this world, but Jesus, in commanding him to depart showed that He had power greater than that of all the kingdoms of the earth. He had power and authority over the god of this world. That is the power which He gives to every one of His followers. When Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, we are "strengthened with all might according to His glorious power." He has given His disciples "power and authority over all devils." Luke ix. 1. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James iv. 7. Just as surely as the devil was subject to the commands of Jesus, will he yield to our word if we "resist steadfast in the faith." 1 Peter v. 9. He can have no more power over the one who is in Christ, than he had over Christ Himself. "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that bath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin." 1 Peter iv. 1.

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The God that Can Save. Isa. xlv. 20-25" The Present Truth 16, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. xlv. 20-25.)

"Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations; they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near: yea, let them take counsel together; who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no god else beside Me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside Me. Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, ever tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength; even to Him shall all men come, and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."

In order to get the full benefit of these closing words of the forty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, one must have in mind the leading features of all that has preceded, from the fortieth chapter. Remember that in the whole Gospel of Isaiah the prominent feature is the great case in court, where the Government of God is on trial among men, before the whole universe. The question to be decided is, Who is God? The decision of the case depends on who can save: the One who can save is the true God. The witnesses are the men whom God saves. They alone can be true witnesses, telling what they know from personal experience. In these verses we have this court scene vividly presented before us.

"Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together." "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together." Here again is the summons to court. God challenges His enemies, those

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who have brought false charges against Him, to come and establish their case if possible. Let all the strength of all nations be joined together to manufacture a god or multitudes of gods, yet none of them can save; none can deliver those that trust in them. That is to say, no man, nor all men together, can save. Men cannot save themselves. Those who set up a wooden god, or any kind of god that cannot save, have no knowledge. Surely, the least degree of wisdom would teach anybody that when he is in a lost condition he cannot manufacture anything that can save him. This is simply the same thing that we find in the New Testament: "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph. 2:8, 9. The Gospel according to Isaiah is identical with that preached by Paul.

PRAYING FOR DELIVERANCE

For what purpose does one trust in any god, whether the true God, or one of his own manufacture?-It is for the purpose of support, of salvation. Read again the forty-fourth chapter. The foolish man who makes a god out of the same piece of wood with which he cooks his dinner, falls down before it, and says, "Deliver me; for thou art my god." The fact that he prays this prayer, shows that he feels the need of deliverance. We must not make the mistake of supposing that all the heathen are insincere. There is no doubt as great a proportion of sincerity among the people in openly heathen countries as there is in those that are nominally Christian. It is not every heathen that prays for aid in sin-for the furtherance of his evil designs. True, we learn that among the ancients very many prayed to the gods in order that they might succeed in some proposed plan of robbery or seduction; but then we read that many among professed Christians pray to God, but ask only that they may consume it upon their lusts. James iv. 3. So if the heathen have no excuse, the professed Christian has no reason for despising them. Among the heathen who in their blindness bow down to wood and stone, there are very many who are earnestly longing for deliverance from the chains that bind them. Ethiopia is represented as stretching out her hands to God. We are told that when the true light from God shines forth from the people of God, the Gentiles will come to it. Isa. lx. 3. So when we hear of men praying, no matter to what they pray, we know that they pray because they desire something.

The heathen pray to a god that cannot save. Yet they continue to pray for year after year. What wonderful perseverance! Praying for deliverance, and continuing to pray, not discouraged by the fact that they never find the thing sought for. There is something in them to admire, even while we pity. Would we be as persevering? It is a question, for very many times we become weary in well-doing, and say that it is a vain thing we serve God. Perhaps we can learn a lesson even from the heathen.

HE WHO CREATES, SAVES

Into the midst of this multitude assembled to pray to a god that cannot save, God sends out the message, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." How is it that He calls to the ends of the earth, to look to Him to be saved?-Because He is "the Creator of the ends of the earth." Isa. xl. 28. He can save that which He has made. And He will do it, too, for "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Isa. lii. 10. "The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine: as for the world, and the fulness thereof, Thou hast founded them. The north and the south, Thou hast created them; Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Thy name. Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand." Ps. lxxxix. 11-13. In Christ we have redemption, because in Him are all things created, and in Him all things hold together. Col. i. 13-17. The Creator is the Saviour. The cross of Christ saves, because in the cross is the power of a new creation. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." That which reminds us of the fact that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the sea, and all that is in them is that which presents to us the Gospel of our salvation. It is the Word of truth.

SALVATION NATURAL TO GOD

God is our Father. All the subjects of the King of kings are His children. Yet most people, even professed Christians, think it a surprising thing that God answers prayer. Indeed, it is really a question in the minds of many, whether God does actually hear our prayers. If there were a case reported, of marvellous cure, or deliverance from great danger, or of relief in great distress, many professed Christians would shake their heads, and deplore such fanaticism. Among those who would believe it, it would be reported as a most marvelous thing. Marvellous indeed are all God's mercies, but what we mean is that people would regard it as a strange thing. "This poor man cried," and the Lord actually delivered him out of all his troubles! How strange! We pick up our morning paper, and read the headlines. One says, in startling letters, "Astonishing Occurrence: A rich father actually gives his son a suit of clothes!" Another one says, "Strange Affair: A young man travelling on the Continent telegraphs to his father for money, and receives a check

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the next day!" You throw down the paper in disgust. "How senseless to publish such commonplace things as those; why, it is the most natural thing in the world for a father to give his son money and clothing, and whatever he needs for his support; that is an everyday occurrence; why take up space to tell what everybody knows?" "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Matt. vii. 11. We should indeed publish the mercies of the Lord, but not as though it were a rare thing for the Lord to be merciful. Rather should the goodness of the Lord be talked about so much that everybody would know that "He delighteth in mercy," and that it is His nature to give to everyone that asketh. "Every one that asketh receiveth." God saves, and saves immediately. "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry to Him day and night, and He is long suffering over them? I say unto you, that He will avenge them speedily." Luke xvii. 7, 8.

BEARING FALSE WITNESS AGAINST GOD

Yet thousands professedly pray to God, and receive no definite answers. Indeed, they scarcely expect answers, and would be surprised if any came. How many people are there in Christian lands and in Christian churches who day after day and week after week bow down before the Lord, and pray for deliverance, and yet are not free. They pray for salvation from sin, and yet are not saved; they still go on sinning. How much better off are they than the heathen? The idolater prays to a god that cannot save, and is not saved; the professed Christian prays to the God that can save, and he likewise is not saved. Where is the difference? Not in the men, certainly. The heathen is for all practical purposes as well off as the man who professes to worship the true God. "My brethren, these things ought not so to be," and it is not God's fault that they are so. He hears prayer, and He saves.

WORSE THAN THE HEATHEN

We are God's witnesses, yet we often bear false witness. Every professed Christian who continues to live in sin; every one who prays to God, declaring that he worships only the true and living God, but who does not live in the constant enjoyment of the salvation for which he prays, is a false witness. He is doing God worse service than are the heathen themselves. He is saying that there is no more power in God to save than there is in the gods of the heathen; and inasmuch as he professes to be a servant of God, and is supposed to be intimate with Him, his testimony tells more against God than does the testimony of many heathen. When the heathen looks at such an one, what inducement has he to leave his idols, and worship the God of the Christian? The heathen is indeed without excuse, in that he has all creation before him; but he gets no evidence from this one of the highest of God's creatures. It is well that God has not left Himself without witness, in that He has done all men good, giving them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons; for the men who have professed His name have too often testified that He could not save, or else that He was indifferent. The only way that we can be true witnesses for God, is by allowing His power to work in us that which is good. It is not enough that we do not indulge in some of the practices of the debased heathen; if we do not take salvation from our God, to whom we pray for deliverance, we are as bad off as are the heathen who set up the wood of their graven image, and pray to a God that cannot save. Let us not libel God any more.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESSFUL PRAYER

If men in praying would remember that He is the creator of the ends of the earth, there would not be so many vain prayers. "Ah Lord God! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee." Jer. xxxii. 17. He who made man of the dust of the earth can very easily lift up the poor out of the dust, and set them among the princes of His people, and make them inherit the throne of glory. It is because men have forgotten to worship God as the Creator, that they do not find salvation. The fact that He is the Creator, is the sole difference between Him and the hordes of false gods. Do not forget this essential difference.

SALVATION IN A LOOK

God says, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved." Salvation is in a look. "There's life in a look." When the children of Israel were dying in the bites of venomous serpents, "The Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." Num. xxi. 8, 9. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John iii. 14, 15. Looking in faith saves us. "We all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory." "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen." 2 Cor. iii. 18; iv. 17, 18. While we look at the Lord, He looks at us, and the Light of His countenance saves. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ. When Peter denied the Lord with cursing and swearing, Jesus turned and looked upon Peter, and immediately Peter received repentance and forgiveness. No one can possibly be lost while he is steadfastly looking unto Jesus.

SWORN TESTIMONY

In this great case, all the testimony must be sworn to. God has given testimony in His own behalf, and has sworn to it. He has sworn that none who trust in Him shall be lost. He has sworn to save every one who is willing to be saved, that is, every one who acknowledges himself to be utterly lost, and who therefore cease his vain struggles to save himself, but allows God to do as He will with him. His case rests upon His power and willingness to save the ungodly, and such confidence has He in the outcome, that He has sworn that every knee shall bow before Him, and every tongue confess that He is the Lord. All will do this, constrained by the weight of evidence. The righteous will do it now, even though they cannot see and understand all the dealings of God; the wicked, even the devil himself, will do it at the last, when the hidden things are brought to light, and will thus pronounce their own doom. In the oath of God, He has placed every man under oath. Every man on earth is under obligation to God, to bear witness to His faithfulness and power to save; all are by right God's witnesses; therefore all who do not in their lives bear witness to the fact that God saves, are perjurers. The third commandment is broken by many in their prayers. They take the name of God in vain, because

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they do not claim the salvation which He has wrought out, and has brought to all mankind.

OUR CASE GOD'S CASE

In the Lord there is righteousness and strength. In the Lord there is justification and glory. When God swore, He swore by Himself. He pledged His life for the salvation of men. He virtually said that if He failed to save anybody, even the humblest person in the remotest part of the earth, who called upon Him for salvation, He would forfeit His own life. Indeed, if righteousness does not come from God, or if it comes from any other source than the Lord Jesus, then His life is already forfeited, for in that case Christ is dead in vain. See Gal. ii. 21. But Christ is not dead in vain, and God is from everlasting to everlasting, although He has staked His life. He declares that all men shall yet bear witness, and swear to it, that He is the God that saves. Since He has such confidence in His case, and is willing to stake so much upon it, cannot we put our case along with His? If we join Him, our life is bound up in the bundle of life with His, and we are as sure of everlasting life and happiness as He is. What a great salvation!

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

-The bubonic plague has broken out in the Philippines.

-On the 2nd Inst. the first execution took place of a woman in Vienna for more than eighty years pest.

-Of the thirty-four million people in South America, it is said that thirty millions have never seen the Bible.

-The lifeboats round the British coast in 1899 were launched 833 times, and rescued 494 lives, besides much valuable property.

-It is announced that 200,000 Testaments are about to be tent to the soldiers in South Africa, "that each might receive spiritual comfort."

-The latest trade combine is said to be the formation of a syndicate, with a capital of two millions, to control the whole of the hat industry of England.

-According to the Board of Trade Returns for 1899, the total export trade of Great Britain amounted to ?800,000,000, the largest in its history, and nearly twice that of any other country.

-Switzerland has passed a law requiring that all persons not of independent means shall insure against accidents and illness. Over thirty thousand signatures have been recorded against the law.

-On New Year's Day last, sixteen missionaries sailed from England, by S.S. Bayern, for China, under the auspices of the China Inland Mission. Of this number, five were going out for the first time.

-Fuller details of the earthquake that occurred last week in the province of Tiflis, indicate that it was much more serious than at first supposed. Already eight hundred dead bodies have been recovered.

-Nearly eighty per cent. of the people of Cuba can neither read nor write. And yet for four hundred years Rome had complete control of all educational matters there.

-The last days of the Old Year have seen the practical completion of the great overland system of railroad and river communication by which European Russia is directly connected with the shores of the Eastern Pacific.

-Three million francs in bullion, despatched by the Bank of Belgium from Brussels to Antwerp, were packed in 260 bags each containing 11,500 francs. The railway trunks in which the bags travelled were labelled "Oysters."

-A substitute has been discovered for India-rubber, which is failing to meet the heavy demands on it. It is called velvril, and consists of a mixture of nitrated linseed oil and nitro-cellulose. Its elasticity and durability are said to be greeter than natural rubber.

-Paris is said to be suffering from a plague of rats. They infest the sewers, and fear nothing but an inundation. Thousands driven from their haunts during the clearance for the 1900 Exhibition, took refuge in the houses, and so fierce have they become in some quarters, that parents are afraid for their children to venture into the garden after dark.

-Professor Snillison, in the Journal of Health, states that of 1,000,000, persons, only 900 die of old age; 1,200 die of gout; 18,400 from measles; 2,700 from apoplexy; 7,000 from erysipelas; 7,500 from consumption; 48,000 from scarlet fever; 25,000 from whooping-cough; 30,000 from typhoid and typhus fevers, and 7,000 from rheumatism.

-A notable instance of the decline of the sailing vessel is furnished by the arrival at Hull of the Dharwar, a magnificent fully-rigged ship of 1,300 tons, formerly a well-known East Indiaman. So low has sail power fallen in the shipping world that she is now carrying pit props from the Baltic, a form of sea employment for which any crazy old hulk is good enough.

-A law has been passed in Michigan, U.S.A., prohibiting persons suffering from venereal disease from contracting marriages. A fine of from ?100 to ?200 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years, is the penalty attached to the violation of this law. The Michigan legislators have however had their labour for nothing, for the law can never become effective.

-The success of automobiles in connection with the New York fire department, as well as in Paris, is an assured fact. Electric hose carts have arrived at several fires before the engines and hose carts drawn by horses. Portable electric search lights mounted on a small waggon is another addition to the New York fire department. One such waggon accompanies every engine proceeding to a fire.

-One hundred and fifty-six cases of alleged unwholesome condensed milk were found in the possession of a man in Bermondsey, by the chief sanitary inspector. When asked to what use the defendant put the bad milk, the reply was, "For feeding pigs and making caramels and pastries." He was fined ?78 and ?10 costs. To say the least, this revelation is not very pleasant to consumers of sweets.

-The annual report of the Labour Department in Great Britain on strikes and lock-outs gives the following official statistics: In 1898, two hundred and thirty thousand men lost 10,000,000 working days, and attained the object for which they fought in a bare twenty-one per cent, of the conflicts. In the last fire peer, over 60,000,000 working days have thus been lost, representing probably a net sacrifice of some ?18,000,000 or ?20,000,000 in wages alone.

-There is no abatement in the epidemic of influenza in London. The number of deaths was 1,084 above the average for the corresponding weak for the pest ten years. The mortality was at the annual rate of 35 per 1,000 of the population. Influenza is largely responsible for the heavy death-rate in other cities in England, Plymouth having a rate of 49, Portsmouth 42, Brighton 33, Croydon 32, and West Ham 21. It is stated that there is "not a nurse disengaged in all London," and that the demand has been so heavy as to necessitate sending to Scotland and other places for assistance. At the St. Neots workhouse in which are 104 inmates, over eighty of them are down with the disease. Some private practicing physicians have as high as 100 cases to attend to daily.

"Eating for Strength" The Present Truth 16, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

The January number of the Strand Magazine contains an interesting account of in interview with a celebrated bear trainer, Mr. Permane, from which we take the following interesting item:-

"There is one thing about which the public at large seem to be under a wrong impression, and this I should like correct," added Mr. Permene. "Bears are herbivorous, not carnivorous. They will attack either animal or man only after a somewhat protracted fast. There is, therefore, no necessity for giving bears any meat whatever.

"Wherever I go," says Mr. Pormane, "I am always besieged by the local butcher offering to provide me with the necessary most and bones for my bears, and when I send him away, telling him that I only give them carrots and bread, he departs with a knowing wink, and probably imagines that I am utterly mistaken as to the food I ought to provide for my four-footed friends."

It is a common notion that it is necessary to consume a good quantity of "butcher's meat" daily, in order to be strong but we doubt if there are many flesh eaters who would like to try a wrestling match with a vegetarian bear of equal weight.

January 25, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. Object of the Earth's Creation. Isa. xlv. 16-19" The Present Truth 16, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

(ISA. XLV. 16-19, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

They are ashamed, they are even confounded,
His adversaries all of them;
Together they retire in confusion, the fabricators of images.
But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with Sternal salvation;
Ye shall not be ashamed, neither shall ye be
confounded, to the ages of eternity.
For thus saith Jehovah,
Who created the heavens; He is God:
Who formed the earth and made it; He hath
established it;
He created it not in vain; for He formed it to be inhabited;
I am Jehovah, and none besides;
I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth;
I have not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain;
I am Jehovah, who speak truth; who give direct answers.

THE FATE OF IDOLS AND THEIR MAKERS

Long ago we learned in our study of this prophecy that "he that believeth shall not make haste," or be confounded, because he builds up the Sure Foundation, the Rock of Ages, Christ Jesus. "We know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no god but one." 1 Cor. viii. 4. Therefore those who make and trust in idols must necessarily go to confusion. They literally go to nothing, for the idol is nothing, and "they that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." He who builds up nothing must come to nothing. Thus we read: "For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen; as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return unto thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon My holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been." Obadiah xv. 16. "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens." Of course then those who trust in them will perish with them. That is to say, whoever trusts in anything less than the power that made and upholds the heavens and the earth, will go out of existence.

NO WANT TO THOSE WHO TRUST GOD

"But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King." Jer. x. 10. He is "from everlasting to everlasting." Ps. xc. 2. Therefore "Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation;" for Israel is the people who depend upon the Lord, and who "have no confidence in the flesh." Jacob's name was changed to Israel when he ceased to wrestle, because unable to stand, and hung on the Lord for support. That was his strength whereby he prevailed. Compare Gen. xxxii. 24-28 with Hosea xii. 3, 4. It is "in the Lord" that Israel will be saved, not in themselves. "Vain is the help of man." "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man." Jer. vii. 5.

WHY THE EARTH WAS CREATED

Why was the earth created? The text tells us that God formed it to be inhabited. This statement immediately follows the statement that "He created it not in vain." That is to say, that if the earth were not inhabited, it would have been formed in vain. There would be no reason for its existence if it had no inhabitants. Note further that the fact that the earth was not formed in vain, but was created to be inhabited, is given as proof that Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Israel shall not be ashamed nor confounded to the ages of eternity, because they will have the earth to dwell on. It is to be the home of the saved, even as in the beginning it was formed to be inhabited by a righteous race.

A PRESENT, TIMELY MESSAGE

This is a message for this time, for the message given to Isaiah was to be proclaimed "until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land." Isa vi. 11, 12. Is there any prospect that such a thing will ever take place? There is indeed. God does nothing arbitrarily, and the Lord will not come to take unto Himself His great power, and to reign, "and to destroy the earth" (Rev. xi. 17, 18), until the earth and its inhabitants are so near total destruction that they would not last any longer, even if His coming were deferred. It is nothing but the coming of the Lord that saves the earth from destruction, which wicked men have brought upon it by their own self-destroying sins. Let us study this matter a little more closely, and we shall see it plainly.

SIN BRINGS RUIN

Remember that God has placed Himself on trial by the world. The Judgment of the last day will be to determine and demonstrate the righteousness of God's character. He is to be clear when He judges, or, to overcome when He is judged. Ps. li. 4; Rom. iii. 4. The judgment will be that God is true, but every man a liar. Thus every sinner will pronounce judgment upon himself. The wicked are now treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Rom. ii. 4. In the judgment every sinner will acknowledge that he has brought his fate upon himself, and is simply reaping what he has sown. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and to be carnally minded is death; it has death in it.

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Weigh these texts well. It is made very plain in the Scriptures that the wicked will receive punishment at the hands of God; that they will be burned up with unquenchable fire; but what is here set forth is that the Lord will not administer this punishment until the wicked men and seducers have waxed so bad that if the Lord did not come the race would cease to exist, being self-destroyed. This conclusion necessarily results from the fact that the wicked reap the fruit of their own doings; that "the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." Prov. i. 32. "The strong shall become tow, and his work a spark of fire; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them." Isa. i. 31. When the wicked see that the coming of the Lord occurred just as they were about to exterminate themselves, and that He came to save the earth from utter destruction with them, and to make it a place fit for the habitation of those who remain loyal to Him, no tongue can rise up against Him in judgment. The master of the harvest begins His work at the time when the grain would fall of itself if it were not reaped.

THE END APPROACHING

Is there any probability that such a state of things is imminent? There undoubtedly is, although very many people will scoff at the statement. Look at the rapid increase of disease. In the last few years consumption has increased at a most alarming rate, and is carrying off its victims by the hundred thousand. People of middle age can well remember when a consumptive person was a somewhat noted person in a community, lingering along for years; whereas now consumption is one of the most common diseases, and often carries off its victims almost as quickly as the plague. Indeed, it has earned the name of "the great white plague." The same plague is upon the cattle upon which men feed, so that the danger is intensified. If the disease should increase in the next few years at the same rate that it has in the past few years, the human being or the cow that did not have consumption would be an exceptional case.

This is only one of the many causes of death; many others might be named. Vice is increasing by leaps and bounds, and becoming more bold, if not more open. By unnatural practices men and women are "receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet." By wrong habits of eating and drinking, people are undermining their constitutions, and preparing themselves to be a prey to any epidemic that arises; men and women vie with one another to see who can discover something new to eat. The simple things which God gave to man as his food, which are perfectly adapted to the wants of the body, building it up and making it strong, are but little thought of, while more and more abominable things and worse combinations are swallowed, the effect of which is only to fill the body with poisons, and to produce unsound tissues. People flatter themselves that none of these things injure them, even while they are continually dosing themselves with patent nostrums, in order that they may keep their diseased organs from crying out under the strain put upon them, and preserve the feeling of health without the reality. Many who have the appearance and the feeling of health are often cut down almost without any warning, because they have been fitting themselves to be a prey to disease. The plagues that come upon the earth are not any "mysterious dispensation of Providence," but are the natural and inevitable result of the gross habits of the people.

DEVASTATING WAR

Then there is war with all its evils. The thousands that are slaughtered in battle do not by any means mark the sum of the ravages of war. Poverty, disease, and famine naturally follow in the wake of great armies. And when was there ever such preparation for war as at the present time. True there is great talk of peace, but the weapons of war are in hand all the time. No nation will voluntarily talk of peace until it can dictate the terms. Immense armaments are being prepared for use, and who can estimate the slaughter that will take place when all the nations really become angry, and all join in the strife? The most optimistic know that the general struggle cannot be much longer delayed, and none dare contemplate the result. There is nothing more certain than that with all the able-bodied men drawn into the armies, as is fast being the case, and set to killing one another, together with disease eating up the rest, to say nothing of the new ills that are generated by the armies themselves, another hundred years, if the coming of the Lord were delayed so long, would see none left on earth except the few righteous people who keep the truth. This is not speculation, but is exactly what the word of the Lord has foretold. "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." Isa. xxiv. 3-6.

A BRIGHTER PICTURE

But this is not to be the end, for the Lord created the earth not in vain, but formed it to be inhabited. When He formed it, He also made man and set him over it, and everything that He had made, including man, was "very good." From this we learn God's purpose in creating the earth. It was to be inhabited. Some one may say, "Well, it is now inhabited." Not by the people for whom God designed it. He did not make the earth to be inhabited by wicked people, those who are in rebellion against His Government. The object of the creation of the earth will not be met until righteousness dwells in it, and sin and sickness are unknown. That time will come just as surely as God lives and is true. The increase of evil, wicked men and seducers waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, the preparations for war, and the destruction of men by violence, disease, and vice, do not throw any discredit upon God's word, but are in themselves tokens of its truthfulness, and of the near approach of the time when Christ shall come and reign in righteousness.

THE SAVING WORD OF GOD

God has not spoken any word in vain. He is able to save all that put their trust in Him, and His salvation is a perfect salvation. He saves from sin and death, and from every trace of both. He does not deceive. Far more than earthly parents, does He know how to give good gifts, even the gift of His own Spirit, to those who ask Him. The power by which He will keep His people in the time of trouble that is coming on all the world, so that no plague shall come nigh their dwelling even though noisome pestilence walketh in darkness and destruction wasteth at noonday, so that no evil befalls them, neither does any plague come nigh their dwelling, is the selfsame power by which He now keeps

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them from sin. And He speaks plainly, too. The agents of Satan, wizards and familiar spirits, "peep and mutter," and "whisper out of the dust" (Isa. viii. 19; xxix. 4), but God gives direct answers. There is nothing ambiguous in them, as is the case with heathen oracles. The word "is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart that thou mayest do it." Therefore "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." And "behold, now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation."

"Follow Me. The First Disciples of Jesus. John i. 35-46" The Present Truth 16, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

(John i. 35-46.)²1

Two things are noticeable in the story of the first disciples of Jesus; one is the class of men whom Jesus called, and the other is the readiness with which they followed Him. They were not all from one class. One, Matthew, was a rich man; all the others were poor men, in the sense that they had no income except from their daily labour. But whether rich or poor, they were all those who were not held in the highest repute by the proud Pharisees. "Good enough men as fishermen, if they would but keep their place, but with no qualifications for teachers or preachers," would be the natural comment of the learned rabbis. But Jesus did not choose them for what they were, but for what He could make of them. "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence; . . . . That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. i. 26-31. Those whom Christ chose were men who were in a condition to be made over new, so that the now wine of the Gospel could be put into them. They did not know so much that they were not willing to learn more.

Among all the gifts which God by the Spirit has placed in the church, we do not find preachers. The Lord has not made any provision for a preaching class. A bishop or elder must be "apt to teach," but nothing is said about his preaching. If most people were asked to name the chief qualification of an elder, they would say, "apt to preach." No; every Christian is a preacher, whether he knows it or not; he is a preacher by virtue of his existence but to be able to teach, to catch men for the kingdom of God, needs special training by the Holy Spirit. So when Christ called Peter and Andrew, He said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matt. iv. 19. Not only so, but they were to be made successful fishermen, for He also said, "From henceforth thou shalt catch men." Luke v 10.

"THINGS WHICH ARE DESPISED"

All the first disciples of Jesus were of the common people. "The common people heard Him gladly." Mark xii. 37. Christ Himself was one of the common people. Ps. lxxxix. 19. He was "despised and rejected of men." Isa. liii. 3. But it is "to Him whom man despiseth," that God says, "In an acceptable time have I heard Thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped Thee; and I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inhabit the desolate heritages." Isa. xlix. 7, 8. Note well that there is only one qualification here: "To Him whom man despiseth." Jesus was not the only one in the world, who has been despised. How many of us

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have not felt ourselves despised? Indeed, we have despised ourselves. Then these words apply to us as well as to Jesus. God has chosen us to be His salvation unto the ends of the earth.

"But," you say, "we are justly despised, because of our sinfulness, while Jesus was unjustly despised." What difference does that make? The text does not say, "To him whom man unjustly despiseth," but "to him whom man despiseth." It is unlimited. Wherever there is a poor, despised person on this earth, there is one whom God has chosen to be His messenger of salvation. The only question is, will the despised person acquiesce in the choice?

After three years of intercourse with Jesus, there was a marked change in the disciples. The learned doctors of the law could indeed see that they were of the common people, and that they lacked the peculiar polish of the schools, but "they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus," and they marvelled at their words. Acts iv. 13. "Behold, God exalteth by His power; who teacheth like Him?" Job xxxvi. 22. Christ had and still has all the learning and wisdom of eternity to impart to all who follow Him. No one who closely follows Christ need have occasion to mourn his lack of opportunities. Following Christ is not a substitute for education, but supplies the genuine article, if one is willing to undergo the necessary discipline.

PROMPT OBEDIENCE

Matthew was a rich man, engaged in a lucrative business. Luke v. 27-31. Yet as soon as Jesus said to him, "Follow Me," "he left all, rose up, and followed Him." This was written as an example for men to the end of time. It is a very common thing for men to say, "I will begin to serve the Lord as soon as I can get my business settled;" "as soon as I can dispose of my business, or as soon as I can pay my debts, or as soon as I can get out of this partnership, I will begin to keep the Sabbath of the Lord." Matthew made none of these excuses, although he certainly had as much ground for them as anybody ever can have, for he was in Government employ. But the business of the king had to give way for that of the King of kings. When a father calls his son, it does not sound very respectful for the son to answer, "I'll come when I get ready;" yet that is just what many people virtually say to the Lord. "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Excuses, however, are not confined to the rich; the poor are often just as ready with them. "I should lose my situation, if I begun to serve the Lord, keeping all His commandments;" "I could not make a living, if I should keep the Sabbath." How often we hear these words. Peter and Andrew were fishermen, having only their fishing nets and their boats with which to earn a livelihood. Jesus said, "Follow Me;" "And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him." Ah, those are the followers in whom Jesus delights. How often we think, "If I were only such a man as Peter, or John!" In that case we might do something worth while. Well, you can at least begin to be like them. You can be like them in the beginning of their career, and leave it with the Lord as they did, to determine what you shall be afterwards. God has no use for two exactly alike. All the first disciples of Jesus were marked by the characteristic of David, who said, "I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments." How strange it is that people seem to take it for granted that all the martyrdom, and the spirit of martyrdom, is relegated to the past, and that now it can not be expected that they shall in convenience themselves in the least for the sake of Christ. "Even Christ pleased not Himself," and He still says, "Follow Me!" "If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Matt. xvi. 24. "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it." Luke ix. 23, 24. "He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me." Matt. x. 38. Ah, here we have the answer to the oft-repeated complaint, "I am so unworthy." When the man makes that complaint, we know what is the trouble. Let him deny himself, be content to be of no reputation, take up his cross, and follow the Lord promptly, instead of hesitating, and dreading it, and the Lord will count him worthy, and will make him of incalculable worth. Just such disciples as those first ones, the Lord is still seeking. Will you be one of them?

"COME AND SEE"

Nathanael had some doubts, but Philip did not waste time arguing with him. "Come and see," was his only answer. That is all that is required of any servant of Christ,-to lead men to Him, that they may see Him. Let men see Him, and He will do the rest. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." Who is authorised to do this? Whoever hath heard, and hath learned of the Father" "as the truth is in Jesus," and has come to Him, is commissioned to bring others to Him. "Let him that heareth say, Come." Let every one take heed not to misrepresent Christ, and be sure that he brings men to the real Christ, and not to himself or to something of his own devising. Happy is the person who can say of a truth, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write." Such a man has an argument that will be sufficient for every doubter, namely, "Come and see." Those who refuse to comply with so reasonable a request, would certainly not listen to anything; and those who having seen Jesus crucified before them, will not believe, cannot be reached by any argument, and so nothing more is needed. "But how shall I show Jesus to them, if I do not preach to them, and argue with them?" That question reveals the fact that you have not yet found Him. All the most eloquent preacher in the world can do to lead men to Christ, is to tell them how he found Him, and what He has done for him; and the least talented man in the world can do that.

February 15, 1900

"Temperance. Health by Faith" The Present Truth 16, 7.

E. J. Waggoner

Every Christian is familiar with the statement that "the just shall live by faith," but very few have any idea that it is more than a statement of a theological dogma. They imagine that the life which the Lord Jesus gives us is something apart from eating and drinking, and the daily round of duties. In fact, there is unconsciously in the minds of many people a great deal of the notion that religion is chiefly an affair of going to meeting, and observing certain forms and ceremonies, and of professing belief in certain "points of doctrine." If they would remember that Jesus Christ was Saviour from His birth, just as much when a child at play, and a young man working at the carpenter's bench in Nazareth, as when preaching to the multitudes, they would learn differently.

Last week we learned that all life is from the Lord. Every manifestation of life is proof of the presence of God. The blood is the life; and we receive the blood of Christ by every means by which He conveys to us our daily life. Many more proofs of this might be adduced, but those already given are sufficient if they are well pondered. Others will readily suggest themselves. We must exercise ourselves to discern the Lord's body; we must learn to know the Lord in whatever form He reveals Himself, and to accept Him, and give Him a welcome. The Holy Spirit is invisible, but He affects us through the medium of our senses. It is true that God has much more life for us than our minds can ever comprehend, or than we can ever consciously grasp; but if we do not appreciate the least, we can never expect the greatest. It is God who has given us our senses, in order that we may comprehend Him; and if we do not use them for that purpose, we can never expect any greater manifestation of Himself.

God is one, and so all life is one. There is only one life, although there are multitudinous forms of it. Christ is not divided, and He does not deal out His life in sections. When we receive His life, we have it for everything, if we will but accept it. The life of Christ-the blood-which cleanses from all sin, is the very same life that keeps us alive and in health from day to day. He did not live two lives on this earth. The life with which He healed the poor paralytic, was the very same life with which He cleansed him from his sins. The life which He gave on Calvary, is the very same life by which He we are supplied with "life, and breath, and all things." When the Scripture tells us that we are to live by faith, the word "life" is to be taken in its natural meaning. There is nothing secret about it. Life is life. The teaching is that we are to eat, drink, sleep, move, and have our being, by faith. Everything that goes to make up life, is to be done by faith. In short, we are to live by faith.

All the difference between the Christian and the sinner is that one lives in the right way, and the other lives in a perverted way; the one has perfect life, while the other has only partial life, in fact, has not real life at all. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

The life of faith has to do with our flesh, our body. Read the words of the Apostle Paul: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. ii. 20.

Read again: "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Rom. viii. 13.

Again: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Rom. xii. 1.

Still further: "Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that, by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." 1 Cor. ix. 24-27.

It is plain upon the face of this scripture, that the Christian is to give his body the same kind of discipline that the athlete does when he is in training for a race, only from a far higher motive. Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things; very good; but while they do it for a corruptible crown, we do it for an incorruptible crown. What is it that we do? Why, we are temperate in all things, keeping our body under, and bringing it into subjection, disciplining it, so that it will obey the mind of the Spirit.

Our bodies are the temples of God, and as such are to be under the direct control of the Spirit of God. God Himself is to quicken (make alive) our mortal bodies by His indwelling Spirit. See Rom. viii. 11. The Spirit is to supply all the life that we have. The life of Jesus is to be manifested in our mortal flesh. This means health, for we read: "My son, attend to My words; incline thine ear to My sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." Prov. iv. 20-22.

With this agree the words of the Lord to Israel of old: "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, and provoke Him not; . . . If thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. . . . Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." Ex. xxiii. 20-25. Nothing could be more explicit than this. But it throws upon us the duty of seeking to learn the ways of the Lord. This is not a difficult matter, if we are sincere, for "if any man willeth to do His will, he shall know." He will show us the way of life, for He will reveal Himself unto us, and He is the life.

Jesus bore our sicknesses, in order that we might be freed from them, just as He bore our sins, in order that we might be saved from sin. The sins of the world were upon Him, yet nobody ever saw a single sin in His life. So all the diseases

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of mankind were upon Him, yet nobody ever saw Him unfitted by them for daily labour. The life that was in Him, which He continually received from the Father of all, swallowed up both sin and sickness. It is, to say the least, as easy for Him to give us health in His life, as to give us righteousness. In fact, that is what He does, since His life is undivided, and comprehends everything; but so many fail to take it for health, just as many fail to take it for righteousness.

When the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus, He said, "I perceive that power is gone forth from Me." We saw last week that blood went from Him, sufficient to supply all the woman's lack. That is self-evident. As great a demand was made upon His life, as would supply the woman's lack of life. That is to say, the vacancy in the woman's life, was transferred to Him. He took her disease upon Himself, yet He did not die because He was constantly in touch with the Source of life, and allowed it to flow through Him unhindered; and by her faith the woman put herself in touch with that same Source. When Jesus said to her, "Thy faith hath made thee whole," He really said, "Thy faith hath saved thee." He used the same words that He did to the sinner who washed His feet and anointed them. See Luke vii. 50. So likewise, when the blind man believed to the receiving of his sight, Jesus said the same words to him: "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Luke xviii. 42. With forgiveness of sins, He gave healing of body, or in the healing of the body He imparted righteousness. In short, He makes the recipient of His grace "every whit whole," giving him "perfect soundness."

The only argument that anybody can bring against this is, that they have not experienced it. That proves nothing. Many lepers were in Israel in the days of Elisha, and none of them were healed, but only Naaman the Syrian; but that, instead of proving that there was no healing for lepers in Israel, showed that every leper in Israel might have been cleansed, if he had only appreciated the presence of the Lord in His accredited prophet.

In this article we have not tried to point out how to apply this truth in our own lives; we must first see that there is indeed something real to grasp, before we will lay hold of it. What we are first anxious for all to see is that Jesus has one life, a life filled with all the fulness of God, to give to us; that with Him God freely gives us all things, since all things are in Him. In His earth life He was superior to disease, just as He was to sin, although the flesh that He took was our human flesh, and He was made in all things like unto His brethren. He has "power over all flesh," and therefore He can in our sinful, mortal flesh, exercise the same control over sin and disease that He did in His own. In fact, He had no flesh, no infirmity, of His own; it was our flesh, our infirmity, that He took.

Next week we shall try to help the reader to see how in some things to lay hold of this life for practical everyday use.

March 1, 1900

"The Reality of Forgiveness. The Paralytic Healed. Mark ii. 1-12" The Present Truth 16, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

(Mark ii. 1-12.)³1

In studying this lesson, no one should fail to compare the parallel passages in Matt. ix. 1-8 and Luke v. 17-26. In these accounts of the miracle a few items are recorded, that are not found in Mark, which add materially to the lesson.

THE STORY

The story is very quickly told, and very easily learned. Jesus had returned to Capernaum, and had entered the house where He was accustomed to stay when He was in the city. It was quickly noised abroad that He was at home, and soon the house was filled to overflowing with people anxious to hear Him speak, and a great crowd gathered round the door, eager to get within the sound of His voice. These people were not alone from the town, but "there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee and Judea, and Jerusalem." Luke v. 17. So we see that "this thing was not done in a corner." "The redemption that is in Christ Jesus" was that day made known throughout all the land.

"The power of the Lord was present to heal." Whether any of those who were sitting by availed themselves of this opportunity to be healed, or not, we are not told; but there were some who were determined not to let the chance go by. While Jesus was teaching, four men came bearing a fifth on a stretcher, seeking to get near to Him. The fifth man was a paralytic, utterly unable to help himself. But the crowd about the door was impenetrable, and no one would move, to give place to the new-comer. The faith of the five, however, was not dampened; mounting with difficulty to the flat roof of the house, they tore off the tiles, and let

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the man down directly in front of Jesus. They were bound to attract His attention, and would not be thwarted. Such faith could not be ignored, even if the compassionate heart of Jesus had not been moved by the sight of the suffering. To the palsied man He said, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." Then, when those sitting by began to murmur, and to talk about blasphemy, Jesus asked them which they thought was easier, To forgive the man's sins, or to make him arise and walk. Without waiting for an answer, He turned again to the man, still lying on his couch, and said, "Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." Immediately the palsied man arose, took up his bed, and went his way glorifying God, while the people said, "We have seen strange things to-day, the like of which we never saw before," and they glorified God, who had given such authority to man. That is the whole story; what lessons may we learn from it?

MAN'S CHIEF NEED

The first thing that is every man's chief need, no matter what his condition, is forgiveness of sins. The Lord always does the most important thing first, and the first thing He did for this man was to make known to him the forgiveness of his sins. This is man's chief need, for, as we shall see, it includes everything else. "Sin came into the world, and death by sin." As sin has brought every misery and woe with it, the remission of sins removes every other ill.

We learn also that the palsied man was more troubled over his sinful condition than over his illness of body. Read the words of the Lord: "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." This shows that the man was sad and despondent, and that his sadness was over his sins. All that was need to make him of good cheer, in spite of his helpless condition, was to know that his sins were forgiven. The words of Jesus brought peace to the troubled heart, and the man felt that now he could be content to die. He had wished for healing, that he might "live a different life." How many have longed for "another chance," not knowing that without a new life from the Lord they could not live any different life from that which they have been living. But now the man's sins were forgiven; the words announcing the fact came with such positive assurance that he could not doubt it. He believed, and was at peace, for "being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

TWO KINDS OF WISDOM CONTRASTED

While the paralytic himself believed, the others doubted. If they had not, they too might have been healed, for the power of God was present to heal them before this man appeared on the scene. Here we have true and false wisdom contrasted. The poor, sick man believed the words of Jesus, and he knew that he was forgiven; he had positive assurance of the fact; there was a power-the power of the Spirit-that came into him, and he needed not that any man should testify to him concerning Christ. He knew that He was the Son of God, the Son of man, with power on earth to forgive sins. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." 1 John v. 10. But the wise men sitting by began to "reason" in their hearts. In their minds the thing was not reasonable, and they would not believe it. Note especially that their "reasoning" consisted in doubting. That is the wisdom of this world, and it leads to blindness, ignorance, and folly. We have here the same word that is used in Rom. i. 21, "knowing God, they glorified Him not as God, but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened." Human reasoning leads to ignorance of God, and that is the worst kind of foolishness. It is lack of sense, for God is so plainly revealed in His works that whoever does not recognise Him is a fool, with less perception than the dumb brutes. Simple faith is the highest sort of wisdom. The unlettered man who has learned to recognise God, and who believes in Him, has more wisdom than the most scholarly infidel. This does not by any means disparage learning; on the contrary, it exalts it; for the man who believes the Lord, and who follows Him, has the key to "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," while the wisdom of this world shall "come to naught;" for it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." 1 Cor. i. 19. But the Lord will never destroy anything that has in it real worth.

BEWARE OF THE GOSPEL OF DOUBT

Above all things beware of a negative Gospel, which is no Gospel at all. There are many people who seem tohave no other message than to warn the people against some other person's supposed errors. Their preaching is always negative. They have nothing themselves to give, that will build up and set free, and they devote a large portion of their time picking flaws in what some other person has said. Their talk always tends to unsettle. After hearing them, people say, "Well I declare, I don't know what to believe." Not always, however; some, like the palsied man, believe in spite of the reason that consists in doubting. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; doubt finds no place in it; we are not even to spend time doubting the teachings of the enemy of souls, but to meet everything with a positive, "It is written." Nobody ever saw a doubting man joyful in the Lord. Don't talk doubts; don't tell what you do not believe; speak always the words of faith.

"He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." The palsied man needed no demonstration to prove to him that his sins were forgiven; but Jesus would show the doubters the foolishness of their "reasonings." He who forgives sins also heals disease. The man could tell by the witness in himself that he was forgiven, but there was no outward sign to indicate the fact to those who sat by. So in order that they might know that the Son of man had power on earth to forgive sins, He said to the palsied man, "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." Immediately the man did so, and went forth healed in body as well as in soul, while the wise reasoners were left in confusion.

THIS POWER OF FORGIVENESS

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Learn from this narrative that there is real power accompanying the forgiveness of sins. That power is "the power of an endless life," by which Jesus is High Priest. He puts His own life of righteousness into and upon all them that believe, and that sends away the old life of sin, which was death. When we forgive a man who has done wrong, it makes no difference in him; we are to forgive him, not for his benefit, but for our own. If we refuse to forgive an offender, he is not injured by it, but we are. We forgive a man, not to clear him from guilt, but to clear ourselves; for if we refuse to forgive him, we take upon ourselves his sin, and become responsible for it. But God forgives a man, for the purpose of cleansing him of the guilt. God's forgiveness does not consist in empty words, but it makes the man perfectly free from sin. It does not consist in simply taking no account of the outward acts that the man has done, but it removes the sinful nature. It makes the sinner a partaker of the Divine nature. This Divine nature is the life of God in Christ, so that with it comes healing of body to every one who can discern the life as it is manifested. Those who disparage a justified life, and say that while it is very well to live such a life, there is something far higher, cast discredit upon the righteousness of God, by which forgiveness comes. They simply do not know the power that there is in "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," by which we are justified. True, many people live a sort of Christian life for years, without knowing the real joy of freedom from sin, but that is not the fault of the justification which God imparts, but the fault of their own blindness. They have not known the gift of God. In the forgiveness of sins, we have every gift that a gracious God can impart to a fallen race. We are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ (Gal. ii. 26), even by Christ Himself; and in giving us Christ, God must of necessity give us all things.

THE SIGN OF FORGIVENESS

Not the sign to the one forgiven, for he needs no sign. The fact is sufficient for him. But God gives a sign, by which others may know that He does forgive sin, so that they too may be induced to trust in His salvation. What this sign is, we learn from the lesson before us. Jesus told the man to rise up and walk, in order that those sitting by might know that the Son of man had power on earth to forgive sins. The healing of disease in the body of the one whose sins are forgiven, and who has come to a knowledge of the power of this forgiveness,-the power of a new life,-is the sign to the world that the life is there. True, the altered character of the mark is a sign, but the life of Christ is not divided, and since He who forgives all our iniquities by His life is the One who also heals all our diseases by the same life; the two things ought to go together. If they do not, it shows that there is a failure to appreciate all the fulness of God's life; the word is not given free course, that it may be glorified.

THE AUTHORITY GIVEN TO MEN

There is one more most important lesson for us to learn from this incident. When the people saw what had been done "they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power to men." Matt. ix. 8. The margin of the Revised Version has "authority." Many read this carelessly, thinking that the power referred to was the power given to the man enabling him to walk. That is to lose more than half the lesson. Who was Jesus?-He Himself used the common title, "the Son of man." Those who were sitting by knew Him as nothing else than the son of the carpenter. He was in every sense of the word a man, one of the people, made in all things like unto His brethren. He appeared on earth as the Representative Man,-the representation of God's idea of a man,-a perfect man. He was the visible manifestation of God, and that is what the original man was. Indeed, without God in him, man is nothing. Only in Christ can anybody attain unto "a perfect man." That which Christ was on earth, every man may be in Him. "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made full, who is the Head of all principality and power." Col. ii. 9, 10. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, and He has placed in us the word of reconciliation, so that He now beseeches men by us, just as He did by Christ. We, that is, all who are reconciled, are "in Christ's stead." So God has given to every man who has come to Him in Christ, the authority to announce to men the forgiveness of sins, not in his own name, but in the name of Jesus. "Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins."

Do you see a sad and despondent sinner mourning over his sins?-Then know that to you is given the authority to say, "Be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee." Aye, every one who knows the full power of forgiveness in his own soul and body, needs no assurance of this right, for he cannot but make known to others that which he himself knows so well. Every person who is mourning for his sins, gives evidence that he acknowledges himself to be a sinner, and unable in himself to remove his own sins; and we have the right, in the name of the Lord, to declare the forgiveness of sins to every one who confesses them. What a glorious gift! In this consists the greatest joy of the pardoned sinner: the power that cleanses him from sin gives him the authority to minister the gift to others. Take it as freely as it is given, and give God the glory.

"For Little Ones. A Deliverer" The Present Truth 16, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

"A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me." These words were spoken to the children of Israel by Moses, and the Prophet of whom he spoke was the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we have been learning lately about the life of Moses, we can see in what ways it was a prophecy, a telling beforehand, of the life of Jesus Christ on earth.

From his very birth the history of Moose was a shadow of the history of Jesus. Satan was on the watch for his coming into the world, and was ready to kill him just as soon as he should appear. He moved on Pharaoh's heart, and made him afraid that the children of Israel would grow too many and too strong, and would fight against him. Then he tempted him to try to stop this by killing all the baby boys.

The hearts of many poor mothers were made very sad, and the lives of a great many little ones were lost through Pharaoh's cruelty. But the angels of God were watching over Moses when his mother left him in the little ark by the river, and the Spirit of God moved the heart of Pharaoh's daughter with pity for the beautiful child, so that she took him for her own, and gave his mother the money to take care of him.

You are already thinking, are you not, of the Child Jesus, and the wicked, cruel way in which Herod tried to destroy Him? Satan made Herod feel afraid that Jesus would try to take his place on the throne. Then he suggested to him to get rid of Jesus by slaying all the little children, so that he would be sure to kill Him. All the little children under two years old were slain, and a great cry went up from the mothers of Israel, "Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they were not."

But the angels of God, who watched the cradle on the banks of the Nile, also watched the Babe in the manger in Bethlehem. An angel brought Joseph a message from God, telling him to take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, away from the wrath of Herod.

Joseph and Mary were poor, and would not, perhaps, have had the money for their journey. But all the silver and the gold in the world belongs to God, and He can do just what He wills with it. Through Pharaoh's daughter He sent the money to Moses mother. And by the Star that appeared in the East He led the wise men to Bethlehem, with rich presents for the infant King,-gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts provided for all their needs while on their journey and during their stay in Egypt.

Another thing that we noticed in the life of Moses was that his brethren "refused him;" they would not believe that God had chosen him to deliver them. In this also his life was a shadow of the life of Jesus. For the Jews ill-treated Jesus, and said, "We will not have this Man to reign over no." But this did not upset the plan of God, for He exalted Him to be a Prince and a Saviour of those who had rejected Him.

Moses spent forty years of his life as a shepherd, and was thus prepared for the time when God "led His people like a flock" through the wilderness by the hand of Moses. In this he was a shadow of the great Good Shepherd, who leads His sheep and lambs through the wilderness of this world, feeds them and shelters them, and keeps them from straying into dangerous places.

If we listen to the voice of our Shepherd and follow Him, He will lead us safely to the Promised Land where all His flock will be gathered at lest, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

-There will be a total eclipse of the sun on May 28th, and the Greenwich Observatory is making extensive preparations to view it, which, however, will appear only as a partial eclipse at this point.

-No fewer than seven municipal corporations have Bills before Parliament this session, by which they seek power to erect crematoria. This method of disposing of the dead is gaining in popular favour in England, a number of people of rank who have lately died having stipulated that their remains be disposed of in this way.

-Last year 1,952,456 packs of cards were manufactured in England. There is a stamp duty of threepence per pack, which yields a revenue to the Government of ?24,405. An additional sum of ?5,346 was received as duty on cards that were imported. Think of the gambling spirit that there must be in our midst to cause this vast expenditure.

-Russia is suffering from a coal deficit estimated at about 1,000,000 tons less than the ordinary output. Russian agents are now travelling through English coalfields purchasing, and the Minister of Finance has been forced to ask permission of the Czar to allow railways to import foreign coal duty free. This deficiency is working great hardship on the poor of Russia.

-Two large elephants at the Crystal Palace, belonging to Sanger's Circus, became enraged, broke loose, killed their keeper, and then escaped. One was afterwards captured and shot, and the other was found in a wood the next day; he was enticed out by some other elephants, and brought safely back. The amount of damage to property that he did while loose amounts to hundreds of pounds.

-In New York a new method of battling with consumption is being watched with great interest. It consists in driving, by means of a hitherto unsuspected force in electricity, formaldehyde, one of the most powerful germicides known, into the lungs from the outside of the body. It is believed that by this method all cases of consumption in the first stage, and three-quarters of those in the second stage, and about a third of those that are regarded as hopeless, can be cured.

-A surgeon in the French army has just discovered that stamp collectors may be the means of disseminating tuberculosis by means of the stamps. A man in his employ who was a great stamp collector inoculated guinea-pigs with the water in which 300 stamps had been soaked, and in every case they died with characteristic tuberculosis lesions. The warning is given that children should be prohibited against placing any stamps near their mouths in order to moisten them, and foreign stamps should be disinfected in a five per cent. solution of carbolic acid before adding them to collections.

-The number of newspapers published in the British Isles is 2,473, of which 521 are issued in London.

-The weather at Buenos Ayers is intensely hot. On the 5th inst. there were in that city 219 cases of sunstroke, and 134 deaths.

-Twenty-five of the twenty-nine leading steal and sheet mill firms of the United States have just formed themselves into a trust, with a capital of ?13,000,000. The name of the new combination will be known as the American Steel Sheet Company.

-The Society of Public Analysts celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary recently. The president stated that nearly 1,000 articles were presented weekly for analysis. Fear thousand articles of consumption were condemned last year as adulterated.

-As a slight indication of the "penny system" by which many in Leaden live, it was stated at a recent meeting of the Gas Light and Coke Company that during the past twelve months the automatic penny-in-the-slot gas meters had absorbed seventy-five million pennies.

-Sir Thomas Lipton has recently donated a large sum of money, and is working out the practical details of a scheme whereby the poorer aliases in London will be able to procure food at actual cost price. Already a large stone building, four stories high, has been erected, h a poor section of London, which will be occupied as a store, for this purpose.

-Fresh eggs are now put up in tins, and these are being sold by the ton to restaurant keepers in New York, and presently large quantities of them will be placed upon the English market. The whites and yolks are first separated, then put into tins; later on the tins are sealed, after which they are frozen, in which condition they are expected to be kept until used.

-In America a new society has recently been organised, called "The Actors' Church Alliance." The object of this combination is said to be the bringing together of the church and stage on a common basis of fellowship. Members of the dramatic profession, and members of all churches are eligible for membership by the payment of four shillings per year. The constitution requires that "ministers and church members will not hesitate to take their families to the opera and theatre where performances of good moral tone are presented."

-There has of late been considerable agitation concerning the infectious character of the "holy water" contained in the founts of Roman Catholic churches. According to the Lancet, a microscopical examination of a great many samples from different churches in different places has resulted in the discovery of abundant microbes of a serious character. In one instance two guinea-pigs injected with sediment from the "holy water" of a church, died in thirty hours. As the result of the investigation, a fount of running water is being substituted in some churches in the place of the one ordinarily used.

-At Earleston, near Yarmouth, an evening banquet was recently held, at which three-score fishermen were invited to a "sea pie" feast. A pie was provided that weighed 154 pounds. It was built with three decks. At the bottom was beef and bones, then a layer of crust, over which were placed beef, pork, liver, and kidneys. Then came another deck of dough on which were potatoes, onions, and more meat, and finally the whole was roofed with a crust a crust several inches thick. It was seven hours in cooking, and the guests to the number of sixty-five were supplied with it until the whole was consumed. Think of how they must have felt the next morning!

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

The editorial article on health is unavoidably omitted in this number. It is the design to continue the study next week.

Since the death of Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, very stringent measures have been taken to prevent any attempt to disturb his resting place, or that of his ancestors. Six guards watch it with loaded rifles at night, and in front of the doors of the mausoleum, a sentry box on wheels is placed, and in this a detective remains watching through the windows the roads to the tomb. In addition, an electric signal alarm is attached to Mr. Vanderbilt's coffin, so that the superintendent of the cemetery, with his ten assistants, may be warned the moment an attempt is made to move the coffin. This is one of the disadvantages that arise to confront those who are "rich and increased in goods."

Some ladies having invited Mr. Labouchere to attend a smoking concert and dance to be given in aid of the Northampton Reservist Fund, he sent a contribution, accompanied by the following:-

"I have always thought that is to somewhat gruesome for fine ladies to get up balls in London to help the wounded, and that they would do better to contribute what they can, without dancing over graves."

That was well said, and it might well be applied to all so-called "charity balls," to say nothing of similar enterprises got up in the interest of churches. All such things, instead of being real expressions of charity are but the taking advantage of the misfortunes or needs of others to get a little "pleasure." It is very doubtful charity, which will give nothing without receiving something in return."

A leading minister has just said that "Nonconformity was born on the battle field." That is true only of that sort of nonconformity that goes no farther back than the days of Cromwell; but that is not by any means true Nonconformity. Real Nonconformity is the compliance with the divine injunction, "Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds." Rom. xii. 2. It is simply to have the mind of Christ, who, as "the Prince of Peace," was born amid acclamations of peace. Wars and fightings come from the lusts of the flesh, that is, from the world, which is in opposition to God. "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts," and you will be true Nonconformists.

Some years ago Mr. Pullman, of the Pullman Sleeping Car Company, died suddenly, and Mr. Robert T. Lincoln, formerly the United States Minister in England, was appointed as an executor of the estate. His charges were considered exorbitant, and payment was refused, whereupon he want to law over the matter, and a Chicago court has just awarded him ?42,500. This sum is much larger than all the money ever received by his father, Abraham Lincoln, including his salary as President of the United States. The interesting point in connection with the matter is the contrast between two periods of American life, the genuinely democratic, and the plutocratic.

"Where are You Looking" The Present Truth 16, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

Where are You Looking? -When John saw Jesus walking by the river side, he pointed toward Him, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God." Suppose the disciples, instead of looking in the direction where John pointed, had looked only at his finger; they would not have seen the Christ. Now that is just what a great many people are doing. The Gospel teacher's only business is to point man to the Lamb of God; he is to be a seer, and to point out to other people what he sees. But if they keep looking at him, instead of where he is pointing, and expect to get the knowledge from him,-to make his sight answer for theirs,-they will certainly see nothing. As soon as people get hold of the idea that if they wish to see they must rouse themselves to use their own eyes, that is, that they must acquire the knowledge of God and His truth in the same way that the teacher does, they cease to complain that the Gospel is so obscure that they cannot understand it.

"Boasting" The Present Truth 16, 9.

E. J. Waggoner

"My soul shall make her boast in the Lord." There is a great deal of boasting in these latter days; indeed, one of the signs given, that we may know when the last days have come is that "men shall be lovers of their own selves . . . boasters, etc." A boaster is always telling what great things he has done, or what his ancestors have accomplished.

But boasting is excluded by the law of faith. Rom. iv. 27. Why ? "That no flesh should glory," "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." Then where may we boast? "My soul shall make her boast-in the Lord." Ah yes. "In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory, or boast." "Barely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength." When we boast in the Lord, that is not telling of any great things we have done, but what He has done and in doing for us. And when the Lord has done something for us, we need not be afraid to tell of it. It is right to boast in the Lord. "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord."

March 8, 1900

"The Power that Saves. Isa. li. 9-16" The Present Truth 16, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

(ISA. LI. 9-16, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

9. "Awake, awake, clothe Thyself with strength,
O Arm of Jehovah!
Awake, as in the days of old, the ancien generations.
Art not Thou the same that smote Rahab,
that wounded the dragon?

10. Art not Thou the same that
dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep?
That made the depths of the
sea, a path for the redeemed to pass through?

11. Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah
return.
And come to Sion with loud
acclamations;
And everlasting gladness shall
crown their heads;
Joy and gladness shall they obtain,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12. I, even I, am He that comforteth you;
Who art thou, that thou
shouldst fear wretched man, that dieth?
And the son of man, that
shall become as the grass?

13. And shouldst forget Jehovah thy Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth;
And shouldst every day be in continued fear,
Because of the fury of the oppressor,
As if he were just ready to destroy?
And where now is the fury of the oppressor?

14. He marcheth on with speed, who cometh to
set free the captive:
That he may not die in the dungeon,
And that his bread may not fail.

15. For I am Jehovah thy God;
He who at once stilleth the sea, though the
waves thereof roar;
Jehovah God of hosts is His name.

16. I have put My words in thy mouth;
And with the shadow of My hand have I
covered thee;
To stretch out the heavens, and to lay the
foundations of the earth;
And to say unto Sion, Thou art My people."

Two words in this lesson, namely, "Rahab" and the "dragon," need a little explanation, in order that the student may read understandingly. But let everybody note that the explanation is given in the Bible itself, so that there is no room for the complaint that "we are not learned, and cannot expect to know all these things." The book of God may be understood by everybody who will study it, no matter though he be not learned; he will become intelligent by the study. True, a previous knowledge of different languages may be a help to him, provided he uses his knowledge in the right way, although those who know the most of language are not the ones who know the most of the Bible; but when a knowledge of languages becomes necessary, then the man who knows the Bible has the advantage of everybody else. "The Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."

WHAT "RAHAB" MEANS

Take your Revised Bible (for everybody who studies the Bible ought to have this as well as the so-called "Authorized Version," and should read them both together) and read Isa. xxx. 7: "For Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose, therefore have I called her Rahab that sitteth still." This is sufficient, and will enable the reader to understand Ps. lxxxix. 10: "Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is

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slain; Thou hast scattered Thine enemies with Thy strong arm." Now read Job xxvi. 12 in both versions, comparing them. "He divideth the sea with His power, and by His understanding He smiteth through the proud, or, as in the margin, "through pride." We turn to our Revised Version, and read, "By His understanding He smiteth through Rahab." From this we can learn that the word "Rahab" means "pride." That "Rahab" is a pure Hebrew word, untranslated, we may know from the fact that it is a proper name, the name of one of the ancestors of Christ. When used in other connections, untranslated, it is simply the personification of pride, and is specially applied to Egypt. Egypt is the proud boaster, that does nothing. We are to learn that as God smote through Egypt, so will He bring down the pride of all that rise up against Him. "The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." Isa. ii. 12.

THE DRAGON

And now for the dragon. Read Eze. xxix. 3: "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh King of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself." The succeeding verses tell of the judgments to be brought upon Egypt, all of which have been fulfilled, as a token of the still greater fulfilment yet to come. That this judgment which was visited upon Egypt was but the beginning of the great day of judgment, we may learn from Isa. xxvi. 20, 21; xxvii. 1; "Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the midst of the sea."

DELIVERANCE FROM "THE PRIDE OF LIFE"

We see, therefore, that both "Rahab" and "the dragon" are terms for Egypt. But that does not exhaust their meaning, since Egypt does not have a monopoly of the pride that is in the earth. The pride of Egypt is but "the pride of life," instilled by "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." So primarily the dragon is "that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan," "which deceiveth the whole world." Rev. xx. 2, xii. 9. It is in heathenism that the characteristics of the devil are fully manifested in the flesh; therefore in prophecy the dragon is sometimes used as a name to indicate the nations that have been openly and completely heathen, opposed to the worship of the one, true God. So we see that the judgments that of old have been visited upon Egypt and Babylon, and other heathen nations that in their pride have boasted against God, are but assurances of the great judgment that is to come upon all pride, in the person of the devil himself. These judgments, indicating the approaching downfall for ever of Satan, the author of pride, are assurances of each individual that God will here and now save him from "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." These two words, therefore, furnish the key to the whole lesson. Verses 9 and 10 show us that we have a right to call upon the Lord to awake and come to our help with the power by which He in ancient times overcame Egypt, and delivered His people from bondage. He delivered them then, in order "that they might observe His statutes, and keep His laws." Ps. cv. 45. Therefore we may know that with the same mighty arm, and the same power He will now deliver us from the bondage of sin, "that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life." The lesson that we are to learn from the scripture before us is a personal one; it means that every one of us individually has at his disposal all the power by which Israel of old was delivered from Egypt. The same God still lives, and His arm has not lost any of its strength.

SING THE PROMISES OF GOD

In ancient times the Lord made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass over, and "thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return, and come to Sion." They shall come with loud acclamations, with singing and gladness. "But," you say, "there is to be long wandering in the wilderness of sin before that can take place." Not a bit of it. That was not at all God's plan for Israel, but was the result of their unbelief. You see, they stopped singing, and began murmuring. That is the secret of their wandering in the wilderness. Keep on singing, not a forced song, but a song from the heart because God is your strength and your song and your salvation, and you will find that these "songs of deliverance" that compass you about will be a shield that will protect you from every assault of the enemy. This is not theory, but fact that has been demonstrated. The power that divided the Red Sea is the power that is ours every day in our struggle to escape from the bondage of sin. He that believeth shall not be confounded. The "exceeding great and precious promises" of God make us partakers of the Divine nature; therefore sing them.

THE NEED OF THESE PROMISES

Verses 12-14 have a peculiar significance in view of what the prophecy tells us will come in the very last days. Revelation xiii. brings to view a power, a beast, which is the direct representative of the devil, since it is the devil-the dragon-that gives this beast his power, and his seat, and his great authority. Here we have, therefore, the personification of the arrogant pride of the devil in his fight against God; and this is carried out, as is seen by the reading of the entire chapter. Then later on still another power rises, seeking to enforce the worship of "the beast," that is, to compel men to refuse to worship God, and to substitute the commandments of men for His commandments. He makes an image to the beast, and will "cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." The highest point of proud opposition to God is seen in the attempted changing of the commandments.

The Papacy, which under the name of Christianity, overpasses the deeds of the heathen, having gone farther in opposition to God, in blasphemy against Him, and in persecution of His true followers, than any heathen nation ever did, has presumed to set itself above the law of God, teaching men that, while the commandments teach that the seventh day, commonly called Saturday, is the Sabbath, they need not observe that day, but must instead observe the first day of the week, Sunday. The substitution of this day for that appointed by God is claimed by the Roman Catholic Church as the badge of its authority, and the keeping of it by most of the professed Christians is the only thing by which they all, in spite of their protests against Papal assumptions, acknowledge her power.

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Many of those who call themselves Protestants are with all their might seeking to enforce this mark of the Papacy, and so far will they yet go that they will issue a decree authorising anybody to kill those who do not receive this mark. All the faithful commandment-keepers will be "placed under ban," even as Luther was after the Diet of Worms, and as so many others have been in the past.

That will be a time of sore trial for the people of God. It will be a time to try men's souls, and it will then be determined who has learned to trust in God for salvation. Happy will it then be for everybody who can hear God say to him, "I, even I," the one who divided the sea, and delivered Israel, and who made even the greatest obstacle in their way a path of escape, am He that comforteth you. Why should you be afraid of a puny man that shall die? The One who delivers thee is marching on with speed, and will quickly come, so that you need not die in the pit, and your bread will not fail, even though it run low. It will be well to learn this lesson thoroughly. We shall, if faithful to the Lord, have occasion to remember it before many years have passed.

PRESENT DELIVERANCE

Yes, even now we need to remember it. If we have not learned and applied the lesson in our personal contest with "this present evil world," "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," which are seeking to hold us captive, we shall not be able to use it in the coming time of trouble. The promise is, "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Rev. iii. 10. We cannot afford to lose any time in making a literal, personal application of these lessons to ourselves.

A WONDROUS GIFT

In the 16th verse we have a most wonderful statement. God says to us,-to every one who follows after righteousness, and seeks the Lord,-"I have put My words in thy mouth." Compare this with 2 Cor. v. 19, margin, where we read that God has put in us-all who are reconciled to Him by Jesus Christ-the word of reconciliation. For what purpose has God put His words in our mouths. The answer is, "To stretch out the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say unto Sion, Thou art My people." That is to say, the word of the Gospel, which God has committed unto us, is the same word that in the beginning made the heavens and all their host (Ps. xxviii. 6), and which will yet make all things new. It is the Word that makes men new creatures, and which will make the earth new for them to dwell in. Here is the climax of all.

Not only does God by the power by which He rules the heaven and earth and sea, deliver us from evil, but He puts the power in us to deliver others who are in bondage. Who with this assurance need ever fear bonds or imprisonment? Every child of God has given him a power greater than that of all the kings of earth. This power he is not to use against those who would do him physical injury, even as Christ did not, but he is to use it in the delivering even his enemies from the bondage of sin. With this word in our mouth, we may bid the devil depart from us, and he will flee. Do you value this gift of the Word of God, and do you use it?

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word;
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you, who to Jesus for refuge have fled?"

"Help for Those Who Need. Jesus at Matthew's House. Mark ii. 13-22" The Present Truth 16, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

(Mark ii. 13-22)⁴1

This lesson shows the marked contrast between the religion of Jesus Christ and the societies which men form. All the so-called "benevolent societies" demand that one who joins shall have a "good character," that is, be must be of the same class as those who already constitute the society. "The Church" itself, not any particular organisation, but the great body of "organised Christianity," has been largely permeated by this spirit. As a legacy from the Papacy, which has never yet been thoroughly eradicated from the minds of say body of Christians, the idea obtains to a great extent, that the church exists for its own sake, and that its chief duty is to guard its own reputation. Accordingly the tendency is to build up walls, and to guard them diligently, lest some one come in, who will bring discredit upon "the name." To the extent that this state of things exists, the members of the church, and especially the leaders, are more intent upon building up and strengthening the organisation, than in saving souls and diffusing the knowledge of Christ in the earth. So it was with the Jewish church in the days of Christ. Accordingly the Jewish leaders were by the very nature of the case in opposition to Him. His manner of work was so entirely different from theirs, that they regarded Him as an anarchist, as one dangerous to society, in that, as they supposed, He would destroy all law and order and established customs.

In this the Jews were altogether at fault, for Jesus did not, and does not work to overturn any institution or custom, except as the building up of truth crowds out error. He would simply build on the right foundation, but the building which He erects, as well as the method of building, is so contrary to purely human ideas, that to men it seems like a work of destruction. He worked in the church as it was, as well as in the world, not to found another organisation, but to leaven the mass. The work of Christ and the apostles was not to "raise up churches," but to save sinners, to call souls out from the bondage of human tradition and error. Their disciples, like Christ and the apostles themselves, were to remain among their former associations as long as those old associations would tolerate the new life; the unwillingness of the old body, the purely human organisation, to receive truth in a living form, naturally resulted in the forming of new congregations. As the followers of Christ were cast out from the old organisation, that would not tolerate growth, they naturally were brought together by similarity of belief and practise was natural enough, and nothing wrong, that these new congregations should receive some distinguishing name, for convenience in referring to them. But it was never the design of the Lord, nor of the apostles, that these new congregations should be devoted to themselves, to building themselves up, and making a name. They were to be lights to the world, leaven, instilling the principles of the Gospel of Christ, into the mass of mankind, intent only on making known the name of their Lord and Master. From the acts of Christ Himself are we to learn what should be the work of His church-His called out people-till the end of time.

The scribes and Pharisees, like the clergy of more modern times, were a class. Their relation to the common people was quite aptly indicated by the position they took white teaching,-a stand high above

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the people. They could preach to the people from behind a barrier, but they would not condescend to mingle with them. The desk behind which they stood while preaching was typical of the barrier which existed between them and the people, even when they came in contact with any of them. Their lack of real ability was covered up by an assumption of dignity. They were very jealous for their "rights" and privileges, and could not understand Christ's easy familiarity with all classes. There was no barrier between Him and them, yet every one instinctively knew that He was infinitely above them in character. In His intercourse with the people, He had no need to be on His guard to maintain His dignity, for He had the true dignity of moral worth, which cannot be compromised.

When the scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus sitting at table with many belonging to the despised "masses," they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eaeth and drinketh with publicans sinners?" To their narrow comprehension, this showed a lack of the first qualifications of a Rabbi. Jesus heard the question, and answered it Himself. Turning to them, He said, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister; not to build up a reputation, but to save people of no reputation; not to make a name for Himself, but to make known the name of the loving Father of all, to His ignorant children. He came to save the lost, and He necessarily had to go where the lost were. He could not, in pursuance of His mission, spend His time talking to a congregation of people who thought themselves already in good condition, but He must labour for those who felt and acknowledged their need; and as He could supply that which they really needed, He never had any difficulty in securing a congregation.

Here comes in the use of the ten commandments, the preaching of the law. The law cannot justify, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. iii. 20. All it can do is to make known to man their sinful state. "The law worketh wrath." It speaks with the thunders of Sinai, awakening men to a knowledge of the wrath of God, which comes on "the children of disobedience." There can be no preaching of the Gospel without it; for since the Gospel is the good news of the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, it is necessary that people be shown their need of salvation, and also the righteousness of the law, to the obedience of which God wishes to save them. They that are whole need not a physician; there are none who are really whole; but there are many who think that they are, and they must be convinced that they are sick, before they will accept the services of the Great Physician. Thus the law is a tutor, to bring men to Christ, that they may be justified by faith.

There is a very important lesson for us in the statements about the new and old cloth, and the new and old bottles. Let the student remember that the bottles used in those days, even as to-day in many parts of the East, were made of skins, and not of glass. "Wine skins" is the word used in the Revised Version, and this is what is meant. Old, withered skins would not stand the strain of new wine, but would be burst by the process of fermentation. The "new cloth" referred to is, as the margin indicates, "raw, or unwrought cloth," which would shrink, and thus make the hole upon which it was patched larger than it was before. Now read: "No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment; else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred; but new wine must be pat into new bottles."

Notice that Jesus speaks about putting new cloth into old garments. Of course no one would think of putting old cloth into new garments, for there is no necessity for patching new garments. Notice also that Jesus stops with the statement that "new wine must be put into new bottles." He does not go on to say that old wine must be put into old bottles. What is the reason for this? Evidently this, that He would teach that His Gospel makes everything new. "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." He has no use for old bottles; all must be new. The fresh wine of the Gospel could not be carried in the old bottles of Pharisaism and pride. Not that there was no hope for the professional teachers of the law; but they must be made over entirely new. This Jesus could do.

Moreover, there can be no patchwork in the Gospel of Christ. It is useless to try to patch the teaching of Christ upon an old, formal profession, or upon an ungodly life. Bring converted is something more than merely turning round, and "trying to live a different life." It is being made over entirely new.

Jesus could not use the scribes and the Pharisees, to carry His Gospel, because they thought themselves all right. They were self-sufficient, and were not willing to acknowledge that they were nothing in themselves. "Before honour is humility." "His heart that is lifted up is not upright in him." "My God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in glory," but the need must be felt and acknowledged, before the help can be appreciated.

Therefore never be afraid to confess your lack. The greatest hindrance in the world to progress is the unwillingness to admit mistakes. To learn, implies that one does not already know as much as he ought; and the dread that people will find this out, effectually prevents many from accepting new and saving truth. So it is that many, very many, are prevented by their pride from accepting Christ; they are not willing specifically and definitely to acknowledge themselves to be sinners. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Let every one be ready always to say, "Of whom I am chief," and his salvation is assured.

"I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." We wonder sometimes how many people, even among professed Christians, really praise the Lord. We do not mean a praise mingled with doubts, a praise that is only as a tinkling cymbal, or a cracked bell, but a praise that is genuine, that is not put on. The man or woman who has tasted the sweets of pardoning love, cannot help telling it to others. Would that Christians would praise the Lord as the birds sing-because they cannot help it. Their praise is sincere. It is true worship. It is the Lord's life flowing in and through them. There is joy in living, because life is joy. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."

The Word of God is your counselor; the Word of God is your authority. Be very careful how you bring anything weaker to take its place.

"For Little Ones. The Shepherd King" The Present Truth 16, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

To-day we are going to talk of another who, like Moses, was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in his life as a shepherd, and afterwards in the high position to which God called him as leader and ruler of His people.

The "Shepherd Psalm" (Psalm 23), is one of the first that little children learn to love. You know it well, do you not? In it David sings joyfully of some of the beautiful lessons that his shepherd life taught him of the care of the true Shepherd of Israel for all His flock.

Although God had chosen David to be a great king, his early life was not spent among the great of earth in the king's court, but among the fields and hills of Bethlehem where he was born. Even his birth in Bethlehem was a foreshadowing of Him who was to be born in the stable of the Bethlehem inn, and cradled in the manger.

This was well understood by the children of Israel for you will remember that when Herod asked the priests where Christ was to be born, they answered:

"In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
"And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah:
For out of thee shall come forth a governor,
Which shall be Shepherd of My people Israel."

The Good Shepherd, He who feeds the Lord's flock, came out of Bethlehem. Look at the words below the little picture of this city, and you will see the meaning of the word. Bethlehem means "the House of Bread," and out of it comes He who is to feed the flock of God.

Here David was born, and when he was old enough he kept his father's sheep. He loved the sheep, and watched and fed and led them very carefully. When he was afterwards telling King Saul something of his shepherd life he said:

"When there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and slew him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and emote him, and slew him."

In these experiences God was proving him and preparing him for a greater work. "While David was thus living in the retirement of his humble shepherd's life, the Lord God was speaking about him to the prophet Samuel," and one day the young shepherd had a great surprise. He was startled by the call of a messenger who told him that the prophet had come to Bethlehem and wished to see him.

Wondering what the prophet could want with him, he hastily obeyed the call. As he came into the presence of Samuel, God spoke to the prophet spin, and said: "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him from among his brethren."

We will speak of this anointing another time, perhaps. It was to teach David that God had chosen him to be the king of Israel, and that God would prepare him by his Holy Spirit, of which the oil was a symbol, for the great work that He had appointed for him to do.

"He chose David also His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
From following the ewes that give suck He
brought him,
To feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance."

He who had faithfully fed and guided the sheep, was to feed and guide God's great flock of Israel, and the lessons learned among his sheep taught him how to do this.

But David was only a type of the one true Shepherd of Israel, who also came forth out of Bethlehem. Of Him God said, He "shall feed My people Israel." He Himself is "the Bread of Life," the true bread which came down from heaven to give life to the world. All who eat of this Bread share His everlasting life and live and feed upon Him for ever.

"Temperance. The Proper Diet for Man" The Present Truth 16, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

Those who have read the preceding articles in this department will remember that everything has been based on the life of God, given in Christ for all mankind. The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin; the blood is the life; and therefore the gift of righteousness through our Lord Jesus Christ is at the same time the gift of life,- fulness of life for the present time,-if the recipient has his understanding enlightened to take it. Righteousness by faith in Christ is the first thing. "The Spirit is life because of righteousness." He who forgives all our iniquities also heals all our diseases. "In Him we live, and move, and have our being." Our continued well-being, therefore, depends upon keeping in harmony with the life of Christ.

"The Life was manifested, and we have seen it;" but we have not seen the whole of it. The life of God is infinitely greater than anybody can ever comprehend. The life is manifested in various ways; yet all the visible things in the universe-all the things that are appreciable by the senses-are but a partial manifestation of the fulness of the life of Him that "filleth all in all." That which we can see is designed to teach us the reality of that which we cannot see.

WHY DO WE EAT?

This brings us to the question of why we eat. Everyone would doubtless say that we eat in order to live, although the way in which very many people eat tends to death more than to life, and thousands upon thousands die solely as the result of wrong habits of eating, both as regards the kind of food, and manner of preparing and eating it. However, it is a fact that God has given us food in order to sustain our lives, but it is also a fact that He designs that we should have much more life than can be obtained merely by eating. The life that can be obtained only by means of food differs in no respect from that of the dumb beast, and God designs that man should possess life far superior and much more abundant. God could have ordained it so that we could live without eating. Many instances are on record where men have been kept in full strength and vigour without food, the most notable being that of Moses, who on two different occasions went forty days and forty nights without food or drink, and although he was engaged in active work all the time, he was in possession of his usual strength at the close. Jesus sat weary and hungry on Jacob's well, yet when the disciples came back with food, and urged Him to eat, He seemed to have been already satisfied, and said, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." John iv. 32.

"IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM"

Why then are we made dependent on our daily food? The answer is plain: In order that we may recognise and acknowledge our dependence upon God. If there were no visible means of sustenance, if God poured His invisible life into us without any visible means,-we would all come to believe ourselves to be gods, having life in ourselves, and not dependent upon God. The truth is that we are absolutely dependent upon God for "life, and breath, and all things," and the continuation of our life throughout eternity depends upon our abiding in Him; therefore the Lord has made it so plain to us that we derive our life from Him, and not from ourselves. If we do not recognise Him in the visible gifts that He bestows, we will not of course accept the greater life through the reception of the Spirit; but if in all our ways we acknowledge Him, we may be sure that He will give us life "more abundantly." "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

While we cannot get righteousness by eating and drinking, we may thereby show our appreciation or lack of appreciation of the gift of life and righteousness through Jesus Christ, "who is our life." The life that we receive in the food that we eat is the life of the Lord, for there is no other; if therefore when we have the very best food given to us,-food that contains the Life in the purest possible form,-we deliberately choose that which is inferior, simply because it pleases our taste better, we show that we would rather please ourselves than to have the fulness of the life of the Lord. When we do so, although we may acknowledge that our life comes from the Lord, we at the best virtually say that we are quite content with a small measure of it; we want the Lord, but not too much of Him.

"RETURNING TO THE BEGINNING"

The Life that is manifested is "that which was from the beginning." Christ Himself is "the Beginning," and since "in Him we live, and move, and have our being," it is evident that we should go back to the beginning in order to find out what we ought to eat in order to maintain the best possible life. Turning to the account of the creation of man, we read:-

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Gen. i. 29.

This is the original bill of fare for mankind, provided by the Creator Himself. It was given to man in Eden, and is therefore the best for men who have fallen. That which would keep a man in the best possible condition, will certainly, to say the least, throw no hindrances in the way of his returning to that state.

The verse following the one that we have quoted prescribes the food of the lower animals; but it will be noticed that flesh is no part of the original bill of fare either for man or beast. The use of flesh for food is a product of the curse, and should therefore be discarded by every one who appreciates the redemption which Christ has brought to us.

PERMISSION AND RESTRICTION

It will be said, however, that permission was afterwards given to man to eat the flesh of animals. That is true, but it does not at all prove that it is best for him. God gave Balaam permission to go with the messengers of Balak, who wished him to curse Israel; but the permission was given only because Balaam teased like a spoiled child, and his going was his ruin. See Num. xxli. xxiii. xxiv. xxxi. 8.

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The account of the giving of the permission to man to eat flesh shows that it was after the same manner as the permission to Balaam to go with Balak. The earth with all its inhabitants except Noah's family had just been destroyed because of its great wickedness. The inhabitants had filled the earth with violence. All flesh had corrupted itself, and blood flowed freely. After the flood God said, "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." Gen. viii. 21. Although God knew that man would continue to go astray, He determined not to add to the curse, knowing that man's own curse would lead to its final destruction. Isa. xxiv. 4-6. But He nevertheless sought to check in some degree the tide of violence and bloodshed, and so He said, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." Gen. ix. 3, 4. From this, with what is stated in the preceding chapter, it appears that before the flood men had been in the habit of eating both flesh and blood, even as many do now; and God knowing that they would not return to the simple diet given in the beginning, but would go farther and farther away, prohibited the eating of blood. This has served to some extent as a check on men, although it is now quite largely disregarded, since the world is fast approaching the condition that existed in the days of Noah. Matt. xxiv. 37.

Later on in the Bible we find that permission was given to men to marry more than one wife, and to divorce a wife at pleasure. When Jesus was asked about this, He said that it was because of the hardness of men's hearts, because they, like Balaam, were determined to have their own way, and God in His mercy sought to mitigate the resulting evil as much as possible; but in the words, "From the beginning it was not so" (Matt. xix. 8), Jesus settled the whole question, and points us to the place where we may find the standard of right living. It is not by any means meant that the eating of flesh as food is on the same level as the marrying of more than one wife; all that we design to show by this reference is that a permission on the part of God to do a certain thing, does not necessarily indicate that it is best to do that thing. Christ "is the Beginning," and His work is to "restore all things," even "the first dominion;" and therefore all who would share in that dominion ought to give diligence to return to the life set before man in the beginning. God's way is always best.

A few words will suffice to show the reasonableness of God's plan. The plant is God's laboratory for the preparation of food both for man and beast. Only the plants of the earth are capable of taking inorganic mineral substance, and turning it into living tissue. It is impossible for either man or beast to assimilate any mineral substance. Man can get life only from life; but in the plant God turns dead matter into living substance. The lower animals can no more assimilate inorganic matter than man can; all that they can do with the food that they eat is to assimilate it, if it is already of the same nature as their bodies; therefore when men eat the flesh of animals they get no different material than they would if they ate the same food that the beasts ate; only they have the disadvantage of taking their food second hand.

In eating flesh for food man gets the plant minus that which is wasted by once using, and plus the poisons that have been added by its passage through a living organism. There is still further loss, but of this we will speak at another time. What we wish at this time to impress on the reader's mind is that the only proper food for man is obtained direct from the vegetable creation, and to let him see the reasonableness of God's arrangement. Any questions that arise will gladly be answered.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

The Army Estimates for the coming year provide for a total net expenditure of upwards of ?60,000,000, of which ?40,000,000 is increase due to the war.

We learn from the Catholic Times that, on account of the prevalence of influenza, the obligations with regard to fasting during Lent will be largely remitted. This is unfortunate, for if there had been more fasting before Lent there would not have been so much influenza.

The Uganda railway telegraph line reached the Nile at Ripon Falls on the 18th of February, so that now telegraphic communication is established between London and the sources of the Nile. Territory which a few years ago was unknown even to the most daring explorers is now in touch with the centre of civilisation.

The drink question is one which the Daily Chronicle admits has a just claim upon the nation's attention, "even amid the clash of arms in South Africa." Dr. Dawson Burns presents figures, corrected up to date, which show that the total increase of expenditure for drink in the past year is ?61,169,455, or about four per cent., while the increase in population is less than one per cent. The total drink bill for the year was ?162,163,474, which is just a little less than ?4 per head of the population.

A striking instance of the extent to which money is able to distort one's vision, is afforded by the Chronicle's comment upon these figures. It says: "Unfortunate as this is from a moral point of view, it must also be remembered that it is a significant testimony to our increased national prosperity during the past year." As much as to say, "What if the people are going to destruction? the country is making money." Bad as are the effects of drink upon the persons and families of those who are slaves to it, the callousness and moral obtuseness produced by the proceeds of their slavery, upon professedly moral people, is even more deplorable. "In the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous."

The Chronicle is undoubtedly correct in its judgment that it is but a vain hope that Dr. Dawson Burns cherishes, that the entire drink bill should be swept away. The people will not give up their idols but the journal referred to lays bare the root of the matter, and reveals the essential wickedness of the traffic, and the nation's complicity in it, in the words: "The Government, overawed by the vested interests involved, will certainly not give the community power to enforce total abstinence, even if the interests of both the individual and the State should require it." That is to say, the Government will Sell both itself and the Souls of the people for money! Very likely.

Lastly, Dr. Dawson Burns calculates that during the past century the country has spent ninety millions a year on drink. Upon this the Chronicle remarks: "It is a futile form of speculation; but what an overwhelming navy, what a first-class army, that sum would have given us!" Yes, and what an army of missionaries might have been sent out with but a tithe of the sum, which a "Christian nation" certainly would not grudge. If someone remarks that the money should rather be expanded on the poor at home, it need only be replied, that if it were not spent for drink there would be next to no poverty.

A most pitiable state of things in religious matters has been revealed by the recently-issued intercession service for the soldiers, Objection having been made to the prayer for the dead, which occurs in it, the Archbishop of Canterbury has directed his chaplain to write that "it has been decided by law that prayers for the dead are not forbidden in the Church of England."

This, however, does not satisfy everybody. The chairman of the Church Association has written a long letter to the Duke of Devonshire, Lord President of the Council, protesting against the prayer for the dead, and pointing out that it was ordered by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Lord President, sitting in Council, "and so without the knowledge of Parliament, and probably without Her Majesty having any real cognisance of what was being done, a very grave constitutional change was attempted to be made in the doctrinal standards of the Church of England."

Of course the protest will not avail anything, for the leaders of the Church of England are determined to demonstrate its essential identity with the Church of Rome, a thing which those who oppose the new prayer are themselves unconsciously doing: for they base their protest not upon the Bible, which is the only real authority in matters of religion, but they appeal to man as against man; and this is Roman Catholicism. It is sad to see men looking to men, and depending upon human beings to know what they are to believe and practice. "Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." Whichever way such a controversy as this turns, the Papacy is the gainer.

"Coining Money from Blood" The Present Truth 16, 10.

E. J. Waggoner

It seems strange that the people of any so-called Christian nation could find it in their heart to justify war on the basis that it is "one of the finest methods of national money-making it is possible to conceive of," yet this is what in effect we find in a late issue of a leading English magazine; and the remark is made that during the past thirty years, the victorious nations in war have regarded their bank account with a considerable degree of complacency, and have come to agree with the remark which statesmen make, that "there are some things worse than war." Then the writer goes on to enumerate: Japan in her war with China, made s clear profit of ?31,000,000; Germany in her struggle with France, over ?200,000,000, and Russia's bill to Turkey for seven months' fighting was for ?141,000,000, of which not a quarter of it was actual expense. Life, limb, blasted homes, ruined lives, widows and orphans, seem to count for nothing before the insatiable desire for riches. All thoughtful men are looking into the future with dark forebodings. No one dares predict what a few years may bring forth. Put the admonition is, "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."

March 15, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. Beautiful Preachers of a Glorious Message. Isa. lii. 1-12" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lii. 1-12.)

"Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for thenceforth shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore what have I here, saith the Lord, that My people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and My name continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am He that doth speak; behold, it is I.

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.

"Break forth into joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Zion. The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

"Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out from the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward."

CALLED OUT OF BABYLON

The last paragraph gives us the key to the whole chapter. It is the call to go out of Babylon, the same call that we found in chapter xlvii. verse 20. God's people are called forth from Babylon, "that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. xviii. 4), and so here the call is to come out, and be clean. It is the last call, before the final Judgment at the coming of the Lord. The chapter before us presents the closing of the work "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." It presents the people prepared, and waiting for His coming. This is seen from the first verse. It takes people to make a city. So all that is said of Zion applies to those who are prepared to dwell in her. The holy city means a holy people. The preceding chapter presents the people in captivity, longing for freedom, and here we have the deliverance complete.

"BEAUTIFUL GARMENTS"

Zion is called upon to put on her beautiful garments. The city itself, the new Jerusalem, is "the bride, the Lamb's wife." Rev. xix. 7; xxi. 9, 10. "Jerusalem which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all." But as a mother lives only for her children, so the new Jerusalem exists only for her inhabitants-her children. They are her ornament. Rev. xxi. 2; Isa. xlix. 17, 18. Therefore the beautiful garments of Zion are the beautiful garments of the inhabitants of Zion. What are they?-"To her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." Rev. xix. 8. The call, "Put on thy beautiful garments,"

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indicate that they are all prepared. We have not to manufacture them; they have been woven in the loom of heaven, by the Master workman; and they are laid up waiting for "whosoever will" take them. "Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!" Ps. xxxi. 19.

In this connection read Zech. iii. 1-5. Joshua the priest stood before the angel of the Lord, clothed in filthy garments, and Satan stood at his right hand to resist him. The Lord rebuked Satan, and the words are very striking when compared with these in Isaiah. "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee." Then the Lord said, "Take away the filthy garments from him;" and to Joshua He said: "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." So there is no possible doubt as to what these beautiful garments are. They are God's salvation, to which the corruption and filth of this present evil world will not stick.

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." Isa. lxi. 10. "For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation." Ps. cxlix. 4. Clothed with this salvation, we are preserved from "the corruption that is in the world through lust."

LIBERTY FOR THE CAPTIVE

Christ has become partaker of flesh and blood, in order that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, "and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." "He hath visited and redeemed His people." Freedom from all bondage is already theirs. It will be remembered that when Jesus saw the woman in the synagogue, who had been bound by Satan with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and who could in nowise lift herself upright, He said to her, "Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity." Luke xiii. 12. She was loosed, even while she was bowed over; Jesus simply proclaimed to her that she was free to rise if she chose; and she did so. Even so Jesus has come to proclaim liberty to the captives. There is not a bond upon a single person on earth, that might not at once be shaken off, if the individual only knew and believed that God had given him his freedom. The captive daughter of Zion is told to loose herself from the bands of her neck. The bands are broken; she has only to throw them off. This is the message that every minister of the Gospel, and every person who has been made one with Christ, is commissioned to proclaim to a world of sinners,-that they have only to assert their liberty in the name of Jesus, and they have it. Christ has broken the bands; it remains only for them to show their desire for freedom, by casting them off. Surely everything has been done that could be done. Let it be proclaimed with a loud voice to the ends of the earth, that there is no soul bound by any sin whatever, except by his own will. He is at liberty, if he wishes to exercise his freedom. Whoever is in bondage to any evil habit, is in bondage because he loves to be, or else he has not yet learned the proclamation of freedom. Then let the sound ring out everywhere, that all who love liberty may have it.

Satan makes great promises, but he never fulfills them. He has nothing to give. His promises are empty. Whoever yields to him, sells himself to be a slave, for nothing. He made Eve believe that by disobeying God she would be like God, but instead she became like him. Instead of life, she found death. "Ye shall be redeemed without money." "Ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ." 1 Peter i. 18, 19. Money is not the most necessary thing in this world. Common things can be bought with it; with money we can buy things that are of no value, and which perish with the using; but the most valuable things cannot be bought with money; there are things so valuable that nothing can buy them, and they must be received as a gift. These are the things that are lasting, things that become more enduring with the using.

EGYPT AND BABYLON

"For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause." Recall the circumstances under which Israel went into Egypt. It was at the invitation of the king, because he and his whole land and people were under the greatest obligation to the son of Israel. They owed their lives to Joseph. Joseph died, and the people of Israel multiplied exceedingly, and "there arose a new king, which knew not Joseph." There arose another dynasty, a line of kings of Assyrian origin, and they of course had no regard for the sacred traditions of the country, and what Joseph had done for the land was nothing to them. So it was that, going into Egypt, God's people were oppressed by the Assyrian. Babylon was the continuation of Assyria, and Egypt and Babylon are both the personification of pride, and of haughty insolence against God. By both nations have the people of God suffered special hardships, having been in captivity in both countries. The deliverance, therefore, of the people of God is from Egypt and Babylon. Out of both Egypt and Babylon are God's children called. Hosea xi. 1.

THE MODEL PREACHERS

We have already noted the good tidings of peace and freedom that all who know the Lord are to announce to the world. Those who bring these glad tidings are beautiful even to their feet. How beautiful they are, and how they are to give their message, may be learned by comparing a few texts of Scripture. We have to start with this one in Isaiah: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" Here are the others:-

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." Ps. xix. 1-4.

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good

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things! But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." Rom. x. 13-18.

Notice that in this last portion we have quotations from the first two. The argument is that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved; but some might object that many have not had an opportunity to call upon His name, and so the apostle meets this objection, by showing (1) that provision has been made for belief, in that preachers have been sent, and he quotes from Isaiah to prove it; and (2) he shows that everybody has heard the message of peace, and good news of salvation, which these preachers publish, because "their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." But it is the firmament and the host of heaven, whose words have gone unto the ends of the earth, reaching "every creature which is under heaven." Col. i. 23. Therefore it is the sun, moon, and stars, whose beautiful feet are seen upon the mountains, proclaiming glad tidings of good. They are our models in preaching.

HOW THE HEAVENS PREACH

How do the heavens preach?-Simply by giving out the light that God has given them. That is all, and it is all that He expects of any person on earth. Light is life, and we can give out the light that God has given us, only by allowing the life of Jesus to be manifested in our mortal flesh. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt. v. 16. Nobody can make known a thing that he himself does not know; and nobody can know the Gospel unless Christ lives in him. Gal. i. 16; Col. i. 27. He who talks that which is not his own life, is giving only empty sound; it is like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Christ is the Word, and the Word is life: so that every word that He uttered was simply the giving out of the fulness of His life. When the Gospel is presented in that way, it beautifies the preacher. So "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."

THE LORD AT WORK

What an expressive figure is presented in verse 10! We have all seen the farmer or the blacksmith at work. When we see him take off his coat and roll up his sleeves, we know that he intends to work in earnest. He does not wish to be hindered by anything in his way. To "strip for the fight" or for the race, is a well-known term. So the scripture tells us that "the Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations," and as the result "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Who need fear, with God at work in that manner for his salvation?

The preceding chapter presented to us the view of God's people under ban, captive exiles waiting the coming of Him who is to set them free: here we have it stated that they shall not run from their prisons like goal-breakers: "Ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight." Why not?-Because the Lord is before and behind them. Very forcibly is it translated by Lowth:-

"For Jehovah shall march in your front;
And the God of Israel shall bring up your rear."

Therefore "the arrow that flieth by day" will cause no fear. No weapon ever forged or cast in any arsenal of earth can possibly pierce the rampart that the presence of God makes for His people. "The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise up against me, in this will I be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I see after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord."

"Ruler and Servant" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark x. 45.

In order to get the full force of these words, we should read the account of the circumstance which called them forth. It was this:-

"James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou shouldst do for us whatsoever we desire. And He said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory. . . . And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."

James and John were politicians, looking after the main chance. They supposed the kingdom of Christ to be like all other governments of earth, in which he who wishes a place must scheme for it, and whoever gains any position of honour or responsibility must do so at the expense of somebody else's failure. They learned better after they had been with Jesus longer, and especially after the Holy Ghost had illuminated their minds; but there are many readers of the Bible who have not yet grasped the basis of preferment in the kingdom of Christ. The words of Christ, here quoted, make the principles of Christ's government very plain.

CHRIST'S KINGDOM IS REAL AND TANGIBLE

In the first place, however, we must guard against the idea that some might gather from the statement that Christ's kingdom is different from other governments, that it is something vague or visionary, intangible or unreal. That the kingdom of Christ is as real as any kingdom that has ever existed on this earth, is

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shown by the prophecy in the second chapter of Daniel, which has recently been set forth in these columns. Four universal kingdoms are there presented in succession, and then another kingdom appears which utterly destroys all these kingdoms, and takes their place, enduring for ever. That kingdom "shall not be left to other people;" but it will be a real kingdom, composed of real people, and occupying, not a part, but the whole of this earth.

The kingdom over which Christ is to reign on this earth is "the first dominion," which was given to man in the beginning. Some have thought that Christ's kingdom is merely "spiritual," meaning by that not literal or real, and that it exists only in the hearts and minds of believers, but has no territory. It is indeed spiritual, but only in the sense that its subjects are led by the Spirit of God, which is the case with all true believers now; for we read: "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Rom. viii. 9. Christ does not at present rule over any territory on this earth, although the earth is to be His kingdom; but He is now engaged in preparing subjects for it, determining, by the offer of the Gospel, who are willing that He should rule over them. The capital of the kingdom is the New Jerusalem, in heaven, and when probation is over, and every person has definitely decided for or against Him, the city will descend to this earth, which will be made new and cleansed from every trace of the curse, and then will the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven. See Heb. xii. 22-24; Rev. xxi. 1-27.

NATURE OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM

The nature of this kingdom, which is to take the place of all other kingdoms on this earth, and which is to be so much better than they that it mast have the earth made new on purpose for it, is set forth in the words of Christ already quoted. With them read Gen. i. 26-28. After God had finished the creation of the heavens and the earth, and everything in them, He said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and lot them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the sir, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing therein that moveth upon the earth."

EVERY MAN BOTH KING AND SUBJECT

Take notice that God made man male and female. "In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam," that is, Man. Gen. v. 1, 2. It was to man collectively, to the whole human race, and not to any one individual, that God gave dominion over the whole earth. Every individual in the kingdom of God is a king. Christ is to be a King of kings. In His kingdom there will be no rank lower than that of king, and there can be nothing higher. Who then will be the subjects? the answer is, the whole earth, including every creature in it. Every man is to be a king, and also a subject. Each one will be subject, not merely to God, but to the divine, royal nature in every other human being. Here is the law: "All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace unto the humble." 1 Peter v. 5.

The harmony of God's kingdom was link broken when Lucifer thought to be like God by exalting himself. But this is the very way to become unlike God, for He is "meek and lowly in heart." In the Gospel God shows men what is good, and calls upon them to humble themselves to walk with Him. Isaiah vi. 8, margin. In taking upon Himself the form of a servant, Christ was making manifest to men the real character of His kingdom. He had the mind to serve before He came to this earth in the form of a servant. Phil. ii. 5-7. In washing His disciples' feet (John xiii. 1-17), Jesus showed that His royal subjects are to engage in real service, of a kind that men are accustomed to call "menial;" and He also tells us that when the kingdom is fully restored in all its glory, He will Himself perform such service as waiting at table. "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." Luke xii. 37.

Those who are truly Christ's, will not regard any necessary work as menial, and will not despise any who do such service, nor will they shrink from doing any kind of work that may fall in their way, no matter how lowly. No one will lord it over another. This is the lesson that Christ has taught us. He does not mean that there shall be no division of labour, each one being occupied regularly with that to which he is best adapted; but what He means is that no one, however well he may be fitted for what men call the highest position, should feel above doing the small oak and most despised service, if occasion demands; and He means also, that the one to whose lot it falls to scrub floors or to run errands, if he does his work faithfully, is just as honourable as the man to whose lot it fails to sit in s palace and direct affairs of State. If the latter person is unfaithful in his service, then he is not so honourable as the other. It is not what a person does, but the spirit in which he does it, that determines his standing in the kingdom of Christ. Every servant who in the fear of God is master of his work, is a king.

A PRACTICAL, EVERY-DAY LESSON

This is a practical lesson for everyday use. From it we are to learn that "Divine service" does not consist merely in going to meeting and singing hymns and hearing sermons. To be a "servant of Christ" means to do everything as well as it can possibly be done. Christ worked at the carpenter's trade at least four times as many years as He preached, when He was here in the flesh; but He was all the time the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind; and since in His teaching He was Master and Lord, we may be sure that He was also a master carpenter when He worked with the saw and plane. The Spirit that inspired the words, "Whatsoever thy hands find to do, do it with thy might," dwelt in Him in all fulness. Whatever work a person has to do therefore, Christ will make him master of it, if he learns of Him. If he is not master of his work, he is not a true servant of the Lord Jesus. There is much more to be learned from the words of Jesus concerning His kingdom; but whoever has fully learned this one will have no trouble with anything else.

"For Little Ones. The Champion of Israel" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

After shepherd boy David was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king of Israel, he went back to the wilderness and cared for the few sheep that he had left there as faithfully and tenderly as before He did not try to push himself into the place that God had chosen for him, but left it to Him to bring him to the throne in His own time and way.

Something soon took place which brought David especially to the notice of the king and all the people of Israel, and made them begin to see that God had chosen him to be their future ruler.

The children of Israel were at war with the Philistines, and they were terrified by a great giant who came day after day out of the Philistine camp, and mocked and defied them. Notice what was the proposal that he made to them: "Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall ye be our servants and serve us."

All the Israelites were very much distressed by the sight of this great giant, and by the words that he spoke. His great size and load voice frightened out of their minds the precious promises of God, that He was with them to save them, and that one of them should "chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight." They were sore afraid and fled, and the man for whom the giant called, to come and fight with him, could not be found.

Can you see in all this, dear children, a picture of our own sad, helpless condition without the one Man who alone can fight and conquer the great giant of evil who leads us all captive at his will, and goes about "as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour?" In his first fight with our father Adam Satan overcame and brought him into bondage, so that all his children became his slaves. Our only hope is in finding a man to conquer and slay the enemy, and deliver us from his taunts and cruel bondage.

Now watch carefully what followed in the case of the great giant Goliath, for God is here giving us a lesson of hope and comfort. In it we may read of the complete destruction of our old enemy Satan, and of the mighty deliverance that has been won for all his captives.

After many days there came a champion to the camp of Israel, sent by God to fight for His people. When he heard the proud words of the enemy of God's people, and saw their terrifying effect upon them, young David longed to show them all "that there is a God in Israel." Strong "in the name of the Lord of hosts" he went bravely forth to fight with Goliath.

David know that God had given him the victory, and he ran to meet the giant, who fell down before him slain by a stone that David had taken from the brook. He wanted to show to both armies that the giant was really dead, so he out off his great head and held it up for all to see.

What a change this made in the feelings of the two armies! The mocking Philistines fled in terror from the field of battle now they saw that their champion was dead, while the Israelites followed them with shouts of triumph.

Who is the Man that has been found to meet and conquer for us our old enemy Satan, and has made a show of him openly, triumphing over him? "The Man Christ Jesus." He died "that He might destroy him that had the power of death, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

"By force of arms we nothing can,
Full soon we us downridden;
But for as fights the proper Man,
Whom God Himself has bidden.
Ask ye who is this same?
Christ Jesus is His name,
The Lord Sabbaoth's Son;
He, and no other one,
Shall conquer in this battle."
-(Martin Luther.)

Now if the children of Israel had not known that the giant was dead, they might still have trembled and feared and thought themselves the servants of the Philistines, and allowed them to keep them in bondage. But when they saw his head cut off and held on high, they knew that he was made an end of, and that their champion David had won their freedom. And not their freedom only, but David's victory bad turned those who were before their masters into their slaves.

And so when Jesus won His complete victory over Satan, He made an open show of him, that all might be assured of their

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victory and freedom. He burst open the tomb, which is Satan's prison house; and when He Himself "came forth a majestic Conqueror," "many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many."

Will you, dear children, be the willing slaves of Satan, when you know that Jesus has won your freedom? Will you not rather, "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might," "resist the devil"? and the promise is that "he will flee from you." For Satan and his host know well, as did the Philistines, that their cause is lost and all their power taken away,-they know that the victory is already won for all who trust in the Man Christ Jesus."

Last week we saw David as the type of Christ the Good Shepherd. Here we see him again as the type of Christ, the great Champion of mankind, and our Deliverer from the cruel power of all our enemies.

"Temperance. Food Substitutes" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

When we tell people about the imperfectness of flesh meat as food, that milt, even at its best, is not the food for adults; in short, that no animal product should ever be eaten by man; that tea and coffee are poisonous, and on no account to be drunk, in that they supply nothing whatever to the system, but only cheat the user into thinking that he has received some strength, the question invariably arises, "If I give these things up, what shall I use as substitutes?"

The asking of the question shows a lack of comprehension of the principles that have been set forth in preceding articles in this department. One might as well say, "If I leave off swearing, what shall I say as a substitute for it? If I do not steal, what shall I do instead?" One needs no substitute for a bad practice; the evil thing is itself a substitute for the good and ought to give place to the original thing that God designed men to do.

In these articles we have set forth the life of God as that by which we live. Now it is true that that life is in every creature, but that does not indicate that we are to eat every creature. There are some things that God created to be eaten, and others that He did not design that man should eat. There are plants whose fruit, since the curse came upon the earth, an poisonous; the life of the Lord is in them, but it has been so perverted and loaded, so to speak, with the sine of man, that we can, get no life, but only death, from them. It is manifest that we should not eat of these things; yet many people do use them.

The same principle applies to the use of flesh of animals. Even at their best, the animals are under the curse. They partake of all the passions of men. Not only so, but the life that they receive is corrupted in them, so that in eating them we are getting the life in a very imperfect form, and must necessarily be affected by the degeneration. This is of itself sufficient reason for not eating animals, nor anything that comes from them, even if it were not true that they form no part of the original diet for man.

The question will be asked, "Are not all the plants and trees under the curse? and does not the argument that you have just made apply to everything?" The answer is, that everything is indeed under the curse, but not to the same extent, nor in the same way. Man is cursed most of all. The curse of sin is seen in him, in the shape of all sorts of wickedness, as well as in degeneration of body. Sin and disease are the evidences of the curse in man. The same thing applies to all the animals, only in lesser degree; they have less vigorous life than they would have had if it were not for the curse that man has brought on the earth, and, besides, they have evil passions, which cannot fail to intensify the same evils in those who eat them. Some plants, also, have degenerate natures, as those plants that are poisonous to a greater or lose degree; they tend to murder, and can only work disastrously to the character of whoever uses them. But with many plants it is far different. They are not, it is true, so full of life an they would be if there were no curse, but all the life that they do have is innocent and uncorrupted. When we eat of their fruit, we get nothing but good.

This last word is the one that should be our guide in all matters of diet. "Eat ye that which is good," the Lord says, and this is to be taken in its fullest sense. Our talk, therefore, is not that men should give up certain evil things, but that they should take the good, the best, which will of themselves crowd out the other things as unnecessary and burdensome.

We want no substitutes for sin, nor for any evil habit. The evil has been substituted for the good, and all that we have to do is to return to the original good. It is that to which the Lord calls us. Our sole desire, as Christians, should be to come most perfectly into conscious touch with that eternal life which was from the beginning, and which still flows for all, a never-ceasing fountain.

There is a difference, however, in the evil of things which men use. Such things, to instance, as tea, coffee, alcoholic liquors, and tobacco, which are in no sense food, but are wholly poisonous and injurious in their effects, need nothing in their place. The mere disuse of them, allowing the life, which they tend to hinder, to flow freely through the system, is all that is needed. It is the same with them as with overeating. If a man is gormandising, and by excess of even good food taxing his system, you would think it strange if he should say, "If I leave off eating so much, what shall I take as a substitute for the excess?" You would reply, Leaving off the excess is all the substitute you need. Stop that which is killing you, and you will speedily see the good results. Leave off taking poison, and you will find that the pure life itself is sufficient substitute.

But there are many things which do supply nourishment to the system, which nevertheless are not the best things to eat, and in this class are all animal products. They are food, but not the best food. Nothing is best, that God did not give to man in the beginning, no matter though it may have been permitted afterwards. It is of these things that the question concerning substitutes may apply with some show of propriety. If we leave off the use of flesh and milk, for instance, from what shall pre derive the nourishment that we have hitherto been receiving from them?

This is a fair question, and one that needs to be answered. The answer is, from fruits, which include nuts, and grains. The trouble is that men have been accustomed to regard fruits and nuts as luxuries, and not as supplying actual nourishment sufficient for all the needs of the body. They have not realised that in these things we have more nourishment than in flesh or any kind of animal product. Perhaps our statement of the fact will not be considered sufficient testimony, but whoever tries it will find the truth for himself, just as the experience of thousands proves it.

Scientific investigation also proves that in pains and nuts there is far more nourishment than in flesh. We have not space here to give a list of different substances, with their food values, but one instance will suffice as an example. A pound of hazel nuts contains nearly five times as much nourishment as a pound of beef, and has the advantage of containing nothing that can by any possibility injure the eater. It should be evident to all, therefore, that in every sense of the word it is more economical to eat the food which God gave to man in the beginning, than the substitutes which man's perverseness has devised.

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In the articles already presented we have set forth the principles of living, namely to get the beat always that which has the life of the Creator in the purest form. From time to time hereafter we shall consider practical questions concerning food, how beet to make use of that which God has given, so as not to experience any sense of loss, but rather of great gain, by returning to the bill of fare provided for man in the garden of Eden.

One thing, however, we wish to can attention to before closing this article. It is a fact, as already stated, that the life of the Creator is in everything. The animals derive their life and breath from God just as truly as the fruit tree contains His life; but there is a lesson that we are to learn in our eating, which we utterly lose when we eat the flesh of animals. It was stated last week that God has ordained that we should live by partaking of visible food, in order that we should recognise our dependence upon Him. We do not, by eating, get all the life that God designs that we should receive, but in our food, which we can see, we are to learn our dependence upon the unseen life, which is as vast as eternity.

Now Christ is our life. He declares that He is the true Vine. He is the tree of life for His people. He gives Himself for the world, yet He continues without change. He gives His life, nevertheless He lives. This wonderful truth is continually set before us in the food which God originally designed for man, but is in a large measure lost sight of through the substitutes which man's lust has devised. Thus, in partaking of the fruits, including nuts, and the seeds, which are man's natural food, we receive life without destroying that which gives us the life. The tree gives us its life, yet it continues to live. Not so, however, with animals. When we derive our sustenance from them, we out off just so much life from the earth. It is impossible, therefore, that flesh food can be to us all that God designed that our food should be to us spiritually; it cannot teach us the lemon of Him who gives His life for us, and who nevertheless has an undiminished supply left for us. But this lesson is ever before us when we eat the good things which God's providence has designed for us. It is His purpose that everything with which we have to do should be to us a Gospel lesson, so that the way of life may be the most easy and natural thing in the world. There are pleasures and advantages to be derived from a return to God's plan, which can never be expressed in words, and which must be experienced to be appreciated.

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

-There are no fewer than 800 cases of typhoid fever in Ladysmith when it was relieved.

-A case bubonic plague has, says the Exchange Telegraph Company, occurred at Table Bay.

-An explosion in a coal mine in West Virginia, U.S.A., March 6, resulted in the burial of one hundred and twenty-five men.

-A violent earthquake shook, last several seconds, was felt throughout Northern Italy on the 4th last.

-A Reuter's telegram dated Paris, March 6, states: The traffic receipts yesterday amounted to 280,000f., as compared with 240,000f. on the corresponding day of last year.

-A telegram received at the Colonial Office from the Governor of Mauritius states that for the week ending March 1 there were three fresh cases of bubonic plague and five deaths.

-According to the Petersburg correspondent of the Kleine Journal, Russia, notwithstanding all contradiction, is negotiating with Paris for a ninety-nine years' lease of a Persian port.

-Between 1897 and 1899 the consumption of beer in the United Kingdom increased from 34,000,000 to 36,000,000 barrels, and the consumption of spirits from 32,000,000 to 35,000,000.

-A Dalziel's telegram from Paris says that the Court of Appeal has confirmed the conviction of the Assumptionist Fathers, and ordered the dissolution of their organisation, but remitted the fines imposed by the lower Court.

-On the 5th inst. A remarkably rapid balloon voyage was made by three Prussian officers. They ascended from Berline at eleven o'clock, and landed at a village outside Prague at two o'clock in the afternoon, having covered in three hours a distance which is not made by the most rapid express train in less than seven hours. The balloon rose to a height of 9,750 feet.

-Following are some of the prices realised at an auction in Ladysmith on February 21: Twelve matches brought thirteen shillings, condensed milk went to ten shillings a tin, but a quarter pound tin of Capstan tobacco brought three pounds, and a threepenny packet of cigarettes twenty-five shillings. A bottle of jam cost ?1 11s., and cigars five shillings each.

-The Premier of New South Wales has stated that there are 200,000 males in the colony, between eighteen and forty-five years of age, available for military service, and 90,000 who could carry firearms, and use them. He suggests that the best way to prepare a defence force is to make the drilling of schoolboys compulsory. He estimates that by this systems 16,000 trained youths may be turned out yearly.

-Isaac Gordon, the greatest usurer of England, died on the 6th inst., at Birmingham. It is said that by his usurious practices has has wrecked more homes than any other man living. Although he was penniless when he came to England, and was only thirty-five years old at his death, he had amassed a fortune of a million pounds. In spite of a long and severe illness, he was engaged in money-lending within two hours of his death.

-In anticipation of the increase in the tax on tea, twenty-two million pounds were removed from bond in London alone in the two days preceding the announcement of the new rate.

-War is a costly affair, a fact of which some people will be reminded every day, in the increased cost of their luxuries. To assist in meeting the sixty millions called for by the war, a shilling a barrel will be added to the tax on beer; sixpence a gallon to the tax on whiskey; fourpence a pound will be added to tobacco; and the tax on tea will be increased by twopence a pound. Besides this, fourpence will be added to the income-tax, making it a shilling in the pound.

-The vicar of All Saints', Scarborough, in an after-dinner speech as the guest of the Local Licensed Victuallers' Association, said that England owed its greatness not to teetotalers, but to moderate drinkers. He said that nearly all the great men of the past were moderate drinkers. That kind of inverted logic is very common among people whose reason is governed by their desires. Whatever success is attained notwithstanding any evil habit, they are sure to say is due to it.

-Since January 30, when Parliament assembled, the Customs authorities have received ?1,000,000 more than would have been the case had not increased taxation been expected. On March 5, the amount paid was ?482,000. The ordinary amount is about ?35,000. In the two days preceding the announcement of the Budget by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, dutiable goods to the amount of ?321,000 were withdrawn from the Belfast bonded stores, as against the ordinary average of ?15,000.

-At the meeting of the Royal Society, held March 2, at Burlington House, Mr. F. G. Jackson, the Arctic explorer, and Professor Vaughan Harly, M.D., presented a paper on the subject of "An Experimental Inquiry into Scurvy." The researches of the authors, who have had every opportunity to test the matter practically, prove conclusively that scurvy is directly attributable to ptomaine poison, which is present in all tainted food stuff. With pure food, scurvy is impossible.

-A bullet-proof train, capable of traveling over the open veldt, or wherever a wheeled conveyance may go, will shortly be shipped to South Africa from the works of Messrs. John Fowler & Co., Leeds. No rails being required, the danger of derailment is therefore obviated, and the train will be able to approach much nearer an enemy's position than is now possible. The train will consist of a powerful traction engine and four waggons, the latter capable of being converted into a miniature fort for riflemen in action.

-A marvellous recovery from a gunshot wound is reported in the case of Private O'Leary, of the West Surrey regiment. On Dec. 15 he was shot in the head, the bullet penetrating the brain and rendering him dumb and blind, while later paralysis set in on his left side. At Maritzburg Hospital, under the superintendence of Sir William MacCormac, he was operated on, the bullet being successfully extracted and an ounce of the brain and several pieces of the skull taken out. O'Leary afterwards regained speech, and was able to see, and is regaining the use of his left leg.

-The Committee of the United States Senate on Naval Affairs has issued a favourable report on a Bill for the construction of a Pacific cable under the direction of the Naval Department. The line is to be a Government cable. The Bill provides for immediate construction only from San Francisco to Honolulu, but it contemplates an ultimate extension to the Philippines and Hong Kong. The Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives has ordered a favourable report on the Bill for the private construction of a cable between the United States, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Japan.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

The German Emperor sent the most hearty congratulations to the Pope on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday.

Did you never feel uneasy on going into some strange place, because you thought that everybody was looking at you, and making mental comments on some peculiarity? If so, it will help you very much in future if you will remember that most of the other people are doing just what you are thinking of themselves.

What is the secret of that kind of sensitiveness which causes so many people to think that others despise them?-It is very simple: They imagine that others can see them just as they see themselves, and they are conscious that they are worthy of contempt. The person who comes with boldness to the throne of grace, and who has confidence that he is a child of the King of kings, will never suspect people of despising him.

The Daily Mail, speaking of the taxes to meet the war expenditure, says: "We shall have to pay more for our wines, our spirits, our coffee, tea, and cocoa, our tobacco, and perhaps our beer, than we have been paying." That "we" does not include no, for no strictly temperate person ever uses any of those things, so that a really "good liver" is not directly affected by the increased taxation. Some light-minded person may say that this is lack of patriotism; but nobody can ever make it appear that a man can benefit his country by destroying his stomach and nerves. No country can ever be really built up by that which tends to the deterioration of the race. At the same time, it is but right that those who use the unnecessary things mentioned should be made to pay for them; and we would gladly see the tax on all of those articles put so high as to be prohibitory. If no stimulants or intoxicants were used at all, there would be such prosperity as no statesman has ever dreamed of.

The Pope of Rome is wise in his generation. During all the time that the Transvaal war has been waging, and the fortunes of the British were at a low ebb, the Osservatora Romano, a journal supported by the Vatican, and other Roman Journals, in common with the majority of the Continental press, have been loud in their denunciations of Great Britain. But the tide has now turned, and suddenly the old man in the Vatican has awakened to the fact, of which he professes previous profound ignorance, that his organ has been traducing his friends the English, and he has severely reproved Cardinal Rampolla for not having prevented it. A shrewd old man is the Pope, and almost infallible in his judgment of what is safe policy for himself.

In speaking of the Turks, whom he, in common with a candid visitors, cannot help admiring, Mr. Hugh Price Hughes said that they were "fine, manly fellows, and made splendid soldiers, although they took nothing stronger than coffee and cold water." Why the "although"? It should rather be "because." Mr. Hughes says that the drinking habits of "Christians" are the greatest hindrance to the spread of their religion. If a Turk begins to drink, they say that he has become a Christian. This is one of the evil results of the use of the term "Christian nation." It brings reproach upon Christianity, and hinders the advancement of the truth, because it leads Mohammedans and heathens to consider all the sins committed by the people of the nation, as a part of Christianity.

"Mistaken Opinions" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

"I have as good a right to my opinions as you have to yours," someone says to me.

Quite right; we may even state the case more emphatically: The most ignorant and despised person in the world has as much right to his own opinions as the wisest and most renowned person has to his opinions.

Let me now make another statement for your consideration: I have as good a right to steal as you have.

You reply, "Oh, but nobody has right to steal!"

Exactly, and even so nobody has any right to his own opinions. "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

God's mind and God's thoughts, that is, God's opinions, are all that any person has a right to have. God should be allowed to think in every person, forming his opinions for him. He who "thinks for himself," independently of God, thereby proclaims that he thinks that his judgment and his opinions are better than the Lord's. Thus he places himself above God. That is essentially the Papacy, which exalts itself above God. Whoever clings to his own opinions is as really a papist as if he acknowledged the claims of the man in the Vatican, and he may be much more dangerous, and more difficult to deal with.

"The Advantage of a Siege" The Present Truth 16, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

It seems that a long siege is not an unmixed evil. Aside from the loss of life from the artillery fire, and some insanitary conditions that might with proper care be avoided, it would do many cities good to undergo a siege of four months. A war correspondent, writing from Ladysmith since it has been relieved, says:-

The shadows of some of the besieged have grown less. Man of jovial aspect, rubicund visage, and ample dimensions, have undergone a strange metamorphosis. . . . The shrinkage in many cases went on to an extent which would have been alarming, had it not been for the fact, patent to all beholders, that the man was infinitely better for his reduction. Yet it must be confessed that some of the besieged, both old and young, passed the ordeal of lowered rations and no beer, without losing the proverbial pound in weight.

Various views were taken of the results of a diminished supply of food. Strange to say, most people agreed that the altered condition did them a world of good. A remark was made to the writer by a gentleman engaged in retailing beer, which is worth pondering over. He said: "This will add five years to our lives. Just enough food, very little baccy, and no beer; why, it does us no end of good, and has done no end of good."

In after years many of the besieged will look back to the beleaguerment of Ladysmith as not the most unpleasant period of their lives.

Why cannot people be wise enough to avail themselves of these advantages of a siege, without being forcibly shut up to it?

March 22, 1900

"The Beatitudes. Matt. iv. 25; v. 1-12" The Present Truth 16, 12.

E. J. Waggoner

In this lesson we see the loss that people sustain when they begin and end their Scripture reading according to the divisions of the chapters. In beginning to read, "And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain" (Matt. v. 1), we get no idea of why the multitudes came to Jesus. Even the last verse of the fourth chapter, which is included in this lesson, and which says that "there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan," does not give us the desired information. For this we must go still further back, and read that "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." Literally, "healing every sickness and every weakness among the people." "And His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatiak, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them."

Now we know why the multitudes came to Him, and how it happened that He had so great an audience that He was obliged to go up into the mountain. He had something to give the people, and it met their needs. Notice what is said: They brought unto Him all the people that had any kind of disease, or were afflicted in any way whatever; and He healed them. Then there were no sick and infirm people left in His track. This was the preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom, the same Gospel which is to be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations, until the end comes. In the Spirit Jesus is just as really here with us now as He was in Galilee and Judea, and He has the same message to proclaim to us, with the same power. If we personally believe on Him, as did the people who saw Him in the flesh, we may experience the same blessings. Jesus heals every sickness and every weakness. Follow Him now, and let Him do it for you.

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Much depends upon a proper understanding of the force of the word "blessed," which occurs so often in this lesson. To most people it has a far-off meaning; it is a "religious" word, and they have difficulty in bringing it into daily affairs. It is, however, the common word for "happy." It occurs in the texts, "If ye know these things, happy are ye it ye do them." John xiii. 17. Paul said to King Agrippa, "I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day." It was the common word among the Greeks for "fortunate," and indicated "the highest human happiness." It was need of persons who were well off, wealthy. It also expresses the happiness of the glorified saints, as "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." When you read the beatitudes, remember that all this happiness is said to be the present possession of those in the conditions mentioned. "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." These are the people who have a low estimate of themselves, and who are usually despised by the self confident. They have nothing of which to boast, and are conscious of it; therefore they depend wholly on the Lord. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It belongs to them, and is their portion now. When Jesus began to preach, He said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. iv. 17. Later on He said, "The kingdom of God is within you." Luke xvii. 21. All the joy of the kingdom of heaven belongs in this present time to those who are poor and despised, and even oppressed. What a pity that so many of them do not believe it, and so do not experience it!

"Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted." There is here no limiting of the mourners. Christ does not say that a certain class of mourners are blessed, but includes all. He is anointed with the Holy Spirit, "to comfort all that mourn." Isa. lxi. 2. No matter whether they mourn for sin, or for sickness and death; on their own account; or for others; the blessing applies to that mourn. If people believed this, they would be found saying, "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." Ps. xxx. 11.

"They shall be comforted." Let no one try to deprive himself or others of the comfort of this promise, by saying that the comfort is future. Hear the words of Inspiration: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Cor. i. 3, 4. The Holy Spirit, Christ's abiding Presence, is the Comforter. He does not leave us, but abides with us for ever; therefore the Comfort of the Gospel is ours continually in this present life. But even if the comfort spoken of were admitted to be future, it cannot be denied that the Lord says that they that mourn are happy. "Happy are they that mourn." No mourning or cause of mourning can be so great that the one who knows the Lord cannot find joy in it. We glory in tribulations also." "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor. xii. 10. What must the joy of heaven be, when the presence of God is so gloriously great and comforting that it can manufacture joy out of sorrow?

"Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." They do not have much of the earth at the present time. If a man would possess much of this world's goods, he must press his own claims against those who are seeking to enrich themselves at his expense. This is not the characteristic of meekness. The motto of this world is, "Every man for himself," and the meek are crowded to the wall. Yet the earth is the inheritance of the meek. Meekness was the chief characteristic of Christ, the Prophet like unto Moses, and He had no place where to lay His head. Where then does the blessing of the text come in? Ah, it is "the world to come," that is given to the meek. It is "the first dominion," the earth made new, which was the possession of man in the beginning. But man was then a king. Exactly, and the meek, even though they be despised and snubbed by the "great" ones of this world, are all kings. "Meekness does not mean meanness or cowardice. Picture the first man in his Godlike majesty, innocent and pure, yet ruling over all creation, or Christ before Pilate and the angry mob, or standing calmly before the raging demoniacs, or stilling the tempest, and you have the perfection of meekness. "He that is slow to anger is greater than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." It is a blessed thing to hunger and thirst. Too few know what it means. Thousands know what it is to be hungry and thirsty, and if they only understood that the hunger of the body is but the crying out of the weakened nerves and muscles for that which God's immediate presence alone can supply, they would experience the happiness of hunger. By the food which we can see, God teaches us our absolute dependence upon Him. We seethe food that we eat, but we cannot see the life that it contains that which is the reality of it, and which alone makes it valuable to us. God has life infinitely beyond what is contained in the food and drink that He supplies to us, and if we recognise Him in these gifts, we shall be in a position to accept the infinite gifts that His Spirit bestows. Then even our eating and drinking will be a means of securing the righteousness of God. The seen will teach us of the unseen.

The promise to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, is that they shall be filled. With what will they be filled?-Evidently with that for which they hunger and thirst, namely, righteousness. And when shall they be filled?-When they hunger, of course. So if we but understand the fact that the calling of our bodies for food is but the craving of the system for the life of God, to supply its lack, and that the life which He gives as in the food that satisfies the body is the very same life that cleanses as from all sin, and that it will do for us "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think," if we but take it for everything it is designed to be to us, we shall be "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Phil. i. 11.

"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy." If we consider that the converse of this is true, it will come home to us more forcibly. There is nothing arbitrary in the fact that the merciful shall obtain mercy, or that those who are unmerciful cannot obtain it. God gives to every person just what he desires and loves. If a man shows mercy, that indicates that he loves mercy, and such an one will obtain mercy. But if a man is unmerciful, even though it be to the smallest creature, he shows that he does not love mercy; and no matter how much he may cry out for mercy, his actions give the lie to his words, and the mercy that he has rejected does not come to him. Just as the kingdom of God is within, so all the joys of heaven must spring from within. Those who accept the gift of Christ, cannot but receive with Him all good things.

"Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." They shall see God, because their eyes are open to see Him. God's everlasting power and Divinity, "that which may be known of God," are clearly to be seen in everything that He has made; but "God is Spirit, and spiritual things are spiritually discerned." Not alone in the future state, when the

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curse is removed, will it be that "they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads;" but they that know the joyful sound are even now blessed, and shall walk in the light of His countenance, and rejoice in His name all the day, and in His righteousness be exalted. Ps. lxxxix. 15, 16. There are sights every day for those whose hearts are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, which are as hidden from the eyes of sceptics as are the tints of the rainbow from the blind man. God's Spirit gives sight to the blind, enabling them to "see that Just One."

"Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." This is but natural, for God is "the very God of peace." There is no better way to make peace, than to carry it in one's own heart and life. Jesus "is our peace," because He gives to us His life, reconciling us to God. The most successful peacemakers are not those who go about intermeddling with strife belonging not to them, but those who themselves have the peace of God ruling in their hearts. "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked," but only to those who hearken to His commandments. Isa. xlviii. 13, 22. Therefore the only way we can make peace is to proclaim and present the righteousness of the law of God. The preachers of righteousness are the true peacemakers.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The persecuted ones have even now the same thing that the poor in Spirit have. "He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." James iv. 6. The meaner one's position, and the worse his circumstances, the more of the grace and glory of heaven does he receive. God supplies every need, according to His riches in glory. It is the knowledge of this fact that makes the persecuted ones meet persecution with joy, and march even to the stake with songs of joy, glorifying God even in the very fires. It is not bravado, but the overflowing of the joy of leaven which is in their hearts. It is no use trying to explain this to those who do not know the Lord. They must taste, and see for themselves that the Lord is good, and that there is no want to them that fear Him. Moses found the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Ho did not look back with longing eyes to the glories of Pharaoh's court, nor did be waste breath in vain longings for the time when he could throw off the heavy burden, and cease bearing the arose, and enjoy the bliss of heaven. No; he found all the bliss of heaven in his daily round of duties, and in the midst of the overwhelming burdens, because "he endured am seeing Him who is invisible." Heb. xi. 24-27. The unseen was constantly before His eyes, and while men are beholding the unseen, even their afflictions make for them "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18.

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." This is the culmination of blessing, as it is the culmination of evil to be suffered. With this in mind, and in his heart, no one can spend time seeking to answer false accusations, or mourning over them. If you endeavour to defend yourself against a false charge, no one believes you, except your friends, who did not believe the charge; and for them the explanation is unnecessary. The best answer to a false accusation is its own falseness and time will demonstrate this, no matter how plausible it is made to appear at present. So rejoice in the knowledge of the fact that it is false.

A woman once complained bitterly to the writer on account of false charges that were made against her husband, who wais engaged in Christian work which made him a target for the envious. She said, "I think it is too bad that such things should be said, when there is not a word of truth in them." To this I replied, "Would you feel better over the matter, if the charges were true? Would you like to know that your husband was guilty of the things charged against him! Ought you not to be glad that we enemies cannot find anything to bring against him, except that which is false?" She had not looked at the case in that light, and felt much relieved. What an honour, to be counted worthy to be classed among the prophets which were before us! Who would not count it all joy, to share the bliss of being reckoned with Moses and Jeremiah? Then do not shrink from whatever cruel blow may fall. "Tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience; and experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

One thing must not be overlooked, and that is that the blessing, the happiness, spoken of here is not something which we have to manufacture, or which we can possibly produce, but that it comes with the condition specified. The peace of God cannot be produced by men. The joy of heaven must come spontaneously from the spring of eternal life in our heart. "Thou hast put gladness in my heart," is the exclamation of the one who knows the comfort of the Holy Ghost. We may simulate joy, but this will not do. Joyful people often shout and sing for joy; but mere singing and shouting, no matter how lustily, will not produce the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is strength, and shows itself in victory over the temptations of the devil. God says, "Rejoice!" and when we receive His Word into our hearts, the joy will be there, and we shall have only to give expression to it. "Happy is that people whose God is the Lord." Are you happy? If not, why not?

"Prayers for the Dead" The Present Truth 16, 12.

E. J. Waggoner

In the House of Lords the other day the Archbishop of Canterbury was asked if any precedent could be found since the Reformation for introducing prayers for the dead. The Archbishop in reply referred to two documents, which were formed of prayer, issued in 1777 and 1778, in which there were words similar to those issued by the Archbishops. He said that it is quite certain that such prayers are not outside the limits of the law, but that the question must ultimately be decided by a court of law. What a pity that men to whom so many thousands look for religious guidance, have no word of the Lord to give them, but only precedent, and even that of a doubtful quality.

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Arm of the Lord. Isa. lii. 13-18; liii. 1-3" The Present Truth 16, 12.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lii. 13-15; Isa. liii. 1-3)

"Behold, My Servant shall deal wisely, He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Like as many were astonied at Thee, (His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men,) so shall He startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for that which had not been told them they shall see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand.

"Who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hid their face. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."

We have quoted these verses from the Revised Version, and have been given the alternative reading found in the margin of verse 15, chapter lii. Right here at the beginning we call attention to the difference, so that we may have the change fixed in our minds once for all.

It is impossible to say how many people have rested the whole case for sprinkling instead of baptism, upon the faulty rendering of verse 15, "So shall He sprinkle many nations." Now it is true that the Hebrew word from which this word is translated has the idea of "spouting forth," and this idea is found in leaping, starting, whether for joy or astonishment. It is used of liquids, as to sprinkle blood or water upon a person or thing. But note carefully this distinction, which is strictly observed, that it is not used of things that are not fluid, and which cannot be scattered forth in fine streams. The word is often used in the Bible, where it is rightly translated "sprinkle," but it is the liquid that is sprinkled upon the thing. It would be impossible to use it of persons, because men cannot be sprinkled upon anything. We have in the English the accommodated expression, "to sprinkle a man," "to sprinkle clothes," although it is not strictly correct. The washerwoman does not sprinkle the clothes, but sprinkles the water upon the clothes. This distinction is most strictly observed in the Hebrew. See Eze. xxxvi. 25. It does not say that the Lord will sprinkle His people, but He says: "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean." In the passage before us, the rendering "sprinkle" is strained and unnatural, and does violence to the sense; the word "startle" or "astonish" is literal, and consistent. That, or its equivalent is given as the rendering in many translations other than the English.

THE WISDOM OF GOD'S SERVANT

Again we have the Servant of the Lord brought before us. In chapters xlii., xliii. and xlix., we have had Him introduced before. Here we are told that He shall deal wisely, or prudently. "He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high." That this is true of Christ, the whole history of His life shows. So wisely did He deal, that the utmost efforts of all the scribes and Pharisees and doctors of the law failed to entangle Him in His talk. He knew perfectly when to answer a question, and when to hold His peace, and refrain from answering; and when He answered a carping question He always discomfited the questioner, and encouraged the listeners. See Mark xii. 34-37. And as to exaltation, He is "by the right hand of God exalted," to the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named." Eph. i. 20, 21.

But that is not the whole of the story. It is "Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels," who is "crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Heb. ii. 9. It is "the Man Christ Jesus" who dealt prudently, and who is now exalted. It was all done in the flesh, that He might show His power over all flesh. If we yield to God as completely as He did, then are we the servants of the Lord just as surely as He was, and all that is said of Him as the Servant of the Lord applies to us in Him. What a comforting thought it is to know that the servant of the Lord will deal wisely, because we know that if we are truly His servants we shall also deal wisely. Christ is of God made unto us wisdom, as well as righteousness.

This means, however, that we must indeed serve. We must not be idle, lazy servants. We must be alive to know what the will of the Lord is, and must be so filled with the Spirit that the mind of the Spirit, which is the mind of God, will be our mind. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, and since we are filled with all the fulness of God when He dwells in our hearts by faith, it follows that all the fullness of God's wisdom may be displayed in us. "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things." 1 John ii. 20. This comes only with the utmost humility, for "the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits." Then comes the exaltation; for "he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." How highly shall we be exalted as the servants of the Lord?-Even to the right hand of God in the heavenly places. Eph. ii. 4-6. "He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree." "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory." 1 Sam. ii. 8. "Hath not God chosen the

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poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?"

KINGS TERRIFIED BY CHRIST'S HUMILIATION

We read the account of the mock trial of Jesus. "Herod with his men of war set Him at naught and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him again to Pilate." Luke xxiii. 11. "And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led Him away into the hall, called Pr?torium; and they called together the whole band. And they clothed Him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it upon His head, and began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote Him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon Him, and bowing their knees, worshipped Him. And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him." Mark xv. 16-20. That was rare sport for those rough soldiers. To them he seemed only a half-crazy pretender to the throne, who was about to suffer for His presumption. They would crucify Him today, and forget all about it tomorrow. Nay, so little did they regard the whole affair, that they could calmly sit down at the foot of the cross, and gamble for His clothes. His visage was marred, and His form likewise; but by the power of those very sufferings He will astonish many nations. Then the rabble could mock Him, and set Him at naught; soon kings will crouch in dumb terror at His feet, and will frantically call for the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from His face. "And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Isa. ii. 19. And all that power will be only a manifestation of the power by which He "endured the cross, despising the shame."

THE ARM OF GOD MOCKED

Men did not know it, and they would not have believed it if a man had told it to them, that that poor, silent, despised prisoner was "the arm of the Lord." Often had the Jews who persecuted Jesus chanted in their synagogues, "Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand." Ps. lxxxix. 13. And again: "We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, that work Thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How Thou didst drive out the heathen with Thy hand, and plantedst them; how Thou didst afflict them, and cast them out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them." Ps. xliv. 1-3. But never did they think that the humble, despised, and rejected Man before them was the arm of the Lord, by whom all this was done. The prophets were read every Sabbath day; but none of the men who cried for the blood of Jesus to be shed, and were willing to take all the guilt of it upon themselves, had any idea that they were seeing the fulfilment of the prophecy, "The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Yet so it was. The arm of the Lord, which brings salvation, is Christ the Crucified. The isles shall wait for Him, and on His arm shall they trust (Isa. li. 5), because "He shall gather the lambs with His arm," the very same arm that "shall rule for Him." But although these things have been proclaimed for centuries, even now it may be asked, "Who hath believed our report?"

THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD

Who would think that a little baby, the child of one of the poorest people, born in a manger, growing up in seclusion and poverty, was the manifestation of the arm of the Lord? What is weaker and more lacking in wisdom than a little babe? "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." A root out of a dry ground!

"He groweth up in their sight like a tender sucker;
And like a root from a thirsty soil."

One would not expect any beauty in such a plant. Indeed, one would scarcely expect it to live. It seems not to have enough earth and moisture to supply life to it, yet it supplies life to all the world. A grape vine is one of the barest of things at certain seasons of the year. In some countries the vines are not trained upon supports, but are cut back each year, near to the ground, so that in a few years each vine is a gnarled stump. Such a vineyard looks very much like a field of dry stumps left to rot away in the ground after the timber has been carried away. Yet from that very field, and from those very unsightly stumps, flows a stream of rich wine. Hundreds of huge clusters of the most luscious grapes will be gathered from that root that springs from a dry, rocky soil. And that is the beauty of the plant. It is not what it seems to be, but the fruit that it bears, that determines its beauty. Christ had no beauty that the world could see. His beauty was "the hidden man of the heart, the ornament of the meek and quiet spirit;" the beauty of holiness.

TO WHOM IS THE ARM REVEALED?

If we read this lesson as a mere historical prophecy, we lose the whole of it. If we think merely of what has taken place in the past, of the rejection of Jesus nineteen hundred years ago, because He did not meet the expectation of the people, we have read to no profit. In that case the arm of the Lord has not been revealed to us. We have not believed the report. What does it mean to us, to you and me? It means that however dry and barren our lives are, God can bring forth from them rich streams of blessing; that tender though we may be, and growing in a dry soil, the mighty power of God may reveal itself in us. "Our circumstances are very unfavourable; we have so many difficulties to contend with; everything is against us; there is no prospect of our ever being able to amount to anything." Ah, yes, we have often mourned in that fashion. We have not believed the report about the root out of the dry ground. That has been the trouble with us, and the only trouble; for when we see the arm of the Lord, there can be no trouble. With God nothing is impossible. Jesus was born and reared under the most unfavourable conditions, in order that nobody might have any cause for discouragement. Nobody was ever any poorer than He was; nobody could ever have any fewer advantages; nobody was ever so despised and ill-treated, and was so little appreciated, as He was. And what was it all for?-To show us that if the life of God is allowed to flow through the deadest root in the driest possible soil, it will not only find nourishment for itself, but will be able to furnish support for all the world. Have you believed the report? Has the

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arm of the Lord been revealed to you? Whenever you are inclined to grumble over your situation, and your lack of opportunities, or to become discouraged at the prospect, stop and ask yourself these questions. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." See if you yet believe the first principles of the Gospel.

"For Little Ones. The Lord's Anointed" The Present Truth 16, 12.

E. J. Waggoner

Remember what we have learned already about the visit of Samuel the prophet to Bethlehem, the home of David and how he anointed him from among his brethren to be king over Israel. This was when David was a lad, but it was more than twenty years before the crown was placed upon his head, and he eat upon the throne as ruler of God's people. During these long years of waiting his faith was tried, and he was prepared to become a wise and gangs ruler. King Saul was very jealous of David, because he knew that God had taken the kingdom from him and given it to David. Many times he tried to take his life, and would have done so if God bad not taken care of him. Twice when David was playing the harp before him he threw a spear at him, thinking to kill him.

Because of Saul's hatred, David was obliged to ties from the palace, where he had been living, and wander among the mountains, living in caves, and among the rocks.

"All Israel and Judah loved David," and a company of about four hundred men, among whom were his own brethren who had at first been jealous of him, followed him to the mountains and shared his hardships. There he had a little kingdom of his own, which helped to teach him and prepare him to rule over all Israel.

At last his enemy King Saul lost his life, and God brought David to the throne of Israel. Then the little company that had followed him in his trials and hardships were exalted to positions of honour in the kingdom, while those who had not wanted David-whom God had anointed to be their king-to reign over them, either had to submit to him, or also lose their lives through their rebellion.

In David, seated upon the-throne of Israel, we see the type of Jesus, of whom the angel Gabriel said to Mary, "The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and of His kingdom there shall be no end."

When he was anointed, "the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." The oil poured upon his head was an outward sign that the Spirit of God had anointed him, and would prepare him for the work for which God had chosen him.

Jesus also was anointed "with the Holy Ghost and with power." The word "Christ" means "the anointed." "Jesus Christ" means "Jesus, the anointed." He is "the Lord's Anointed."

But "the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed." Speaking of this the apostles said: "Of a truth against Thy Holy Child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together."

As Saul hunted David and tried to kill him, so Herod and others sought the life of Jesus, and tried to destroy Him, to keep Him from the throne and the kingdom that God had given Him. Yet there were some who loved and followed Him, sharing His toil and trials. In every age of the world there have been some who have seen in Jesus the Lord's Anointed, and for love of Him have forsaken all and followed Him.

Those who have done this have "had trial of cruel mocking and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about In sheep skins mid goat skins; were destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens end caves of the earth."

But thus have been any more, and by far the greater number, "who will not have this Man to reign over them." They have despised Him and His followers.

How often you pray, do you not, "Thy kingdom come"? Soon this prayer will be answered. His kingdom shall come, and "the Lord's Anointed" shall be crowned and seated an His throne, and God shall give Him "the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession."

Then those who have followed Him in humiliation and distress shall sit with Him on His throne and share His glory. But of the others it shall be said: "Those Mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before Me."

This is not because Jesus does not love them, but because there can be only sin and trouble where He does not reign. This is why He has taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come."

His kingdom is "righteousness, peace, and joy." In cutting off those who will not let Him bring them peace and joy through righteousness, He is doing the very best thing that can be done for them,-all that love can do,-saving them from the misery that must always come from having their own way.

Will you have Jesus to reign over you the tender Shepherd who gathers she lambs with His arm and carries them in His bosom? God has anointed Him to be your Saviour and King. If you let Him rule He will subdue all your iniquities, cast every sinful thing out of His kingdom within you, and bring in His own everlasting "righteousness, peace, and joy."

"Hail to the Lord's Anointed!
Great David's greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free,
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

"He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
Love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth;
Before Him, on the mountains,
Shall peace the herald go;
And righteousness in fountains,
From hill to valley flow."

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 12.

E. J. Waggoner

-It is stated that influenza and typhoid fever are on the increase in Paris.

-Owing to the coal famine in Vienna, the municipality has given a large order for English coal.

-Down to the 9th inst., the Mansion House Fund for the Transvaal War sufferers amounted to ?747,700.

-A despatch from Port of Spain, Venezuela, says that Mr. Lyons, British Consul at Bolivar, has been assassinated.

-An English lady has left nearly 220,000 to the corporation of Harvard University, to be spent in efforts to discover the cause of cancer.

-A terrible fire has occurred at an Italian tenement house in Newark (New Jersey, U.S.A.) Fifteen persons are known to have perished. The victims are mostly children.

-Dr. Hansen has announced his intention of undertaking shortly a scientific expedition to the north of Iceland, especially with a view to the examination and the conditions of ocean currents.

-A Congress on the subject of tuberculosis will meet at Naples on the 25th of next month, and the three following days, under the presidency of Signor Bacilli, Italian Minister of Public Instruction.

-The output of British coal in 1899 was 220,085,803 tons, as against 202,042,243 tons in 1898. Lead and tin ore showed a decrease, but the amount of gold ore was 8,047 tons in 1899, against 708 tons in 1898.

-The Viceroy of India has telegraphed to the Secretary of State for India, that the number of famine sufferers in receipt of relief is 4,604,000, and this does not include those in Madras, the number of whom is unknown.

-On the 18th inst., Bloemfontein, the Capital of the Orange Free State surrendered to Lord Roberts, who now has iris headquarters in the late President's house. The British army was given a cordial welcome by the inhabitants.

-Two Frenchmen, named Lamarre and Melville, have left for Havre, where they will embark on board a steamer for America, in order to journey to Klondike on a motor car. The actual distance they will travel by car will be 650 miles.

-The War Loan of ?30,000,000 has already been subscribed many times over. A Stock Exchange estimate is that the applications will reach the enormous total of ?500,000,000. The demands from the United States have been sufficient to cover the entire loan.

-For the accommodation of persons wishing to view the eclipse of the sun, which takes plane on Monday, May 26 next, Messrs. Cook have arranged a conducted tour leaving Loudon, May 21, visiting Paris, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Madrid and Talavera, where the total phase of the eclipse will be visible.

-The Presidents of the South African Republics, having sent to the British Government the information that, now that they are being detested, they are willing to grant peace, on the condition that their independence as "sovereign States," be recognised, Lord Salisbury has replied that Her Majesty's Government "are not prepared to assent to the independence of the South African Republic or the Orange Free State."

-The Dowager Empress of China has issued orders for the wholesale arrest of sympathisers with reform, including the Emperor's former tutor and his associates. A Reuter telegram adds that these measures will probably culminate in anti-Christian outbreaks similar to those which occurred in the Shantung province.

-The annual report of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, shows that the total number of lives for the saving of which the institution granted rewards last year, was 609; of these 501 were saved by lifeboats, and 108 by shore boats and other means, besides which the lifeboat crews were instrumental in saving twenty vessels.

-Three French boys, the eldest but fourteen years old, recently arrived in Marseilles, having run away from home to enlist with the Boers, to fight against the English. Each one had a revolver and cartridges, and maps of the Transvaal. They were taken in charge by the police, visiting the arrival of their friends. The spirit of war is pervading all classes.

-A short time ago a Local Government official was auditing the accounts of the West Ham Union, and in an amount of over ?40,000 there was found adiscrepancy of one penny. The whole of the clerical staff was immediately requisitioned to find the error, and after several days' hard work and the expenditure of over ?6 for overtime, the missing penny was at last located.

-A Reuter's despatch from Washington, March 18, said "The United States, at the request of Presidents Kruger and Steyn, has offered to the British Government its services as mediator, with a view to the restoration of peace in South Africa, but the offer has been declined in terms as cordial and polite as those in which the offer was couched." Various telegrams show that no other Power is likely to move in the matter.

-The Topeka (U.S.A.) Daily Capital, is wise in its generation. Although, as was to be expected, Mr. Charles M. Sheldon, author of "In His Steps," produced a very indifferent paper, in the weeks in which he had charge, when he was showing his idea of how Christ would run a daily paper, the scheme has advertised the paper so thoroughly that ?13,000 is estimated as the profits for the week.

-The United States survey steamer Nero, in the course of its sea soundings for the trans-Pacific cable, has broken the record in measuring the depth of the ocean. One sounding near Guam Island showed 5,160 fathoms, and a second upon the opposite side of the Leland showed 5,269 fathoms, which is but sixty-six feet short of six land miles. This is also deeper than the height of any mountain on the earth's surface.

-A Central News telegram from Rome says that a Pepsi Encyclical on the peace of the world will be issued before Easter. It will dwell upon the Hague Conference and the disappointments arising from the war in South Africa, and will appeal to all sovereign Powers, whether Roman Catholic or not, to stay war and resort to arbitration. Bishops and Archbishops throughout the world will to invited to use their influence towards the diffusion of principles of peace hared upon arbitration. The Pope is determined to keen him self at the front of affairs, and the Papacy will profit-whichever way the wind blows.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 12.

E. J. Waggoner

Great excitement prevails in Turkish official circles, on account of Russia's insistence upon her demand to obtain the exclusive right to construct railways on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, and in Northern Asia Minor. The Sultan cannot got any help from the other Powers, in this affair, and it is seen that if Russia's demand is agreed to, it will be equivalent to placing Asia Minor under Russian protection, when the Sultan's rights as sovereign will be reduced, in those quarters, practically to nothing. Russia is quietly but steadily gaining ground for herself.

The federation of the Australian Colonies seems to be on the verge of accomplishment. According to the Chronicle, "the Commonwealth Enabling Bill has been signed and sealed, by Australia, and her delegates have just reached London to deliver it to the Mother of Parliaments for ratification. That done, and the Queen's assent given-all within the next month or two-and Australia will be a nation." Not only so, but, as recent events have demonstrated, a nation forming an integral part of the British Empire, am much alive to British interests as are the various counties of England.

There is one fundamental truth of the Gospel that people are slow to learn, and that is that forced service is not the real service of God. It is not enough that you refrain from forcing anybody else; you must not force yourself. This does not mean that there must be no exercise of will power in the service of God. There must be; for to submit the will to God continually takes the strongest exercise of the will. But the real, acceptable service of God is when the Lord is given such possession of soul and body that living is itself service. Thus one does not have to make an effort to make it appear to others that he is a Christian; that is seen in his living; and a healthy man does not make an effort to live. His efforts are all the result of his being alive. Many people have heard that Christians are glad, and, wishing to be Christians, they put on an appearance of gladness; but the wage and shouts that came from such gladness are hollow. The songs of deliverance with which God encompasses His people, even in the midst of trouble, come from the heart as spontaneously as does the song of the lark, which sings because it must give expression to the song that is in it.

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."

How long must we wait?

What do you mean?

I mean, How long must we wait on the Lord before we find renewed strength? Why, you must wait upon Him all the time, as long as you live, without cessation. Then must we wait till, the end of our life before gaining strength?

Most certainly not. The Lord does not say, that you will get strength after long waiting, but while waiting. Waiting is trusting and serving. You wait on the Lord, by accepting His word as the guide of your life; as soon as you do this, your strength will begin to renew. You will not instantly receive all the strength you will ever have; but your inward Man-the life of Christ within you-will be "rewarded day by day." Thus you "go from strength to strength" until you appear in Zion before God. "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord."

What an infinite variety of phases there are in the life and character of our Lord! People who do not know Him, and who imagine Him to be as limited as they are, often mistake this infinity for contradiction. Just take a glance at some of His characters. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and is also a Lamb. He is the Rock, and at the same time the Fountain of living water that flows from the Rock. He is a Fountain of living waters, and also a consuming fire. He dwells in the tight, yet He makes darkness His secret place. He is the good Shepherd, and at the same time the door into the sheepfold, and the fold itself, and also the pasture upon which they feed, and to which He leads the sheep, and He is all the time a slain Lamb. He bears His people on eagle's wings, yet He is a dove. Does this show us contradiction? Far from it; it shows us that in the infinite variety of God's created universe, there is but one source, one life, and that everything that exists is but a manifestation of that one, infinite life.

The chief constable of Manchester reports that drunkenness increased in that city during 1899. The arrests for drunkenness were 6,033, of which nearly a third took place on Saturdays. Is this the reason why the churches are working so hard for Sunday closing of public-houses? Will some one point out to us how Sunday closing will stop Saturday drinking? With all other days in the week, on which people drink, and, with the acknowledged fact before them, that nearly one-third of the entire drunkenness occurs on Saturday, people still have the hardihood or the blindness to claim that Sunday closing is the first and most pressing temperance measure. Are they not themselves somewhat intoxicated with the wine of Romanism, so that they cannot see clearly?

Some statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury have given rise to considerable correspondence in the Church Family Newspaper over the nature of Christ's body after the resurrection, and in one of these letters, from a clergyman in Carlisle, we find a very clear statement of a fundamental truth that has often appeared in these columns, and which we reprint, that our readers may have the benefit of another presentation of it. The question as to how a spiritual body could eat natural food has been raised, and the writer, after noting that the disciples did not believe that the one whom they saw was really Jesus, proceeds:-

To place the matter beyond all question He asked for food and "did eat before them." He thus gave them convincing evidence, an actual demonstration that His spiritual body was as real end substantial as in a natural state; it was a real body. He was there; it was no mere appearance. And what they saw was a real object, that is, a phenomenal expression of the living Fact, Himself. And the assimilation of the food taken, being an assimilation to His spiritual state, was of the same character as, and a testimony to, the change which He had wrought in the substance of His body. The natural food is thus "changed" into, and incorporated by, the spiritual body.

In order to see the simplicity (for so I venture to call it) of this change and control of matter, it is necessary to remember that the spiritual activity which is the substantial reality in the food taken, and the spiritual activity which constitute the Lord's Body an ultimately and fundamentally the same-namely, the Lord Himself. So that when the food is assimilated to His spiritual date, it is only withdrawing into Himself the activity which in the creation and sustenance of the natural objects had proceeded from Himself; and so it is a manifestation, amongst other things, that He is the Life of all-the very Bread, and the Truth, or Reality of all things.

March 29, 1900

"Precepts and Promises. Matt. vii. 1-14" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

Precepts and promises are both very plain, and yet, like every word of the Lord, they contain much that we have never yet learned. The promises alone will be enough for our present study.

The promise is, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you." Yet many say, "I have asked, again and again, and nothing has been given me; if this promise is true, why do I not receive?"

You have answered your own question, When you say, "If this promise is true," or, "If this means what it says," you show that you do not believe; and how can you call upon Him in whom you have not believed? He who does not ask in faith, does not really ask at all. You would not go to a haberdasher's and ask for diamonds. Why not?-Because you dc not believe that diamonds are to be found there. Even if you should say the words, "Please show me some diamonds," anybody would know that you were but joking, and did not mean what you said, so that you do not really ask for them. Even so it is with many so called prayers to the Lord. People say over certain words, often without any thought of what they mean; and if they do give a thought to the meaning, they do not really expect actually to get the thing that they ask for: and then they complain that God does not answer prayer. Yes, He does; but they have never prayed. They have not asked for anything.

It, is useless to try to deceive God, God can hear sounds that are muffled to the care of mortals. He bears the thought of the heart. Empty words, not prompted by the heart, are but inarticulate sounds; it is what the heart desires, that the Lord hears. Wherever there is a sincere desire for any good thing, be assured that God understands it, and gratifies it, even though not a word be uttered.

"Any good thing." Ah, there is the secret of many a failure in prayer. God is good, and deals only in good things. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

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and cometh down from the Father of lights." He has never promised anything but good; but we have not always desired the good. We desired to feel well, to be free from smitings of conscience, while continuing to do that which is not good. So we did not really ask for the things which God keeps in stock. He supplies every good thing, and we ought to be glad that He does not offer anything else.

"This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us; and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John v. 14, 15. And how comprehensive is His will! He wills that we should be saved, and that we should have everything that pertains to life. If we know that God hears us whom we pray, we know that we have the things that we asked for. And we know that He hears us when we ask according to His will, that is, ask from the heart for the good things that He has to bestow.

Than do we not have to wait a long time for the answer to our prayers? Certainly not. What is the promise of the Lord? "Everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Do you take notice that the receiving is in the same tense as the asking? He that asketh-a present act-receiveth also a present act. The receiving is coincident with the asking. As soon as we ask, we receive. That is the promise of Him who cannot lie.

But here comes an honest man, who says he has asked for things that he did not immediately receive. He was sincere in the asking, too. What shall we say in such a case?-We shall say, "Let God be true, but every man a liar." Yet we do not need to accuse this man of lying in this matter. We may, however, ask him a question. Was the thing for which you asked something that you needed immediately? "Oh, no; I did not need it at the time; but I thought I should like to have it beforehand, so that there would be no doubt about getting it in time."

Ah, yes; quite so; you did not feel certain about the promise of God, to give you grace in every time of need, and so you thought that you would experiment a little. And you called that faith! Now begin over again, and begin right. Be content with what you need for to-day, and do not try to pile up blessings ahead. "Ask for such things as ye have need of." Do not go to trying experiments with the Lord. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," and therefore the good with which to meet the evil can well wait until the day comes.

God is better than man. Some may think that this is an unnecessary statement; but the fact is that many people do not believe it. There are many people who call themselves Christians, who think that they are a great deal better than the Lord is; for they would deem it an insult to be thought capable of acting as they expect God to act. They would interrupt a man if he began to make an apology to them, and would say, "Never mind that; say no more about it; it is all right, the same as though the thing had never happened;" yet they do not believe that God forgives their sins, which they have confessed again and again. But God says that the case is reversed. A parent studies how to find out some new thing with which to please his children; he delights in the gratification that it gives them. He loves to see their faces light up, as they undo the new treasure which their father's love has devised for them. Very good; but God is our Father, and His love for us is as much greater than the love of any earthly father for his child, as God is greater than any man. Take the delight which a father feels in giving good things to his children, and multiply that by the number which expresses the difference between God and the man, and you have the readiness with which God gives the best things to His children. It is infinity.

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." There are many men of the world, men who call themselves infidels, who nevertheless have no fault to find with this rule, which is called "the golden rule." They decry all talk about God; they do not believe in faith, and in answers to prayer; but they say that they believe in the religion of the golden rule. That is good enough for them. It ought to be good enough for them; for it is the sum of the entire Bible. It is the law and the prophets. No one can keep the golden rule, who does not keep all the commandments of God, and who does not believe all that the prophets have written. Moreover let it be remembered that the golden rule hinges on faith in God's readiness to answer prayer. God is infinitely more willing to give us good things than we are to provide for our children, therefore we should do unto others as we would have them do to us. All we have to give is what the Lord has already given to us, but He gives abundantly, therefore we ought to be willing to give freely. We cannot do anything good to any person except as God acts in us. But God is near, for all things that we call upon Him for, and our reaching out to do good to others is the only evidence that we appreciate good things, and wish God to deal them to us.

This brings us to the thought with which we may well close, that real prayer is receiving. He who does not receive, does not pray. That is just what the text teaches: "Everyone that asketh receiveth." Praying is not begging, it is not trying to move God to do something, to which it is possible He may be disinclined; least of all is it an attempt to have God act contrary to His law, or to nature. No; it is simply the coming to God, with hearts open, saying in our inmost being that we are now ready to take the things which He has so long held out to us. It is the saying to God that we are willing that He should act in us according to His unchangeable law, according to unperverted nature. Giving is the law of God's life; therefore every one who is willing to receive of God, must of necessity have the good things desired. He giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Let us enjoy them.

"Comfort in Discouragement" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

God called Gideon to rid Israel of their foes, the Midianites and Amalekites. Gideon had received abundant proof that the Lord was with him. Yet when he came upon the brow of the hill, with only three hundred men, and looked down on the host in the valley below, "like locusts for multitude," and knew that on the morrow he must meet them in conflict, he trembled. He knew that he and his handful of men were no match for that great army. True, God had said, "I have delivered it [the host] into thine hand," but he couldn't see how, and therefore it couldn't be. In the night season, while in this discouraged condition, the Lord appeared to him, and in substance said, "I know you are discouraged-you do not believe what I have told you. Take your servant and go a little way down toward the enemy's camp, and there you will hear something that will give you courage." Gideon did as commanded, and there he

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heard one of the men relate a dream he had had, which was interpreted by his companion to mean that into Gideon's hand "hath God delivered Midian and all the host." This was enough. Immediately the two returned, and at once set about executing a plan of attack, given by Divine direction, and the result was that the enemy was routed, the foremost ones were slain, and the whole host was delivered into his hands. Judges vi. 7.

How many times in the life of many Christians there come seasons of depression. Temptations press sore; reverses come; the purest motives are misconstrued; the most unselfish acts are criticised; and for the truth's sake, even their dearest friends forsake them. They know that up to this time the Lord has led them-they are sure of it-yet how hard to believe that He still is going before them. They think, as did Jacob, "All these things are against me," and perhaps murmur and complain.

Then right in the midst of their bitterest sorrow and deepest grief, there comes a turn in affairs. The dark clouds roll away, the apparently insurmountable obstacles vanish, and what were looked upon as mountains of difficulty prove to be not mountains at all. And all this, though unexpected, comes in such a natural way, that it never occurs to them that it is God who has brought it all about.

When will Christians learn that in times of darkness they are to look up and not down. Though cast down, they are not forsaken. God's people are more precious in His sight than fine gold (lsa. xiii. 12), and He never willingly afflicts, even though He permits them to pass through the "furnace of affliction." Even here He suffers none to be tempted above that they are able to bear.

"We know," says the apostle, "that all things work together for good to them that love God." Now anyone would undergo, without a murmur, the pain of the surgeon's knife, if he knew that it was the only means of saving his life. So when Christians, in their experience, actually know this truth, how easy it becomes to bear the severest trials; and not only to bear them, but even welcome them, for it is only through "much tribulation" that anyone can be fitted for eternal life. So hereafter can we not all say with the poet:-

"Let good or ill befall,
It must be good for me,
Secure of having Thee in all,
Of having all in Thee."

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Silent Sufferer. Isa. liii. 4-12" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. liii. 4-12.)

"Surely He hath borne our sicknesses, and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath made to light on Him the iniquity of us all.

"He was oppressed, yet He humbled Himself, and opened not His mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, He opened not His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of My people, to whom the stroke was due? And they made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; although He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief; when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall My righteous Servant make many righteous; and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He poured out His soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

The basis of the foregoing text is the Revised Version, together with the marginal renderings; but in a single instance there has been a slight change from that text, the warrant for which is found in other translations. Do not be content with one reading of it; in every sentence there is food for abundance of meditation.

The central thought of this scripture is Christ the Sin-bearer, but there is a depth in it, which few of those who can so glibly repeat the words of the chapter, have ever thought of. Let us see if we cannot come a little closer to the heart of the matter.

DEFINITION OF PROPHECY

In the first place, note that although these words were written fully seven hundred years before the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, they are in the past tense. There has been a failure to grasp the breadth of their meaning, owing to a faulty idea of what prophecy is. People have fallen into the idea that a prophet is one who foretells future events, and that all prophecy is merely the statement of something to take place in the future; yet that is not at all the Scripture use of the words. When the woman at the well of Samaria said to Jesus, "Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet," it was because He had just told her certain things about her own past life; and when she went into the city to call her friends, she said, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?" John iv. 17-19, 29. Also when the Jews had seized Jesus, and He was being mocked by them in the High Priest's court, "when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face, and asked Him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote Thee." Luke xxii. 64. Here we see that to prophesy is to tell things either past or present, which people could not be expected to know of their own wisdom,

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and that a prophet is one who has the power, the Divine gift, to declare such things.

Again, in the call of Moses we have the Lord's own statement of what a prophet is. When Moses objected to going to Egypt to stand before Pharaoh, on the ground that he was not eloquent, the Lord said, "Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee; and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people, and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God." Ex. iv. 11-16. "And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother, shall be thy prophet." Ex. vii. 1. Aaron was the speaker for Moses, acting merely as the mouth of his brother, and therefore he was his prophet. Thus we see that a prophet is one who speaks for another, giving exact utterance to another's thoughts; and so a prophet of God is one who gives exact expression to the thoughts of God, in words which the Holy Ghost teaches. Prophecy therefore is any statement of God's everlasting truth;-not man's statement, take notice, but God's own statement by the mouth of a man.

So this fifty-third chapter of Isaiah is prophecy, but not in the mistaken sense that it is merely a statement of something that was to take place at some time in the future. It is prophecy, because it tells the truth of God, which can never be known without the special enlightenment of the Holy Spirit of God. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." The things contained in this chapter were as true when Isaiah wrote them as they are today. Prophets are not something out of the ordinary course of God's plan, but are indications of what God would do with all men. God would have all men know Him, and every one able to recognise His truth; but when all go astray, the prophet supplies the lack. It is in God's plan for all to be prophets (See Num. xiii. 29; 1 Cor. xiv. 1, 5, 25); yet this does not indicate that if this blessed state of things existed, no one would have a more full revelation than another, so that he would be able to impart to the rest; for we find that in all times God's acknowledged prophets have learned from one another. Isaiah simply gave utterance in this chapter to that which everybody ought to have known by the Spirit's own revelation to him personally.

HOW THE LORD KNOWS MEN

We do not need to take time or space to recount the things that are stated in the Gospels concerning Jesus and His sufferings. All are familiar with them. This chapter lets us into the secret of those sufferings. "With His stripes we are healed." "By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant make many righteous." Here we have a parallel to the statement, "By the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." Rom. v. 19. How can the obedience of one make many righteous?-Manifestly only by that One's presence in the many, living the obedience. So we have the answer to the question as to how Christ by His knowledge shall make many righteous. How does He know?-Not by laborious search and study, but by personal experience. "The Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Heb. iv. 12, 13. And this statement comes in connection with the statement that He is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities." The Lord knows our frame, not simply because He has made us, but because he Himself bears everything that humanity bears. That which was from the beginning, the Word of life, which was in the beginning with God, and was God, and which became flesh, and dwelt among us, penetrates to every fiber of every being, and suffers everything to which human flesh is heir. There is not a sickness, not a pain, not a temptation, not an injustice, that oppresses any of the children of men, that does not press with equal weight upon the Lord; nay, it presses even more strongly upon the Lord than it does upon us, because but for His sensibility to the touch of pain or sorrow, we ourselves should have no consciousness of it. It is only His life in us, that makes us conscious of anything. "He bears the sin of the world." He says, "Thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, and wearied Me with thine iniquities." He is one with all mankind, and everything that touches humanity touches Him.

THE SILENT LONG-SUFFERING OF GOD

Yet He keeps silence. Century after century has the human race been piling sin and misery upon the Lord, by their deviation from the truth, the way of life, yet He bears it without a murmur. Here we catch a glimpse of the meaning of the phrase, "the long-suffering of God." We have ignored His life in us, and have not sought to learn its ways, so that we might yield to them, and so allow Him to bear the load in His own way, and to live His own life unhindered and unfettered, and He has borne it all uncomplainingly. It was not simply in the High Priest's palace, and in Pilate's court, and on Calvary, that Jesus bore insult and abuse and pain without murmuring; He has been doing that for the last six thousand years; and the very thing which is to His everlasting honour, has been set down to His reproach. Men have charged the Lord with indifference to human suffering, because He did not rise up in His might, and suddenly put an end to it all. How little they knew! They did not understand that He was literally suffering all these evils, allowing them to be heaped upon Him, and that His silence under the burden of sin and oppression and injustice was the only way of salvation from them, to the human race. They did not know that if at any time He had risen up in His might, and cast off the burden, putting a sudden end to all misery, it would at the same time have put an end to the greater part of the human race. "The long-suffering of our God is salvation." Blessed thing that He does keep silence, even though wicked men take advantage of His silence, to accuse Him of being altogether such an one as themselves! "The long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah," and even yet "the Lord is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

But who among the men of His generation consider that He was stricken for the transgression of the people, to whom the stroke was due? Even as nineteen hundred years ago, so today, men do not know the time of their visitation. They do not know that God hath visited His people, even coming into their flesh, and has thereby redeemed them, suffering all things for their sakes. If they did, they would know that "by His stripes we are healed." In the fact that the Lord is personally present with each individual, not merely sharing, but bearing, all his infirmities, his sicknesses, his sorrows, and his sins, is

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absolute and complete deliverance from all these things. Marvellous Gospel! No wonder that it is called the glorious Gospel. It makes known to us the fact that our very consciousness of our fallen condition carries with it the remedy. What could God possibly do for men that He has not done?

LET US BE STILL

Shall we stop without learning the lesson of silence for ourselves? Who has not been made to suffer unjust accusation, and even to feel the smart the more keenly in that it came from friends, who ought to have been more charitable. A knowledge of the fact that the Lord has from the beginning borne infinitely more, which He did not deserve, and that He has borne it silently and uncomplainingly, will help us wonderfully to "rejoice, and be exceeding glad." And then when we remember that He bears every ill that comes upon us, and that it comes upon us only through Him, how the sting is removed! Surely we ought to be able to endure our little portion uncomplainingly, when it only comes to us secondarily, and the Lord bears the whole at first hand. This is but a suggestion of the comfort that there is in this Gospel of Isaiah; but whoever receives the Lord Jesus by faith may have daily fresh revelations of His presence and power.

"For Little Ones. A Kingdom of Peace" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

"Then Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father." The throne upon which Solomon sat was not his own, but "the throne of the Lord." Solomon, the son of David, was only a type of "David's greater Son," the Lord Jesus Christ.

God had promised David that from among his descendants "He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne." He is the One "whose right it is," whose is "the kingdom, and the power, and the glory," and "of whose kingdom there shall be no end."

As the type and representative of Jesus, "Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord," and his reign over Israel was a shadow, containing precious lessons, of the reign of Jesus Christ in the new earth when His kingdom shall come, and His will shall "be done on earth as it is in heaven."

From the reign of David we saw how Jesus, the Lord's Anointed, will at last take the kingdom which God has given Him, subdue all His enemies, and rule over the uttermost parts of thin earth. In the reign of Solomon we have something of a picture of the peace, prosperity, and happiness that there will be in His kingdom, because of the wisdom and gentleness of the King.

The forty years of King Solomon's reign were a time of peace, it time of which we are told that "Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon."

The people did not have to go to war, and were not kept in a state of tear and trouble. They dwelt safely, and were "quiet from fear of evil." They rested in peace at their own homes, and had plenty of time to cultivate the ground, to plant and train their own vines and fig-trees, and gather and enjoy the fruits of then labour.

See how like this is to what God has told us of the time when we shall for ever dwell at peace in the kingdom of His Son: "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them, They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble."

Now we "hear of wars, and rumours of wars;" of "famines and pestilences and earthquakes;" and people are troubled as they see what is coming on the earth. But when Jesus shall take to Himself His power and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords, "He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth." He says that those who dwell in His kingdom "shall no more say, I am sick; for the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity."

Then "He shall make the wilderness like Eden, and the desert like the garden of the Lord." The whole earth shall he like the beautiful garden which the Lord God planted in the new earth. And as, in the beginning, He "took the man that He had formed, and put him in the Garden, to dress it and to keep it," so when He again makes "all things new," He will put the whole multitude that He has redeemed by His blood, into the earth which He has also redeemed and made to blossom again like Eden, to dress it and to keep it.

The kingdom of Jesus Christ will be just the kingdom that man lost through sin, the dominion which God gave in the beginning to the man that He made in His own image. And the work of all who dwell in this kingdom and share the dominion, will be the same that God first gave to Adam and Eve-to dress and keep the garden and take care of everything in it,-the beasts, birds and insects, as well as the plants and flowers.

Do you not long to have a home in this kingdom of "righteousness, peace, and joy"? Then let Jesus now reign in His kingdom within you, and take away from you everything that would keep you out of that happy land where there will be indeed, as the angels sang, "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, and glory to God in the Highest."

"O'er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rent;
From age to age more glorious,
All-blessing and all-blest.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand for ever,
His changeless came of Love."

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and she desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." Isa. xxxv. 1.

"Heaven" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

A little boy was walking in the fields with his mother one day. He looked up to the sky, and said. "O mother, heaven is so far off, I'm afraid I shall never get there!"

"My dear," said his mother, "heaven must come to us before we can go to it." He didn't understand what she meant. Then she told him what Jesus had done when He was on earth. These were His words: "If any man love Me, My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." Jesus is willing to come into your heart. He is standing and knocking for you to let Him in. And when He comes in, He brings heaven with Him. He will make a heaven in your heart if you will let Him come and dwell there.

But if we do not let Him come and dwell in our hearts here, we cannot go and dwell with Him in heaven hereafter. "Heaven must come to us before we go to it." Indeed, heaven has come to us: God comes to us in His Word. Will you believe it, and thus let Him into your heart?

"Over-eating and Cancer" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

That as a nation, we drink too much we are all too sadly aware. It seems that we also overeat ourselves, and that one of the consequences of this gluttony is the increase of cancer. Sir Wm. Banks, discoursing on this subject, points to the significant fact that the increase of cancer coincides with an increase of food throughout the country. Ever since the passing of the Corn Laws, he says, bread has been cheap and plentiful, while, during the last twenty years, the importation of animal food from other countries has been enormous. The increased wages and emoluments of all classes in this country have enabled them to purchase freely of the best there is to be had in the whole world to eat and drink. Our working classes fare admirably. Our better classes eat infinitely too much, especially of animal food partaken of at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But for the athletic tendency of the age the mischief wrought would have been enormous. As it is it is bad enough. Sir Wm. Banks said it was Sir James Paget who first pat the notion that cancer was due to over-eating into his head. Sir James recommended cancer patients to eat as little as possible. His long experience told him that to starve the body as a whole probably meant starving the cancer locally.-Church Family Newspaper.

To the foregoing it is only necessary to add that what is called "the best there is to be had in the world, to eat and drink," is the very worst. This is self-evident from its effects, for the best food cannot produce the worst results. It is not good bread, that causes cancer, but flesh meat. No man in the world ever ate or could eat bread enough to produce cancer; but the free use of flesh does undoubtedly cause that dread disease. That is evidence that it is not good food, and that whoever eats any of it eats too much of it. God's bill of fare, fruits and grains, given to man in the beginning, is the very best, and whoever lives upon it, recognising the Giver in the eating, will find that while it is good to the taste, it is health- producing.

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

-The new Royal yacht is to be fitted with a passenger lift for the Queen's use. This is the first ever constructed on any steamer or yacht.

-In the future Finland will have no Finnish official of high standing, to represent Finnish interests directly to the Czar, their places being supplied by Russians.

-A strike commenced March 19, among the pattern-makers of Leeds, about 1,500 of whom handed in their notices. They demand 39s. per week instead of 37s., as the minimum rate of pay.

-A project is announced for an electric tram service to connect Brussels and Antwerp without intermediate stoppages. The distance from station to station, about twenty-four miles, would be covered in twenty minutes.

-Russian officers of the reserve living in Brussels have received orders to rejoin their regiments by April 12. This order is in connection with the despatch of Russian Engineer troops to the frontiers of Afghanistan.

-A Methodist missionary from India, Rev. Dennis Osborne, says that snores of corpses are lying in jungles and ravines, where the emaciated victims of famine had dragged themselves hopeless and tortured by hunger to die unseen.

-The Chronicle's Paris correspondent telegraphs that the typhoid epidemic continues in the educational establishments of Paris. The latest cases occurred at the College St. Nislas, where two deaths occurred. The cause was traced to a tainted water supply.

-It is stated that the recriminations between the Transvaal and the Free State prisoners captured by Lord Roberts is so great that special precautions have to be taken to prevent disturbance in the prisoner's camp at Simonstown. On this account only the Transvaalers will be sent to St. Helena.

-The war in South Africa is now considered as practically at an end as far as the Orange Free State is concerned.

-Bishop Hurst, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, states that President McKinley, at the close of his term of office, will accept the professorship of international law at the American University to be established under Methodist auspices at Washington with himself (Bishop Hurst) as president.

-A large section of the Austrian miners on strike have disregarded the advice of the Strike Committee to resume work. At Ostrau there was a stormy meeting of 12,000 miners, at which the Socialist leaders, Dr. Karpeles and Herr Herta who recommended that work should be resumed, were violently insulted, Herr Herta being severely injured. In Bohemia the strike is over.

-In connection with the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, the Kaiser, in response to an address concerning the growth and aims of the Academy, delivered a speech which concluded with the expression of his hope that the Academy would always remember that the object of all science is to deepen the knowledge of mankind in Divine truth.

-It is reported from Washington that the American Minister at Peking, has notified Mr. Hay, State Secretary, that a repetition of the massacres of missionaries is imminent. In consequence of this news there was a conference between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Navy, and the War Department was asked how many troops could be spared from the Philippines for China.

-It is stated that Russia has obtained perfect security that her demands with regard to Asia Minor railways will be conceded by the Sultan. All attempts on the part of the Porte to protract the negotiations have been answered with the serious threat that Russia would be bound to secure her sphere of interest in Asia Minor by military measures unless her demands were immediately complied with.

-A during robbery was perpetrated at the Gare du Nord, Paris, on the morning of the 20th. A van from the Bank of France was awaiting a consignment of money by the train from Brussels. A bag containing 450,000 francs (?18,000) was handed to the coachman by the bank messenger while he ran back to put on his uniform. At that moment the attention of each was diverted by two thieves who asked the way to a certain place, and the time of the departure of a train, until a third made off with the money.

-Following is a portion of a dispatch received by the Secretary of State for India, from the Viceroy: "Numbers on relief works continue to increase, and reports from all quarters show that the extent and severity of the distress is increasing. Prices are rising in Bombay, where they are on same level as in 1897. In Central Provinces prices are as yet below scarcity rates of 1897, and in the Punjaub still materially lower. Losses of agricultural stock are great. Fodder is very scarce in the Punjaub and Western India." The number of people receiving relief is about five millions.

-The supply of ostrich feathers has been greatly affected by the war in Africa, it being stated that at the next sale at Mincing-lane there will be a deficiency of ?54,000 worth. To these sales, which take place six times a year, buyers come from every part of the Continent, and even from America. Over ?800,000 worth of feathers are sold every year, making an average of ?135,000 at each sale. Since the capture of Khartoum, there has been a steady supply of ostrich feathers from Barbary; and though the South Africa feathers still command the higher price, their supremacy is threatened by the Barbary feathers.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 13.

E. J. Waggoner

It is easy to make sacrifices by proxy. Mr. Kruger is reported as having said in all seriousness in a recent interview, that he had two hundred relations in the war, and he would rather they should all perish than to yield to the British. There are many whose zeal for war would be very much cooled if it meant exposure of their own bodies to bullets and bayonets.

The experiment of running a daily newspaper as Christ would do it, conducted by Rev. Mr. Sheldon with the Topeka (Kansas, U.S.A.) Daily Chronicle, which as stated already, was a fiasco, is admitted by Mr. Sheldon himself to have been a failure. Strangely enough, nobody, in seeking for explanations of this fact, has thought to ask whether He would run a daily newspaper at all, or not, if He were on earth. If He did, we may be sure it would not be in harmony with popular sentiment, even as He Himself was not, and is not now, popular.

The most appalling feature in present day crime is the fact that it is on the increase among the youth. According to a paper submitted by Miss Ross Barrett to the Royal Statistical Society last week, most countries show in proportion to population an increase of criminals from sixteen to twenty-one years of age. Among the three chief causes, adduces by Miss Barrett, that lead young people into crime, namely, drunkenness, want of education and physical deterioration, that of drunkenness is becoming more and more powerful. These facts make a dark outlook for the future.

We are all familiar with the advertisements of nostrums warranted to cure liver complaint of every variety, as well as every other disease that human flesh is heir to; but it has remained for Germany to produce a specialist, who makes it his business to produce temporary disease of the liver. This new business owes its origin to conscription, and the desire on the part of young men to evade it. Nearly forty men have been arrested for making use of this disease-producing "remedy," and the doctor who supplied it is also to be tried for this attempt to evade the laws. We cannot commend such an attempt to evade even hated conscription, He who has proper motives in declining military service, will not descend to any such subterfuges.

The new prayers for the dead, which have been sanctioned by the Archbishops, lay the Church of England open to the taunts of Roman Catholic papers. As one says concerning the members:-

They must not believe with the Catholics in Purgatory, but they will not be forbidden to pray for the dead. They may accept or reject the practice, just as they please. Nay, there is a list of prayers graduated, as it were, for their varying shades of belief. If one does not suit, they can adopt another, and if they are so minded they may refuse to accept any of them and still remain faithful adherents of the Established Church.

It is evident that the people will not long be content with this detested form of Catholicism, but will either reject it, or adopt the real article.

Every sort of work is as honourable as its results are important and necessary. For instance ft is absolutely necessary, and highly honourable, for people to wear clean clothing, and, to live in clean dwellings; therefore the labour necessary to provide such cleanly surroundings is equally honourable. Before God would speak the ten commandments to the people, He said, "Let them wash their clothes." That commandment has the same authority as any one of the ten, and surely there can be nothing degrading about a work which the God of heaven has thought it necessary to enjoin in a special commandment. The only disgrace that can possibly attach to any necessary work is carelessness in the performance of it.

Catholic Times says that the Pope is about to issue an Encyclical, in which he will urge all Sovereign Powers to resort to arbitration, for the preventing of war, and goes on to say that "as the Church did away with slavery, so it will put an end to war." It says, "Thanks to the influence and exertions of the Church, slavery has become a thing of the past." Nothing could be further from the truth. The clergy of the established Church in every land, whatever its name, and of the Roman Catholic Church especially, have always, as a class, been the chief support of both war and slavery. Every war, and every departing battalion, has had the priestly benediction; and so long as slavery was popular and profitable, the clergy were its most zealous defenders, quoting, or rather, misquoting the Bible in its behalf. Even yet slavery is not, by any means wholly a thing of the past, and in the destruction of "Babylon the great," there will be found in her as objects of merchandise, "slaves, and souls of men." Rev. xviii. 13.

The Christian World seriously objects to the additional tax that has been placed upon tea, claiming that it is out of all pro portion to that placed upon beer and spirits. It says: "Why is this? Tea is a necessary of life. It is the comfort of the tired and worried woman." The same thing might with just as much truth be said of bear and tobacco, and opium. Tea is no more a food than are those articles. It is wholly a stimulant and a narcotic, and its soothing effects are due solely to the temporary deadening of the nerves, which leaves them still more sensitive, and the poor victim the more liable to weariness and worry. Tea has absolutely no food value, and destroys the good that the water in which it is prepared might do. If the tax upon it were prohibitory, the good effect would speedily be seen in the increased health and happiness of the people.

A correspondent of the Methodist Times, himself a Methodist minister, writes to that paper (March 8), expressing his gratification on reading the report of an address on baptism, for, says he,

There is no object on which Methodist ideas are more incoherent; of any six average Methodists discussing the subject, four will have no doctrine, and the other two divergent opinions. Our authorities differ. To harmonise even Dr. Pope with Wesley (sermon on New Birth; note on John iii. 5) requires more ingenuity than honesty. Surely it is time that we had some authoritative statement of what Methodism teaches on the subject.

This is indeed a sad state of things, yet not so all to be wondered at, when men are looked to as "authorities," instead of the Bible, which is very clear and explicit. One surely would not expect that Methodists would presume to teach anything on a subject concerning which they confessedly have no definite knowledge; and certainly no sane person would look to them for instruction. We are minded to give before long in the PRESENT TRUTH a plain presentation of what the Bible-the only authority-has to say about baptism.

April 5, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Building Up of Jerusalem. Isa. liv. 1-17" The Present Truth 16, 14.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. liv. 1-17, Lowth's Translation)

1. "Shout for joy, O thou barren, that didst not bear;
Break forth into joyful shouting, and
exalt, thou that didst not travail;
For more are the children of the desolate,
Than of the married woman, saith Jehovah.

2. Enlarge the place of thy tent;
And let the canopy of thy habitation be extended;
Spare not: lengthen thy cords,
And firmly fix thy stakes;

3. For on the right hand, and on the
left, thou shalt burst forth with increase;
And thy seed shall inherit the nations;
And they shall inhabit the desolate cities.

4. Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded;
And blush not, for thou shalt not be brought
to reproach;
For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth;
And the reproach of thy widowhood shalt
thou remember no more.

5. For thy husband is thy Maker;
Jehovah God of Hosts is His name;
And thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
The God of the whole earth shall He be called.

6. For as a woman forsaken and
deeply afflicted, hath Jehovah recalled thee;
And as a wife, wedded in youth, but
afterwards rejected, saith thy God.

7. In a little anger have I forsaken thee;
But with great mercies will I receive thee again;

8. In a short wrath I hid My face a moment from thee;
But with everlasting kindness will I have
mercy on thee;
Saith thy Redeemer Jehovah.

9. The same will I do now, as in the
days of Noah, when I sware
That the waters of Noah should no
more pass over the earth;
So have I sworn, that I will not be wroth
with thee, nor rebuke thee.

10. For the mountains shall be removed;
And the hills shall be overthrown;
But My kindness from thee shall not
be removed;
And the covenant of My peace shall
not be overthrown;
Saith Jehovah, who beareth towards
thee the most tender affection.

11. O thou afflicted, beaten with the storm,
destitute of consolation!
Behold, I lay thy stones with cement of vermilion,
And thy foundations with sapphires;

12. And I will make of rubies thy battlements;
And thy gates of carbuncles;
And the whole circuit of thy walls shall
be of precious stones.

13. And all thy children shall be taught by Jehovah;
And great shall be the prosperity of thy children.

14. In righteousness shalt thou be established;
Be thou far from oppression; yea, thou
shalt not fear it;
And from terror; for it shall not approach thee.

15. Behold, they shall be leagued together,
but not by My command;
Whosoever is leagued against thee,
shall come over to thy side.

16. Behold, I have created the smith,
Who bloweth up the coals into a fire,
And produceth instruments according to his work;
And I have created the destroyer to lay waste.

17. Whatever weapon is formed against
thee, it shall not prosper;
And against every tongue that contendeth
with thee, thou shalt obtain thy cause.
This is the heritage of Jehovah's servants,
And their justification from Me, saith Jehovah."

A KEY TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROPHECY

We have in the New Testament an inspired comment upon this scripture, which wholly relieves us of any necessity of

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making conjectures as to its application. In Galatians iv. 26, 27, we read, "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that barest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband." We know, therefore, from God's own word, that "Jerusalem which is above," the New Jerusalem, is the subject of this chapter.

This also serves as a key to many other references to Jerusalem, in the prophecies. From the promises in this chapter, telling of the stability of Jerusalem, and of the return of her children, which plainly refer to the Jerusalem which is above, "which cometh down from God out of heaven," we may understand all the other promises to Jerusalem and its inhabitants. They all apply to the New Jerusalem, which is to take the place of the present city of Jerusalem, and to abide for ever, after the earth has been made new.

THE PRESENT JERUSALEM AND THE OLD COVENANT

"Jerusalem which now is," "is in bondage with her children." Gal. iv. 25. Still more; the covenant from mount Sinai, "which gendereth to bondage," is Hagar; "for this Agar [Hagar] is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children." Every one, therefore, who builds his hopes upon Jerusalem which now exists in the land of Palestine, and who makes every promise of God depend upon the return of the people of God, or any part of them, to that city, is still in the bondage of the old covenant, with the veil still over his face. He is tarrying at mount Sinai, instead of coming to mount Zion, and to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the Living God.

JERUSALEM OLD AND NEW

Many cities on this earth have suffered almost total destruction by fire, and have been rebuilt, yet that fact is not considered as making any break in the continuity of those cities. Rome, for instance, is still said to have been built seven hundred and fifty years before Christ, although there is scarcely a building in the city that was in existence in the days of Christ, and the city was almost wholly destroyed by fire in the reign of Nero, and has suffered from fire many times before and since. Take the city under consideration, namely Jerusalem. It was laid in ruins, its walls demolished, and its chief buildings burned, by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterwards it suffered still greater ravages by the hands of the Romans under Titus, yet it is always thought and spoken of as the city of David and Solomon. When we speak of Rome and Jerusalem, we do not feel compelled to designate whether we refer to the time before their destruction, or after, since it is Rome and Jerusalem from beginning to end, no matter what vicissitudes they have passed through. Even so it is in the prophecies concerning Jerusalem. The Bible does not always specify, and say that now it refers to the old city, and now to the New Jerusalem, but speaks simply of Jerusalem, leaving the context, and the promises or threatenings, as the case may be, to determine to which state in the history of the city the words apply. The Lord has gone to prepare a place in the heavens, to build up a new city (See John xiv. 1-3; Ps. cii. 16), which is to come down from God out of heaven, to occupy the place now occupied by the city known among men as Jerusalem; and when that city comes down, it will be considered as the old city rebuilt, made new; and so it is always spoken of in the Bible. It may be taken as a fact beyond all contradiction, that there is not a single Bible promise concerning Jerusalem, which applies to Jerusalem in its present condition, or as it has been at any time in its history. Every promise of restoration embraces its being so changed by the Lord as to be incorruptible, imperishable.

THE BRIDE, THE LAMB'S WIFE

From the very beginning, God has considered Himself as occupying the close relation of husband to His people. Read the prophecies of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and the whole of Hosea. The third chapter of Jeremiah is especially plain. "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you." Verse 14. And then the Lord tells what He will do if they will return, using words that can apply only to the redeemed state. Speaking of the making of the new covenant, God says that His people broke the old covenant, "although I was an husband unto them." Jer. xxxi. 32. So, coming to the New Testament, we read that we are to be married to Him that is raised from the dead, that we may bring forth fruit unto God (Rom. vii. 4); Paul writes, "I have espoused you to one husband, and I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. xi. 2); and in the fifth of Ephesians we read that the same close relation exists between Christ and His people that exists between a man and his wife. See verses 22-32. So by a change in the metaphor, or an enlargement of it, the city of God, Jerusalem, is considered as married to Christ. The very land itself where God's people dwell, is married to Him. This is perfectly in harmony with the fact that Christ, who is "the firstborn among many brethren," is also "the everlasting Father." It is not a mixed metaphor, but the expression of a deeper meaning, a more intimate relation, than human minds have conceived. The chapter before us, therefore, presents Jerusalem as a wife forsaken by her husband, and mourning her widowhood and childlessness, but comforted by the assurance that she has not really been cast off, and is not forgotten, but is still owned by her husband, and will be honoured by Him. The time when these promises will be fulfilled is set forth in Rev. xxi.; Zech. xiv. 1-11; and Isa. xlix. 13-23, all of which should be read in this connection. It is the Bible, the Lamb's wife, that is addressed.

THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF JERUSALEM'S EXPERIENCE

There was a time when the glory of God was seen resting over the temple in Jerusalem, and filling it. 2 Chron. vii. 1-3. God owned that city as His earthly dwelling place, and the promise to its inhabitants was that if they obeyed Him, and refrained from breaking the Sabbath, the city should stand for ever. Jer. xvii. 24, 25. They did not heed His words, and the city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; yet a holy seed was left in it, and the promise of restoration accompanied the threat of its destruction. According to the promise, Christ, "the Desire of all nations," came to the city and temple, but was rejected. Then He wept over it, mourning in bitterness of grief, that the city had so persistently refused His gracious calls, and said, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." But this was not to be for ever, for He added, "I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Matt. xxiii. 37-39. The centuries that have passed since that time have been only "a little moment" with Him in whose sight a thousand years are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Not for a moment has the Lord forgotten Zion; its

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walls are continually before Him, and it is graven upon the palms of His hands. Even though the mountains depart, and the hills be removed, yet His kindness and love will not depart from the city which He has chosen, nor from her children. Consequently even today the faithful worshipers of God direct their prayers to Him, and "look up," thus praying with their faces towards Jerusalem.

THE REBUILING OF JERUSALEM

No; God has not divorced His spouse (Isa. l. 1), nor cast away His people. Rom. xi. 1. He loves them with tender affection. He will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down, and will build again the ruins thereof, and will set it up; that the residue of men may seek after the Lord; and this He will do by the proclamation of the Gospel to the Gentiles; for it is only from the Gentiles, the nations, that Israel is taken. God chose Abraham from among the Gentiles, for there was no such thing as a Jew or an Israelite, in name, until long after the days of that patriarch. He called Israel out of Egypt, that through them His name might be made known in all the earth. Their business was to be missionaries to the heathen; but instead of performing their mission, they were content to settle down in the land of Palestine, around Jerusalem. Instead of enlarging the place of their habitation, to include all the world, they became conservative, which is another name for selfish, and shut everybody else away from the blessings which they enjoyed, and thereby lost the blessings themselves. Whoever would exclude another from the blessings of the Lord, excludes himself. But God's purpose will be carried out. All who are really born from above, having the New Jerusalem for their mother, will make its glories and its power known, until its fame reaches every part of the earth. As a consequence the place that Jerusalem now occupies will be too small; it "shall break forth and spread abroad on the right hand, and on the left" (See Zech. xiv. 4), and its seed "shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." Jerusalem, as it will be when the Lord appears in His glory, will be such a city as the world has never yet seen.

JERUSALEM'S BEAUTIFUL STONES

"Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So shall the heathen fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory." Ps. cii. 13-15. What is there in the dust and stones of Jerusalem, in which one can take pleasure?-Nothing whatever, in "Jerusalem which now is." The stones of old Jerusalem are no better than the stones of any other city, and its dust is as disagreeable as that of Constantinople, or any other Eastern city. The stones in which the children of Jerusalem take pleasure as the sapphires and agates and carbuncles, which are laid in "fair colours." Read the list of them in Rev. xxi. 18-21. The dust of its street is "pure gold, as it were transparent glass." There is something in which to delight; there is a city that will indeed be "the joy of the whole earth." Ps. xlviii. 2.

THE GATHERING OF ARMED FORCES ABOUT JERUSALEM

The closing portion of this chapter presents a picture that is drawn out more fully in the book of Revelation. We have already seen that the New Jerusalem, prepared in heaven, comes down to this earth; but nothing that has thus far been noted indicates what condition of things it finds when it comes. This we learn from Rev. xx., and incidentally from other Scriptures. The passage before us says that although the city with its inhabitants will be far from oppression, and will be free from fear, yet "they shall surely gather," and that, too, against the city. In the chapter referred to in the Revelation we learn that after the close of the thousand years, during which Satan will be bound, while all the righteous who have ever lived on earth will be in heaven, sitting on thrones of judgment, deciding the penalty due to the wicked (Rev. xx. 3-6; 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3; Ps. cxlix. 4-9), Satan will be loosed, because all the wicked of earth will be raised, and he will go forth among them, to gather them to battle against the Lord. The statement that all the nations thus gathered "went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them," shows that the beloved city will come down to this earth before the earth has been purified by the fires of the last day, and while the wicked are yet here. As Eden remained on the earth a time after the curse came, so it will come back before the curse is removed. But though the wicked, under the leadership of Satan himself, will gather together against the city of God, they cannot prosper, because they are not gathered by the Lord. No weapon that they can forge against the city will have any effect upon it. No cannon ball will ever be able to touch one of its stones. God Himself has created the smith that blows the coals of fire, in order to manufacture the weapon to destroy, and therefore since the man himself is nothing in comparison with God, the weapon that he makes cannot be anything. When the wicked come against the city, fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours them, and at the same time melts the earth, while the city of God will ride upon the sea of fire as the ark rode safely upon the waters of the flood. Then will the saints "dwell with the devouring fire," and "with everlasting burnings." Isa. xxx. 15, 16. The saints safe in the city will behold, and see the reward of the wicked, but it will not come nigh them.

THE SAFETY OF JERUSALEM AND ITS INHABITANTS

What will constitute their safety in that terrible time?-The answer is, "In righteousness shalt thou be established." The righteousness in which they will be established is the righteousness of God, that is by the faith of Jesus Christ. But that righteousness is theirs now. Therefore the lesson that is designed for us to learn from the statement of the things to come is the perfect security that we now have against all the assaults of the devil. Just as safe as the people of God will be in the holy city amid the fires that will destroy the wicked, so safe are they now from every sort of evil that Satan would bring upon them, if they but trust in the Lord, and abide in Him. Satan and all his host cannot forge a weapon of any sort, visible or invisible, whether designed to destroy the body or the soul, which can pierce the armour that is provided for the people of God. "The eternal God is Thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."

"Not rocks nor hills could guard so well
Fair Salem's happy ground,
As those eternal arms of love,
That every saint surround."

And no one can pluck a saint out of those protecting arms. Blessed be the name of the Lord, into which the righteous run, and are safe!

"Life from the Dead. The Daughter of Jairus Raised. Mark v. 22-24, 35-43" The Present Truth 16, 14.

E. J. Waggoner

(Mark v. 22-24, 35-43.)

In reading the account of this or of any other of the miracles of Jesus we must bear in mind the reason why they were recorded for us. Near the close of His Gospel narrative, John says: "Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John xx. 30, 31. In the present lesson we have this truth very forcibly presented to us. Let us read the entire story.

"And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, and besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death; I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her that she may be healed; and she shall live."

The margin has, in place of "healed," the word "saved," which is the exact rendering of the Greek word used here and in other similar instances. It teaches us that healing and saving by the Lord are one and the same thing.

Then there comes an interruption, and we have the account of the poor woman with the issue of blood, who came and touched the hem of Christ's garment, and was made perfectly whole,-saved,-and who received from the Lord gracious assurance of the fact that it was her faith that had saved her.

"While He yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead; why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And He suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when He was come in, He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn. But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And He charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat."

There is the simple story; the question is, Do you believe it? If you do, the only remaining thing necessary is for you to understand that this was not an exceptional case, but was the manifestation of God's natural working. He giveth life to the dead, and exalteth those things which be not as though they were. Rom. iv. 17. The things that have been, as well as the things which are to be, are in the sight of God the things that now are. He inhabits eternity, and all things, past, present, and future, are present with Him. Death is in His sight only a sleep; and for those who sleep in Jesus, and who therefore shall be awakened out of their sleep, it is so short a sleep, in comparison with eternity, that they are considered as alive before Him. Think of one who has been raised from the dead, and who looks back upon his experience after ten thousand million times ten thousand million years of eternity; how long would the few years, or, the few hundred years, that he lay in the grave seem to him?-They would not amount to a moment of time in comparison with the time that he has lived. He could no more take account of it than he could of a wink of his eye. Well, that is the way everything connected with this earth looks to God, who views everything from eternity. To the Lord, who has power to lay down His life, and to take it again at will, death is as though it were not. Christ, "hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel." 2 Tim. i. 10. The sleep of death becomes perpetual (Jer. li. 39) only to those who reject Him who is the resurrection and the life.

SIMPLE FAITH

Mark the faith of Jairus. He was sure that if Jesus but laid His hands on his daughter, she would live. Even when word came that she was already dead, he manifested not the slightest doubt. The faith of this man is not likely to be appreciated at first glance. He was a ruler of the synagogue, a man in high position among the people, and Jesus was one who was not recognised by the body of rulers and scribes and Pharisees. He had not studied in their schools, and held no authority from them, and therefore they looked down upon Him. But in the household of Jairus Jesus was regarded as a Teacher, and as such He was addressed, for that is the real meaning of the word that is translated "Master." What Jesus knew and could do, rather than where He had studied, appealed to the good sense of Jairus. He recognised a Master Teacher in this humble man of Nazareth, and honoured Him accordingly. The power and authority of Christ's teaching are seen by what follows. The Word that He preached was the Word that raises the dead.

HEATHENISM, HEARTLESS MOURNING

Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus (John xi. 35), but His weeping was far different from that of the Jews on that occasion, and of those who were gathered in the house of Jairus. He simply "shed tears;" they howled, and made a tumult. The word rendered "tumult" is applied to "the confused noise of a crowded assembly," as in the theatre at Ephesus (Acts xix. 23-41; xx. 1; xxi. 34; xvii. 5.) They were making such a "tumult" in the house of Jairus, and were "wailing." This word "wailing" is the word that is used to indicate the raising of a war cry, and is defined "to utter an inharmonious sound, to tinkle, to clank." Such mourning could not have been very soothing to the hearts of the stricken parents. It is wholly out of harmony with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, and therefore He had them all retire from the house. The Spirit of God cannot be present and working in the midst of a tumult. The work of the Spirit is soft and tender and subduing. Confused noise, boisterous sounds of any kind,

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whether of singing, weeping, or laughter, discordant noises, in short, anything forced and inharmonious, are entirely foreign to the Spirit of God. In quietness and confidence is the strength of God's people; for God's most powerful working is done in silence. His most marvellous work for men day by day is performed in the silence of the night, when they are unconscious.

How quickly these hired mourners showed the shallowness of their sorrow! As soon as Jesus said, "She is not dead, but sleepeth," "they laughed Him to scorn." Literally, they jeered at Him. In an instant they turned from professed weeping, to railing and mocking laughter.

It is impossible for our language to do justice to the tender words of Jesus, which He spoke to the little girl. The word "Talitha" is allied to the word meaning a young lamb, so that we may see in it an expression of tenderness, as, "Little one, arise!" Almighty power and infinite tenderness were united.

And straightway the damsel arose. Why?-Because the Master had told her to arise; and He spoke with authority. Well, He speaks to us the same word. He saith, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Eph. iv. 14. By the power of that Word, if we receive it in faith, we may arise from whatever condition of helplessness we are in. Believing, we have life through His name. Do you believe?

EATING THE LIFE

"He commanded that something should be given her to eat." Why was this seemingly trivial incident recorded? Because it was not by any means trivial. It shows that the Lord does not overlook the smallest detail, and that no detail is of trifling importance. We are told, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him." Col. ii. 6. The little girl had received the Word of life in Christ, which is Christ Himself, and had by it received life: now her life must be continued by the very same means, but under a visible form. Jesus would show that in the food we eat we receive a continuation of the same life that comes to the dead through the speaking of His word. This raises eating to a position of sacredness, in that it is one of the visible means of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."

"Prayer is not an overcoming of God's reluctance, but a taking hold of His willingness."

"For Little Ones. A Happy People" The Present Truth 16, 14.

E. J. Waggoner

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." In these words Jesus tells us what it is that will bring us every perfect gift, the one thing after which we should seek, for this will bring as everything that God wants us to have. It is the righteousness of God, which His holy Spirit will bring into our hearts if we ask Him. In seeking this we are seeking the kingdom of God, for "the kingdom of God is righteousness."

In the life of Solomon we see the truth of these words of Jesus. Near the beginning of his reign, God said to him, "Ask what I shall give thee." What a wonderful opportunity for Solomon, that the One who owns all things and can do all things should set him such a question!

(Think well what your answer would be if God should come to you with the same words, and then read His words to you in Matthew vii. 7.)

Let us see what Solomon desired and sought above all things, and perhaps this will help you also to seek for that which will bring you the greatest blessing. Was it great riches and honour, a long life, or that he should be a renowned conqueror who should kill all his enemies?

No; the great desire of Solomon's heart was that he might he a good man, that he might have the Spirit of God in his heart to lead him always to do what was right, and to give him wisdom to rule the people over whom God had placed him, and show him what to do in all the perplexities that came to him in governing the kingdom. He did not seek for a great reputation, but a true character.

God was pleased with Solomon because he sought "the kingdom of God and His righteousness," and He promised to add to him those things that he had not asked, riches, prosperity, and long life.

But notice that it was through giving him the thing that he had asked for, that God added them other things to him. Let no see how this was done.

"And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth which had heard of his wisdom."

"And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to bear big wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year."

In this way great treasure was brought to Jerusalem, and so much gold came to Solomon that he had his ivory throne overlaid with it, and "all the king's drinking vessels were of gold: none were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon."

"Once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory [or elephant's teeth], and apes, and peacocks. So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches" as well as "in wisdom." And you see that it was his wisdom that brought his riches, so it brought also prosperity and happiness to his people.

Perhaps you will remember the words of the great Queen of Seba, who came "from the ends of the earth" to visit Solomon, because in that for country she bad heard of his wisdom, and was determined to see for herself if what she had heard was true. She too brought her present, "spices, vary much gold, and precious stones."

But when she had "communed with him; of all that was in her heart," and found that "there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not," when she had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the prosperity that it brought to his kingdom, she said:

"Behold, the half was not told me. Happy are thy men; happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom." "Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made He thee king, to do judgment and justice."

Remember that the reign of King Solomon, was but a type of the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, and read now the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of the book of Revelation, which give as a description of the beautiful New Jerusalem, wherein, will be the throne of the King of kings, who shall rule the whole earth in wisdom and righteousness.

Of Him God says, "Behold My Servant shall deal wisely; He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high."

Now you will see in old Jerusalem during the reign of Solomon, a type of what the Now Jerusalem shall be when "they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it," and "the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it;" when from all parts of the earth kings and peoples shall flock to this beautiful city of God, bringing their offerings, to hear the wisdom of "a greater than Solomon," the true Son of David, who shall reign for ever.

Much has been told us of the glories of His reign; of the beauties of His kingdom; the splendour of the city with its golden streets and pearly gates; its jasper walls with foundations of twelve manner of precious stones; the clear river of life, with the tree of life on either side bearing twelve manner of fruit which it yields every month.

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But when we reach that goodly land, and stand in the presence of the King "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge;" when we see the peace, joy and happiness that His reign brings to all His subjects, do you not think we shall say, like the Queen of Sheba, "Behold, the half was not told me"? Shall we not feel and know of Jesus what she said of Solomon: "Because Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made He Thee King, to do judgment and justice."

If those who stood by the throne of Solomon, and heard his wisdom, were counted "happy," how much more happy may we be, whom Jesus has promised to give "places to walk among those that stand by" His own throne of glory, if we will only seek His kingdom and His righteousness.

"Happy is the man whom Thou chosest,
and causests to approach unto Thee,
That he may dwell in Thy courts:
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house."

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 14.

E. J. Waggoner

-Severe snowstorms and cold weather in Scotland and the North of England have continued up to the beginning of April.

-The plague is fast increasing in Bengal. In the week ending March 21 there were 4,725 deaths from the disease in the province.

-The Postmaster General, the Duke of Norfolk, has offered his services to the Government as a soldier, and is about to go to the front.

-According to the Paris Soleii, the official ceremony for the opening of the Exhibition has been fixed for April 14, at two o'clock in the afternoon.

-The London City Mission has received payment of a legacy of ?40,000, which will probably enable the committee to increase their staff of missionaries.

-A table leaned by the War Office shows that the total British losses up to March 24 were 16,701, including 8,830 deaths. Of the latter 2,190 were killed in action.

-A Reuter's dispatch says that there have now been thirty-six cases of plague at Sydney, of which thirteen have ended fatally, and that over 8,000 persons have been inoculated.

-It has been stated that owing to the increased working expenses of the different railways, a conference of managers has agreed to raise the price of excursion tickets this year in proportion to the distance travelled.

-The Australian Premiers have jointly cabled to Mr. Chamberlain to the effect that it is undesirable that peace should be concluded except on terms providing for the absolute supremacy f British rule in South Africa.

-During his lifetime Mr. Moody collected ?25,000 a year to maintain the institutions at Northfield. At a meeting of those interested the other day, it was decided to appeal for an endowment of ?600,000, the interest of which would provide the necessary amount.

-An electrical tramway is to be constructed from the terminus of the Central London Electric Railway at Shepherd' Bush as far as Uxbridge, a distance of twelve miles on the main road from London to Oxford. Many large suburban districts will also connect by branch lines with the main line.

-The Christian World is authority for the statement that in Boston (U.S.A.) a man was imprisoned a few days ago for kissing his daughter good-bye at a railway station on Sunday. The prosecution was under an old law "for the better observance of Sunday." And Boston is supposed to be the centre of progress and culture in the United States.

-The latest addition to the Cunard fleet is the Invernia, a passenger and cargo steamer, exceeded in size only by the leviathan Oceanic and the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. She is 600ft. in length, 13,800 tons gross, and in cargo capacity it probably the largest vessel afloat. Her first voyage from Liverpool to New York begins April 11.

-Beckenham School Board have decided to print and circulate among parents a circular (drafted by Dr. Primrose Wells, the medical officer on the evils of cigarette smoking among children. The document states that smoking by boys impairs the eyesight, upsets the nerves, disturbs the digestive organs, and stunts growth. It was also decided to ask local doctors to go to the schools and address the boys on the evils of smoking.

-In the Budget Bill debate in the Hones of Commons the other night, Sir William Harcourt said: "There are only two manufactures that pay in this country; one is the manufacture of beer, and the other the manufacture of Maxim guns-both stand at about 500 per cent. premium." No doubt there was a little exaggeration in the statement that no other business pays; but there is enough truth to furnish a most striking sign of the times.

-The chief of the Weather Bureau of the Department of Agriculture of the United States has issued an order forbidding the smoking of cigarettes by all employes under his direction, not only during working hours, but in their hours of leisure as well. He makes this prohibition in the interest of the Department, on the ground that cigarette smoking impairs efficiency and discipline, and that by indulging is it the most competent become careless and unreliable.

-The report of the Registrar-General of Ireland for 1899 shows that the number of emigrants who left Ireland in the year was 48,760, or 9.7 per 1,000 of the estimated population, and an increase of 9,876 over the numbers of 1898. Deducting those who were natives of other countries than Ireland, the net emigration of native Irish was 41,282, being an increase of 8,991 over the previous year( As usual, the bulk were young men and women, 82 per cent. being between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five.

-The latest Parliamentary return relating to the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages shows that the consumers of alcohol in the United Kingdom contribute no lees than 36 per cent. of the total national revenue, a far larger share than in any other country. This indicates that more alcoholic drinks are consumed per capita in Great Britain than in any other country in the world. The United States comes next, where the consumers of alcohol furnish 28 per cent. of the National revenue. In Germany, which is regarded as the great beer-drinking country of the world, the yearly consumption of beer is but 27.1 gallons a head, while in Great Britain it is 31.9 gallons.

-The Church Missionary Society has just received a translation of a proclamation issued by command of the Emperor of China, relating to missionaries. The proclamation is the outcome of the recent riots at Kienning-foo, and opens thus: "Foreign teachers coming from their several countries and going into the interior of China for the purpose of promulgating their religion and erecting churches and places of worship is their natural way of doing good works and exhorting men to virtuous actions, and be it well known to all that the Emperor of China has granted them full permission to do all this. The erection and opening of hospitals is an additional and still greater means of doing good and conferring benefits upon the people." The proclamation states that the most stupid of men must know that the work being done by the missionaries is not harmful, but the reverse.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 14.

E. J. Waggoner

Some one has said: "Men who mean to keep growing must have some specific work to do." That is true, but it is not the whole. It should be added that they must have some responsibility laid on them-always something to do that is just a little beyond their present capacity. Then with trust in God they will find that they will always be growing. The man who shirks any work that is given him to do, is himself the loser.

Many people have the mistaken idea that faith is a substitute for obedience. It is a very erroneous and dangerous notion. It is impossible for one to have so much faith in the Lord as to be saved by it while neglecting any known duty. Paul received grace and apostleship "for the obedience of faith among all nations." Anything called faith, which ignores or slights any portion of God's Word is spurious. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

We very frequently read as a recommendation of some patent nostrum, the statement that "it may be taken with perfect safety." It is strange that people cannot see that this is at the beet but a negative recommendation. If it were a true medicine there would be no need of any ouch assurance. God's medicines are absolutely good-they taste good, they make the user feel good, and they do him good. One would naturally expect a philanthropist to have a better recommendation than that he will not kill anybody.

The name "Protestant" is fast falling into disrepute on account of the course pursued by those who most make their boast of the name. Not long since some "Protestants" entered a parish church in Yorkshire, and carried off certain images, as a protest against idolatry in the church. They were overtaken, and the images were recovered and put back in their original places. It is good to be zealous for the second commandment, but when people's zeal for it is so excessive that it leads them to break the eighth, it oversteps the boundary, to say the least. But tearing down a man's idols will never cure him of idolatry any more than stealing a miser's money will cure him of covetousness. If a man has idolatry in his heart, he is not made worse by bowing to a graven image, nor better by refraining from it.

At the annual meeting of the Manchester and East Lancashire Association of the Church Missionary Society, Bishop Johnson of West Africa said that Mohammedanism is spreading itself there, and that unless the church was in real earnest in evangelising Africa, before many years it would be far more Mohammedan than heathen. He said that for every Christian missionary sent out, ten or twenty, Mohammedans of course, came from Cairo or from Mecca. It is certainly no time for the church to be boasting of its progress, or indulging in dreams of a speedy conquest of the world for Christ. Earnest action on the part of everybody professing to be a Christian, is what is needed.

The Daily Mail had the following item a few days ago:-

Mr. John Kensit has written to the Archbishop of York telling him that idolatry is "rampant" in his diocese, that he is neglecting his duty, and that if he wishes to preserve the Church from further scandal he should order the clergy to remove all graven images and "restore once more to their legal position the Ten Commandments."

"The law is good, if a man use it lawfally;" but the ten commandments written on the walls of a church will not save that church from idolatry. The proper place for the ten commandments is in the hearts of men, and nothing but the preaching of the Gospel, with the power of the Holy Spirit, can accomplish that work. Legal enactment of any kind whatsoever will be wholly ineffectual.

The Rev. William Cuff, President-elect of the Baptist Union, has had nearly thirty years' experience in labouring among the poor of London, his parish being in Shoreditch, and therefore his testimony as to how to reach "the masses" is worthy of attention. Being asked his opinion of what is termed the "Social Gospel," which consists in the use of all sorts of baits to entice the people to hear a minimum of preaching, he says:-

I have no faith in it whatever. All my long and varied experience proves up to the hilt that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that works the revolution in the parson, and charges the whole environment. I have seen everything else tried and for permanent good all these schemes have been failures. With a few honourable exceptions all the churches round me in the East End have tried these artifices, but they have not reached the masses. The people themselves love the Gospel still, and will hear it, where it is simply and faith fully preached.

It may be added also that Mr. Cuff does not deem it necessary to play havoc with the discourse in order to secure and hold the people, but regards it as the paramount feature. It is still true that by "the foolishness of preaching" God saves men, provided the Gospel be preached; for the Gospel is still the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.

From the letters sent home by men at the front one gets an occasioned glimpse of the spirit of war. The Evening News publishes several of these every day. The first one in the issue of March 28 was from a private of the force that was besieged in Kimberly. Describing a fight outside the town, in which he took part, he says:-

Then they gave the order to fix bayonets and charge, and I can tell you it makes you feel a bit funny. But after you have killed one you feel as if you would like to keep on killing. I rather enjoyed the fun of it.

We wait to hear how some clergyman will make it appear that anything which produces such feelings in a man's heart can possibly be consistent with Christianity.

The English Churchman, commenting on the recent action of the Archbishops in issuing prayers for the dead, says: "Until the Church's authorised formularies are altered by duly constituted authority-that is, by Parliament-loyal churchmen will conscientiously refuse to acknowledge any ecclesiastical power which appears to usurp the prerogatives of the Crown and the functions of the Legislature." Then it adds:-

The Primate in his speech in the House of Lords talked vaguely of "the law of the Church," and pleaded for toleration within its limits. Lord Portsmouth, however, pointed out, with convincing clearness, that no "law of the Church" exists distinct from the law of the land.

If this is all there is to the controversy, it makes no manner of difference which side wins. Legal religion, even though the thing enjoined by the most righteous thing in the world, is at the best but a modified form of heathenism.

April 12, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. A Gracious Offer to the Poor. Isa. lv. 1-12" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lv. 1-13, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

1. Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters!
And that hath no silver, come ye, buy, and eat!
Yea, come, buy ye without silver;
And without price, wine and milk.

2. Wherefore do ye weigh out your silver for that which is no bread?
And your riches, for that which will not satisfy?
Attend, and hearken unto Me; and eat that which is truly good;
And your soul shall feast itself with the richest delicacies.

3. Incline your ear, and come unto Me;
Attend, and your soul shall live;
And I will make with you an everlasting covenant;
I will give you the gracious promises made to
David, which shall never fail.

4. Behold, for a witness to the peoples I have given Him;
A leader, and a lawgiver to the nations.

5. Behold, the nations whom thou knewest not thou shalt call;
And the nation who knew not thee shall run unto thee,
For the sake of Jehovah thy God;
And for the Holy One of Israel, for He hath glorified thee.

6. Seek ye Jehovah, while He may be found;
Call ye upon Him, while He is near at hand;

7. Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return unto Jehovah, for He
will receive him with compassion;
And unto our God, for He aboundeth in forgiveness.

8. For My thoughts are not your thoughts;
Neither are your ways My ways, saith Jehovah.

9. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10. Verily, like as the rain descendeth,
And the snow, from the heavens;
And thither it doth not return,
Except it moisteneth the earth,
And maketh it generate, and put forth its increase;
That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater;

11. So shall be the word, which goeth forth from My mouth;
It shall not return unto Me fruitless;
But it shall effect that which I have willed;
And make the purpose succeed, for which I have sent it.

12. Surely with joy shall ye go forth,
And with peace shall ye be led onward;
The mountains and the hills shall burst forth before you into song;
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13. Instead of the thorny bushes shall grow up the fir tree;
And instead of the bramble shall grow up myrtle;
And it shall be unto Jehovah for a memorial;
For a perpetual sign, which shall not be abolished.

REAL, SPIRITUAL WATER

In this chapter we have the very same call that is given in John vii. 37, and Rev. xxii. 17. With God is the Fountain of Life. Ps. xxxvi. 9. He is "the Fountain of living waters." Jer. ii. 13. Jesus Christ is the Rock whence flows the streams of water for the refreshing of the people. 1 Cor. x. 4. This last reference, namely to the giving of the water to the Israelites in the desert, shows that the water which

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the Lord offers is real water. It is such water as will support life, even animal life; for the beasts as well as the people drank of the water in the wilderness. Nevertheless it was spiritual drink. 1 Cor. x. 4. Thus we are taught that if we recognise the Lord in His gifts day by day,-in our daily food and drink,-we shall find them not only nourishment to our bodies, but to our souls as well. We have nothing whatever, except what the Lord gives us. All things proceed from Him, from His very Being, His life. But God is Spirit, therefore everything that proceeds from Him must be spiritual. He gives nothing to mankind, except that which is spiritual. He "hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ." Eph. i. 3, margin. If the Israelites in the desert had recognised the Source of that water which they drank every day, and had given Him the glory due to His name, they would not only have experienced the power of an endless life, but they would have been able to impart the same to others wherever they went. See John vii. 37-39. God calls us to realities. We have today the same opportunity of drinking from the Living Rock that Israel of old had. May we make better use of it than they did! Let us not fall after the same example of unbelief!

THE BEST THINGS TO BE HAD FOR NOTHING

The best things are to be had for nothing, because money cannot be mentioned in connection with them; they are above all price. Men strive for money; they scheme, and plan, and even fight for it, as though it were the chief thing to be desired; yet it will not purchase the things that they most stand in need of: health, life, love. Some one will say that money is necessary in this world, under the present circumstances, since even the necessaries of life, as for instance, water, must be bought of corporations that have gained a monopoly of them. True; but the promise is, "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. vi. 32, 33. The first thing is not to make a living; indeed, we do not have that to do at all, for God gives us our living, our life, for He is our life. Our first and only business is to glorify God with the life which He has given us so freely. If men would but believe this fact, and would always remember it, there would not be so many compromises and denials of the truth, on the ground that it is necessary in order to live.

No; the Lord says, "Hear, and your soul shall live." Again the objection will be made, "But that means spiritual life!" Well, suppose it does: which is greater and more enduring, physical life or spiritual life? Is not "the life everlasting" greater than the life for a few days? Does not the greater include the less? If God can give us life for eternity, does it not stand to reason that He can keep us in life the short time that we have to spend in this present world? "O ye of little faith!" How can a man persuade himself that he believes in and trusts the Lord for salvation to all eternity, when he is afraid to keep His commandments, lest he should lose his living?

"Hear, and your soul shall live." The God who says this is the God who gives life to the dead. Men will repeat day after day, and year after year, "I believe in the resurrection of the dead," and yet when it comes to trusting the Lord for daily bread wherewith to sustain their life in this present time, they dare not risk it. Do you not see that belief in the power of God to raise the dead involves belief in His power to sustain our present life, and to give us all things necessary thereto? Why will men persist in separating the things of religion from their daily life? The proof that God is "abundantly able to save" is the fact that He saves us and gives us life now.

GOD'S GIFTS ALL GOOD

God wishes all people to enjoy life and all good things. The trouble with them is that they have a false idea of what good things are. Our taste has been perverted, so that we naturally call evil good, and good evil. We need to accept the exceeding great and precious promises of God, by which we are made partakers of the Divine nature, and then we shall have correct taste and judgment. We shall then like that which is really good, even though to our present, perverted taste it is insipid. That was the lack with Israel of old. They were fed with spiritual food, bread from heaven; but they did not appreciate it, and did not recognise and thank the Giver, and so they were not transformed and made spiritual by it. It was the very best food that anybody on this earth ever had to eat, the food of the angels which excel in strength, "the bread of the mighty," calculated to give inconceivable strength, yet they said, "Our soul is dried away," and, "our soul loatheth this light bread." Num. xi. 6; xxi. 5. Two things are to be taken into consideration in determining whether or not a thing is good. The first is the effect that it has; is it productive of good or ill results? If it is to be followed by good results, then it is good; if evil results follow, then it must be bad, no matter how pleasant it may be to our sight and taste. Then follows the matter of taste. Everything that is really good tastes good, although our perverted senses may not think so at first. But when we know that a certain thing is good, and that it produces only good, then we can educate our taste so that it will recognise the good, and will find it exceedingly pleasant. In due time, if we allow our senses to be educated by the Lord, we shall find that everything that is harmful is disgusting. But it is so only to one who has the Divine nature.

"THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID"

"I will

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make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." Note that this follows the statement, "Hear, and your soul shall live." That is, the sure mercies of David embrace the resurrection of the dead. God made great promises to David, but none of them could be fulfilled except by the resurrection, and David so understood them. He confessed that he was a stranger and a sojourner as all his fathers-Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were. Ps. xxix. 12. Now all that say such things declare that they seek a better country, that is an heavenly; "wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city." Heb. xi. 13-16. Christ is the Son of David, and He is to sit upon the throne of His father David, and to "reign over the house of Jacob for ever." Luke i. 31-33.

But the fact that the sure mercies of David are performed only through Christ and the resurrection, shows that everybody who believes and accepts Christ has a share in them; for Christ died and rose again for all. Indeed, this is seen from the text before us, for the call is unlimited. The call to drink, and to buy bread and wine and milk without money and without price, is issued to all who need. It is the gracious call of the Gospel to all needy, thirsty, sin-sick souls. Well, to the very same ones is it said, "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David," and this shows that whoever accepts the Gospel becomes a member of the house of David, a subject of the kingdom of Israel. So we find that Israel is not any nation known and recognised on this earth, but is "the righteous nation which keepeth the truth." Isa. xxvi. 2. For such the gates of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, will open. Rev. xxii. 14.

ISRAEL THE BANNER

Christ is Israel. See Isa. xlix. 3: "Thou art My Servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Nobody can be saved, except in Christ, and all who are in Christ are Abraham's seed, "and heirs according to the promise." Gal. iii. 29. Therefore all who are in Christ are Israel, and none others are. But since Christ is Israel, and Christ is the Banner that is lifted up to the people, it follows that Israel is the ensign to the nations, the banner round which all people are called to rally. From every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people will men come, and form part of the nation of Israel, and that which will attract them will be the indwelling Christ glorifying His people. He is near to all who call upon Him. Yea, He is near to all, waiting to be called by them. He has not forsaken any man, but has come seeking them, and all who will but turn to Him, instead of running away from Him, will find abundance of pardon, and, being pardoned, they will be enrolled as members of the kingdom of Israel. Not only so, but they will be reckoned as princes, even kings, and priests; for the kingdom of David, over which Christ rules, counts among its subjects none of lower rank than king.

THE THOUGHTS OF GOD

Who can think the thoughts of infinity?-Manifestly none except Him who is infinite. Therefore God must dwell in us, thinking His own high thoughts. Otherwise all our thoughts will be wrong, and to no purpose. In calling upon us to forsake our ways and our thoughts, God does not wish us to be nonentities; He wishes us to think and act, but the spring of all our acts and thoughts must be Himself. He is the Fountain of real life; therefore unless He dwells in us, and His real presence is continually recognised, our life will be but a mirage. What a wonderful truth, that we may have God to think in us, so that our brains will be but the organ of the mind of God! Then will be manifest the miracle of God dwelling and acting in the flesh. This wonderful privilege is offered to all. It is part of the everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David.

THE WORD OF GOD BEARING FRUIT

We have ventured to change one word in the translation given by Lowth. He has translated the 10th verse the same as it is rendered in the ordinary version, namely, "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth," etc. This is not an exact rendering of the Hebrew, and is misleading. The Hebrew expression is the same as in Gen. xxxii. 26. "I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me." Therefore the text should read that the rain and the snow return not to the heaven except they water the earth. In the Polychrome Bible the verse is so rendered, and also in the French of Segond, and therefore we have taken the liberty to put it into Lowth's translation, in order that the reader may not overlook it. The scripture does not say that the rain and the snow do not return to heaven at all, but that they do not return thither without having watered the earth, and caused it to bring forth. Then they return laden with the fruit of the earth. Even so shall it be with the Word of the Gospel. It shall not return to the Lord empty, but shall bring forth fruit. To our short sight it may seem as if the Word of God were spoken to no purpose; but God says that it shall accomplish that to which He has sent it. He does not speak in vain. If therefore we will but speak the Word of the Lord, God will see that as in the case of Samuel, none of our words fall to the ground and perish. God's Word is the seed whence everything that grows from the ground comes; it is also the seed that regenerates men, and makes them bring forth fruit unto God.

THE EARTH RENEWED

The closing verses of this chapter present a picture of the earth made new, purified from the curse of thorns and thistles, and bringing forth in perfection, as in the beginning. All this is to be accomplished by the Word of God, the same word which He puts into the mouth of His servants. See Isa. li. 16. This is a still further indication that the sure mercies of David, assured, by the everlasting covenant, to all who heed the gracious call to come to the Lord and to eat and drink from Him, are fulfilled only in the world to come, in the new earth. That is, the new earth is the consummation of them; but they must be accepted and enjoyed here in this present time, or else they will never be realised. It is only as men receive the Word of the Lord, and are transformed by it,-tasting the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,-that the earth is made new for their habitation.

A GRAND CONCERT

What a blessed concert that will be, when the mountains and the hills break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field clap their hands in applause! Who would not like to be there to hear and see? But, says some wise objector, "that is all figurative; it is not meant to be taken literally, because the mountains and the hills cannot sing, and the trees cannot clap their hands; indeed, they have no hands to clap." Oh, foolish wisdom, which knows so much that it shuts out all knowledge! Even so the disciples of Jesus wondered what He meant when He said that He should rise from the dead. They were sure that His words could not be taken literally, because they thought they knew that He could not die, and rise again. But they were mistaken. If instead of "reasoning" as they did, they had believed His words, they could have been saved much shame and confusion. Suppose that instead of disputing with the Word of the Lord, we allow it to teach us. He says that the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing, and therefore we believe that they will do so, and that we shall hear them. We shall then learn something about music, which the greatest composers of earth cannot teach us. There is light which human eyes cannot see, and there are many sounds which human ears are too dull to hear; but God both sees and hears. When we become so spiritual that we are worthy to have spiritual bodies, then we shall be able to see and hear things that have never yet come within man's comprehension. These things are made known to us by the Holy Spirit; let us therefore yield ourselves to Him, that we may be made wholly spiritual, and thus be able to attain true wisdom, the wisdom of God. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit."

"The Word that Heals. The Centurion's Servant Healed. Luke vii. 1-10" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke vii. 1-10.)⁵1

The student should not fail to read this narrative in the Revised Version, as it is much more clearly rendered there than in the so-called Authorised Version. Let us briefly outline the story.

Jesus entered Capernaum, after completing His instruction on the mountain, and was met by messengers from a centurion, asking Him to come and heat his servant, who was at the point of death. Jesus at once set out for the centurion's house, but before He reached it He was met by another company bearing this message.

"Lord, trouble not Thyself; for I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof; wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee; but say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under myself soldiers; and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth: and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it."

When Jesus heard this He marvelled, and said to the multitude that followed Him, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." And the narrative closes with the statement that when the messengers returned to the house they found the servant whole.

OBJECT OF THE LESSON

What is the lesson for us to learn from this little story? If we get nothing more from it than the mere knowledge of some of the details of one of the miracles that Jesus did, it will not profit us much. Whenever you read the account of any miracle of Jesus, remember these words: "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John xx. 31. The only object in telling us how this young man, and others also, received life, is to let us know how and where we may find life.

What is the source of life?-Our lesson answers the question: it is the Word of the Lord.-"That which was from the beginning" was "the Word of life." 1 John i. 1. "The Word of God liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter i. 23-25), and this is the Word of the Gospel, which is preached to us. These miracles are recorded for the sake of showing us the reality of the life that comes from the Word.

NO HEALING EXCEPT BY THE WORD

Moreover we are to learn that it is the Word alone that heals. Whenever any person is ill, and is healed, it is nothing also but the Word of the Lord that cures him. There is nothing else that can heal. This fact is often obscured by the so-called "remedies" that are given, in spite of which people often recover. That which people for the most part depend on in cases of disease, is usually what retards recovery, and tends to make it impossible; the fact that so many people do recover from various illnesses in spite of the poisonous drugs that are administered, is evidence of the marvellous power of life that is in the Word which God sends to us . "What! are not drugs a part of the Word that heals? do you think that the use of means is inconsistent with faith in the Word of the Lord?" What do you think? The Word is life; now can that which is deadly, and which must be dealt out with the greatest caution, lest the patient get a fraction of a grain too much, and so be poisoned to death, be a means of conveying that living Word? When the body is worn with Iabour, and cries out for food, would you administer a does of poison, instead of giving bread? The questions answer themselves. Poisonous drugs are not means of conveying the Word of life, which makes alive; they are in deadly opposition to it.

But that does not by any means signify that the use of means is inconsistent with healing by the Word. Far from it. Everything that is a means of conveying life is the agent of the Word. Christ is the Personification of the Word, and in Him we live, and move, and have our being, yet we live by eating and drinking and breathing. The lesson that God would have us learn is that every real means of conveying life to mankind is but a means of conveying the Word of life. The Word itself is invisible; it can and does give life apart from any visible agency; but certain things that our senses can grasp are given to us as means of supporting life, in order that we may appreciate the reality of the Word. In short, God sometimes lets us sea Him heal, and preserve life, without any visible medium, in order that we may know that it is only by the Word that life and health come; and He often conveys life by means of some visible agent, in order that we may not forgot that the spiritual Word is very real.

GOD'S WORD IN MEDICINE

The Word is itself a means of healing. When good people, full of faith, say that they do not-believe in using any means for the recovery of the sick, but only trust in the Lord, they unconsciously deny the reality of the healing Word. The centurion recognised the fact that the Word that Christ spoke was as real as any messenger that he could send on his own business. God sends His Word on errands, and it obeys Him. It never returns to Him without having accomplished that to which as sent it. See Isa. Iv. 10, 11. So we read that when God's people of old were suffering affliction because of their folly, and were near to the gates of death, so ill that they could not eat, "He sent His Word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Isa. cvii. 17-20. In the miracle recorded in the lesson that we are studying, we have an instance of this. "My son, attend to My words; incline thine ear unto My salvation. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and medicine to all their flesh." Prov. iv. 30-22, margin.

HEALED MEANS SAVED

In the Revision we read that the centurion sent to Jesus, "asking Him that He would come and save his servant." In the common version the word "heal" is used. Both mean the same thing. To save is to heal, to make every whit whole. Whoever is not saved is not healed, and not perfectly whole, no matter how well he may seem to be. The Word that makes the body well, is the Word that saves from sin. We are saved by the life, and Jesus has but one life to give. He does not live a double life. He gives Himself, and that one gift of life contains everything that pertains to life and godliness. Our part is to recognise the Lord, to learn to discern His body in His gifts.

THE FREE GIFT

What a narrow idea the elders of the Jews had of the character of Jesus! They supposed that He was influenced by the

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same motives that they were. "They, when they came to Jesus, besought Him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that Thou shouldest do this for him; for he loveth our nation, and himself built us our synagogue." As though that would make any difference with Him! His call to the Fountain of life and healing is, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye." "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," that is, as a gift. Life is too precious to be bought with money. It is a gift, as freely bestowed upon the pauper as upon the prince. Also I how few there are who do not regard it as of but little worth!

THE TRUE ISRAEL

There was one important thing in connection with this affair, which is not mentioned by Luke. Christ was astonished by the centurion's faith, and said: "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Then He added: "And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. viii. 11, 12. If we had nothing else, this would settle the question as to the constitution of the kingdom of Israel. That kingdom is composed of those who have faith. "Know therefore that they which be of faith, the same are the sons of Abraham." Gal. iii. 7. Salvation is by faith. Then the centurion, who had greater faith than anyone in Israel, was ahead of them in the way of salvation. He was, in fact, a part of Israel, while the unbelieving descendants of Abraham; Isaac, and Jacob were not; "for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel." Rom. ix. 6. Those who have the name, but have not faith, are cast out; while those who have simple, childlike faith will form Israel, and will share the inheritance promised to the patriarchs of old. Remember that "Israel" means "overcomer," and is equivalent to "Christian," and you make this lesson a personal matter. There will be many surprises in the kingdom. Are you trusting in the name "Christian" or in the name-the living Person-of Christ? Accept every word that He sends, even though it may seem to be bitter medicine, and you will find it sweeter than honey-filled with the sweetness of His endless life.

"The Lesson for All to Learn" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

One of the most wonderful things about the Gospel is its simplicity. There is nothing complicated about it. It consist of principles, not of rules; and these principles are so few and se easily comprehended that children of tender years can understand them; Indeed, unless one becomes as a little child, artless, trustful, confiding, he will not, cannot understand them.

Now the spiritual life of a Christian is but a repetition in principle of his physical life. He "must be born again," and after that grow up "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

The one lesson for children to learn while under parental control is obedience; not that which comes through fear of punishment, because of dogmatic requirements or arbitrary commands, but a willing, cheerful obedience, such as springs from a heart of love. Jesus knew this lesson. When chided by His parents because He remained in the temple, talking with the doctors, although He gave a good and sufficient reason for His action, the record says "He went down with them. . . and was subject unto them." And has it not occurred to us that this lesson of submission that He learned in His youth helped Him to say, in the hour of His great trial, "Not My will but Thine be done"?

And just as the child is to be subject to his parents, so the Lord would have a willing, cheerful submission to His requirements. That is all there is in Christianity. From first to last this is the one trait of character most prominent in Christ's life. This is the one great lesson that Abraham had to learn, but when he had learned it, the Lord could trust him, and make of him a great nation.

Some of the Bible characters, like Paul, learned the lesson in a short time, while for others, like Jacob, a whole lifetime was required. But just as that was the one lesson for them to learn in their day, so it is for the Christian now. It is so difficult for us to yield our ways, sacrifice our desires, give up our previous ideas. How hard it is to admit that our ways are not better than the Lord's; and even though we admit it, what a struggle to give them up. Yet this is just what all our daily experience is for,-this is why we have trials, why afflictions and bereavements and losses come to us,-that we may learn submission. And just as soon as we have learned the lesson, the Lord will say to us as He did to Abraham, that it is enough, "now I know that thou fewest God."

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

"For Little Ones. The Father's House" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

Many of you have no doubt noticed the sweet, merry songs of the birds, that are again filling the air with melody, as if to welcome the returning sunshine, and to help to awaken the spring flowers that are sleeping later than usual this year, because of the cold weather, which makes them keep tucked up in their warm winter wrappings for fear of being nipped by the frost.

The morning, as the daylight comes in, is the time when the bird songs seem the fullest and sweetest. And the springtime, which is the bright morning of the year, when the sun returns to waken nature from its long winter sleep, is the time when the birds burst out into their sweetest notes of joyous song.

Now of all times, when they are so happy and busy, building their nests and preparing for the summer's work of rearing their young ones, they seem to call the most attention to themselves, and we are most inclined to "Behold the birds of the air," and learn from these, His little messengers, the lessons that God would have them teach us.

One of the things that Jesus tells us to notice about them is, that "Your Heavenly Father feedeth them." Though they have "neither storehouse nor barn, though they neither sow nor reap, and are not able to make any provision for themselves, yet they are not troubled and anxious about where the next meal is to come from.

Mr. Spurgeon tells of a little girl who lived in the city where she was accustomed to seeing birds kept in cages, and she must have thought that this was the natural and proper life for little birds. For when she was taken for the first time to the country, where she saw the free birds flying in the air, and hiding among the branches of the trees, she said to her mother, "O mamma, look at those poor little birds! they have not got any cages!"

The "poor little birds" would a great deal rather be without the cage, even though it might mean food and water always within eight. For though they are fortunate enough to have no cages, they do have a house, a large, free beautiful house. "Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow nest for herself where she may lay her young, even Thine altars. O Lord of hosts."

This is what David said when he was talking about God's house. God dwells everywhere and in all things, filling the heavens and the earth with His holy presence. Wherever God dwells is of course His house; and so of every place we may say like Jacob, "The Lord is in this place." "This is none other than the house of God."

Everything that God has made in heaven and earth is a part of His great family; and "the whole family in heaven and earth" dwells in "the Father's house." God's dwelling place is the home of all His creatures; but it is such a large place, and we perhaps do not know more than our own little corner of it. We do not now understand and "know the length and breadth, and depth and height." Yet we may rest content and happy, knowing that we are in the Father's house, and that He is with us,aring for all our needs.

Like us, the birds are "the offspring of God," and they too dwell in His house, and are fed from His table. "These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayedt give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them, they gather."

Many of these little birds have seen more of "the Father's house" than you have; for they have been a long, long journey over land and sea, since last we heard them sing in the autumn. When there was no food for them here, God guided them to another part of His house, where they would find plenty to eat through the winter. Now He has brought them back to sing to us through the summer, and to teach us this lesson among others: "Happy are they that dwell in Thy house; they will be still praising Thee."

The songs of praise seem to well up from their light hearts, as though "had

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heard the heard the words of Jesus, "Not one" of them shall fall without the Father's notice. "He feedeth them." So they have no care, for He careth for them. And it for them, how much more for you, who dwell also in His house, and are "of more value than many sparrows."

So we may learn from the birds that

"His goodness stands approved,
Unchanged from day to day,"
and then like the birds we shall
"drop our burdens at His feet
And bear a song away."

"Teaching Botany to Children" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

FIRST STEPS

Botany has been called "the science of observation," because it is designed especially to cultivate the faculty of seeing. Upon every leaf in His great book of nature, the Creator has written lessons for the children of men. These lessons can be conveyed to us only through the senses, with which He has for this purpose endowed us. In order that we may be attracted to read what He has written, He has clothed the grass of the field with beauty, and made everything "pleasant to the sight." Thus through the sense of seeing He would draw us.

"THROUGH THE GATE CALLED BEAUTIFUL"

into the temple of truth.

This indicates the first step in the natural method of teaching botany: to co-operate with God by drawing attention to the beautiful in nature, which never fails to attract and move the heart of the little child. Witness the shining eyes, the eager hands, the flush of pleasure, almost of awe, with which a lovely flower is greeted. As the, child thus stand at the beautiful gate of the temple, the dwelling-place of Him of whose unseen presence all beauty is the manifestation, the work of the parent or teacher is to guide the little one through the gate, that he may "behold the beauty of the Lord, and enquire in His temple."

The first step, a very easy one, is to get the child to look; the next to teach him

WHAT TO LOOK AT:

to rightly cultivate and direct the sense of Seeing, so that he will know what is to be seen as he "considers the lilies." In order to do this the teacher needs his own eyes "anointed with eye-salve, that he may see;" otherwise he may keep his pupils on the outside, admiring the beauties of the outward structure, all unmindful of Him whose "glory fills the temple," and consequently unconscious of the fact that the place whereon they stand is holy ground. "Blessed are the pare in heart, for they shall see God."

"The Bible alone points out the way to God so clearly that the wayfaring man, though a fool, may not err therein; and therefore it is that in order to understand the voice of God in creation, we ought to enter the temple of nature with the Bible in our hands." In all our study of the works of God, we shall find in His Word alone the key to unlock their sacred mysteries, and let up into the secret of the Divine presence.

THE INVISIBLE

Here, then, in the Word, we find what is the essential thing to be seen and looked at in all "the things that are made:" "the invisible things of Him," even "His eternal power and Divinity." Can we than see the invisible? Yes; for the same verse tells us that these invisible things are to be "clearly seen." And, again we are told to look at "the things that are not seen."

That which is seen is but the covering, the veil, or clothing, of something more real than itself, that unseen reality being Christ, the Divine Word, the abiding truth of all His works which endures when then outward forms in which He is now revealing Himself shall pass away. "Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the Word of the Lord abideth for ever."

Science means knowledge, and the only thing that can be known is truth. Christ is the Truth; "therefore all true science is

THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST

"in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The science or knowledge of botany therefore. can only be gained by beholding "the invisible things of Him" as they are "clearly seen" in "the grass field."

THE OBJECT AND EFFECT

of the study of all truth is sanctification-salvation from sin, and transformation of character. "Sanctify them through Thy truth." That which is not truth is not worth studying at all; and therefore everything that the child Jesus should increase his knowledge of God and of "the power of God unto salvation."

While the contemplation of the sweet and manifest beauty of the works of God may, and doubtless does, cultivate the eye and refine the mind, and the study of "the laws of nature" broadens and strengthens the mental faculties, this alone will not have a sanctifying influence, and transform the character. It is the revelation of the unseen, eternal truth which these works are intended to convey which makes one able, like Moses, "to endure, as seeing Him who is invisible." It is only when in all the works of God we "behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord," that "we are changed into the same image from glory to glory."

Those who have the privilege of guiding the first steps of the children, and unfolding to them the unseen reality of that which their eyes see, and their hands

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handle, are introducing them to an inexhaustible source of happiness so desirable that King David said of it:

"One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I
seek after;
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the
days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire
in His temple."

To the child thus led into the temple of truth, to behold the glory and beauty of God, the natural and inevitable attitude in the study of His works will be that of worship. Even so David continues:

"Therefore will I offer in His tabernacles sacrifices
of joy"
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord."

To such an one the very act of seeing will become, as it was designed to be, an act of worship, of admiring the beauty of the Lord, while at the same time he will

"Learn to love with zealous, humble duty,
The eternal Fountain of that Heavenly Beauty."

"There's nought around, above, below,
From flowers that bloom, to stars that glow,
But in its light my soul can see
Some feature of the Deity."

"Temperance. The Conditions of Health" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

The well-known proverb that by the time he is forty, "every one is either a fool or a physician" is quoted by Sir John Lubbock in his book on "The Pleasures of Life." At the same time he regrets that many persons are invalids at forty, as well as physicians, and this he attributes to the fact that the study of health is not sufficiently impressed on the minds of those entering life.

"Not that it is desirable to potter over minor ailments, to con over books or illnesses, or experiment on ourselves with medicine. Far from it. The less we fancy ourselves ill, or bother about little bodily discomforts, the more likely perhaps we are to preserve our health. It is, however, a different matter to study the general conditions of health."

Some of these conditions he has called our attention to in the following paragraphs:-

In the matter of health we can generally do more for ourselves than the greatest doctors can for us. But if all are agreed as to the blessing of health, there are many who will not take the little trouble, or submit to the slight sacrifices, necessary to maintain it. Many, indeed, deliberately ruin their own health, and incur the certainty of an early grave, or an old age of suffering.

No doubt some inherit a constitution which renders health almost unattainable. But happily these case are exceptional. Most of us might be well, if we would. It is very much our own fault that we are ill. We do those things which we ought not to do, and we leave undone those things which we ought to have done, and then we wonder that there is no health in us.

Like Naaman we expect our health to be the subject of some miraculous interference, and neglect the homely precautions by which it might be secured.

We all know that we can make ourselves ill, but few perhaps realise how much we

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can do to keep ourselves well. Much of our suffering is self-inflicted. It has been observed that among the ancient Egyptians it seemed the chief aim of life to be well buried. Many, however, live even now as if this were the principal object of their existence.

It is sad to think how much unnecessary suffering has been caused, and how many valuable lives have been lost, through ignorance or carelessness. We cannot but fancy that the lives of many great men might have been prolonged by the exercise of a little care.

The requisites of health are plain enough regular habits, daily exercise, cleanliness, and moderation in all things-in eating as well as in drinking-would keep most people well.

I need not here dwell on the evils of alcohol, but we perhaps scarcely realise how much of the suffering and ill-humour of life is due to over-eating. Dyspepsia, for instance, from which so many suffer, is in nine cases out of ten their own fault, and arises from the combination of too much food with two little exercise. To lengthen your life, says an old proverb, shorten your meals. Plain living and high thinking will secure health for most of us.

"Go to your banquet then, but use delight,
So as to rise still with an appetite."

No doubt, however, though the rule not to eat or drink too much is simple enough in theory, it is not quite so easy in application. There have been many Esaus who have sold their birthright of health for a mess of pottage.

Yet, though it may seem paradoxical, it is certainly true, that in the long ran the moderate man will derive more enjoyment even from eating and drinking, than the glutton or the drunkard will ever obtain. They know not what it is to enjoy "the exquisite taste of common dry bread."

Those who live in cities may almost lay it down as a rule that no time spent out of doors is ever wasted. Fresh air is a cordial of incredible virtue.

Wordsworth made it a rule to go out every day, and need to say that as he never consulted the weather, he never had to consult the physicians.

It always seems to be raining harder than it really is when you look at the weather through the window. Even in winter, though the landscape often seems cheerless and bare enough when you look at it from the fireside, still it is far better to go out, even if you have to brave the storm: when you are once out of doors the touch of earth and the breath of the fresh air will give you new life and energy. Men, like trees, live in great part on air.

Nothing is more conducive to healthy sleep than plenty of open air. Then indeed we can enjoy the fresh life of the early morning: "the breezy call of incense-breathing morn."

"At morn the bleak cook trims his jetty wing,
'Tis morning prompts the linnet's blithest lay,
All Nature's children fast the matin spring
Of life reviving, with reviving day."

Epictetus described himself as "a spirit bearing about a corpse." That seems to me an ungrateful description. Surely we ought to cherish the body. Do we not owe to the eye our enjoyment of the beauties of this world and the glories of the heavens; to the ear the voices of friends and all the delights of music; are not the hands most faithful and invaluable instruments, ever ready in case of need, ever willing to do our bidding; and even the feet bear us without a murmur along the roughest and stoniest paths of life.

With reasonable care we can most of us keep this wonderful organisation in health, so that it will work without causing us pain, or even discomfort, for many years; and we may hope that even when old age comes,

"Time may lay his hand
Upon your heart gently, not smiting it,
But as a harper lays his open palm
Upon his harp, to deaden its vibrations."

"Items of Interest" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Marquis of Londonderry is the new Postmaster-General, in place of the Duke of Norfolk.

-General Cronie, Colonel Schiel, and a thousand Boer prisoners sailed from Cape Town for St. Helena on the 3rd.

-A widow has recently died at Bath, at the age of 113. Another widow also, 103, is still living in the same town.

-At Belfast on a recent Sunday afternoon 118 children of very tender years were counted entering one public-house during a single hour.

-During an international chess match a cable message was despatched from London and an answer received from America in a minute and a quarter.

-A monumental brass, just erected in the parish church at Chapel-en-le-Frith, states that the sextonship has been retained in one family since 1631.

-A pioneer post-card has just reached England by the Cape to Cairo route. It was despatched in, and amongst other places bore the post-marks of Omdurman and Cairo.

-In consequence of a railway collision in the Caucasus, March 31st, some trucks containing petroleum caught fire, and the engine drivers of the two trains, the postal officials, and many passengers perished in the flames.

-Ballington Booth, the head of the "Volunteers of America," who some time ago separated from the Salvation Army, has applied to the courts for an order authorising his son twelve years old to change his name from William Booth to Charles Brandon Booth.

-By a fire in Edinburgh on the 3rd, a building containing 50,000 cases of whisky, valued at ?50,000 was completely destroyed. It is too bad that a good building was destroyed. There ought to be a cheaper way than that of destroying poison.

-There were ten drinking places in Manila before the American occupation; now there are said to be 400. Thus is civilisation extended.

-A London post man has been fined ?5, with an alternative of a month's imprisonment with hard labour, for delaying to deliver letters entrusted to him.

-The Telegraph Department is just completing the laying of an underground cable between the central post-offices and London and Birmingham. This will be the longest stretch of underground cable of the same kind in the world. While intended for ordinary use, it is expected to be of special value in case of storms.

-One of the members of a firm with whom the Government contract for bandages has been placed, has said: "We despatched to South Africa 297,000 bandages alone during the past month, and our output of the supplies will reach an average above 100,000 per week. In crutches, too, we have done a business which gives for each week in return equal to that of a year in ordinary times."

-The Antarctic Expedition, which was originated by Sir George Newnes, and which sailed from London, August 22, 1898, has penetrated by sledge as far as 78 degrees 50 minutes south latitude, which is the farthest points south ever reached. It is stated that "the present position of the south magnetic pole has been located." The expedition, as well as the scientific world, has suffered a severe loss in the death of Mr. Nikolai Hanson, the zoologist.

-A Parliamentary return shows that there are in the United Kingdom 6,798 persons licensed as brewers, of whom 6,627 are located in England and Wales. Over 5,000 brewers brewed under 1,000 barrels apiece, while two produced over 4,000,000 between them. The English exports of beer amounted to 1,237,131; those from Scotland 440,971; and from Ireland 8,123. India was the best customer, purchasing from the United Kingdom 280,130 worth of beer.

-The revenue accounts of the United Kingdom for the twelve months show an increase of ?11,899,377 over the total accounts of the preceding year. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, on Budget night, March 5, which was more than three weeks before the close of the year, estimated that the probable year's Exchequer receipts would be ?116,040,000. The figures to hand indicate that ?119,839,905 is the amount actually paid in. The total revenue for the last twelve months is ?129,755,730.

-As the Prince and Princess of Wales were passing through Brussels, on the 4th, on their way to Copenhagen to celebrate King Christian's 82nd birthday, the Prince were shot at twice by a young man who, just as the train was starting, stepped on the footboard of the carriage in which the Prince was sitting, and fired through the open window. The Prince was not injured, and the would-be assassin was taken into custody. On being examined, the youth said that he did it because the British were killing Boers in Africa, and that he would try it over again if he had a chance.

-The Procurator of the "Holy Synod," in his latest report to the Czar, sets forth the articles of faith of a new sect in Russia. He says that the sect glorifies Judas Iscariot as the first real disciple of Christ, recommends that all of its members who wish to depart from this sinful life should, like Judas, hang themselves, and declares that obedience must not be shown to any officials of State, since they are of the devil. Wise people will give no credence to Procurator's representations. Not to mention scores of other cases, the Roman Catholic statements as to the belief and practice of Luther should warn thinking people against judging anybody's belief by the representations of those who are not in sympathy with that belief.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 15.

E. J. Waggoner

He is a very wise man who does not every day come in contact with somebody who knows something that he does not know. Then let nobody complain that he has no advantages for obtaining an education. If you are for a season deprived of human companionship, "ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the sir, and they shall tell thee; or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee." The ant also is a good teacher of wisdom.

In an article in the Church Family Newspaper, on "What the Jews think of Anti-Semitism," written by a Jew, we are told that in Galicia Jewish girls are abducted from their parents, and forced into Roman Catholic convents, where they will be brought up as Roman Catholics. The civil authorities have been appealed to in vain, as they profess that they have no power over the convent. That is to say, the State is powerless to repress crime, when the church is the criminal. Even so it has always been, and it is just that state of things that makes the State a tool in the hands of the church for the persecution of faithful souls whom "the church" calls heretics.

The same writer gives us some information concerning the Zionist movement,-the scheme to buy back Palestine from the Turks, and to bring all the Jews to that land. He says that "the entire scheme seems Utopian to the last degree," because, in the first place, "the Sultan absolutely refuses to sell Palestine," and secondly, "even if the Sultan were as complaisant as possible, and the Powers of Europe were agreeable, it is certain that Palestine could not support a mere half of the Jewish nation-assuming they were willing to settle there. The few colonies already established in Palestine have proved but an indifferent success, and but for the support of the Rothchilds could scarcely have existed."

This, he says, is the opinion hold by the majority of English Jews, who regard Zionism as impracticable. One thing is certain, and that is that it has no countenance whatever in the Scriptures.

An interesting bit of controversy has been going on between Dr. Horton, Congregationalist pastor and "Father" Vaughan, a Catholic priest related to the Cardinal. Mr. Vaughan had challenged Mr. Horton to cite the law or commandment which makes betting an indulgence essentially sinful, and Mr. Horton replied by citing the eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," which is so decisive against betting as "Thou shalt not kill" is against duelling or suicide. Betting is aptly defined as "robbery by mutual arrangement," in which one party consents to be robbed without complaint, on condition that he may have the chance of robbing his antagonist.

In commenting on the failure of Mr. Sheldon's experiment in the newspaper business, the Christian remarks: "A newspaper is more what the readers demand than what the editor would like to have it." That is true; but it would not be true if it were not the case that newspapers are run for the sole purpose of making money for the proprietors. In such a case the editor is necessarily more or less a slave. This shows the need of Christian journals, which will act the part of the true Christian preacher, giving the people what they need rather than what their perverted taste demands.

It was but a year ago that Professor Dewar succeeded in liquifying hydrogen, and now he has produced it as a solid. Even though no practical use in the arts or manufacture should be made of these discoveries, they are, nevertheless, most instructive as giving us a glimpse of the infinite possibilities in matter. They enable us to grasp more intelligently the fact of the reality of spiritual things; for certainly nothing of which we have any knowledge comes more nearly to being a spiritual body than does hydrogen gas. In God's universe there are wonders of which no human being has yet the faintest conception; and to discover these, and through them to glorify the Creator, will be the work of the redeemed throughout eternity.

According to Dr. D. D. Leonard's new book, "Missionary Annals in the Nineteenth Century," the earth's population is 1,600,000,000, of which not less than 1,000,000,000 are non-Christian, that is, heathen and Mohammedan. Of those classed as Christian, 200,000,000 are Roman Catholic, and 150,000,000 are Protestant, so-called. Of course this last includes all the inhabitants of what are called Protestant countries, and is not confined to church members. The fact is, therefore, that more than four-fifths of the inhabitants of the world to-day have not even the semblance of a belief in Christ. For the conversion of these hundreds of millions of heathen people, Protestants are giving about 23,000,000 a year, a very small fraction of what is spent in a single campaign for the destruction of some of them.

In the discussion about betting, elsewhere referred to, the Catholic priest justified betting on the ground that the gambling instinct is "one of the elementary facts of human nature." To this it is justly replied that last and selfishness and greed are equally elementary facts of human nature, but are to be warred against. The Apostle Peter says, "Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." The indulgence in stimulants and narcotics, which destroy both soul and body, is defended upon the same ground, namely that there is a universal demand for them. But true education, which is true Christianity, teaches us that we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and should "live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world." In the two positions taken we see the difference between Catholicism which is the religion of human nature, and Christianity, which is the religion of Jesus Christ, who "pleased not Himself."

"The Lord has given to every man his work." Whenever anybody neglects his appointed task, or refuses, on any ground whatever, to do it, somebody else has to do it in addition to his own. It is hard on that other person, yet it is a blessing, for he gets the discipline that the laggard deliberately throws away. "In all labour there is profit," says the true proverb. He who does Iabour gets a profit, even though the work be performed at his own personal expense. There is a reward that accompanies the doing of any legitimate work, far greater than any possible pecuniary gain.

April 19, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. Israel, the Gentiles, and the Sabbath. Isa. lvi. 1-12" The Present Truth 16, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lvi. 1-12.)

1. "Thus says Jehovah: Keep the law,
practice righteousness;
For My salvation will soon come, and
My righteousness be soon manifested.

2. Happy the man who practices this,
the mortal who holds fast thereto,
Keeping the Sabbath, so as not to
profane it, and keeping his hand from any evil.

3. Let not the foreigner, who has joined himself to Jehovah, say: Jehovah will surely separate me from His people; and let not the eunuch say: Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says Jehovah: As for the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose that which I delight in, I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a monument and a memorial better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting memorial which shall not be cut off. And as for the foreigners who join themselves to Jehovah to minister to Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be His servants,-every one who so keeps the Sabbath as not to profane it, and who lays hold on My covenant, I will bring to My holy mountain, and gladden in My house of prayer; his burnt offerings and his sacrifices shall be accepted upon My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. The oracle of the Lord, Jehovah, who gathers the outcasts of Israel is: Yet will I gather others to Israel, to those of Israel who are already gathered.

9. All ye wild beasts in field and forest,
come hither to devour!

10. My watchmen are all blind, and
know not how to give heed;
The are all dumb dogs which cannot bark,
Crouching and lying down, loving to slumber.

11. And the dogs are greedy, they know
not how to be satisfied,
They all turn to their own way,
each for his own lucre.

12. Come, they say let me fetch wine,
let us carouse with mead,
And tomorrow shall be as today,
an exceeding high day."

This is a wonderfully comprehensive chapter, showing the essential unity of the Gospel message in all times, and linking the days of the ancient prophets with ours. Here we have an exhortation to keep the law, based on the fact that the salvation of the Lord is near. This corresponds with the message in Rev. xiv. 7, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His Judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." In this chapter we find that the conditions of salvation

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were the same in the days of Isaiah that they are today, and that the relation between God and all people, whether called Jews or Gentiles, has not changed in the least in the last four thousand years.

GENTILES COMMANDED TO KEEP THE SABBATH

We often hear the question asked, "Where in the Bible do you find that the Gentiles were ever commanded to keep the ten commandments or the Sabbath?" The answer is that we find it everywhere in the Bible; for God's commandments are for all mankind; but here in this chapter we have the matter very definitely stated. First, we have the general command, "Keep the law; practice righteousness." Then the foreigner, the Gentile, is especially singled out, and the promise is made to him, if he will keep the Sabbath. Then, as well as in the days of Peter, the promise was unto all that were afar off. Act ii. 39. There can be no question as to which day is referred to in this connection. Nobody ever questions the fact that in the times before the first advent of Christ, at least, no other day than that kept by the faithful Jews, the seventh day of the week, was ever called the Sabbath. This is the day that the Gentiles are exhorted to keep. And since the special exhortation is based on the nearness of the salvation of the Lord, it follows that until the coming of the Lord the call to the Gentiles to keep the Sabbath holds good. "The Sabbath was made for man," and every creature that comes under that head is under obligation to God to keep it.

ONLY ONE NATION ACKNOWLEDGED

God recognises only one nation on earth, and it is not one of the nations of earth. That nation is the nation of Israel, of whom it was said by inspiration of God, "The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." It is "the righteous nation which keepeth the truth" (Isa. xxxvi. 2), and that does not describe any nation recognised as a nation on this earth. The people of Israel, God's own chosen nation, are on this earth counted as strangers and foreigners (Heb. xi. 13), their names and their citizenship being recorded only in heaven. Luke x. 20; Heb. xii. 23: Phil. iii. 20, R.V. On the other hand, all "Gentiles in the flesh" are "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." Eph. ii. 11, 12. Only when they come to God, being reconciled to Him through the blood of the cross of Christ, are they "no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." Eph. ii. 19, 20. It is God's eternal purpose to "gather together in one all things in Christ" (Eph. i. 10), and the kingdom of which He is the Head is that of Israel. It is a nation of overcomers. Israel means a prince, and every one of the subjects of Christ is a prince, a king. Jesus Christ is King of kings. All His subjects have high rank. There are no "mean persons" in all His dominions.

THE GOD OF THE GENTILES ALSO

From this chapter we learn that God was as solicitous for the salvation of the Gentiles in the days of Isaiah as He is today. There was never a time when God was exclusive, shutting Himself up to a particular class, He was the God of the Gentiles then as well as now. Rom. iii. 29, 30. And He is the God of the Jews today as much as He was then, for He has not cast off His people. The text says, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people," and these are the words that Jesus quoted when he cleared the temple of the buyers and sellers. Mark ii. 17. Therefore we find that never was the temple designed by the Lord exclusively for the people called Jews. It was never the design of God that any person should be deprived of the privileges of His sanctuary. The wall separating the "court of the Gentiles" from the sanctuary proper, where the Jews were permitted to enter, was the "middle wall of partition" which the Jews themselves, in their selfish pride, had erected.

GATHERING THE GENTILES TO ISRAEL

Jesus said: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd." John x. 16. This is exactly the same thing that is stated in our lesson. "The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, besides those that are gathered to him." And this also is the same thing that was stated by James at the meeting of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem: "Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and will set it up; that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world." Act xv. 14-18. The Lord is the same from the beginning, and His works are always the same. He works no differently in the closing part of the Gospel from what He did in the beginning. He called Abraham when he was but one (Isa. li. 2), and took him from among the heathen. Josh. xxiv. 2, 3. All along in the history of Israel He kept adding to them from among the heathen, as in the case of the harlot Rahab, and Ruth the Moabitess, both of whom are among the ancestors of Christ after the flesh. God also sent prophets to the Gentiles, as in the case of Jonah, warning them to repent; and one prophet, Jeremiah, was even before his birth ordained to be a prophet to the Gentiles. See Jer. i. 5, where the word "nations" is exactly the same that is rendered elsewhere "heathen" or "Gentiles." In the Bible, "nations," "heathen," and "Gentiles," are all the same. Israel was begun by the calling of one from among the heathen; it was built up by the calling of others, in spite of the prejudices of those who did not understand the plan of the Lord, and who wished to make Him as exclusive as they were; and the promise still is, "Yet will I gather others to Israel, to those of Israel who are already gathered." And when all have been gathered out, through the preaching of the Gospel, there will then be but one nation in all the earth, for the word of the Lord is, "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish." Isa. lx. 12. "And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name One." Zech. xiv. 9.

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The people who are thus gathered to Israel will all be Sabbath keepers. The characteristic of that nation will be that every individual will keep the truth, the law of God. It will be established in righteousness. Isa. liv. 14. Of those who obey the message, "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His Judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters," which is the message set forth in this chapter, it is said, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. xiv. 12. There are glorious promises to those Gentiles who keep the Sabbath of the Lord in spirit and in truth, and who by their faith and trust in Christ become members of God's household, the commonwealth of Israel. Who will accept the whole Gospel, and not be content with man's narrow perversion of it.

PERILS OF THE LAST DAYS

The last days are to be perilous, because "men shall be lovers of their own selves, . . . lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." 2 Tim. iii. 1-5. The prophecy before us, like to many others in the Bible, warns us that in the church of God, among those who have been set to be watchmen, to feed the flock of God, and to give warning of danger, there will be those who will feed themselves rather than the flock, and will feed upon the flock. Acts xx. 28-30; Eze. xxxiv. 2-6. Men's hearts will be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and so the day of the Lord will come upon them unawares. Luke xxi. 34. Eating and drinking will be the snare of the last days. Not that people should not eat and drink; that is a necessity of nature, and is designed by God to be the great means by which He is recognised and glorified; in the preceding chapter God calls men to eat that which is good; but the trouble is that men have perverted the good gifts of God, and as their table has become a snare to them, they have been overcome with a spirit of slumber. "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." This chapter is given to us as a warning; shall we not heed it?

"Prophecies Concerning the Messiah. Proof of Christ's Mission. Jesus and John the Baptist. Luke vii. 16-28" The Present Truth 16, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke vii. 18-28.)⁶1

If there is one of the characters mentioned in the Bible, who is deserving of sympathy, it is John the Baptist. His whole life seems to have been marked by loneliness. He "was in the deserts, till the day of his showing unto Israel" (Luke i. 80), and even then, although thousands and tens of thousands flocked to hear him preaching, he seems to have had few intimate friends. He lived a life apart from men. He knew that he was but a voice,-the sounding forth of the Word,-and when that Word came before the people, his work was ended. "He must increase, but I must decrease," said the prophet to those who would raise a feeling of bitterness in his heart against the One who was succeeding to his popularity. Only a few months was he honoured by the people as a prophet, and then he was cast into prison, and no one seems to have thought anything more about him. Accustomed all his life to the freedom of the forest and the mountains, where he had lived in the open air, it is no wonder that his spirits drooped when he was shut up in a close prison cell.

Moreover, there was still a veil over the prophetic periods in the book of Daniel; and although John did not make the mistake that so many others made, of thinking that the kingdom of heaven, which he had testified was at hand, was a temporal kingdom, like the other kingdoms of this earth, yet he evidently supposed that a few months would suffice for the complete establishment of it. He well knew that Christ's kingdom is spiritual, and that its setting up means the end of all other kingdoms, and the destruction of all sin and sinners, but he did not know the times and the seasons which the Father had placed in His own power. So when the end did not immediately follow the preaching of Christ, he went to Him, asking "Art Thou He that should come? or look we for another?"

The reply of Jesus was characteristic. He knew the mind of the prophet, and He knew what answer would satisfy him. "In that hour He cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and on many that were blind He bestowed sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached unto them. And blessed is he whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling in Me."

This was the evidence that the kingdom of heaven was really at hand. No other kingdom on earth was ever established by such means. The kingdoms of this earth are established by war, and bloodshed, men are made blind and deaf and lame, and are slaughtered by thousands, in order that some earthly monarch may reign "in peace;" but Christ's kingdom reverses all these things. To relieve and remove suffering is the mission of the kingdom of God. It is not by God's will that any soul on earth suffers either poverty or disease. To the poor and oppressed, who are robbed of their rightful wages, and who are even killed, that their lives may not be a witness against their oppressors the Scripture says: "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth

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for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient, stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James v. 7, 8. It is a striking comment on the knowledge which John had of the nature of the kingdom whose forerunner he was, that the answer of Jesus was sufficient for him. The word of the Lord had not come to him in the wilderness in vain.

The answer which Jesus sent to John is just as pertinent to-day, and is just as much needed, as it was then. Men's minds are too high to consider what seem to them small things. To preach the Gospel to a single ruler by night, or to a woman engaged in her daily toil, and to engage in unostentatious deeds of mercy, are thought to be well enough in a way, but totally insufficient to accomplish the great result of establishing the kingdom of heaven on earth. No; men nowadays look rather to legislatures and armies to finish the work. In Acts of Parliament, and in the march of conquering armies, they think they see the progress of the kingdom of heaven. What a sad misconception of the kingdom of heaven! Christ's triumph is signalised by the healing of the sick, and the relief of the poor. Just in proportion as this is done, do we see evidences of the approach of the end. "These signs shall follow them that believe: in My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

The crowning proof of all is that good tidings are preached to the poor. They are God's especial charge. Note how full the Bible is of expressions of God's solicitude for the poor and needy. "I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor." Ps. cxl. 12. "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the needy out of the dunghill; that He may set him with princes, even the princes of His people." Ps. cxiii. 7, 8. He does not merely tell them of good times coming, but He lifts them up now, and makes them kings. He imparts to them "the Spirit of adoption," which gives liberty, and emancipates them from the cringing, beggarly spirit that has dominated them. God's good message to the poor is not merely that they will be fed and clothed by some charitably-minded followers of His, but that there is freedom for them,-freedom from the things that in many cases have held them in poverty and wretchedness. Instead of being regarded as objects of charity, in the kingdom of heaven they are priests and kings instead of being mere recipients, they are made "good stewards of the manifold grace of God." This being the case, it will be seen that much of the so-called Christian work that is done among the poor is in direct contravention of the work of the Lord. His work is not to have a host of pensioners, who shall be content if they but receive their daily or weekly portion,-to perpetuate the spirit of mendicancy,-but to fit the poor to engage as men in the work that He has given men to do. Nothing but the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God to salvation unto every one that believeth, can accomplish this. Liberty of soul, salvation from sin, is the great gift that Christ bestows upon the poor. As an accessory to this, come food and clothing, in harmony with the promise, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Jesus sets high value upon unswerving devotion to principle. This was the characteristic of John the Baptist. Royal bribes or threats were alike unable to make Him swerve a hair's breadth from principle. Since the message of John the Baptist is that which is to be given until the coming of the Lord in the glory of His kingdom, it is evident that the same spirit that characterised him, must distinguish all Christ's followers to the end. How few there are who will follow principle in all things, regardless of consequences. It is not necessarily because men fear to do this, but chiefly because they do not recognise principle, and do not appreciate its value. People, and even the leaders of the people, are more accustomed to follow rules than to be guided by principles, and they have not educated themselves to discern principles of truth. Let a man be joined by indissoluble bonds to right principle, and he cannot tail to succeed in the end, no matter how adverse circumstances may be. And his success will not be at all attributable to any wisdom or skill that he possesses, but to the fact that truth cannot be crushed. Truth is the thing that is; it is eternal, and whoever cleaves to it shall abide for ever.

John was a great prophet, but "he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." This is no disparagement of John, but a statement of the wonderful privileges bestowed upon all Christ's faithful followers. Much of the difficulty that has been experienced over these words of the Lord, has arisen from the erroneous idea that greatness in the kingdom of heaven is proportionate to the amount of work done. The pagan idea of salvation by works is hard to eradicate. What can anybody do in this world that is worthy of recognition by the Lord, or that should be thought worthy of reward? The whole of this earth life is less than a speck compared with eternity, and the little that the greatest can do in it is not worthy of being mentioned. We cannot buy the kingdom of heaven by good deeds. Salvation is not by works. God does not pay us for our service, but rewards us with life according to His great mercy. How can there be any talk of rewards for service, when every one has forfeited his life, and is saved only as an act of grace? God sees not so man sees, and His standard of honours is not man's; but the blessed thing is that He does only that which is right, and that everybody in His kingdom will acknowledge this, and will be perfectly content. In a kingdom where lowliness is greatness, it is impossible for the greatest to feel any envy if he sees the lowest placed above him, since he that is least is greatest still.

It is strange, but a fact, that many people regard the Gospel and the duties that it carries with it, as a sort of bitter medicine, which may result in good by and by, but which can be taken only with a wry face. God is, at the best, regarded by them as a severe Master, bent on cutting off everything in which they can take any delight. Unfortunately this idea is fostered by too many religious teachers, who actually think that there are some things to be almost apologised for. The fact is, that God offers only good things, and would not deprive anybody of anything except that which is a damage to him. He puts gladness into the hearts of His children, and in His service there is only joy. He does not impose any bard things upon us, but calls us to share His easy burden.

"For Little Ones. A Looking Glass" The Present Truth 16, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

Have you read the story of the bluebell in the verses on this page? And do you clearly see the lesson that is hidden in them? This is, of course, only a fable; yet it is true that the bluebell, now beginning to spread its sweet blue carpet in the woods, and make them look like a reflection of the blue heavens spangled with tiny, twinkling stars,-this little flower, like every other, is a mirror, and all its beauty is only reflected glory.

Do not the flowers, then, have any beauty of their own? and where does all this reflected glory come from? you will perhaps wonder. All the beauty of the earth is the reflection of Him who made it, of Jesus Christ, the Creator.

You may know that all the colours of the flowers, or of anything else, is the reflection of light. We cannot see the beautiful colours hidden in the light, until the objects upon which it shines reflect them to us, and reveal the hidden loveliness.

This work the flowers do: as the sun shines upon them and clothes them with beautiful garments of light, they show forth the praises of the light by reflecting the lovely colours hidden in its rays.

But remember now and always,-think of it every time you see the bright sunshine, or its reflection in the loveliness with which it clothes the earth,-what this light is and where it comes from. It is "the glory of God" shining from "the face of Jesus Christ" who is "the Light of the world." So the glory and beauty of all His works really shows us something of the beauty of His face.

Jesus is the great central Light that lights up the sun, moon and stars. These, like His other works, are only mirrors, which declare His glory by reflecting it. They let their light so shine, bringing life and blessing in their beams, that we may be led to glorify the great Source of light for whose streams of blessing they are the channels.

In a certain cathedral there is a dome covered with beautiful paintings, the work of a celebrated artist. All who visit the cathedral are anxious to get a good view of these pictures, but the height and shape of the dome make this almost impossible.

This difficulty has been overcome by fixing on the ground beneath the dome, a mirror which perfectly reflects all parts of it. Thus all who wish to do so are able to make a thorough examination without any trouble.

Do you remember what God said to Moses in answer to his petition, "I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory"? "Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me and live." He is so great and so high, we so sinful and so low, that we cannot look up and see His face; and if we could do so, we could not endure the sight of His great glory.

But "though the eye of sinful man His glory may not see" in all its fulness, yet He has come down to our low estate, and made it possible for us to see Him. He has made a mirror, wherein we may "behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord," and by beholding be so changed into His image and purified, that at last we may be able really to "see His face," as He has promised.

In his "Hymn of Heavenly Beauty" which some day you may read for yourself, the post Spenser, speaking of this mirror, says:

"The means, therefore, which unto us is lent
Him to behold, is on His works to look,
Which He hath made in beauty excellent."

His works show us not only His beauty, but also His love, His wisdom, and His might.

"These unto unto all He daily does display,
And show Himself in the image of His grace,
As in a looking glass, through which He may
Be seen of all His creatures, vile and base,
That were unable else to see His face.
His glorious face, that glistereth else so bright,
That th' angels selves cannot endure the sight."

So you see that the bluebell is a tiny mirror, though not of the blue sky and the bright stars, but of Him who made and shines in them. In each little blossom we may see something of His beauty, wisdom, love, and power.

Will you not thank God that He has placed right at your feet, and all around you wherever you look, the mirror in which you may see Him so easily if you will? And not only so, but remember that you are yourself one of His works, created like all the rest to declare His glory by reflecting His image.

Behold Him in the looking glass He has given you, learn of Him as His grace and truth were fully revealed in the life of Jesus Christ on earth, and as they are reflected in the lives of all who love Him. Let your heart be turned ever to Him as the flower to the sun, and let the light of His Holy Word shine into it.

Then the bright shining of His glory upon you will clothe you with His beauty, and imprint His image upon you, which will mark you as His own child. Then "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

"Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings."

"Health Germs" The Present Truth 16, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

The statements in the preceding article are correct as far as they go; but they are apt to be misleading if the reader does not keep some other facts in mind.

It must be remembered that these germs are not the original cause of the disease, but they are themselves the products of disease. The question often arises, "Where did disease germs come from?" and many people wonder if God created them for the purpose of destroying the race. If we go back to the beginning, as we always should in considering any case, we shall find an answer to the question.

God made man perfect. If he had remained faithful to God's law, he would never have known disease or death. Even after sin had abounded for hundreds of years, and disease and death had ravaged the earth, God promised men that if they would keep His commandments He would take sickness away from them (Ex. xxiii. 25), which shows that in the Word of the Lord there is perfect life, and that he who lives by it will find that it is healing medicine to his flesh. Prov. iv. 20-23. Sin carries disease and death with it.

Disease is degeneration; and since the body is made up of minute, living organism, which may well be called germs, it necessarily follows that in a state of lowered vitality these calls or germs undergo a complete change, not only aggravating the diseased condition of the individual in which they are, but imparting the same disease to any other individual

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with whom they find lodgment. So it will be seen that the origin of every disease is in man himself, although it may be that nobody in the prevent generation is responsible for it. The ordinary physician is content to trace the disease to the germ that propagates it; but he minister of the Gospel of life must trace it to its true source, in order that the true and sure remedy may be applied.

The remedy for every disease is intelligent and faithful acceptance of every word of God, that is, a complete yielding to the Life that is revealed. If this were not true,-if this remedy were not within the reach of all,-then there would be cause for complaining of injustice in the fact that many people now die an the result of receiving disease germs which originated in the reckless disregard of the law of life by people long ago. But the remedy is at hand, and available for all who seek for it earnestly and patiently, and with the right motive.

The remedy is the "everlasting power" that is manifested in the things that are made. This Divine power brings to us all things that pertain to life, as well as godliness. In other words, obedience to the law of God means the acceptance of that living law as it is revealed in nature, as well an in the precepts of the Bible. It is a well-known fact that many people do breathe in and swallow millions of disease germs, without suffering any injury, simply because they have in them enough vital force to resist and throw off the disease. Now what is wanted is that this state of things should not be occasional, nor accidental, but constant, and the result of patient study of "the secret of the Lord," and a yielding to the life as it is revealed.

The motive must be, not a desire to feel well, or to be freed from inconvenience or expense, but a desire to glorify God, and to be always ready for every good work! "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know," for God, who is the fountain of life, has never told anybody to seek His face in vain. There is health for all who seek it in the Lord's way, and who are willing to deny self, in order that the life of Jesus may be manifested in their mortal flesh.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

-All the Ashanti tribes are reported to be in arms.

-It is stated that the British Government has purchased 50,000 horses in New York State (U.S.A.) at an average price of about ?20 apiece.

-It is estimated that, excluding teetotalers, the drinkers of England last year expended on intoxicants an average of 25 per family.

-A rare copy of the first edition of the Bible in English, translated by Miles Coverdale, and printed at Antwerp in 1535, was sold on Monday for ?300.

-Ten thousand negroes hold public offices in the United States, exclusive of those in the Army and Navy, according to the Registrar of the United States Treasury. He estimates the amount of their salaries at ?1,500,000 a year.

-Several deaths from plague have occurred in Australia. The infection is thought to have been spread by rats, some having been caught infected with the plague.

-A telegram from Athens, April 10, said: "A torpedo-boat blew up to-day while coaling at the Pieraeus Arsenal, the officer in command and all the crew being killed."

-Telegrams from Central Texas, U.S.A., on the 7th inst. report a devastating cloudburst in that region, which caused immense loss of property, and considerable loss of life.

-A workman in Edison's laboratory has made a discovery which, it is predicted, will revolutionise the present methods in welding metals. A heat of 8,000 degrees Antigrade, equal to 6,732 degrees Fahrenheit, was involved.

-The recent Salvation Army self-denial week, which ended on March 24, has resulted in a collection of ?42,520 an excess of ?6,000 on 1899, and this does not include the amounts received at headquarters, or in connection with the "Darkest England" scheme.

-A Reuter's despatch, April 9, states that ninety-three cases of plague, and twenty-nine deaths from the same disease, have occurred in Sydney. Thursday, April 12, was set apart by the churches as a day of humiliation and prayer in connection with the plague.

-The Emperor Francis Joseph, of Austria, will pay a visit to Berlin on May 5, to attend the celebration of the coming of age of the German Emperor's eldest son. This visit is considered important as a demonstration that there is no break in the Triple Alliance.

-A telegram received in New York from St. Thomas, West Indies, states that the celebration of the King's birthday was marked this year by unusual enthusiasm and an outburst of loyalty to Denmark. Demonstrations were made against the sale of the island, and telegrams were sent to the Colonial Council expressing the hope that St. Thomas might remain under the King's sceptre.

-The Secretary of State for India has issued a statement, which shows that the districts affected by the famine contain a population of 85,000,000 of whom 62,000,000 may be in great distress. Up to March 31, nearly 5,000,000 people were receiving relief, and it is not expected that the severity of the famine will abate until the end of June, while in some districts it may be necessary to continue relief operations until November.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

A Church paper, which has no thought of objecting to the peculiar clothing used by the clergy in their ministrations, has canvassed the whole subject of the origin and meaning of the "eucharistic vestments," and says that there is no doubt but that they represent the civil dress of Roman citizens, and especially that worn on occasions of ceremony. This is another link in the chain which binds the professed church of Christ to the world, and shows that Romanism is dominant to a degree even in professed Protestantism.

Immense quantities of plumes and skins of beautiful birds were sold at auction at the London Commercial Sale Rooms, Mincing Lane, last week. The catalogue of the sale included among other things, 97 packages of osprey feathers, 6,970 bird of paradise skins, 1,652 Impeyan and Argus pheasants; 381 packages of skins of various birds, besides a large assortment of humming birds, etc. One firm alone has catalogued 16,000 owls that have been slaughtered for millinery purposes. The thoughtless wearers of this stolen finery doubtless feel very proud of it; but this pride would be turned to shame if they but remembered that this putting on of the attractiveness of birds is a confession of a lack of it in themselves.

At a meeting of the Society for the study of Inebriety, last week, Dr. Milne Bramwell delivered a lecture in which he advocated hypnotism as a cure for dipsomania. He said that, although in many of his cases he had been successful, he had also had a good many failures, but only ay very few complete failures. Much depended, he said, upon the patient's willingness to be cured, his susceptibility to hypnotic influence, and the operator's management of his case.

However successful this treatment may seem to be, it should never be employed, as it is as bad as the disease, if not worse. The hypnotised man becomes a mere thing, having no mind of his own, but entirely dominated by the mind of another. There is something far better, and much more sure, provided there is only the willingness to be cured. It is simply the submission of one's self, mind and body, to the Lord. He can deliver one from every last of the flesh that pertains to "this present evil world;" and submission to the control of the Divine mind means liberty. The Spirit of adoption is not the spirit of bondage. The man who is hypnotised has no mind of his own; the man who is controlled by the Spirit of God, has the mind of the Lord for his own.

Mr. Donald Smeaton, member of the Viceregal Council, who travelled by order of the Viceroy as special commissioner through Central and part of Western India, says:-

The condition of the country is much worse than I had anticipated. For hundreds of miles on end not a single stalk of corn or even dry stubble is to be soon, nor yet a blade of green pasture. There is no water except in the larger rivers and streams. The whole country is one vast, bare, brown, lonely desert. The mortality among cattle is appalling. The officers of the Government are doing their very best to alleviate the general misery, but they cannot achieve the impossible. They have not money enough to do more than barely sustain the life of the five millions who are now employed on relief works and of thousands upon thousands of those silent sufferers in deserted villages who would rather die them labour in relief works. More money is wanted, and wanted quickly. I have witnessed two famines; I know the people well and their patience under suffering, but I think the crisis through which we are now passing is by far the most acute of the century.

The Prince of Wales has received nearly two thousand telegrams of congratulation over his escape from the bullet of the would-be assassin. All the Continental papers have denounced the attempt upon his life, seemingly unconscious that the bitter denunciations of England, and of the English Government, that have appeared in them for months have been the cause of the crime. Of course the men who write these denunciations would not stoop to such a crime, and hold it in abhorrence, but their baleful effect on people of weak, undisciplined minds is none the less sure.

By the way, the thoughtlessness of those who are wishing for the discomfiture of England is most strange. We are no apologists for war. Nothing is more certain than that the overthrow of British power in South Africa would be the beginning of the end of the British Empire; and when the nation which stands above all others as the upholder of liberty is destroyed, what hope can there be for peace any longer an earth? We know that the end of this nation, as of all others, must certainly come, but the words of the prophet are to be remembered: "Woe unto them that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light." Amos v. 18.

When a charge of drunkenness was proved against a woman at Marylebone last week, and the magistrate had been informed that she had promised to sign the pledge, he asked her why she wished to do so, and the woman said, "It would prevent me coming here, perhaps." His advice was: "Don't do any such thing without thinking a good deal over it first, for you map regret it afterwards. Don't cut yourself off from a very rational end wholesome enjoyment. Take it in moderation." We have not very much confidence in the power of a pledge, to keep one from drink; but one should certainly never discourage anybody from doing anything to break the habit. A judge who advises people not to leave off drinking intoxicating liquor makes himself a party to all the crime that results from the practice. The statement that "great men are not always wise" is amply verified in this instance.

It is said that much of the enteric fever among the troops in South Africa is due to their drinking water that is polluted by the caresses of dead animals. One correspondent says that this "is drunk with avidity by our troops, who, from the continual heat, suffer from an insatiable thirst, and will eagerly quaff any liquid that falls in their way." It is true enough that the bad water causes the disease, but it is a mistake to suppose that the insatiate thirst is due solely to the heat. It is well known that soldiers and tobacco are almost inseparable, and alcoholic liquors are by no means totally discarded. Now both of these articles dry up the moisture of the body, and create a thirst that is insatiable whatever the weather. Here is something for civilians as well as soldiers to remember: If one will strictly avoid all sorts of stimulants and narcotics, and will live on simple food, he will never have an overpowering thirst even in the very hottest weather. Strange as it may seem to one who has not tried it, or thought of the reason for it, the dryer the food that one eats, drinking absolutely nothing with his meals, nor for three or four hours afterwards, the less will he be troubled with thirst.

April 26, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. Dwellers on High. Isa. lvii. 1-21" The Present Truth 16, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lvii. 1-21, Lowth's Translation.)

1. The righteous man perisheth, and
no one considereth;
And pious men are taken away, and
no one understandeth
That the righteous man is taken away
because of the evil.

2. He shall go in peace; he shall rest in his bed;
Even the perfect man; he that walketh in the straight path.

3. But ye, draw ye near hither, O ye sons of the sorceress;
Ye seed of the adulterer, and of the harlot!

4. Of whom do ye make your sport?
At whom do ye widen your mouth, and loll the tongue?
Are ye not apostate children, a false seed?

5. Burning with the lust of idols under every garden tree;
Slaying the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

6. Among the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion;
There, these are thy lot;
Even to these hast thou poured out thy libation,
Hast thou presented thine offering.
Can I see these things with acquiescence?

7. Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed;
Even thither hast gone up to offer sacrifice.

8. Behind the door and the doorposts hast thou set thy memorial;
Thou hast departed from Me, and
art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed.
And thou hast made a covenant with them;
Thou hast loved their bed; thou hast provided a place for it.

9. And thou hast visited the king with a present of oil;
And hast multiplied thy precious ointments;
And thou hast sent thine ambassadors afar;
And hast debased thyself even to Hades.

10. In the length of thy journeys thou hast wearied thyself;
Thou hast said, There is no hope;
Thou hast found the support of thy life by thy labour;
Therefore hast thou not utterly fainted.

11. And of whom hast thou been so
anxiously afraid, that thou shouldst thus deal falsely?
And hast not remembered Me, nor revolved it in thy mind?
Is it not because I was silent, and winked;
and thou fearest Me not?

12. But I will declare My righteousness;
And thy deeds shall not avail thee.

13. When thou criest, let thine associates deliver thee;
But the wind shall bear them away; a breath shall take them off.
But he that trusteth in Me shall inherit the land,
And shall possess My holy mountain.

14. Then will I say: Cast up, cast up the highway;
make clear the way;
Remove every obstacle from the road of My people.

15. For thus saith Jehovah, the High and Lofty;
Inhabiting eternity; and whose name is the Holy One:
The high and holy place will I inhabit;
And with the contrite and humble of spirit;
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to give life to the heart of the contrite.

16. For I will not always contend;
Neither for ever will I be wroth;
For the spirit from before Me would be overwhelmed;
And the living souls which I have made.

17. Because of his iniquity for a short time I was wroth;
And I smote him; hiding My face in Mine anger.
And he departed, turning back in the way of his own heart.

18. I have seen his ways; and I will heal him, and will be his guide;
And I will restore comforts to him, and to his mourners.

19. I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace, to him that is near,
And to him that is afar off, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.

20. But the wicked are like the troubled sea;
For it can never be at rest;
But its waters work up filth and mire.

21. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

A VIEW OF THE LAST DAYS

In this chapter we have a picture of the last days,-of the time of trouble immediately

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preceding the coming of the Lord. The student should remember that the destruction of ancient Babylon, and also of Jerusalem, which fell simply because it was dominated by the spirit of Babylon, was but a foretaste of the great destruction at the last day. The characteristic of those times was haughtiness, rejection of God, the exaltation of self above Him, and the persecution of those who were loyal to the truth. Even so will it be, only to a much greater degree, in the days of the coming of the Son of man. "In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." 2 Tim. iii. 1-4, 12, 13. All this wickedness is to be found in the professed church of Christ, and the professed ministers of God are to be the leaders in the persecution of the despised faithful ones, even as it was in the former days when the Roman Babylon had the ascendancy. It will be remembered that in the fifty-sixth chapter of Isaiah, which was studied last week, where the Sabbath truth is presented as the standard for the rallying of God's people, the watchmen are represented as living only for themselves; and when a man lives only to please himself, he naturally despises those that are good.

SPIRITUAL ADULTERY AND ITS FRUIT

Verse 3 of our present lesson addresses the children of the harlot, the apostate church which is described in Rev. xvii. 1-6. The church is Christ's lawful bride; for all the true members of it are set free from sin, that they "should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead," that they may bring forth fruit unto God. Rom. vii. 4. When the professed church departs from "the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. xi. 3), and forsakes His law, that is adultery of the worst kind. The evil is always opposed to the good, and therefore we have in the fourth and fifth verses of our lesson the statement of the fact that this "false seed," these children of the harlot, are engaged in mocking and persecuting the good, even to death. This corresponds to the words in Rev. xvii. 6: "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." James v. 5-8 shows that feasting and rioting, and persecution of the just, will be the characteristics of the last days; and the verses just referred to in Revelation show from what quarter these persecutions emanate. Compare also verses 7-9 of our lesson with Rev. xviii. 7-9 and onward, where we have a picture of the church's dalliance with the secular power, by which she obtains exalted position and wealth. These points amply establish the time when our lesson applies, and the events to which it refers. These things being settled, the rest is easy.

THE RIGHTEOUS TAKEN AWAY BY WICKEDNESS

In order also rightly to understand this chapter, it should be noted that in the Hebrew there is no trace of the words "to come," in the first verse. Accordingly Lowth and many other translators very properly omit them. The Hebrew word, a compound, is the same that is used in Gen. xlvii. 13: "all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine;" also in Gen. xxxvi. 7: "the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle" and in Gen. xxvii. 46: "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth." The same word occurs in verse 16 of this chapter, and is rendered "from before," where the sense plainly indicates that the meaning is "because of." If God were for ever wroth, the spirits of men would be overwhelmed because of Him, or through Him. From this it will be seen that if the rendering placed in the margin of the Revised Version were inserted in the text, we should have the correct statement of the case. Thus: "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away through wickedness."

The ordinary rendering leads to the supposition that God takes away the righteous to save them from evil that is coming, whereas the true rendering teaches us that in the last days righteous men will be taken away, by the evil. The Hebrew word rendered "taken away" indicates that violence is used. In the very last days, when God's Spirit shall have been fully and finally rejected by the apostate church, and the decree goes forth that anybody is at liberty to kill the righteous, we may be sure that none will be slain, because every one of God's people will in that time of trouble be delivered (Dan. xii. 1); their death would not result in bringing anybody to the Lord, and God will not allow righteous blood to be shed uselessly; but before that point shall have been reached, when the blood of martyrs can yet be the seed which shall result in bringing in a harvest of souls, many will be obliged to witness for the truth with their lives.

Why not? Why should anybody shake his head at this statement? The world is always enmity against God, and since evil men and seducers are to wax worse and worse, how can it be supposed that the last days will be more free from persecution than former times have been. Of the little horn of Daniel 7, which represents modern Babylon, the apostate church, we read, "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and Judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." Those who are counting on an easy time in the service of the Lord, as the end approaches, are preparing themselves for a terrible disappointment.

A SUBSTITUTE MEMORIAL

Still further: In verse 8, we read, "Behind the door and the door posts hast thou set up thy memorial." This is evidently in opposition to God's memorial, which is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, the seventh day of the week. The words of this law were commanded to be written "upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates" (Deut. vi. 4-9), a sign that God was the Master of the house, and His law its rule; but in the place of this, "the church" has of its own motion, and without the slightest hint of Divine authority, introduced the observance of the first day of the week, as an indication that it occupies the place of God, setting itself forth as God. This is the crowning act of spiritual adultery and idolatry. It will be over the Sabbath, over the question of whether God or "the church" is to be recognised as sole and supreme authority, that the persecutions of the last days will rage.

A BLESSING FOR THE DESPISED AND PERSECUTED

But although the righteous may be slain by the wicked, and none may mark the place where he falls, and he himself, like his Lord, may be reckoned among the transgressors, "he shall rest in peace," while to the wicked who boast in their fancied security and power, there is no peace. Men may cast out the names of the humble ones who fall for the sake of the truth, and may esteem them as lost, but the voice from heaven, speaking especially of the perils and persecutions of the last days, says, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." Rev. xiv. 13. For none of those who die in the Lord should we sorrow as do those who have no hope; but for those who fall in the last struggle of the truth against error there is a special blessing pronounced. Those whom the world and the worldly church most despise, are the ones whom the Lord most esteems.

"They shall dwell on high." "For thus saith the High and Lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." He dwells in both places at the same time. While dwelling in the high and holy place, God is also in the hearts of the humble and contrite ones. How can that be? It is because the hearts of such ones are His sanctuary, a holy place for the habitation of God through the Spirit, and He has raised them up, made them sit with Christ in the heavenly places, and has given them dominion "far above all principality and power." Eph. i. 19-23; ii. 4-6. The promise is, "He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations." Rev. ii. 27. Those whom the rulers of earth destroy are the real rulers, and never is their power greater than when they yield their bodies that they may not worship any false god. The kings of this world and the "princes of the church will not know until the Judgment how many kings in the garb of labouring men they have caused to suffer martyrdom. As it was with Christ, even so will it be with His faithful followers. What wonderful riches there are in "the reproach of Christ," and what a privilege to be permitted to share it!

But there is hope held out to all. The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that he should turn from his wicked way, and live; and so He sends Christ, preaching "peace, peace to him that is near, and to him that is afar off." The Lord has healing for all who will turn to Him. His anger endures but for a moment, while His mercy endures for ever. The long-suffering of our God is salvation, and His salvation is very great. Jesus prayed for forgiveness for those who put Him to death, and Peter, filled with the Spirit, said to those who were His betrayers and murders, "Repent ye, therefore, and be converted." Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.

"Christ the Great Teacher. Warning and Invitation" The Present Truth 16, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

(MATT. xi. 20-30.)⁷1

It is impossible to learn of anyone in whom we do not believe. Jesus is the greatest Teacher we can possibly have, but in order to learn of Him, we must come to Him in faith. What if He does sometimes say things that are hard to be understood? Does not every teacher do the same? If He did not say anything except what we already know and believe, He would not be a teacher, and we should learn nothing. We know that He is true, and the very embodiment of truth and mercy; of this we have abundance of evidence; therefore when we hear Him say something that seems to our dull minds to clash with what is just, then is the time to keep still and listen, that we may learn. It ill becomes the pupil to criticise the teacher, and it is a most presumptuous thing for man to question the justice of God. We may be sure that the Judge of all the earth will do right, and so we need give ourselves no uneasiness concerning God's dealing with Tyre and Sidon and Sodom.

"Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Howbeit I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of Judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? Thou shalt go down into Hades; for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom, which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day. Howbeit I say unto you, that it shall he more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of Judgment, than for thee."

Was God then unjust in destroying all those cities, or allowing them to be destroyed?-Not by any means. "The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." Gen. xiii. 13. They knew better, for they had the law, since sin is not imputed where there is no law, and they had also the example of righteous Lot. 2 Peter ii. 7, 8. The city of Sodom was destroyed by fire from heaven, but it was not so with the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They perished at the hands of man, by siege, etc., in the way that many other cities have disappeared. So it was with Chorazin and Bethsaida, of which there is no more trace than there is of Sodom and Gomorrha. Why did they disappear?-Evidently because they did not have in them the elements of stability. The historian would say that "they fell by the hand of time;" but their fall was punishment visited upon them by God, just as surely as was that of Sodom and Gomorrha; and on the other hand, these cities fell because they had not in them the elements of stability, just as surely as did the other cities. Whether destruction comes suddenly or slowly, as the manifest judgment of God or seemingly in the ordinary course of events, it comes only as the consequence of sin. If any of those cities had been righteous cities, they would not have fallen.

ALL MEN WITHOUT EXCUSE

But some one will say that Tyre and Sidon and Sodom might have been saved if they had had a chance; and arguing upon this basis, there are some who say that they must have another probation, and therefore they deduce the theory of probation for men after death. All such reasoning is but a cobweb of imagination. We know full well that they all did have the opportunity to know the truth, and that they rejected it. We know also that God has done all that infinite power could do for the salvation of the world, since He has given Himself; and what He has done for the world He has done for every individual. Therefore we may be sure that God did all for those wicked cities that it was possible to do for them. He would not allow the inhabitants of Canaan to be destroyed until their cup of iniquity was full; and all His ways are equal. Further, we know that in some places Christ in His earthly ministry could not do many works,

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because of their unbelief (Matt. xiii. 58); therefore we are justified in concluding that He could not do any more mighty works in Sodom and Tyre than He did do. He was doing mighty works there, as He does in every place, so that they were without excuse, because His everlasting power and Divinity were as clearly to be seen there as elsewhere. They had their chance, therefore.

The text itself, however, removes every possibility for complaint against God. Christ says that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon and Sodom in the day of Judgment than for Capernaum and the other cities where the most mighty of His works were done. So we see that whatever claim they have for clemency in the day of Judgment will be accorded them. Capernaum and the cities near had great opportunities. The fact that so many mighty works were there done by the Lord, shows that they were hopeful places in which to work. There was in them a spirit which made it easy to do work there; nevertheless they rejected all the light at the last. Their case in the Judgment will be worse than that of Sodom, although we have no reason to think that they were given up to such abominable wickedness as Sodom was. From this we may learn that people of respectability and outward morality, who reject truth, are much worse in the sight of the just God than are the most degraded and shameless sinners, who have not had the same advantages. An outward morality, a respectability in the eyes of man, is a dangerous thing on which to rest one's hope of eternal life.

THE KNOWLEDGE OR GOD IS THE HIGHEST WISDOM

Christ is the great Teacher, in that He reveals God to men. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." John i. 18.

The things that are hid from the wise and prudent are revealed unto babes; and this helps to make more clear the case just referred to. God does not do what men call "mighty works" before babes; they could not understand them if He did; but He does reveal Himself to them. And the fact that God is revealed to babes, is in itself the strongest possible proof of the justice of the condemnation of all who are lost, no matter how great their ignorance of the truth. For since the deep things of God are so plainly revealed that babes can comprehend them, there is certainly no excuse for any person in the world.

"All things are delivered unto Me of My Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the San, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him."

Here is marvellous instruction in self denial, which is the highest wisdom. Everything is delivered into the hands of Christ, and He uses the power only to reveal the Father to men, while He Himself remains unknown. We speak of knowing Christ, but in knowing Him we learn only the character of God. In seeing Him, we see God. John xiv. 9. He "emptied Himself" that the Father might appear. In all the universe no one knows the Son, save the Father. Such was and is the sacrifice of Christ. Looking down upon fallen humanity, His heart was filled with love and pity, and He said to the Father, "I will declare Thy name unto My brethren." Heb. ii. 12. So He was content to be despised and unknown, to be misunderstood and rejected, without any complaint, knowing that the Father understood Him. Is there not here instruction for us? Not His own claims, but those of the Father, would He press. Nobody save the Father can know Him, but through Him every creature may know the Father.

WHAT MAKES THE BURDEN LIGHT

After this how fitting is the call to come to Him, and to learn of Him, because He is meek and lowly in heart! How great His lowliness and meekness are, we should not know but for the fact just stated. He is content to be known by nobody, and to be considered nobody, if only the Father may be revealed and understood. This is what makes Him the greatest teacher in the universe; for there is no teacher like Him; and through His meekness God is allowed to appear as He is. Only in meekness is there true wisdom. Only in meekness is there rest and peace.

And such rest! Who can describe it? It is "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding." It is rest from the burden of sin. This rest the Lord gives now, else there would be no reason in calling weary sinners to Himself. The thing that is too hard for us, becomes easy in Christ. The sin that we could not overcome, and which we clung to with affection even while striving to be free from it, is in Christ thrown off as lightly as a feather, and to do so is s delight. That which makes it easy is the fact that He gives us the power that upholds the worlds,-His own Word, Himself. Heb. i. 1-3. He bears all things, all the worlds, yet His burden is light; when we come to Him in childlike faith, He makes us sharers of His burden, and thereby sharers of the power by which it is sustained. How sad that so many are content to remain in ignorance of this wonderful piece of wisdom.

"For Little Ones. 'The Planting of the Lord'" The Present Truth 16, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

When Jesus was upon earth, the people flocked about Him, and large crowds followed Him wherever He went to hear the wonderful words that He spoke. Many of these words have been preserved for us, and we may read them in the Gospels. So we may learn of Him to-day, just as truly as the people who then followed Him, and listened to these mine words as they fell from His lips.

In them we see how Jesus showed the people the precious lemons of Gospel truth that God was teaching them in all the things that they could we around them. Then they could always read there lemons for themselves whenever they should we the things about which He had spoken to them.

One day when Jesus was teaching the people, He saw in the fields a picture something like the one above at a man sowing seed in the ground that he had made ready. Jesus called the attention of the people to this, and told them this little story:

"Behold, the sower went forth to sow; and as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them: and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked them: and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

This, like all the stories Jesus told the people, was a parable. Jesus put it in this way, so that the people could see in it more clearly, some lesson that He wanted to teach them. But even His own disciples did not at first understand it; so they came and asked Jesus to explain it to them. This we may always do when we do not understand His Word, and He has promised that His Holy Spirit shall "guide us into all truth."

If you have read this parable and have not understood it, read carefully the explanation that Jesus gave to His disciples:

"Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. And they by the wayside are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

"And those on the rock are they which, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation tall away.

"And that which tell among do thorns, there we they that have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cam and riches and pleasure of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

"And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

From this you can see how much depends upon the kind of ground into which the seed falls. It is not enough to have good seed; there must also be good ground if there is to be any fruit. You may have some very choice seed, but if you sow it in hard, stony, or thorny ground, it will be wasted. There is only one thing that can make your heart good ground, ready for the good mod of God's Word. This is His own Holy Spirit, which can make it soft and tender so that the seed of the Word may sink deeply into it.

Besides soft ground where it can take deep root, there is something else that the good seed needs, and that is, room to grow. The weeds of sin, if allowed to remain, will crowd to grow will crowd out the good seed; "the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life," if we let these fill our minds, will choke the Word so that it cannot grow in us. But if we love the Word of God and get our minds full of it, it will choke and crowd out all evil things that ought not to be there.

Another thing is that we must keep the Word,-let it stay in our hearts, and then it will grow and bring forth fruit of itself. You do not have to make the seed grow that you put in the ground: The power of God's Word is in it, and that makes it spring up and grow and bud and blossom and bear fruit, "thirty, sixty, and an hundredfold," each seed after its kind.

And so, when the same Word finds a place in your heart, and is kept there, it will fill your life with the fruits of

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righteousness, and every one will see in you "the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Think of these words of Jesus about the seed especially just now in the time of seed-sowing, as you see the sower go forth to sow, and perhaps plant some seed yourself in your own garden. Ask the great Husbandman, whose garden your heart is, to send upon you the gentle rain by His Spirit, the bright sunshine of His love, and the dew of His grace that you may be good ground that shall bring forth much fruit to His glory.

"Temperance. A Question for Christians" The Present Truth 16, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

The Chief of the Weather Bureau of the Department of Agriculture in the United States has issued an order forbidding the smoking of cigarettes by all employees under his direction, not only during working hours, but in their hours of leisure. The prohibition is based upon the chief's conviction that cigarette smoking impairs efficiency and discipline, and that by indulging in it the most competent become careless and unreliable.

Here is impartial testimony, that cannot be called the sentiments of an enthusiastic reformer. The chief of the Weather Bureau does not seek to reform men, but only to secure efficient work in his department. He is inconsistent, in that he does not forbid the smoking of pipes, since all the evil that there is in cigarettes is the tobacco of which they are composed; but his inconsistency does not destroy the force of his protest. Let every professed Christian ask himself this question: If smoking unfits a man for doing the best service for the State, how can I render to God the service due Him, if I indulge in the filthy and harmful habit? Whoever indulges in that which to any degree unfits him for perfect service to God, robs God to that extent.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

-It is calculated that 1,800 men and women died lest year in England and Wales of chronic alcoholism, and that 400 died in delirium tremens.

-The first meeting of the International Conference for the protection of the wild animals in Africa will be held at the Foreign Office on the 26th inst.

-Out of ninety-seven samples of milk brought up from the country, and sold in London, seven were found on examination to contain tuberculous matter.

-At a recent trial of a new system of telegraphy in America, 155,000 words were transmitted in an hour.

-The World's Women's Christian Temperance Union meets in Edinburgh in June. Two hundred delegates are expected from America.

-A French fishing vessel foundered off Crookhaven Harbour in the South of Ireland, the 17th inst., in a heavy storm, the crew consisting of twenty-three men being all lost.

-It is asserted that the diplomatic relations between the United States and Turkey are in a critical state, owing to the bad faith of the Sultan in failing to pay an indemnity of ?18,000 for mission property destroyed during the Armenian massacres.

-According to the latest advises from India the famine continues to be severe. Over five million persons are receiving relief. Rain has fallen in most provinces during the week, but without materially bettering the prospects. The suffering is widespread and intense.

-The afternoon and evening of the 18th inst. Christian Endeavourers, from eighteen local unions, held their fifth annual convention in the City Temple. Addresses were given by F. B. Meyer, G. H. C. Macgregor, and others. A great deal of enthusiasm was manifested by the delegates.

-Eating a bad oyster, says the Christian World, caused the death of a young married woman at Leicester. Probably it would be s difficult matter to find a really good oyster; that is, for eating purposes. According to bacteriologists the average bivalve carries on his person about 500,000 germs.

-The municipal authorities in some parts of France are endeavouring to educate the people in temperance principles through object lessons. Large posters are printed and circulated, setting forth the ravages of alcohol. These show among other things that one Frenchman out of every nine is given to drink, and that sixty-three out of every hundred murders are due to alcohol. If the cases where alcohol is indirectly the cause were included, the percentage would doubtless be still larger.

-Carrier pigeons, according to "The Hospital," are used by a French physician as a means of keeping him informed of his patients' progress. Not only is a bird left at the home of each invalid, but pigeon stations are established in the villages lying around the physician's headquarters, so that he may be promptly summoned for any new ease of illness. The entrance to the pigeon-cote at headquarters is fitted with an electric, bell which rings when a bird arrives. The plan is said to work very well.

-The Paris World's Exposition was formally opened on the 14th inst., speeches being delivered by the president, M. Loubet, and the Minister of Commerce, before a distinguished body of guests in the great Assembly Hall. The enterprise is still far from having reached completion. Many of the most important exhibits are either entirely wanting or in a state of utter confusion. It will probably be the middle of June before this colossal display of human industries will be fully ready for the inspection of the public.

-A violent thunder-storm accompanied by hail, struck St. Mary Cray, Monday, at about noon. A crowd consisting of players and spectators at a match game of cricket, were huddled together in a small pavilion, when the lightning struck it, and killed one of their number instantly. A number of others were seriously injured and in violent pain, and all who were within the pavilion felt the shook. The effect of the lightning was described as "a blow on the top of the head like a tremendous smack with a hammer, with a sensation like pricking of pins."

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 17.

E. J. Waggoner

No fewer than 110,000 copies of the New Testament have been issued from the Bible House of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to soldiers proceeding to the front. To each one of the City Imperial Volunteers a Bible was presented.

In the course of an interview upon his seventieth birthday, Dr. Parker said: "Speaking generally, I would say that expository and truly Biblical preaching has in it above all other kinds the elements and guarantees of durability." The Rock of God's Word is the only safe and lasting foundation on which to build. Not preaching only, but everything else, in business, in science, and in social life, is of real and lasting value only as it grows out of that word.

It is stated that a rapture of diplomatic relations between the United States and Turkey is imminent, on account of the refusal of the latter power to pay the indemnity of 90,000 dollars claimed by the United States on account of the death of American missionaries during the Armenian troubles. The American minister has accused the Sultan of deliberate lying, and is therefore a persona non grato at Constantinople, and the United States Government seems determined to stand by its minister. The Daily Chronicle's Washington correspondent says that the course of collecting the indemnity at the cannon's mouth "has been urged upon the Administration by prominent members of religious bodies throughout the country, who would regard a bombardment as a just retribution upon Turkey, and as a true way of advancing the cause of Christianity." The Chronicle itself says that "many worse things might happen for the world than an object lesson taught by American vessels in Turkish waters." Several continental powers, that have similar claims, would like to have the United States clear the way for them, but that Government will doubtless be cautious about following its religious advisers in this respect, realising that a war with Turkey will be a good deal easier begun than ended. All the nations wish to see Turkey destroyed, but each one desires to have some other one undertake the job. Self-interest, and not their profession of Christianity, avails to prevent an outbreak of hostilities.

The Daily Chronicle says:-

The May Meetings, which crowd upon us immediately after Easter, do not promise to be very merry. While we are fighting a Protestant enemy in South Africa it is naturally somewhat difficult to excite wild enthusiasm for Protestant minions-at any rate in that continent.

Enthusiasm for war and at the same time for missions does not seem very congruous; but why war with a professed Protestant nation should dampen enthusiasm for missions anymore than war with an acknowledged heathen nation is not apparent.

Whoever it was that said, "Give physic to the dogs," was wise beyond his generation, and a lover of the human race; but he must have had a strong aversion to dogs. A private letter just received from a relative says that the children had a small black dog, which was very lively, and of which they were very fond; but one day a patent-medicine vendor threw a package of pills in at the door, as a sample of his wares; unfortunately for himself, the dog was the first one to see them, and being of an investigative turn of mind, he swallowed several before they could be taken from him. The result was that in twenty minutes he was dead. Human beings have the strongest vitality of all animals, and so they manage for a time to survive what would instantly kill a dog or a horse.

Since the death of Dr. Mivart, who but a short time before was "inhibited" by Cardinal Vaughan, there has been a good deal of correspondence in the newspapers by Catholics, either condemning or justifying the action of the church in denying him the privileges of burial. Many have strongly condemned the church for pursuing a man beyond the grave. But the significant point of the correspondence is this, that while every one who has criticised the church has signed himself "A Catholic layman," "A Catholic priest," "One of Many," etc., every one who has favoured the church's action has signed his full name. There is plenty of difference of opinion among Catholics, but the church's power over men is strikingly apparent in the fact that they are afraid to identify themselves with those differences.

Commenting on the text, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man," the Church Family Newspaper says:-

The word "spirit" in Holy Scripture has many meanings. One of these which now concerns us to that it may be said so be "the breath," that which comes forth from a living being, which causes him to act, and gives a character to his operations. Thus a man is said to act in a good spirit or a bad spirit, according to the character of those actions. The Spirit of God, then, is the breath of the Most High; it is the going forth of God's very life into man to bring him into likeness with God. A Christian is not only led by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but is inhabited by that Spirit (1 Cor. iii. 16), so much so that as an ancient father says, "they lend their faculties to the Spirit of God, in order that they may respire a Divine breath."

The Emperor Menelik has issued an order strictly forbidding the importation of absinthe and all spirituous liquors into his dominions, and has prohibited his people the use of tobacco and snuff on pain of severe penalties. He has further informed the foreign representatives that he attaches the greatest importance to these edicts, and expects to receive the assistance of friendly Powers In his efforts to keep the "curse of intemperance" out of his empire.

We hope that he may be successful, but, sad and self-contradictory as it appears, his only hope lies in refraining from free intercourse with the "Christian" Powers. The case recalls that of King Khama, who journeyed from Central Africa to London, to beg that his people might not be forcibly subjected to the curse of intemperance by the Christian White Man's Government. This is no charge against Christianity, but shows how the term has been abused by those who adopt it without being followers of Christ.

People talk much about going into dangerous places, and keeping in safety; but the fact is, that no place on earth is either dangerous or safe in itself. Only as one "dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High," abiding "under the shadow of the Almighty," is he in safety, and such so one is in perfect safety even though he be in the most violent storm or the most destructive plague; while the one who has not made the Most High his refuge is in constant danger, even in his house of quietness and ease. Christ, the wisdom of God, says: "The prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."

May 3, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. A Delightful Day. Isa. lviii. 1-15" The Present Truth 16, 18.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lviii. 1-14, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

1. Cry aloud; spare not:
Like a trumpet lift up thy voice,
And declare unto My people their transgression,
And to the house of Jacob their sin.

2. Yet Me day after day they seek;
And to know My ways they take delight;
As a nation that doeth righteousness,
And hath not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They continually enquire of Me
concerning the ordinances of righteousness;
They take delight to draw nigh unto God.

3. Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not?
Have we afflicted our souls, and Thou dost not regard?
Behold, in the day of your fasting ye enjoy your pleasure;
And all your demands of labour ye rigorously exact.

4. Behold, ye fast for strife and contention;
And to smite with the fist the poor.
Wherefore fast ye unto Me in this manner,
To make your voice to be heard on high?

5. Is such then the fast which I choose:
That a man should afflict his soul for a day?
Is it, that he should bow down his head like a bulrush,
And spread sackcloth and ashes for his couch?
Shall this be called a fast,
And a day acceptable to Jehovah?

6. Is not this the fast which I choose?
To dissolve the bands of wickedness;
To loosen the oppressive burthens;
To deliver those that are crushed by violence;
And that ye should break asunder every yoke?

7. Is it not to distribute thy bread to the hungry;
And to bring the wandering poor into thy house?
When thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him;
And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

8. Then shall thy light break forth like the morning;
And thy wounds shall speedily be healed over;
And thy righteousness shall go before thee;
And the glory of Jehovah shall bring up thy rear.

9. Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah shall answer;
Thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Lo, I am here!
If thou remove from the midst of thee the yoke;
The pointing of the finger, and the injurious speech;

10. If thou bring forth thy bread to the hungry,
And satisfy the afflicted soul;
Then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
And thy darkness shall be as the noonday.

11. And Jehovah shall lead thee continually,
And satisfy thy soul in the severest drought;
And He shall renew thy strength;
And thou shalt be like a well-watered garden,
and like a flowing spring,
Whose waters never fail.

12. And they that spring forth from thee shall build the ancient ruins;
The foundations of old time shall they raise up;
And thou shalt be called the repairer of the broken mound;
The restorer of paths to be frequented by inhabitants.

13. If thou restrain thy foot from the Sabbath;
From doing thy pleasure on My holy day;
And shalt call the Sabbath a delight;
And the holy feast of Jehovah, honourable;
And shalt honour it, by refraining from thy purpose;

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From pursuing thy pleasure, and from speaking vain words:

14. Then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah;
And I will make thee ride on the high places of the earth;
And I will feed thee on the inheritance of Jacob thy father;
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

The student surely cannot help noticing that although the entire book of Isaiah is one message, relating to one time, each one of these later chapters is complete in itself. It is as though the prophet himself had made the division, each chapter being the sermon for a certain day. The lesson for this day is one of the richest in the collection, and one day's study will no more than give us an introduction to it.

It will be noticed that in this lesson certain ones are addressed, and are exhorted to give a very definite message to the professed people of God. But a little way back the Lord has declared that His watchmen,-the regular ministers who are set to guard and feed the flock,-"are shepherds that cannot understand;" they "are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber." Therefore He issues a call to whomsoever will hear it, to lift up his voice like a trumpet, to awaken the people from their dangerous slumber. This shows that in the last days God will have men to proclaim His warning message, who are not reckoned among "the clergy," but whose qualification is that they love the Lord, and know His voice, and follow Him.

TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH

The Lord says, "Spare not." That is, keep nothing back; withhold not. The word is the same as that used in Gen. xxxix. 9, where Joseph says of Potiphar, "Neither hath he kept back anything from me." Paul obeyed the injunction, for he said to the elders of Ephesus, "I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you," "for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." Acts xx. 20, 27. It is true that Jesus said to His disciples, before His crucifixion, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." John xvi. 12. But whoever would make this an excuse for withholding from the people any truth that God has revealed unto him, ignores the words of Jesus immediately following, namely, "Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all the truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come." God gives His servants light, in order that they may pass it on to others, and whoever keeps any of it back from the people, is unfaithful to his trust. One must certainly use judgment as to when and how the truth is presented to different persons, but it must not be his own worldly-wise judgment, but that of the Spirit of God. One who is guided by the Spirit of God will discern when a person whom he may meet is in a state of mind to listen to certain phases of truth, or whether or not it is wise to speak to him at all just then; but whoever keeps back truth that has been committed to him, quoting in his own behalf the words of Christ, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them now," takes himself out of the ranks of those who are sent, and places himself on a level with the Lord Himself. The Lord has no favourites among men; none whom He takes off in a corner, so to speak, and whispers to them something that He does not wish the others to hear; but what He says to His most intimate disciples, He says to all. Has the Lord revealed Himself to you in a marked manner? Then that is evidence that there is some other soul who is waiting for you to bring the message to him. Do not keep it back, but watch for the fitting opportunity to declare it.

A WARNING AGAINST FORMALITY

The message of this chapter relates chiefly to fasting, a thing which is very much misunderstood and perverted. The universal tendency is to make a mere matter of form, an outward show. So it was with the Pharisees of old, against whose example God warns us. "When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast." Matt. vi. 16. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." In the chapter before us, we find that the people are most active in what they are pleased to term their "religious duties." They go to meeting frequently, they love to listen to preaching, they fast and afflict their souls, and act, to all outward appearances, like a people that do righteousness; but God who looks on the heart and life, knows better. He judges men, not according to their profession, nor to their diligence in going to meeting, nor the length and frequency of their prayers, but "according to their works." Those who "profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him," are counted as the worst sinners. "He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." 1 John ii. 6. How did He walk?-He "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him." Acts x. 38. The ones to whom this chapter is specially addressed, make their religion consist in fasting on certain days, and in having special seasons of "self-denial," thus confessing that the rest of the time they live to please themselves. The less Christian vitality there is in a people, the more scrupulous will they be in the observance of set forms, and of special religious days. But that will not satisfy the Lord. Read the very beginning of this prophecy. Isa. i. 11-15.

WHAT FASTING IS

The mere act of fasting is in itself a very simple thing. It consists in abstaining entirely from food. Its object is to emphasise to the one fasting, the fact that he lives not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and that it is God alone who supports him, and keeps him in life. It is to remind him that nothing that he has belongs to himself, but that, since it comes from "the God and Father of all," that which comes to him belongs to his brother man as well as to him, and that it is given into his hands only to use as the Lord's steward. Therefore the fast in which the Lord delights, is one where the bread is dealt to the hungry, and the poor are taken in and cared for.

WHAT TRUE FASTING ACCOMPLISHES FOR ONE

While it is impossible for a man to fast all the time, and the Lord would not have it done, because He "giveth us richly all things to enjoy," and tells us to eat that which is good, having made our food one of the chief means of revealing Himself and His Gospel to us, the effects of our fast are to be continual, and not to cease with the day. For one to afflict his soul for a day, does not please the Lord; indeed, doing penance is not what the Lord ever requires. But an acceptable fast to the Lord is one which reaches out beyond

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the day of abstinence from food, and affects the whole life. To make fasting, or any other religious act, a matter of strife and contention, is most displeasing to the Lord. Instead of contending over forms, the true people of God will be revealing the righteousness of God in their lives. Strife and debate never yet converted a single soul; that is done only by the life of Christ; and since He is in the heavens, hidden from the sight of mortals, it must be manifested in mortal flesh. So the acceptable fast unto the Lord is that which looses the bands of wickedness, and lets those who are oppressed by the devil go free. That means, of course, first of all, that one's own bands are unloosed, and he knows the freedom wherewith Christ makes men free. Fasting, therefore, is for the purpose of bringing the individual into closer relationship with Christ, and giving him a better understanding of His life; and this knowledge and companionship are to be lasting. Their fruits are to be seen in all the days that follow the special season of fasting. Men are to know that a fast has been held, not by any formal announcement of it, but by the results of it. A fast which leaves the faster still in the yoke of bondage, has been to no purpose. In the very time of fasting, one is not to be of a sad countenance, as though he were undergoing torture, for the anointing of the head with oil signifies a cup running over with the goodness of the Lord. See Ps. xxiii. 5. As the body may feel the pangs of hunger, the person is to rejoice in that he is a partaker of Christ's sufferings, because he understands the keeping power of the Lord. He sees that great as is the life and power that are conveyed to us in the visible gifts of God, there is an infinitude of life for us, outside of that which is contained in what our senses can appreciate. This knowledge, which is emphasized by fasting, makes the day of fasting a day of delight.

DELIVERANCE FROM THE POWERS OF DARKNESS

Wonderful promises are made to those who keep this acceptable fast, using their knowledge of the freedom which God gives, to rescue others from the snare of the devil. They shall walk in the light of the countenance of the Lord all the day, and in His righteousness shall they be exalted. Compare Isa. lviii. 8 with Ps. lxxxix. 15, 16. They will be in such complete accord with the Lord, that even the darkness will be light to them. Compare verse 8, 10 and Ps. cxxxii. 12. What a marvellous privilege! The soul will be completely delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of the Son of God's love. See Col. i. 12, 13.

HEALTH TO THE TRUE WORSHIPPER

"And thine health shall spring forth speedily." Godliness has promise of the life that now is, as well as that which is to come. How can anybody who believes the Bible, read such passages as this, and still think that it is necessarily the lot of God's people to suffer from disease? Nothing can be more plain than that the Lord promises health to all those who serve Him intelligently and in truth. Ex. xxiii. 25. This is not an arbitrary thing, but the result of a definite cause. Notice that there is here a close connection between health and food. The rule among men is to consider only their appetite, and to eat whatever pleases it. Most people eat for the mere enjoyment of eating, and not in order that they may have the most perfect life; and thus they defeat themselves; for although they have a momentary enjoyment while the delicate morsels are going down their throats, the suffering which they undergo in consequence of disregarding the laws of life are almost continual; while those who eat only to have life wherewith to glorify God, not only get pleasure in the act of eating, but are continually filled with the joy of the life of the eternal God.

GIVERS OF LIFE

Christ said of whosoever should believe on Him, that out of him should flow rivers of living water. The life which the believers receive from the Lord, flows out in a stream of blessing to others. Occasional fasting reminds us that we live only by the power of God, and that when we do eat it should be only for the purpose of receiving that life in its fulness and purity. It also reminds us that it is God who supplies the food, and that He can keep us alive just as well when the earth does not bring forth anything as when it yields abundantly. "The Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought," or, as one translation has it, "In times of famine." He who has divided his last crust with the hungry, and still has found that the handful of meal did not fail, will not fear when famine comes over all the land, for he knows whom he trusts. His bones will be as fat in times of scarcity as in times of plenty, for the God who turns the flinty rock into streams of water, can give him abundant drink from the very sands of the desert. The knowledge of all this is indicated in the true fast, which means the distribution of bread to the needy; and such knowledge-the knowledge that he is in touch with the great Creator-cannot fail to make one joyful. Instead of famishing, he himself will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. That is, although he be poor, he will always be able to distribute something to the needy, because he has the unfailing storehouse of the God of the universe to draw from. "As poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." 2 Cor. vi. 10.

ENVELOPED IN GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS

"Thy righteousness shall go before thee." This shows that the righteousness will not be from ourselves, but from the Lord. The righteousness which proceeds from a man himself, goes with him, but here we have the picture of a man surrounded by the life of the Lord. His righteousness, the righteousness of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, goes before him, and the glory of the Lord is his protection in the rear. He is surrounded by a rampart of righteousness, and the glory of it, through which darkness and sin cannot break.

SABBATH-KEEPING

The last message of the Gospel is to fear God, and give glory to Him, and to worship Him as the Creator of the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Rev. xiv. 6, 7. To give God glory, is to keep His commandments. Compare Eccl. xii. 13, 14, and Matt. v. 16. So here in giving glory to God as the Creator of the heavens and earth and sea, we have unmistakable reference to the Sabbath, which is the memorial of that work. Ex. xx. 8-11. The last proclamation of the Gospel makes the Sabbath of the Lord very prominent, because the Sabbath of the Lord means perfect rest and trust in the Lord, and that must be the condition of those who are prepared for His coming. Keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, does not mean salvation by works, but salvation by resting in the Lord. It is not a grievous thing, but a delight. He who finds the Sabbath a hardship has never kept it, and does not know what it is, for it is a delight. It is the holy of the Lord, and honourable. Therefore let all beware how they despise it.

GOD'S HOLY DAY

There should be no misunderstanding here as to what day is meant. The Lord says, "My holy day." There is therefore a certain day which He claims as His own above all other days. What day is that? "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." That is, the seventh day of the week, the day that is commonly known as Saturday, and which follows the sixth day, Friday, which the Mohammedans regard as the prayer day, and which is followed by the first day of the week, known as Sunday, which the Papacy has succeeded in palming off on many Christians instead of the Lord's day. Jesus declared Himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath day, speaking of the day which the Jews professed to observe, and which they falsely accused Him of breaking. So the Lord's day is the seventh day of the week, the day which in the time of Christ, and even now, the Jews kept outwardly, but with no knowledge of the spirituality of it. All who honour the Lord must also honour His day, which He says is honourable.

THE DELIGHT WHICH SABBATH-KEEPING GIVES

But as with fasting, the results of the Sabbath do not end with the one day of the week which is set apart as the sign of resting in the Lord. The observance of the seventh day, on which God rested from all His work, means constant rest in Him. It is not merely on that day that we are not to do our own pleasure, nor to speak vain words, but every day. At no time have we any right to find our own selfish pleasure, and to speak vanity. We are to be so intimate with the Lord, and so closely conformed to His life, that our religion will not consist in the observance of certain forms and ceremonies at certain times, but in a continual godly life. True Sabbath-keeping means godliness all the week. To limit the prohibition from seeking our own pleasure and doing our own ways and speaking vain words to the day of the Sabbath, is to miss the meaning of this entire chapter, which teaches continual and not occasional service. "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." The blessing of rest, which the Sabbath brings, will extend throughout the week, and the soul will revel in the deliciousness of it. The true Sabbath-keeper will be a king, set over the highest places of the earth, and his whole life will be one bright glad day. O, accept this glorious message, and delight yourself in the Lord Himself.

"The Secret of Love. Jesus at the Pharisee's House. Luke vii. 36-50" The Present Truth 16, 18.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke vii. 36-50)⁸1

"We love, because He first loved us." 1 John iv. 19, R.V. This may well be taken as the subject of the lesson. It is not natural for the unregenerate human heart to love. "For we also were aforetime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another." Titus iii. 3. "Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." 1 John iv. 7. Just to the extent that any person hem rest, true love in his heart, does he know the Lord, even though he be a heathen, who has not heard the name of the Lord; for there are many who are susceptible to the working of the Holy Spirit, who do not pet know the Lord personally. There is a great deal of counterfeit love in the world; but the genuine article has no selfishness in it. Every unselfish act performed by an unconverted person is evidence of the all pervading grace of God. God has given His life, which is love, because He is love, to every person in the world, and it all would accept it as from Him, and yield unreservedly to it, love would be universal.

That glorious condition will be only when the final decision has been made far and against the Lord, and the curse bam been removed from the earth.

It is by the life of Christ, who lives by the Father, that we are saved. Rom. v. 10. It is the receiving of His life in faith and humility, that makes us free from sin. For the life is the blood, and it is the blood of Christ that cleanses from all sin. God has given His life to all mankind, and that is evidence of His love for all, a proof that He holds no grudge against any, but that forgiveness is theirs. If any are not forgiven, it is only because they have thrust forgiveness from them. Only those who have a sense of the heinousness of sin, will appreciate and accept forgiveness; and whoever accepts it has kindled in his heart such love as he never before had any conception of.

These truths cover the whole of the lesson in the Scripture narrative before us. Jesus was at dinner in the house of Simon the Pharisee, when a woman who was known in the city as a sinner came behind Him as He reclined on the couch, and as her tears of love and gratitude fall on His feet, she wiped them away with her hair, and anointed His feet with precious ointment. Jesus had brought to her the message of pardon, and her love overflowed in tears, which are often the manifestation of a deeper joy than can be expressed in smiles. That she had already received the announcement of the pardon of her sins, is evident from the words of Christ, which followed, namely, that the one who is forgiven much will love much.

The same love that bore the sine of the woman, had also appeared to Simon, but he did not appreciate it. The reason why was that he did not feel himself to be a sinner. That he did not feel himself to be a sinner, is seen from the fact that he despised the woman, because she was a sinner; and no one who knows himself to be a sinner can despise another one. He who has a right view of his own nature, can never think of another person in the world as being as bad as he knows himself to be. And that Simon was a sinner, although perhaps outwardly correct in his deportment, is evident also from the fact that he despised the poor, sinful woman; for only sinners despise sinners. Righteous people-and the only righteous people in the world are those who have received

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the righteousness of God through faith, as the cover for their sins-never despise a sinner. Although forgiven, they know themselves to be the chief of sinners, and they have sympathy for the fallen. Simon did not appreciate the forgiving love of God, because he did not feel himself to be a sinner, at least not a common sinner like the poor woman, and therefore his heat was not drawn out in love for the Master, as hers was. Whoever loves the Lord; will love his brother also; and "we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." He who is forgiven most will love most, and this shows that the highest love for God, and the deepest sense of His goodness, is always coupled with the greatest sense of sinfulness and unworthiness. When we feel ourselves to be the most sinful, than are we nearest to the Lord.

What a meager acquaintance Simon had with the Lord! He judged the Lord by himself. He thought that if Jesus were really, a prophet He would know that the woman was a sinner, and so of course would not allow her to touch Him. Jesus did indeed know that she was a sinner, and that was just the reason why He took pleasure in her presence, for He came to call sinners to repentance, and to seek and to save the lost. He calls the weary and heavy laden with sin to come to Him and find rest. How sad it is that so many still have so little knowledge of the Lord that they fear to come to Him in their sin, lest He turn them away in scorn; and sadder still is it that so many professed followers of the Lord have given ignorant sinners cause to fear the Lord, by their misrepresentation of Him. In dealing harshly with the erring, they have conveyed to them the idea that the Lord deals with sinners in the same way, and thus they have borne false witness against Him, taking His name in vain. He says, "Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out." A hard, bitter spirit is the surest evidence of ignorance of the Lord.

Forgiveness is not an arbitrary thing imparted by the Lord, but it is the natural consequence of a certain condition. That condition is simply faith in the goodness and kindness of the Lord, who has given Himself for the sins of the whole world. So when those who sat at table with the Lord, murmured because He said to the woman, "Thy sins are forgiven," and said within themselves, "Who is this that even forgiveth sins?" Jesus said again to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." The life of love that forgives has been freely poured out, so that it envelopes the whole world, and every sinner has his destiny in his own hands. If he believes in the free gift, and accepts it, he is saved: his faith eaves him. If he does not believe, or does not appreciate the gift, because he does not feel that he stands in need of it, his sin necessarily remains upon him, and God is clear of all responsibility for the destruction which must inevitably follow.

Note that Jesus said to the woman who was a sinner, but who had no bodily ailment, exactly what He said to the poor woman who was at the point of death, and who also came in contact with Him. "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Luke viii. 48, R.V., margin. The process was just the same in the one case as in the other. In both cases it was the life of the Lord that saved. The same life that forgives iniquities also heals diseases, so that the more we come to know the power and fulness of the forgiveness which God bestows in Christ, the more will our health be renewed. And this is but the natural result of a specific cause, namely, recognition of the life of Christ, and the coming more and more into harmony with it. God has sent Jesus, who is our peace, to proclaim peace to all men, to those who are far off as well as to those who are near. Isa. Ivii. 19. Receive this peace, which is but the justification by faith, and the Spirit of God will shed abroad in your heart the love of God, which will reveal itself in tenderness toward the poor and sinful. This love, which brightens the way of others, makes its possessor a sharer of "the unsearchable riches of Christ," and of the everlasting joy of the Lord.

People whose stock of knowledge consists of somebody else's sayings, which they repeat without any thought of whether there is any meaning in them or not, will always say, with a wise shake of the head, whenever there is an evil report about somebody, "There cannot be so much smoke without some fire"; but if they would only think, instead of acting the part of parrots, they would remember that where there is the most smoke there is the least fire. Remember that a man is not necessarily a sinner because he is suspected or even charged with committing sin.

"For Little Ones. Flowers and Butterflies" The Present Truth 16, 18.

E. J. Waggoner

All things in this earth that God has made belong to you, the flowers, trees, bees, butterflies, birds, fishes and animals. He has given them all to the children of men.

Do you not feel a special interest in that which is your own? Do you not want to learn all you can about it, and to understand it?

When you know that every living thing in the earth was given to the human family by the One who made it, you will look at all things with the same loving interest that Adam had when God brought all the animals before him, and he gave to each its name.

The names that he gave showed that he understood the nature and habits of the animals, for each name told the truth about the creature to which it was given.

There are many things that people now learn that will not be of any use to them in the Kingdom of God, the new earth. But the knowledge of God's works is something that we shall never have to leave behind us. These will be our study and our delight in the world to come, and so they may and should be here and now.

The names that men now give too God's works are not like the names that Adam gave, something that will tell at once their nature and characteristics. They we often long and hard, and must be translated before we can understand them at all. And very often they are the names of the men who first noticed or made a special study of them, and serve rather to keep them in remembrance than to reveal the truth of God's works.

But if we learn all we can about the things themselves, so that we know them and recognise them wherever we see them, we need not be troubled about remembering their hard, scientific names, for these will be left behind, and each creature will have its own new name again. This will be the restoration of the name first given to it by Adam, for "whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

This beautiful spring season, when everything is awaking to new life,-is a good time to notice and consider the wonderful works of God.

We have been speaking lately about the flowers and plants, and how they are all

"Voices from the silent sod,
Speaking of the perfect God."

Watch the flowers, and "consider the lilies, how they grow," how they put forth the beautiful blossoms containing the need by which they are multiplied and continue to grow.

This will lead you to study also the insects that you see among the flowers, without whose help their seed could not ripen and bring forth new plants. For the insects help the flowers by carrying the pollen or flower dust from one plant to another. In helping the flowers they are helping themselves too, for they live on the sweet honey hidden in the blossoms.

One of the first that you will notice is the beautiful butterfly, as lovely and delicate as the blossoms themselves, and like them "speaking of the perfect God." There is the same life,-the life of God,-in plant and butterfly, and in many things it reveals itself in the same way. We will notice a few things in which flowers and butterflies are alike.

The first that you will think of is their beauty. More beautiful than "Solomon in all his glory" the butterflies are arrayed like the lilies of the field; not in a garment put on from the outside, but in that which is the outward form and expression of the life of God within.

God meant all His children to be clothed in this way; not as we now clothe ourselves, with a garment that hides, put on from the outside, but with a garment that reveals the beauty of the inner life, the beauty of His own character shining forth from within.

"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." This in how it will he with all who find a home in the now earth of which we have been speaking. God's glory will shine forth from them and clothe them with brightness and beauty. So if you want to live there, and be clothed with His beauty, you must now let Him change you by His Holy Spirit into the beauty of His own character.

There is another way in which the butterfly in like a flower. You would little think that from a hard brown seed or a rough bulb could come the lovely blossom of the lily or hyacinth, the delicate beauty of the sweet pea, or the lovely odour of the violet or mignonette.

Neither would you think, to look at a chrysalis or cocoon, of the beautiful winged butterfly hidden there, waiting for the time of its unfolding.

Both flower and butterfly teach us a lesson of hope-the hope of the resurrection of the dead through the life of Jesus Christ. But notice that all the hope of the future glory is in the seed, and in the chrysalis. For all the beauty of both blossom and butterfly in only the unfolding of what was hidden in seed and chrysalis.

So God's Word tells us that "Christ in you" is "the hope of glory." Christ must be in the hearts of all who will rise to show that glory and beauty in His kingdom. And will be but the unfolding of Christ in them, now received into the heart by faith.

Let the flowers and the butterflies often

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remind you of these things, and pray that Christ may be formed within you so that you may now show to those around you His love and grace, and when He comes may be clothed with His glory and beauty to show it forth in His kingdom for ever.

"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
'Mid flaming worlds in these arrayed
With joy shall I lift up my head."

"Israel's Flowery Land" The Present Truth 16, 18.

E. J. Waggoner

When speaking to the Children of Israel of the goodly land to which the Lord was leading them, Moses described it as "a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills," and "that drinketh water of the rain of heaven;" the result being that it was "a land of wheat and barley, of vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it." Dr. MacMillan has given the following interesting description of the present beauty of the Land of Palestine due especially to the quantity and variety of the flowers that bloom there:-

"The Jews of old fed among the lilies, for their land was pre-eminently the flowery land. It merited that name far more than China, which has usurped the title. Though not larger than the six northern counties of England, Palestine possesses 2,500 species of flowering plants, or nearly twice as many as occur in the British Islands. Dr. Tristram calls it "the Garden of Eden run wild." Every traveller is struck with the immense profusion, variety and brilliancy of the flowers. In the early months of the year the ground is not seen for the multitude of them.

The flowering season lasts only a very few weeks; but during this period crowds of brightly-tinted blossoms flourish in luxuriant succession day after day, like the wonderful mountain flora which rushes up as if by magic on the pastures of the Alps in May or June, and fringes the limits of eternal snow with a rainbow loveliness. All the flowers of Palestine have very much the general look of spring or Alpine flowers, and owe their fresh and brilliant appearance to the same cause.

The Land of Promise was called "a land flowing with milk and honey." Its abundance of milk depended upon the rich verdure of its fields in spring; while its profusion of honey was owing to the immense quantity and variety of its flowers. And as it is well known that these and other insects are allured, in their search for the sweet juices upon which they feed, by bright colours and fragrant odours-those very qualities which render flowers so attractive to our senses-to certain plants in order to aid in fertilising them; so we can trace the connection between the splendid flora of Palestine and its enormous production of honey. The bright flowers favoured the increase of the bees, and the bees favoured the increase of the bright flowers. And in this way the country was beautified and enriched, until it became one great garden of the Lord-was made musical with the hum of bees, and gay with the laugh of flowers. The scenery might be featureless and destitute of grandeur, but the flowers by their abundance and beauty imparted to it the form and colour that were wanting. God did not neglect the bright adornment of flowers on the table which He had prepared and richly furnished for His people. That Beulah land which they married was bountifully decorated, like a bride, with the appropriate ornaments. That second Eden had not only every tree that was good for food, but also every tree to be desired for its beauty. Among these beautiful lilies the idyllic life of the people was spent, and there loveliness and fragrance entered insensibly into their souls, and formed their character; while they cheered and graced their common toil in the fields and the pleasant relaxation of their festivals.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 18.

E. J. Waggoner

-The largest forest fires ever known are reported from northern Minnesota and Southern Manitoba.

-A missionary in Arabia has carefully calculated that the number of Mohammedans at the present day is no fewer than 196,500,000.

-A bold but unsuccessful attempt to blow up a lock on the Welland Canal, in Canada, was made on the 21st ult. by three Americans.

-In 1899 there were in the United Kingdom 2,704 Baptist churches, 8,870 chapels, 858,258 members, and 519,388 Sunday school scholars.

-The Turkish torpedo-boat Scham sank outside the harbour of Beycout, April 21, owing to a boiler explosion, and twenty-three lives were lost.

-The President of the Baptist Union says that the Baptists, Wesleyans, and Congregationalists will begin the twentieth century with special funds aggregating ?1,750,000.

-The French Fleet is to be provided with 100 new quick-firing guns. The projectile, which can be fired five times per minute, will pierce steel armour plate of thirty-two centimetres in thickness. It is claimed that the English 6-in. gun is much inferior to this.

-The annual returns of the Wesleyan Methodist church membership in Great Britain, show a total membership of 452,501, being a net increase of 5,226. In addition there are 28,635 on trial for membership, and 78,610 young persons in junior and preparatory classes.

-It is estimated that floods on the Mississippi River, which began about the middle of April, have done damage to the amount of 3,000,000 dollars, not including the damage done to railways. Several towns have been isolated, and many lives are reported lost.

-A few days ago there was a notable tea party at the West Ham Workhouse, the occasion being the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Dame Stock, one of the inmates. Of the twenty old women present to do her honour, one will be 103 years old in September, and not one was less than eighty-six.

-Wednesday, April 25, was the one hundredth anniversary of the poet Cowper's death, and the day was celebrated at Olney, she poet's old home. Cowper's house has been presented to the town. and has been turned into a Cowper Library and Museum.

-The Duke of Argyle died at his ancestral home in Scotland on the 24th ult., aged seventy-seven. The Duke had a notable political and literary career, and was one of the largest land-owners in the world. The Marquis of Lorne, the Queen's son-in-law, succeeds to the title and estate.

-A dispatch from Sydney says that an incoming vessel from New Caledonia has brought news of the terrible ravages of the bubonic plague at Noumea and other parts of the island. It is estimated that 64 per cent. of the cases have resulted in death, and the disease is increasing in intensity, and is spreading among the white population.

-Mt. Harrison, ex-President of the United States, presided at the opening meeting, in the Carnegie Hall, of the OEcumenical Conference on Foreign Missions, which was attended by some 2,000 delegates, among whom were many British and German clergymen. The delegates were welcomed by President McKinley and Mr. Roosevelt.

-The emissary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society at Medak, in the heart of Nizam's dominions, states that the people in that part of the country are in a dreadful plight. In the midst of the stern fight against the ravages of famine smallpox has broken out, and deaths are occurring hourly from the disease. The suffering, he says, is terrible.

-On Jan. 22, Lord Salisbury telegraphed to Sir A. Hardinge for an account of the number of slaves liberated in Zanzibar and Pemba during the year 1899. Sir A. Hardinge replied that the total in the two islands was 4,263, as compared with 2,735 in the previous year. Over 600 of these slaves were voluntarily set at liberty by those who held them.

-Mr. Smeaton, who was sent by the Viceroy to investigate the famine in India, says that the misery in parts of Bombay and Rajputana is "beyond description, and unparalleled." In one district one million cattle, out of a million and a quarter, have perished, so that it is probable that the land will have to be cultivated by manual labour, instead of by cattle, a thing hitherto unknown in the history of the country.

-Mr. Ellis Lever predicts that unless exportation of English coal to the foreign buyer is entirely prohibited, the price of coal will be again doubled within three years, and that within fifty years all British workable coal mines will have been practically exhausted. He says that but a few days ago an order was given by the Russian Government for 500,000 tons of smokeless Deal from South Wales for the Russian Navy.

-A prominent American railway official has doubtless struck the secret of Greet Britain's failure to hold its own in the manufacturing world, when he says that it is due chiefly to the Trade Unions, which reined to allow the men to do more than a limited amount of work a day. He says that "the idea of the men seems to be to turn out as little work as possible." There can be no doubt that the worst monopolists in the world, and those most opposed to the real interests of the workingmen, are the Trade Unions. They inculcate a feeling of antagonism among workmen against the interests of their employers, whereas the only really successful labourer in any branch is the man who does his employer's work as conscientiously as though it were his own, and whose ambition is to do the most work possible, in the best possible manner. Such a men will always be sure of employment.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 18.

E. J. Waggoner

It must not be forgotten that the time for a man to put a bridle on his appetite is when he puts the bit into his mouth.

On Thursday, April 26, the city of Ottawa, Canada, was devastated by a fire, several square miles of buildings being destroyed, and 12,000 people rendered homeless. The loss of fife was very small, considering the extent and intensity of the fire, but the lose of property is estimated at upwards of ?8,000,000. Various relief funds have been started.

Advices from Bombay say that Cholera is raging in a fearful manner in the great camp at Godhara, where some thousands of famine-stricken natives are receiving relief from the Government. One hundred and fifty corpses were removed from the camp in one day, but one hundred more had to be left, because it was impossible to procure bearers.

The Sultan has issued an irade authorising the reconstruction of American buildings at Kharput demolished during the Armenian massacres, but the question of the indemnity is left unsettled. It is stated however, that the United States Government will not be put off with anything less than the indemnity claimed. So we now have another factor in the great Eastern Question.

In a book just issued, entitled "A White Woman in Central Africa," by Helen Caddick, occurs the following paragraph, which is worthy of note by travellers and dwellers in other regions than Africa:-

"I was in B.C. Africa from June until November, and I was never once stopped by illness, or had to give up any expedition I had planned. Of course it was the healthiest time of the year, but a good many people were ill with fever during that time. From what I heard and saw, I feel sure there would be a great deal less fever if those whose lot it is to live there would learn to be careful of their health. They do things that would make them ill in any country, and then put it down to the climate."

Whiskey-drinking is one of the things mentioned; but there are habits of eating that are doubtless equally bad. There is probably no climate on earth, in which a man may not live in perfect health, if he uses proper judgment and determination.

Self-denial does not mean self-torture. It does not mean doing penance. In that there is no pleasure, but only agony, whereas in real, self-denial there is the highest happiness possible for any living being. Self-denial means just what the term expresses: the denial of self-the reckoning of it as dead, and the refusal to recognise its claim to existence, or that it has any rights whatever. In that case Christ takes the place of self, and His joy is full. Self-denial, in short, is the substitution of Christ and His fulness for ourselves and our emptiness.

At the Convocation of the Northern Province, April 25, the Archbishop of York presiding, a resolution to insert the name of St. Patrick in the Calendar of the Prayer Book was carried by a large majority. The mover of the resolution, Canon Lister, said that he did not know how it came to be omitted from the post-Reformation Prayer Book, since it could be traced down to the time of Elizabeth.

"Prayers for the Dead Against the Gospel" The Present Truth 16, 18.

E. J. Waggoner

It is a very striking sign of the Romeward tendency of the times, that one of the leading Protestant papers in England has editorially defended prayers for the dead. The Christian World, of April 5, says:-

When questions agitated by our forefathers come up again for review it to discovered that the old fight cannot be repeated, and for the lesson that all the conditions have changed. This has happened to Protestants in their modern view of communion with the departed, including the question of Prayers for the Dead. The early Reformation and Puritan position was founded on opposition to the Roman doctrine of Purgatory.

It adds that this opposition was necessity in former times, became the doctrine was used as a means of filling the coffers of the church, and then continues:-

Thoughtful minds are now asking whether the sixteenth century onslaught on Purgatory and priestcraft did not, in the rush, carry away with it some precious things that it is time now to restore. What is certain is that in its seal against a flagrant abuse the Reformed churches left themselves with a somewhat bald idea of the communion of the dead. There is running through the literature of the early church a sense of fellowship with the departed, and a whole attitude and culture of the soul connected with it, that our later time has somehow lost. It is in the Greek Fathers as well as in the Latin.

Then after quoting some Protestant "divines" in favour of the practice, it asks:-

And why should we not pray for the dead? What is prayer, in the best conception of it, but the following of those we love with aspiration and affection, with desire for their highest good, with the whole best emotion of our soul? What barbarous infidelity has taught us that death interposes a limit to this out-going? The notion that those who now rest in God are, because of that, beyond the reach or need of prayer is heathen and not Christian.

Passing by the positive Scripture statements that "the dead know not anything," and that they are all unconsciously sleeping in the dust of the earth, waiting the Judgment decision upon their cases, which are irrevocably fixed at death, we have only to read the reason that is given for prayers for the dead to see how utterly opposed it is to the Gospel of Christ. In a report of one of the Lenten sermons in Westminster Abbey, published in the Church Times, of March 30, we read this:-

Take that matter which to more or less exercises people's thoughts at the moment-prayers for the dead. They were associated with vast abuses in the Middle Ages; no doubt about it. The reaction was so strong that in our church the explicit mention of prayers for the dead was suppressed in the revision of the Prayer Book. But time has gone on; and it is found that this desire to pray for our dead lies deep-rooted in our spiritual Instinct, in the heart of love in us. The more we think of what we know about the departed the more we realise that they must be imperfect, that they have not reached their consummation. Surely we must pray for their perfection.

That paragraph shows that prayers for the dead are used on utter ignorance of the Gospel, and of the nature of "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." It assumes that a certain amount of time, and a round of ceremonies and works are necessary to perfection, whereas the Gospel teaches that we have redemption through the blood of Christ, that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." As soon as the person confesses his sin, he is cleansed from every trace of it. It is only through "the blood of the everlasting covenant" that we are made perfect. There are many errors afloat, and the gross darkness of Egypt is spreading over the people; but whoever knows the Lord as his personal Saviour, and who continues in His Word, will be kept free from the belief and practice of falsehood.

May 10, 1900

"Parable of the Sower. Matt. xiii. 1-8, 18-23" The Present Truth 16, 19.

E. J. Waggoner

(Matt. xiii. 1-8, 18-23)⁹1

Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; "and without a parable spake He not unto them; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." This was not for the purpose of concealing truth from the multitude, but just the contrary; for the prophet also says in the same connection, "We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord." Ps. lxviii. 2, 3. The parables of Jesus contain the most direct and forcible instruction of anything in the world. There are two or three parables which are not explained, which are not immediately clear; but Christ's own interpretation accompanies the most of them, as in the instance before us, so that there is no possibility of misunderstanding them.

"Take heed how ye hear," may well be remembered as we read this parable. It presents several different classes of hearers, by the various places into which the seed of the sower fell. How vivid is the picture! We see the man walking along, scattering the seed broadcast, so that some of it fails on the hard path, where there is no possibility of its growing, and the birds quickly gather it up. Some falls upon a rock, upon which there is the merest covering of earth, but not enough to hold tiny moisture, or to afford a chance for the seed to take root; consequently as soon as the sun shines upon it with great heat, it is scorched, and withered. Other seed falls upon ground that is in itself good enough, but where there are so many thorns that there is no room for the grain to grow. It is a neglected corner of the field. The plough could not reach it, and no trouble was taken to work it with the hoe. But some of the seed fell into good ground, which had been well cultivated, and it sprang up, and bore abundant fruit.

The first class are those who hear the Word of the kingdom, and do not understand it. See Matt. xiii. 19. The Greek word here rendered "understand" mean literally "to take in." They hear the Word but do not take it in. That exactly corresponds to the seed that fell by the wayside. The hard ground did not take is in, and so it lay exposed as food for the birds. No one can keep anything that he does not use. The Word of the kingdom is of no use if it is kept for show. It must be taken into the inner life, or it will speedily be snatched away. No matter how much a person may know of the Scriptures, if he does not study for the purpose of practising, he studies to no profit. The only way to hold truth that we hear is to mix it with faith, and allow it to manifest itself in good works in the life. "The Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." Deut. xxx. 14. Do it quickly, without too Iong hesitation over the matter, last you lose it for ever.

Nevertheless the seed that bears the most fruit does not spring up the quickest. There are many who seem to accept the Word almost before it is out of the speaker's mouth. They overwhelm one with their gushing praise of everything connected with it, from the minister down. One soon learns to recognise these persons, and to shrink from them. Their quickness to receive the Word is not due to good soil, but to lack of depth. They are always ready and longing for something new not exactly some new truth, but for some mild sensation. They like to have something different from what they have had before, and that makes them just as quick to give up the Word as they were to receive it. They want to be first in everything, no matter what it is. The kingdom of God will never be enlarged by such hearers.

Then there is a third class, perhaps the most numerous of all. They receive the Word in good faith, and intend to live is out; but they have too much on hand. They wish to have both the world and the kingdom of heaven. Notice that expression, "The care of this world." We may take it in its most literal sense. It means not only care pertaining to this world, but actually the care of the world. The man who does not with his whole heart trust the Lord, feels upon himself the burden of the world. The care of its proper management rests upon his shoulders; he has assumed the responsibility of it, and feels that he must keep it in running order. No wonder that the Word of the kingdom is soon choked out. It is given no place. It is the province of that Word to uphold all things (See Heb. i. 3.); but when the man who has received the Word into his heart, usurps the work of the Word, leaving it nothing to do, it naturally withers away from lack of use. Godliness, that is, trust in God, has promise of this world, and also of that which is to come; but he who tries to manage both worlds himself, is sure to lose them both. What shall be done in the case of the thorny ground?-The Scripture gives the answer: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns." Jer. iv. 3. If the thorns are present, that is, if the care of this world is in the heart, the sowing must necessarily be among thorns, and the seed will be choked; the only remedy, and it is a sure one, is to let the ploughshare of truth break up the ground, root out the thorns, and cut down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

Lastly there is the good ground, thoroughly prepared, which receives the

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seed and retains it, and sends it forth again multiplied many times. We know not how the seed germinates; it is not necessary that we should, since it is God that gives the increase. "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." Mark iv. 26-28. He who sows the seed will watch it night and day, and will water it every moment, and will be answerable for its increase and perfection, if we will but allow the soil to be well prepared, and will dedicate it to His use alone.

"The Gospel of Isaiah. A Terrible Indictment Against the Church. Isa. lix. 1-21" The Present Truth 16, 19.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lix. 1-21, Lowth's Translation.)

1. Behold, the hand of Jehovah is not con-
tracted, so that He cannot save;
Neither is His ear grown dull, so that He
cannot hear.

2. But your iniquities have made a separation
Between you and your God;
And your sins have hidden
His face from you, that He doth not hear.

3. For your hands are polluted with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips speak falsehood,
And your tongue muttereth wickedness.

4. No one preferreth his suit in justice,
And no one pleadeth in truth;
Trusting in vanity, and speaking lies;
Conceiving mischief, and bringing forth
iniquity.

5. They hatch the eggs of the basilisk,
And weave the web of the spider;
He that eateth of their eggs dieth;
And when it is crushed, a viper breaketh
forth.

6. Of their webs no garment shall be made;
Neither shall they cover themselves with
their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the deed of violence is in their hands.

7. Their feet run swiftly to evil,
And they hasten to shed innocent blood.
Their devices are devices of iniquity;
Destructions and calamity in their paths.

8. The way of peace they know not;
Neither is their any judgment in their
tracks;
They have made to themselves crooked paths;
Whoever goeth in them knoweth not peace.

9. Therefore is judgment far distant from us;
Neither doth justice overtake us;
We look for light, but behold darkness;
For brightness, but we walk in obscurity.

10. We grope for the wall, like the blind;
And we wander, as those that are deprived of
sight.
We stumble at midday, as in the twilight;
In the midst of delicacies, as among the
dead.

11. We groan all of us, like the bears;
And like the doves, we make a continued
moan.
We look for judgment, and there is none;
For salvation, and it is far distant from us.

12. For our transgressions are multiplied before
Thee;
And our sins bring an accusation against us;
For our transgressions cleave fast unto us;
And our iniquities we acknowledge.

13. By rebelling, and lying against Jehovah;
And by turning backward from following our
God;
By speaking injury and conceiving revolt;
And by mediating from the heart lying
words,

14. And judgment is turned away backwards;
And justice standeth aloof;
For truth hath stumbled in the open street;
And rectitude hath not been able to enter.

15. And truth is utterly lost;
And he that shunneth evil, exposeth himself
to be plundered;
And Jehovah saw it,
And it displeased Him, that there was no
judgment.

16. And He saw that there was no man;
And He wondered that there was no one to
interpose;
Then His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His righteousness, it supported Him.

17. And He put on righteousness, as a breast-
plate;
And the helmet of salvation was on His
head;
And He put on the garments of vengeance
for His clothing;
And He clad Himself with zeal, as with a
mantle.

18. He is mighty to recompense;
He that is mighty to recompense will requite;
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His
enemies;
To the distant coasts a recompense will He
requite.

19. And they from the west shall revere the name
of Jehovah;
And they from the rising of the sun His
glory;
When He shall come, like a river straight-
ened in his course,
Which a strong wind driveth along.

20. And the Redeemer shall come to Sion;
And shall turn away the iniquity from Jacob,
saith Jehovah.

21. And this is the covenant, which I make with
them, saith Jehovah:
My Spirit, which is upon thee,
And My words, which I have put in thy
mouth;
They shall not depart from thy mouth;
Nor from the mouth of thy seed,
Nor from the mouth of thy seedÌs seed, saith
Jehovah;
From this time forth for ever.

In the fifty-eighth chapter we have the direct word of the Lord to whomsoever will hear, telling them to show His people their transgressions; in this chapter we have evidently the inspired word of the prophet, complying with that injunction. The prophet now, in the name of the Lord, sets before the people who are encased in their self-righteousness the exact state of their case, and it is by no means a pleasant picture to contemplate. A more terrible indictment it would be hard to find, and the awfulness is increased by the knowledge of the fact that it states nothing but the truth. Let no one say, "It does not mean

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me; I am sure that I am not guilty of any of the things here set forth;" the prophet Isaiah classes himself in with the rest and acknowledges himself a sinner. The prophet Daniel, of whom we read nothing but good in the Bible, confessed himself to be guilty of all the sins that had led to the captivity of Israel. See his prayer in Dan. ix. 3-20. The best men in the world are they who confess themselves to be the greatest sinners and who trust in the mercy of God.

GOD'S READINESS TO HEAR

Note carefully the difference in Lowth's rendering of the second verse, from the ordinary version. Our version incorrectly says, that the Lord "will not hear;" whereas the text simply states the reason why the Lord does not hear. His ear is not dull, but the sharpest ear cannot hear under certain conditions; and the conditions here are that no sound comes to the ears of the Lord. There is no real prayer for pardon, and therefore nothing for the Lord to hear. The reason why the Lord does not hear is stated in the third verse, and it is but a repetition of what is stated in chapter one, verse fifteen. The hands are polluted with blood and the fingers with iniquity, and the lips speak falsehood. All that the Lord has to give is life,-life that includes everything. Christ came to this world for no other purpose than to give life. See John x. 10. There is no other thing for which we need to pray to the Lord, except for life. But when one professedly prays to the Lord for life, and at the same time destroys life, he shows that there is no sincerity in his prayer; his words are no words at all. The difficulty is not with the Lord's ear, but with the words of the one praying. The actions destroy the words.

The Lord will hear every sincere prayer. He hears every cry, every sigh for deliverance. "For He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from Heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the sighing of the prisoner; to loose the children of death." Ps. cii. 19, 20, R.V., margin. "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." Ps. xii. 5. There is no inarticulate sigh for deliverance, that is too faint for the Lord to hear, for He is listening to hear, and He understands the language of the mute earth; but the loudest prayers, couched in the most polished language, when they proceed from an insincere heart, are in His ears nothing but a confused noise.

ALL ARE GUILTY

The hasty reader of this chapter will think that it is addressed to the most degraded people on the earth; but the fact is that it is addressed to the professed Christian church. It is not alone Great Babylon, in which are found "slaves and souls of men" (Rev. xviii. 13), that is addressed here, but the church which is represented by one of the stars in the right hand of Christ, and which says, "I am rich, and increased with goods," knowing not that it is "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Rev. iii. 17. The indictment is against the self-righteous, whose ways are outwardly so correct that they think that they have no lack.

The proof of this is found in a comparison of this chapter with the first three chapters of Romans. The first chapter of the book sets forth the sins of the heathen, who in their blindness bow down to wood and stone. The second chapter begins with a home thrust, "Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." We pass on through the second chapter and into the third, through a comparison of the heathen with the professed followers of the Lord, until we come to the conversation, which contains a quotation from the chapter of Isaiah which we are studying: "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous; no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes." Rom. iii. 9-18. The same fountain cannot send forth at the same time both sweet water and bitter; therefore when we read that their mouth is full of bitterness, we know that no real prayer comes forth for the Lord to hear.

SELF-RIGHTEOUS IGNORANCE

But some one will say, "I know that I do not do any of the things here charged." A more exact statement would be, "I do not know that I do any of these things." That is why the Lord says, "Show My people their transgressions." If they knew them, there would be no need to show them. But the case is so urgent that the command is, "Cry aloud." The one danger of all mankind is self-righteousness. The one need of all men is to recognise the righteousness of God in Christ as the only real righteousness, and the only thing in which there is everlasting life. The danger of professed Christians, even of those who have known the saving power of the Lord, is of forgetting their absolute dependence upon God, and in thinking that they have attained something by their own goodness, or that they can go on by the power which they acknowledge they received from the Lord, but which they think that they have so made their own that they can dispense with any further gift from Him. Men never put the case to themselves in that way; if they did they would not be deceived; but that is in effect the way in which the professed followers of the Lord fall into grievous sin.

ONLY ONE GOSPEL FOR ALL

This chapter, taken in connection with its use in the New Testament, shows us that there is only one Gospel-only one line of preaching-for all men, no matter what their profession, or if they make none. The very same Gospel that saves the man of the world, is that which must be preached continually to the church of Christ, in order not only to reclaim wanderers, but to retain the faithful ones. The first thing to be preached to the sinner who needs salvation from his sins, is Christ the Saviour, and he can never get beyond that need. "He shall save His people from their sins;" and that which saves them from the guilt of their sins, is that which keeps them from falling into them again. Throughout the endless ages of eternity, it will be the cross of Christ, and nothing else, that will keep the redeemed saints in glory. Therefore "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Let no one who calls himself a Christian chaplain or any minister of the Gospel, that "he preaches to us just as though we were sinners." If he does not do that, he is not a faithful minister of Christ. The Christian who is alive and growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, will never make such a complaint. Whoever makes it, and we have often heard it, shows that

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he is unconsciously in the greatest possible danger.

VAIN CONFIDENCE: SELF-DECEPTION

The people here referred to are those who are "trusting in vanity," instead of in God. They are the self-righteous ones of Romans ii. and iii., who are equally sinful with the heathen. "How?" says one; "I have never murdered anybody, and I never swore in my life, and I never worshipped an idol." To be sure, the self-righteous man never thinks that he has committed the gross sins of the common sinner. If he did, he would not be self-righteous. That is just why the loud cry has to be given, to arouse him from his stupefied condition. Let us examine the case for a minute, and we need not single out any individual, but take the first man we come to. That is, each one may put the questions to himself:-

"Have you always honoured the life that God has given you, and used it to the very best advantage? Have you never wasted it in any way whatever?" We are obliged to plead guilty. Then we are guilty of murder; we have taken life that did not belong to us; we have shed innocent blood. There is no middle ground; he who does not actively love the Lord, hates him; so he who receives the life of the Lord,-the blood of Christ,-and does not use it to His glory, but wastes it, is guilty of the blood of the Lord; and what worse case of murder could there possibly be?

Do we need after this to go into particulars with the other commandments? We need not ask, "Have you never used the name of the Lord unnecessarily?" but only, "Have you as a professed Christian never done or thought a thing that was in the least degree contrary to the perfection of the life of Christ?" Everybody knows that he has done many things that were dishonouring to the Lord. Then he has taken the name of the Lord in vain. And just as surely as we have ever consulted our own pleasure or ease before the glory of God, have we had other gods before Him. And so we might go on through the whole of the commandments, and prove all the world, both sinner and professed saint, guilty before God,-guilty of the grossest crimes.

CHRIST THE ONLY HOPE

"Who then can be saved?" The answer is straight and plain: Nobody can be saved, if he trusts in his own righteousness, but trusting in the righteousness of Christ, there is salvation for all. No man can weave a garment that is anything more than a filthy rag; it cannot cover him. "Of their webs no garment shall be made; neither shall they cover themselves with their works." God has wrought works, and made a garment that is amply sufficient to cover the whole human race; but of this garment we shall speak more particularly when we come to the sixty-first chapter.

PLUNDERING THE RIGHTEOUS: A SEVERE TEST

"He that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey," or, "exposeth himself to be plundered." Space will not permit anything more than a very direct comment upon this. Competition is very keen in this world, especially in these days. It is the case, which every one will recognise, that the man who is conscientious is cut off from many ways of "making money," that are successfully adopted by the unscrupulous.

But this is not all: the strictly honest man in business stands a great chance of having his business taken from him by his unscrupulous neighbours in the same line. There are, in some places, at least, certain lines of business, legitimate enough in themselves, in which corrupt dealing is so prevalent, that the man who does not put his conscience in his pocket, and "do as the rest do," cannot "succeed." Neither is this all. The prophecy that we are studying applies to the last days, and inasmuch as the coming of the Lord is near, the injunction is to cry aloud, and not spare to show God's people their sins, but to declare His whole truth. Accordingly the Sabbath truth, which has been so long forgotten, is presented in chapters fifty-six and fifty-eight. To what does the business man expose himself if he begins to keep God's holy day instead of Satan's counterfeit?-We hear the answer continually: "If I should keep the Sabbath, I should loose my place," or, "I should have to give up my business." Even with regard to the Sunday, we have it constantly reiterated that a law is necessary, to compel all to keep the day, in order that those who wish to keep it may not lose their situations or their business. How much more, then, must it be the case that he who keeps the Sabbath of the Lord, contrary to human law and custom, exposes himself to be plundered? We have no picture of ease and prosperity in this world, as this world counts prosperity, to hold before the one to whom we declare the whole counsel of God. The time will yet come when a decree will go forth, that whoever will keep the Sabbath of the Lord instead of the Sunday of the apostate church, shall be killed (Rev. xiii. 16, 17); and that will be the test: whether men can trust God's promise of life, in the face of man's threat of death.

THE POWER THAT DELIVERS

God is the Saviour of His people. Though He bears long with the ways of men, His long-suffering is salvation. He does not forget. The Deliverer shall turn away ungodliness from Israel. But the salvation of the righteous means the destruction of the ungodly. "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved: and he that believeth not shall be damned." This is the Gospel message, and one part is just as true as the other. Yea, "He that believeth not is condemned already." John iii. 18. The cross of Christ, in which alone there is salvation, and which is the revelation of God's love to man, has in it the destruction of sinners; for it was only because Christ was made to be sin for us, and was reckoned among the transgressors, that He hung on the cross. Therefore all who do not die in Christ on the cross, accepting Him as their Saviour, must be slain by that cross in their own person, without any hope of salvation. The salvation of God is like a mighty river, rushing along between narrow banks, and driven by a strong wind. So powerful is the Lord to carry away the ungodly: but His power to destroy the sinners at the last day, is but His power to destroy sin in us at this present time.

So we see that it makes no difference with the facts, whether we read verse 19 as in Lowth and in the Revision, or, as in the common version, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." The truth set forth is that the Lord will sweep away sin and sinners as with a flood, and that flood is the stream of life from the throne of God. It is, indeed, the Spirit of God, which the new covenant, made with "the house of Israel and the house of Jacob" at the coming of the Lord, insures to every believer as his possession throughout the generations of eternity. In the midst of wrath God remembers mercy (Hab iii. 2), because the wrath which destroys the wicked is but the rejected mercy of the Lord, which endureth for ever.

"For Little Ones. With the Birds" The Present Truth 16, 19.

E. J. Waggoner

We do not know what this world would be like to us if God had not made the birds to help to fill it with beauty, life, and song. Thinking of this some one has written these verses to show what a difference they make, and how much they add to our enjoyment:

"Fair was the blue sky overhead,
Fair was the earth below;
Soft as an infant's breath, the wind
Went wandering to and fro.
The creeping grasses clad the earth
In garniture of green;
A summer day more fair, more sweet,
The earth has never seen.

"Yet something still it seemed to lack
To satisfy my heart;
Lovely, but lifeless, as a thing
Created by some art.
But lo! I heard a gush of son,
The whirring of a wing,
And into happy, joyous life
The whole world seemed to spring."

Think of the awful silence of the world on that third day of time when the voice of God called forth from the earth the trees, plants, flowers, that clothed it with verdure and beauty. No song among the branches, no flutter of a wing, nor even the buzz of insects among the flowers.

But the earth that God had made so beautiful "He created not in vain; He formed it to be inhabited." And so He spoke again, and the same Word that was the seed of all the plant life of the earth also gave birth to myriads of living creatures to enjoy it.

First came the birds, to break the dread silence, and to wake into happy, joyous life the whole beautiful world. Have you ever thought that every little bird you see had, like yourself, its first parent in Paradise? For all the kinds of birds that God has ever made to live in this earth were brought forth at that time.

A gentleman who lately visited the South of France and enjoyed the bright sunshine, the beautiful scenery and flowers of that lovely clime, yet noticed particularly that there was no music,-the dear little song birds of our own land were missing. This is because so many of these tiny helpless creatures have been killed and used as food for man, that the few that are left are very timid and hide themselves at the approach of a human being.

If we could have been with Adam and Eve in Eden, and seen the birds of paradise, we could have learned easily much more than can now be found out about them with a great deal of trouble. For their beautiful nests are now as much hidden as possible for fear of other birds, animals, thoughtless little children, careless and cruel persons, who might steal their eggs or hurt their nestlings.

They usually find a sheltered nook where their nests are the least likely to be found, and they are very much afraid if anyone comes too near.

But by and by, in the happy time when "they shall not hurt nor destroy" in all the glad new earth for which we look, according to God's promise, the birds will not, through fear, try to hide themselves or their young ones from us. We shall then be able to watch them at work and learn all that we want to without making them afraid.

A good way to go "birds' nesting" is to take a Kodak if possible, and get a "snapshot" at all the nests you can find. In this way you can carry away nest and eggs and even the young birds, without causing any loss of life, or filling the breasts of the parent birds with anguish. And the pictures will give you just as much pleasure as the nests or eggs themselves, without causing any pangs of remorse or prickings of conscience.

Farmers, sportsmen, bird-catchers and others catch or kill the birds for various reasons. Where there are the most people there are usually the fewest birds. But in lands where there are very few people the birds are much more numerous. By visiting them in their native haunts and carefully watching them, a great deal has been found out about them.

No doubt you know more or less about the birds at home, the soaring lark, sweet-singing thrush and blackbird, homely robin, swallow, cuckoo, nightingale and others whose recent return tells us that summer is coming. So we will call upon a few of the birds that never come to visit us in this country, and take a peep into their nurseries.

"Some Interesting Nests" The Present Truth 16, 19.

E. J. Waggoner

Here is a tiny nest not much larger than a big thimble. It is covered with little patches of likened that make it look at first sight like a part of the branch to which it is fastened with the threads of a spider's web.

If you take a peek inside, you will see nestling in the soft cotton that lines the nest, some wee fledglings about the size of the Bluebottle fly. These came from tiny eggs the larger than a pea.

But you are wondering what very small bird can have built so tiny and elegant a nest. If we stand a little distance from the nest so as not to alarm the little mother, we shall be able to see her when she returns.

Here she comes; but she is so tiny, and darts so quickly through the air, that we should hardly see her if it were not for her brilliant plumage. This makes her look like "a winged jewel," a flying gem, "glowing with all the colours of the rainbow, or the glories of the setting sun." She is not much larger than a bumble-bee, and I expect from her size, beauty, and the sound made by the rapid motion of her wings, you have recognised the beautiful little Humming bird, smallest of all the feathered tribe.

This little mother does not fly straight to her nest, for she wishes to keep it secret. She rises high in the air, and then suddenly darts like a flash of lightning down among the branch is quicker than the eye can follow her, and is quietly feeding her babies with the honey and insects she has been gathering for them, while if we did not know just where the nest was, we should be wondering which way she had gone.

The most brilliant of all the kinds of Humming bird is called the Fiery Topaz, because of its glittering scarlet and crimson colours. Another is the Ruby throated Hummingbird bird, because the breast-feathers which gleamed like burnished metal, glow

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with tints of ruby and orange. These birds are found mostly in South America.

Our next visit is to a bird of quite a different size and character, which is found on the borders of the rivers and lakes in Africa and parts of Asia. You would hardly think, would you, that that tall hillock of sand could be a nest? But if you examine the top of it, you'll find a hollow with two eggs inside as large as goose eggs.

We may be sure that the mother will not be long absent; but if you have been to the Zoological Gardens in London, you have already seen the kind of bird to which this strange nest belongs. For you have surely notice the beautiful rose-coloured flamingoes, whose long legs and necks make them as tall as a tall man.

When these bright-coloured birds are standing still on the green margin of some stream, they look almost like large, brilliant tropical flowers growing on tall, slender stalks. When they fly, the black quills of their wings are seen, in contrast with the flaming red feathers from which they get their name. As they always go in companies, and form themselves into "a fiery triangle" when they fly, they are a very remarkable sight.

Now that you have seen the mother bird, you will understand why the nest is built so high. It is so that the long-legged bird can bit on it without difficulty, when hatching the eggs.

Here is a large thatched dwelling, hanging from the branch of a tree, large enough to bold five or six men. It looks as though some people who are afraid of wild heath; among the African jungles have built their house among the trees to escape from them.

But if you look at the bottom of this strange building, you will see that it is full of small round holes, just large enough to admit the body of a bird. Here, then, we have not one nest, but a whole "bird city," where hundreds of birds live together for greater safety.

We might wonder how each can know its own home, among so many that look just alike, but they seem to have no more trouble than we have to find our own house among the multitudes of a large city.

The building is made of strong "Bushman's grass," and it is hung from a branch of the "Giraffe Thorn." This has very hard wood, and so can bear the weight of the structure. Its stem is also very smooth and polished, which makes it hard to climb, and so presents the friendly visits of animals who would like an egg or a young bird for breakfast.

We have been looking at the home of the Sociable Weaver bird. As these birds never brood twice in the same nest, they keep adding to the size of their building, until its weight causes it to fall. But as this usually happens in the rainy season, when the wet adds to its weight, and the brooding season is then over, no damage is done to the birds.

Some kinds of the Weaver bird build their nests singly. Those who do this choose always the end of a small branch or twig, and they are careful to hang the nest over the water, not far from the surface.

Then the mischievous monkey, or any other animal, that is too inquisitive is sure to get a ducking, for his weight draws down the branch and lets him into the water, while all the Weaver birds in the neighbourhood scold and peck at him.

The next cradle that we are going to examine is one that rocks! It is hung from a branch of the Tulip tree of South America in such a way that it is caught by the breeze and gently swayed to and fro.

This is not, as you might suppose, to soothe the restless little baby birds and send them to sleep. It seems to be rather to keep away intruders, for the slender branch will not bear much weight; and it also helps to keep the nest cool in this hot climate.

The mother knows that the heat would make the little ones uncomfortable, so she hung the nest to catch the cool north-east breeze, and also made it so loosely that the air can get through. When the same kind of bird, the Oriole, builds among the elms of North America, where it is not so hot, she is careful to line her nest with warm down, and hang it so that it gets the warm south wind instead of the cool north-east.

When she makes her home in the Tulip tree, the Oriole does not have to go far for her food, for on the leaves and flowers of this tree she finds the caterpillars and beetles that are her chief food.

Most of you have most likely heard of the skilful little Tailor bird of Hindostan, and its beautiful nest. But it is so wonderful that we must take just one look. You will notice that the nest is in a little case, made of a leaf with the edges drawn together and sewn up with the strong fibre of some plan.

The bird uses its bill to pierce the holes through which it threads the fibre that binds the edges together. The inside of this small hollow is lined with soft down, and the nest is ready. Hanging among the other leaves of the tree it is scarcely seen, and is "safe from the attacks of almost every foe save man."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 19.

E. J. Waggoner

-The people of Amsterdam have been obliged to do without newspapers for several days owing to a compositors' strike.

-Later reports state that 18,000 people were rendered homeless by the Ottawa fire. A Mansion House fund has been opened.

-The explosion of a Boer arsenal at Johannesburg resulted in the death of a number of workmen and in serious injury to others.

-The committee of the Belgian Chamber have by four votes to three rejected the bill for the proposed electric railway from Brussels to Antwerp.

-The Sultan has issued a decree prohibiting the importation into Turkey of all apparatus connected with electricity, including electric bells.

-The Asahi, a new Japanese battleship of 15,200 tons went ashore off Portsmouth harbour April 30, but was floated again without injury.

-It is said that one of the novelties of the Paris Exposition will be a complete set of bed-hangings made from silk produced, not by silkworms, but by an enormous spider found in Madagascar.

-The holding of the International Anti-Tuberculosis Congress in Naples, attended by more than 1,000 delegates, has resulted in the formation of an International League to combat the disease.

-The death is announced of the famous Hungarian painter, Michael Munkacey. The pictures, "Christ before Pilate" and "Calvary," are perhaps the best known of the numerous works of this artist.

-A dispatch from Washington states that the House of Representatives have passed the Nicaragua Canal Bill by 225 votes to 36. The Bill will probably not be acted upon by the senate this session, owing to possible international complications.

-A recent order of the Board of Agriculture prohibits the importation into Great Britain of live cattle from the Argentine Republic and Uruguay. The cause for the prohibition is an outbreak of the foot and mouth disease in these countries.

-Mr. Elihu Root, U.S. Secretary for War, is reported as saying at a recent banquet: "No man who carefully watches the signs of the times can fall to see that the American people within a few years will have either to abandon the Monroe Doctrine or to fight for it."

-The German Emperor recently sent a congratulatory message to the Daily Express, in which he said that his first hope was "the preservation of international peace;" his second, "the consolidation and maintenance of good relations between Germany and Great Britain."

-The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have expressed their disapproval of the practice followed by some clergymen of reserving a portion of the bread and wine consecrated in their churches at the communion, and administering the same later on to members unable to attend through illness or for other reasons.

-Two serious accidents have resulted from the haste with which the promoters of the Paris Exposition are pushing the work forward to completion, Sunday, April 20, a footbridge collapsed, causing the death of nine persons and injuring a like number of others. The following day s scaffolding suddenly fell in, precipitating four workmen fifty feet to the ground. Three were instantly killed, the fourth seriously injured.

-Sunday closing, it is said, is to be the rule at the American building at the Paris Exposition. The Lord's Day Observance Society urge the adoption of a similar course on the part of the British Royal Commission.

-The Czar has given a powerful British syndicate a concession for working a great gold-bearing tract of country in Siberia, The tract, covering 8,000 square acres, is the personal property of the Czar, who has hitherto refused all applications to work it.

-An explosion in a mine in Utah caused over 200 deaths. The disaster is attributed to the blowing up of a number of kegs of blasting powder. Masses of stone and tall trees were burled hundreds of feet into the air, and fell in all directions, some being carried half a mile away.

-The Medical Missionary Association held its annual meeting in the Lower Exeter Hall, April 28. Addresses were delivered by medical missionaries from China, India, and other fields. It was stated that the work for those who at present carry on Medical Mission Stations is overwhelming, and an earnest appeal was made for additional help, especially in the way of women doctors and nurses.

-Professor Victor Horsley in a recent lecture in St. James' Hall on "The Effect of Alcohol upon the Human Brain," made the statement that even a small quantity of alcohol had a very distinct and depressing effect upon the highest centres of the brain. It was literally true that wine is a mocker. From the scientific standpoint, total abstinence was the only course open for those who would be governed by reason and common sense.

-There have been 188 cases of the plague at Sydney, fifty-four of which have proved fatal. Brisbane and Auckland have had victims, and there have been suspicious cases in Melbourne. In Hong Kong the disease has broken out afresh. Two deaths have recently occurred in Port Said, which has not hitherto been declared infected. The disease rages in New Caledonia and in the Philippines, and in India numbers its daily victims by hundreds. Vigorous efforts are being made in various places to exterminate the ships' rat, which is believed to be the principal agent in spreading the disease. The Mayor of Sydney has put a price of sixpence per head on these vermin.

-The United States is suffering from serious labour troubles. In Philadelphia 3,000 men have struck her increased wages and an eight-hour day. In Albany 500 carpenters and plumbers have ceased to work, and in Paterson and the neighbouring city of Passaic, 7700 carpenters have gone on strike. Jleveland reports 1,600 iron workers on strike Minneapolis 1,100 wood workers. In Pittsburg all the bricklayers, to the number of 1,800 refuse to work unless their wages are in-dressed. The feeling of discontent is widespread among the workmen throughout the country. In Chicago, Buffalo and other large cities there is fear of violence and the destruction of property.

-In spite of all that has been done in the way of relief, the people of India are suffering severely from the famine. Missionaries write that shooking sights meet them in travelling through the stricken districts. Some of the men are more bony frameworks, and the little children with hollow temples, sunken cheeks and wisp-like arms and legs are most pitiable to behold, It is well to remember, in considering the situation in this afflicted country, that these poor Hindus are bound to us by the ties of a common brotherhood, and are as deserving of our sympathy and help a, if they lived next door to us. Though ignorant, degraded, and disease-ridden they are yet the children of the Most High. The Saviour said, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me."

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 19.

E. J. Waggoner

The secret of health, as given by Dr. W. G. Grace, the well-known cricket champion, in the Young Man for May, is: "Live a natural, temperate life, get all the outdoor exercise you can, and don't smoke." The last item is included in the first, as smoking is both an unnatural and intemperate habit; but one has to be very explicit, even to abundant repetition, in these matters.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit," and with these "sacrifices of righteousness" God is well pleased. Ps. li. 17, 19. It is self-evident not only that God's pleasure ought to be out pleasure, but that there can be no real or lasting pleasure in anything except that in which God delights. Therefore the highest satisfaction possible to men is to be found in lowliness of mind, in real denial of self. "Happy are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. v. 3.

The Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, says that if the Boer President and commanders still hope for intervention from the European Powers, "they must be extraordinarily naive, for there is surely no European statesman who could not explain to them that intervention on their behalf would lead to universal war, in which one half the civilised world could be involved in a life and death struggle with the other." How easily the last great battle of earth can be precipitated! The knowledge of this fact should serve as a spur to Christians to work earnestly for the spread of the knowledge of the truth, while the circumstances are most favourable.

Several papers report that in welcoming the delegates to the ?cumenical Missionary Conference in New York, President McKinley "paid a high tribute to missionaries, saying he classed them with the world's heroes, although they wielded only the sword of the Spirit." Why the "although"? Can there be any question as to who is the greater hero, the man who arms himself for self-defence, and to kill his fellow-men, or the one who makes no provision for self-defence, and who risks his life among savages, to save them? The fact is that the true missionaries of Jesus are the heroes, although it cannot be denied that there have been some heroes among men whose profession it was to wield the sword.

Not long since an Anglican clergyman delivered an address on "Spiritualism and Christianity," before the members of the London Spiritualist Alliance, in which he claimed that the manifestations of Spiritualism are the same as those recorded of Christ and the apostles in the New Testament. The Church Times characterises his talk as "sad rubbish, and all the sadder because it could not be uttered, were not the numbers of the deluded considerable," and then adds that all the features of Spiritualism "stamped it as an evil thing, as a latter-day form of the occultism which has deluded its votaries in age after age of history. But when Spiritualism poses as a development of the Christian revelation, it is as though the devil were making himself an angel of light."

These are true words, and we are glad to see them, and to repeat them; but the Church Times should know that the prayers for the dead, which it advocates, are a product of the same thing that produces Spiritualism. Both grow from one root, namely, the idea that the dead are not really dead, but more alive than ever. This is the root of all the evil on this earth, since sin was introduced through the acceptance of Satan's lie, "Ye shall not surely die."

The extensive labour difficulties in the United States are straws which show in what direction the wind is blowing. A spirit of dissatisfaction is permeating the working classes in all civilised countries of the world. According to the present outlook, the situation is growing worse instead of better. The only remedy is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Men will never be satisfied till they give up their feverish struggle for this world's goods, and turn their attention to the heavenly riches. The condition of the labouring man is bad enough; he is often taken advantage of by the unscrupulous capitalist, who worships no God but mammon; nevertheless by a contented spirit, by strict self-denial in the matter of harmful luxuries, such as alcoholic drinks, tobacco, tea, coffee, meat, etc., and an earnest application to his work, with a view to making it as productive as possible, the average labourer would fare far better than he does. With many working man, sad to say, increased wages with shorter hours would mean only freer indulgence in strong drink, and more time for loafing about the public-houses.

The struggle for existence would not be half so hard if people did not have so many imaginary wants to supply. It is said that a penny a day will keep a man from starving in India, and yet food stuffs are about as expensive there as in Great Britain. The English working man spends at least two pence for drink, tobacco and other wholly unnecessary and really harmful things, which he spends a penny for wholesome, nourishing food. Drugs and patent medicines are other avenues of wasteful expenditure. Education in the proper use of money, so that it will bring proper returns in the way of substantial benefit, is greatly needed amongst the working classes.

In a news item we recorded the statement of an American on the British workman, attributing the failure to make greater progress to the influence of Trade-unionism. The following item from the Chicago Hardwood Record shows that the American workman is not far behind his British brother in the tyranny of labour monopoly:-

People outside of such a city as this have no conception of the power of the unions. A young man, clerk in a grocery store, had purchased a lot and erected a small cheap house upon it. Running out of money, he attempted to paint the little frame building at odd hours himself. After he had worked at it for a day or two, a delegate of the Painters' Union called upon his employer, and told him his clerk must not paint his own house. If he wanted it painted he most hire a union painter; if he had not money enough to do that, the house must go unpainted.

So the young man had to stop. If he had not, a boycott would have been declared against his employer, and would have ruined his business. So that little house, with one half painted, remains a tribute to the power of organised labour.

Power it is, beyond all doubt; but the man who cannot see that it is power used in a Satanic manner, is terribly blind. Yet there are thousands of professed Christians that uphold just such Satanic selfishness as that. "In the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves." How perilous they may be, can be seen from the statement of the power of organised self-love.

May 17, 1900

"Parables of the Kingdom. Matt. xiii. 24-33" The Present Truth 16, 20.

E. J. Waggoner

This lesson covers three of the parables which the Lord spoke to the multitudes by the sea side. The lesson assigned is nevertheless very incomplete, since it divides the principal parable, leaving off the interpretation which the Lord gave the disciples after the multitude had deserted, which is the most essential part of the record. Without the interpretation, we are left in the dark. We shall therefore take it for granted that the student will include it in his lesson; and in order not to break the continuity of the subject, we will first note briefly the two parables that are recorded between the first parable and its explanation.

WONDERFUL GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM

"The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his fields." Very little and insignificant in appearance is the mustard seed, yet it is wonderfully prolific, and moreover when sown in congenial soil grows most luxuriantly. In some parts of the world, where the climate is mild, and the soil is productive, the mustard plant becomes really a tree, with branches so large that they will bear up a man's weight, and so of course they afford lodging for the birds of the air. This illustrates one phase of the kingdom, namely, the great results that come from the seemingly smallest causes. "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which am despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence." 1 Cor. i. 27-39.

THE HIDDEN WORKING OF THE GOSPEL

Another phase of the kingdom is presented in the next parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The likeness is somewhat similar to the preceding, in that it shows how great influence seemingly insignificant things have, but it differs from the parable of the mustard seed, in that here the cause is unseen, and only the results appear. God sees in secret, and works in secret, and is manifested to the world only by His working. "The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." It is the office of the kingdom of God to permeate the whole world, and its influence has been felt even among those who have despised it and rejected it. There is not an infidel in the world, who mocks at the Gospel, and who prides himself upon his "morality"

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without religion, who is not indebted to the very Gospel which he hates, for the decency that makes him tolerable in respectable society. There is no good thing on this earth, that does not owe its existence to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But we must remember that the leaven represents the kingdom of God only in the extent of its influence, and its silent way of working, and not in character. The leaven which is put into meal produces fermentation and decay, while the kingdom of God works just the opposite. God takes that which is not, to bring to naught that which is. So where men would take some visible means, God works by invisible agents; and while the leaven that man uses produces decay, the life of God permeating everywhere just as the leaven does, produces purity and incorruption.

A COMPREHENSIVE PARABLE

The parable of the wheat and the tares is well known. A man sowed good seed in his field, but an enemy came, stealthily and sowed tares among the wheat. No one could detect anything wrong until the wheat came up, and then the tares appeared also. The servants would have pulled up the tares at once, but the master would not suffer it, lest some of the wheat be pulled up at the same time. So both were allowed to grow together until the harvest, when the tares were gathered in bundles, to be burned, and the wheat was gathered into the barn.

The explanation is so definite and precise that it leaves nothing to be desired. "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy, that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall east them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." There we have the whole Gospel story in a nutshell, together with the fate of both the righteous and the wicked.

This earth is the rightful kingdom of the Lord Jesus. In the beginning the whole earth was given to man, and he was given dominion over it. But this, dominion was lost through sin, and Christ came in man's place, and as man He won the earth back by His righteous life. The good seed was sown in the beginning, but the devil sowed his tares. There are many zealous servants of the Lord who would pull up the tares at once. That is, they would summarily cut off out of the professed church, and even out of the world, all evil persons. The point of the master's refusal to allow this is better seen when it is remembered that that which the enemy sowed in the field is something that greatly resembles wheat. So the danger in rooting it up lay not merely in its proximity to the wheat, but in the fact that one might readily be mistaken for the other. Only in the time of harvest can it be definitely determined who are the Lord's and who are not. Only then will evil have so fully developed that there can be no mistake made by anybody. God has not set any in the church as executioners. The preceding parables show what is to be the work of the church in the world, namely, to fill it with the knowledge of the truth of God; Christ and His angels will do the work of severing the wicked from among the just. Mark this: The wicked are to be among the just even until the - and: If all the professed followers of the Lord were wholly intent upon doing their legitimate work, and would leave judgment to the One to whom it belongs, the kingdom of God would make far more rapid progress on earth.

JUDGMENT NOT YET GIVEN TO THE SAINTS

It must be remembered that "the field is the world," and that this parable teaches that even Christ, the rightful Lord and Master of all does not now exercise the office of judge and executioner in this world. Just as the tares are not gathered, out from among the wheat until the harvest of the wicked are allowed to flourish among the just until the end of the world. It is not until "the time of the dead, that they should be judged," that Christ takes to Himself His great power, and reigns, and that He destroys them that corrupt the earth. Rev. xi. 17, 18. Until that time He does not interfere in the government of this world, but allows men to conduct it according to their own will. The people of God, therefore, who are to be in the world even as Christ is, are not to interfere in political affairs. The time for judgment, that is, authority to sit in judgment, to be given to the saints of the Most High and for the saints to possess the kingdom, is not until the coming of the Ancient of Days. Dan. vii. 22. All the power and authority now given to the servant of God is to "preach the Word," to reprove, rebuke, and exhort according to that word, and then to leave the sincere to decide their course for themselves. "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come." 1 Cor. iv. 5.

THE FATE OF THE WICKED

This earth is, as already said, Christ's rightful kingdom; but it is now largely overrun with weeds. Yet the Lord has patience. Soon the end will come, and then He will rid His inheritance of everything offensive and will utterly destroy it. Here we have clearly set forth the fate of the wicked. They are to be burned up as weeds and chaff. There is to be no more any place found for them, and the righteous alone will remain forever, "For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. xxxvii. 9-11.

THE GLORY OF THE RIGHTEOUS

"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Mark the expression, "shine forth." It is not that light will shine upon them, so that they will be seen, but the light will proceed from them. Even so it was with Jesus when He was transfigured, when the world to come was represented in the mountain. The glory which He had from the beginning was with Him all the time that He was hare on earth, but only occasionally did it appear so that men could catch a glimpse of it. And yet it was manifest all the time. "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John i. 14. "The Lord will give grace and glory." He gives glory now in the form of grace, and in the ages to come He will manifest His grace in the form of glory. Compare Eph. iii. 16 and ii. 6-10. In all the good works that Jesus did, He manifested forth His glory. As He is the light of the world, so are we to be, gaining glory for God by means of the good works which we allow Him to do through us. "He that hath cars to hear, let him hear."

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Restoration of Zion. Glory of the New Creation. Isa. lx. 1-22" The Present Truth 16, 20.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lx. 1-22.)

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

"Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then thou shalt see and be lightened, and thine heart shall tremble and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, and the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; they all shall come from Sheba; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee; they shall come up with acceptance on Mine altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory.

"Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for He hath glorified thee. And strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in My wrath I smote thee, but in My favour have I had mercy on thee.

"Thy gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings led with them. For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together; and I will make the place of My feet glorious.

"And the sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bonding unto thee; and all them that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man passed through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

"For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thy officers peace, and all thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, desolation nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise.

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

"Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land for ever; the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified. The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a great nation; I the Lord will hasten it in his time."

In reading this chapter a few things, to which attention has already been called many times, should be borne in mind.

(1) Whenever reference is unmistakably made to the city of Jerusalem, as in parts of this chapter, it must be remembered that the city is nothing without the inhabitants. When the city is spoken of as rejoicing, we know that it is the people in the city that rejoice. A city is built up only by the accession of inhabitants.

(2) These prophecies were given many years before the Babylonian captivity. At the close of that captivity full liberty was given for every Jew to return to his own land, and no means was withheld, that was necessary to enable them to return; therefore every part of the prophecy that can be thought of as referring merely to temporal things, was fulfilled long ago. That is, it has been fulfilled as far as mere temporal inheritance could do it.

(3) It is most obvious that there are things promised not only in this chapter but also in other places, which have never yet been fulfilled. Moreover, it is plain that these things can be fulfilled only by an everlasting inheritance. This is a prophecy that refers to the last days, and its fulfilment will be accomplished only by the coming of the Lord, and the restoration of all things.

GOD FULFILS ALL HIS PROMISES

(4) Above all, must one common error be avoided. It is very common to hear expositors say of certain things that have not been fulfilled, that God made them on certain conditions, and that, the conditions not having been met, the fulfillment of the promises could not be expected. Such exposition is a libel upon God. Never in the world has God made a promise that He will not fulfil in good time. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise." 2 Peter iii. 9. "If we are faithless, He abideth faithful; for He cannot deny Himself." 2 Tim. ii. 13. Even though every man should be unfaithful, and should reject the promise, His promise would hold good, for He would of the very stones make faithful children, who would accept the offers of mercy. See Matt. iii. 9. God is not dependent upon any man for the fulfilment of His promises; and no person either in this world or in the world to come will ever be able to taunt God with having in any instance failed to keep His word, nor will there ever be the slightest opportunity for doubt to creep into a loyal heart, in view of an unfulfilled promise. Whatever God has promised, He is able also to perform: and whatever God is able to do He will do for the salvation of men.

THE WORD THAT GIVES LIFE AND STRENGTH

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"Arise!" That is, "Stand up!" Compare this with the words in connection with the miracles recorded in Luke vii. 14, viii. 54; Acts iii. 6; xiv. 10. To the young man who was being carried to burial, and to the little girl just dead, Christ said, "Arise," and they both stood up, alive. Peter said to the lame man at the gate of the temple, who had never walked, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up, and walk," and immediately he walked and leaped. In like manner Paul said to the other man, "who never had walked," "Stand upright on thy feet," and he leaped and walked. This is the word which is addressed to us in this lesson. The very first word is the word that raises the dead, and makes the helpless walk. Whoever has faith to be healed, whoever hears this word in faith, will find in the study of this chapter a life that he never before has known. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee." Eph. v. 14.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

"Shine!" Yes, arise, and shine. Why? Because Christ shall shine upon thee. Nay, more; the light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee. Here again we have the word of creation. Although the word used in this instance is not the same as that used in the first chapter of Genesis, that makes no difference; the fact is that here we have the same command as in Gen. i. 3. "God said, Let there be light; and there was light." In the beginning, when there was nothing about this earth but darkness, without a single ray of light, God said, "Be light," and instantly light was. The very darkness sent forth light. "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. iv. 6. He is the Light, and "the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness overcame it not." Therefore He can turn our darkness into light. Have we not had the promise? "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning;" "then shall thy light rise in obscurity; and the darkness be as the noonday." It is the God who creates, who is speaking to us here. If we remember Him as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, we shall know the power by which the worlds were made, and by which the dead are raised. This is true Sabbath-keeping.

LIGHTS IN THE WORLD

When Moses came down from the mountain, after having been in close communion with the Lord, talking with Him face to face, his face shone. It was not merely that it was bright, but it gave off rays of light; light beamed forth from it for the benefit of others, if they were willing to receive it. That was but an illustration of what God wishes all His people to be: Light-bearers. "Ye are the light of the world." Matt. v. 14. The light which His people have is the light of His life, for He says, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John viii. 12. So we are exhorted to "do all things without murmurings and disputings, that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the Word of life." Phil. ii. 14-16. The life is the light of men, and it is a most wonderful thought that this glorious light of God is to be made manifest in mortal flesh (2 Cor. iv. 11), so that those who sit enshrouded in the gross darkness of this world are to receive "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" by seeing it in His humble followers. Surely it is high time to heed the command, "Arise, shine!"

REAL LIFE: THE LIGHT OF LIFE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

That this is not imaginary light, that shines from the faithful followers of Christ, is evident from what appears later on in the chapter, as well as from other scriptures. Of the city, when it shall be filled with its children, we read that it "had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Rev. xxi. 23. Compare Isa. lx. 19, 20. The light which shines from God is actual light, far above the shining of the sun, for it is from Him that the sun gets all the light that it has; therefore when His people are as subject to His will as the sun is, they will also shine with real light. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Matt. xiii. 43. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Daniel xii. 3. "Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." 1 John iii. 2. That is, the light that will shine forth from the bodies of the saints, is not yet made manifest, therefore the world knows them not, even as it knew not Christ; nevertheless the life which is manifested in those who are wholly the Lord's is the very same light that shines from the face of the Lord, the same that illuminates the earth. Not all will veil their faces from it; no shining is in vain, no matter how obscure the place in which the life is manifested; for the Gentiles, the heathen, the nations of the earth, will come to the light when it is allowed to shine forth unhindered, and even kings will come to enquire about it. It is true that the coming of the wise men from the east at the birth of Christ was in fulfilment of this prophecy; but we must not imagine that that occurrence exhausted it. That was only a sample of what shall be done when Christ is fully formed in all His people. There are many kings and rulers in so-called heathen lands, who have great power and influence, and many of these will yet be seen enquiring the way of life.

THE BUILDING UP OF ZION

"Strangers shall build up thy walls." This is but another statement of the fact that the kingdom of Israel is to be built up by the coming in of the people of all the different nations of earth. The calling of the Gentiles is the means by which the ruins of the house of David are to be built up. Acts xv. 16, 17. Those who were once "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world," are brought nigh by the blood of Christ, so that they are "no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord." Eph. ii. 11-13, 19-21. These, coming to Christ the Living Stone, are made into living stones, and are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto God by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter ii. 4, 5. So it is written, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out." Rev. iii. 12. Thus will the walls of Jerusalem, the holy city, be built up. The grand work is even now going forward; who will form a part of the grand structure?

GLORIFYING HIS HOUSE

"I will make the place of My feet glorious." Read again the scripture that has so frequently been referred to in these lessons, namely, Zech. xiv. 4, which tells us that at the time of the last great battle the Lord shall go forth to fight against the nations that are opposed to Jerusalem, and that His feet shall stand in that day

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upon the Mount of Olives, and it shall become a great plain, in which the city with its living waters shall stand. Read also verses 6-9 in connection with the chapter we are studying. This, together with Rev. xxi., will serve to fix the application of the chapter.

Verse 7 is specially comforting when read in connection with the Scriptures which show that God's people are "builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." In Isa. lvii. 15 we read that God dwells with the lowly, and at the same time "in the high and holy place." His presence in dust animates it; when He dwells with the lowly one, He sets him on high; and when He is allowed to dwell in the meanest and most debased soul, He glorifies it. "I will glorify the house of My glory." Our part is but to be willing and submissive; God's part is to give grace and glory, and strength according to the riches of His glory.

"The Lord God is a sun and shield." Ps. lxxxiv. 11. This we see from verse 20. The sun of the city of God will never go down, night nor day, because the Lord will be its everlasting light. The sun will shine as it does now, only with greatly increased light, but in the city of God it will not be needed, since the greater light of God Himself will shine there day and night.

A RIGHTEOUS NATION

"Thy people also shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever." Thus we see that the consummation of the shining of God's people is the "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter iii. 13. That is the consummation, but the beginning must be now, in the midst of the darkness of this present evil world. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Prov. iv. 18. The powers of the world to come must be manifested in this present world; the light of the new earth must be seen on the old earth; the salvation and praise that will be the protection of the holy city when the assault is made upon it by the hosts of evil must now be manifested; and the righteousness that will dwell in the new earth must exist here and now in all its fullness. This will be the case by power of Him who can make a little one a strong nation, and who in His faithfulness will do it. 1 Thess. v. 23, 24.

"For Little Ones. 'Ye Are Brethren'" The Present Truth 16, 20.

E. J. Waggoner

A little while ago we learned from the birds the sweet lesson that we are all living in "the Father's house," and that our loving Heavenly Father is watching over all His children. He knows just what things we each have need of, and supplies them.

But if we are all the children of one Father, what must we be to each other? Jesus answers this question for us in these words: "All ye are brethren." You know that all the children of one rather are brothers and sisters, no matter where they may live.

If your little sister should go away from home for a time, to live in a warm country, where the hot sun would make her cheeks very brown, you would not think, would you, that because of her changed appearance she did not belong to the family any longer?

Or suppose your father and mother were to travel into another country, where a little brother should be born to you who in that strange land should learn to speak another language instead of English. You know that he would be your brother just the same; you would love him and look forward to seeing him as much as though you could understand every word he said.

Yet those are the things that separate the members of the great human family one from another. In the beginning they were much alike, and all were "of one language and one speech." But as the family has grown large, and spread out into all parts of the earth, the different climate and surroundings in the different parts of the earth have very much changed the outward appearance and the habits and customs of the people.

And besides this there are now hundreds of different languages instead of one, so that the different branches of the family cannot understand each other's speech, and the distance between us makes us strangers to each other.

Yet the words of Jesus are still true, "All ye are brethren." For God "hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth." The blood is the life. There is one life in all, the life of the Father in whom we all "live, and move, and have our being."

If you could see some of your dark-skinned little brothers and sisters from "India's coral strand," or the little Japanese children like those in the picture, they would look very strange to you, no doubt, and you would not be able to talk together. But if you could look, as God does, underneath the outward appearance, and we into their minds and hearts, you would be surprised to find how very much alike you all are, after all, and that this great difference is only on the outside.

One of Solomon's wise proverbs says: "As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man." That is, we are all so much alike that what we see in others is just our our own reflection, as you see your own face when you look into a mirror.

It is a good thing to remember this always; especially when we see in others some things that we do not admire, that make us perhaps inclined to despise them in our hearts. Remember then that you are but looking into a mirror which shows you yourself; and all the bad things that you see in others are hidden in your own heart, even though you yourself may know nothing about them.

But do you know, dear children, that many of your dear little brothers and sisters in other lands-yes, and even in this land, some perhaps living right in your neighbourhood-do not know anything about their loving Heavenly Father, who made them and keeps them alive?

They do not know about the Father's house and the beautiful mansions that Jesus is getting ready for all who love Him. They have never read "the sweet story of old," of the loving Saviour who called little children to Him. You some times sing:

"But thousands and thousands who wander and
fall,
Never heard of that beautiful home;
I should like them to know there is room for them
all,
And that Jesus has bid them to come.
I long for the joy of that glorious time,
The sweetest, the brightest, the best,
When the dear little children of every clime
Shall crowd to His was and be blest."

Then will you not begin at once to be a little missionary, to tell to these who do not know this loving Saviour what you know of Him? Every child can do this. You can also think of and pray for the thousands of other lands that you cannot reach in any other way, and give your pennies to help those who are able to go to them with the "good tidings."

In this way you can help to hasten on the time when many shall come from "the East and the West, the North and the South," and all sit down together at the Father's table.

Then God will make "all things new," and these old differences that separate us will disappear. To each of His children the Father will give "a new name," and a new garment, the beauty of Christ's own righteousness, so that we shall all be dressed in the name style.

We shall speak "with new tongues," a pure language that all can understand. Then the little children from Japan, China, Africa, India, England, and every other land can all talk and play together without any difficulty. And we can all, from all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues, sing together "the new song" of praise to Him "who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 20.

E. J. Waggoner

-The War Office has issued orders for raising a rifle brigade of 100 cyclists.

-There has just appeared a Bible in which the New Testament is printed before the Old Testament.

-The citizens of Cape Town have contributed over ?2,000 to the relief of the sufferers from the fire at Ottawa.

-Sweden has just launched a new warship, the Dristighelm, which will have a displacement, when fully equipped, of 3,500 tons. She is an armoured vessel, fitted with twin screws, and her normal speed will be eighteen knots.

-A serious street-car strike is reported as on in St. Louis, Missouri. Violence has been used in preventing the can from being run by non-unionist men, several persons being injured. The strikers are said to number 3,300.

-Mount Vesuvius has recently had an eruption, in which Iarge stones and molten lava have been thrown up to a great height. Visiting tourists were severely injured, and the huts of the guides and the topmost railway station are threatened.

-The Budget Committee of the Reichstag propose to cover the cost of the increase in the navy by raising the duty on foreign beer from four to six marks. It is calculated that an increase of revenue amounting to 1,250,000 marks could thus be obtained. The beer is imported from Austria and England.

-The death of a pet dog at the hands of the police was a sufficient incentive to the owner, a private lady of some means, to commit suicide by hanging. How much better would it be if the hundreds of poor, motherless children might have some of the attention bestowed upon them that wealthy people give to their pet dogs.

-The leave of absence of Mr. Straw, the United States Minister to Turkey, has been indefinitely prolonged, and It Is authoritatively stated that no American minister will take up residence at Constantinople until the question of the payment of the indemnity for mission property destroyed is settled in a manner satisfactory to the State Department.

-The Salvation Army has now 14,718 paid officers, and 54,111 local officers, who maintain themselves. By these the work of the Army is carried on in forty-seven countries and colonies. The Army has 6,000 buildings devoted to its meetings, beside the theatres, music hails, etc., in which services are conducted, in addition to the open-air work.

-G. H. C. Macgregor, pastor of the Trinity Presbyterian Church, Notting Hill, passed away Thursday, May 3, after a severe illness of only a few days. Mr. Macgregor was an evangelistic worker of considerable activity and promise and will be missed by a wide circle of friends and co-workers. He was but thirty-five years of age when the fatal attack of meningitis brought his useful career to a close.

-The great Krupp firm which has hitherto had a monopoly of the manufacture of armour plates in Germany, is to have a rival. A German industrial syndicate with a stock capital of ?350,000, is preparing to enter the business, and has acquired a tract of land for the purpose on the Baltic, near the town of Rendsburg. In these days of war and preparations for war the armour plate business is a profitable one.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 20.

E. J. Waggoner

In reading the history of the church, aside from that which is contained in the Bible, one cannot help noticing that the "heretics" have almost invariably been those who believed more than their fellows. The one who "can't see it" is usually very sure that there is nothing to see, and that the one who says that he sees, is a dangerous person.

We often repeat the prayer, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory," but we are quite likely to forget a part of it, at least. We feel willing that God should have the glory, instead of ourselves; but when it comes to the question of whether the glory-the credit-should be given to us or to some other person, we are quite inclined to claim it for ourselves. We seem to think that if the Lord is not to receive the glory, we might as well have it. But we should remember that the glory-all the glory-belongs to the Lord, and that we have no right to it, even if He does not receive the glory due unto His name. We have no right to stolen property, even though our refusal of it does not restore it to the owner. So when we say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory," we should hold to the first part of it even though somebody else, and not the Lord, gets the credit of that which the Lord has done by us, and not by that other. To arrive at this state however, involves the complete crucifixion of human nature.

The knowledge of truth is gained only by sacrifice, by heart struggles, and soul surrender to God. "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." Truth is for use, and no one really knows it except the one who has received it into his life, allowing it to drive out some cherished sin. Wisdom-Christ-says: "Turn you at My reproof; behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." Prov. i. 23. Truth is that which delivers us from the error of our ways, and it comes to us in our struggle against sin. When we long for righteousness, resisting even unto blood, striving against sin, then it is that the deepest truths shine forth most brightly. Dr. Bonar has well said:-

Great truths are greatly won, not found by chance,
Nor wafted on the breath of summer dream;
But grasped in the great struggle of the soul,
Hard buffeting with adverse wind and stream.
Not in the general mart, 'mid corn and wine,
Not in the merchandise of gold and gems,
Not in the world's gay hall of midnight mirth,
Not in the blaze of regal disdains.
But in the day of-conflict, fear and grief,
When the strong hand of God put forth
might,
Ploughs up the subsoil of the stagnant heart
And brings the imprisoned truth-seed to the
light.
Wrung from the troubled spirit, in hard hours
Of weakness, solitude, perchance of pain,
Truth springs like harvest from the well-ploughed field,
And the soul feels it has not wept in vain.

Speaking of the preparation of the Cape loyalists to expend a large sum of money in festivities to celebrate the relief of Mafeking as soon as it shall have been accomplished, the Chronicle favours the suggestion that the money be devoted to defraying the cost of a trip to the sea, for all the women and children who have gone through the siege, and adds that "there is something a little inconsequent in celebrating the cessation of other people's sufferings by doubling our own meat and drink." This is a thing that ought to be impressed upon all the good people whose minds invariably run to a bazaar or a "charity" ball or supper whenever they learn of any poverty to be relieved.

"The Everlasting Covenant" The Present Truth 16, 20.

E. J. Waggoner

This book, by E. J. Waggoner, is a comprehensive and somewhat unique setting forth of the plan of salvation. The title is used in the sense of "The everlasting Gospel," the book being a following up of the Gospel promise, or covenant, made to Abraham, and through him to the whole world. God's dealings with Abraham, with Isaac and Jacob, afterwards with the children of Israel, are treated in a fresh, original manner. The golden thread of the Gospel running through the grand books of the Old Testament is clearly revealed, and all the way along the intimate connection between it and the New is plainly pointed out. The vital oneness of the Old and the New Testaments is thus demonstrated in a natural and conclusive manner.

The lessons drawn from the experiences of the children of Israel are of a most helpful nature. This part alone is well worth the price of the whole book. Those who have given the subject considerable study will find much that is new in the author's treatment of it, and to others who have neglected this portion of the Scriptures, it will offer a most interesting and attractive field of study.

The author's style is that of the living teacher. Reading his book we instinctively imagine him standing by our side and opening the Scriptures to us in the simple language of everyday life. This kind of treatment has one drawback perhaps, in tending slightly to diffuseness, but it has the great advantage of presenting vital truths in a form readily accessible to the average reader.

The author, whose long experience in the Gospel ministry and as Bible teacher, renders him especially fitted to write such a work, evinces perfect mastery of his subject. He speaks with the authority of absolute conviction. His words come from the heart, and will go to the heart of the reader. There is no straining after effects. The author evidently is not ambitions to be considered either briIliant or strikingly original. The language, always chaste and simple, at times rises into eloquence, but the words are always subordinated to the thought. The object of the book is to set forth the Gospel, Christ and Him crucified, and everything that would not contribute to this aim is carefully weeded out.

The stream of the water of life flows full and free, quietly perhaps, without loud thundering falls and rushing rapids, but with steady, even flow. The book, in short, is the outcome of earnest, faithful study of the scripture, coupled with a deep religions experience. It takes up many questions that are under discussion at the present day, but in every case it leads its readers to the Bible for an answer. As a safe and reliable guide to a better understanding of the Scriptures and a help in the higher life, it is worthy of a wide circulation. Price, post paid, five shillings. Publishers, International Tract Society, Ltd., 451, Holloway Road, London, N.

May 24, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Clothing Which God Gives. Isa. lxi. 1-11" The Present Truth 16, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lxi. 1-11, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

1. The Spirit of Jehovah is upon Me,
Because Jehovah hath anointed Me.
To publish glad tidings to the meek hath He sent Me;
To bind up the broken-hearted:
To proclaim to the captives freedom;
And to the bounded perfect liberty:

2. To proclaim the year of acceptance with Jehovah;
And the day of vengeance of our God.
To comfort all those that mourn.

3. To impart [gladness] to the mourners of Sion;
To give them a beautiful crown, instead of ashes;
The oil of gladness instead of sorrow;
The clothing of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness.
That they may be called trees approved;
The plantation of Jehovah for His glory.

4. And they that spring from thee shall build
up the ruins of old times;
They shall restore the ancient desolations;
They shall repair the cities laid waste;
The desolations of continued ages.

5. And strangers shall stand up and feed your flocks;
And the sons of the alien shall be
your husbandman and vine-dressers.

6. But ye shall be called the priests of Jehovah;
The ministers of our God, shall be your title.
The riches of the nations shall ye eat;
And in the glory shall ye make your boast.

7. Instead of your shame, ye shall receive a double inheritance;
And of your ignominy, ye shall rejoice in their portion;
For in their land, a double share shall ye inherit;
And everlasting gladness shall ye possess.

8. For I am Jehovah, who love judgment;
Who hate rapine and iniquity;
And I will give them the reward of their work with faithfulness;
And an everlasting covenant will I make with them;

9. And their seed shall be illustrious among the nations;
And their offspring, in the midst of the peoples.
And they that see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are a seed which Jehovah hath blessed.

10. I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah;
My soul shall exult in my God.
For He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation;
He hath covered me with the mantle of righteousness;

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As the bridegroom decketh himself with a priestly crown;
And as a bride adorneth herself with her costly jewels.

11. Surely, as the earth pusheth forth her tender shoots;
And as a garden maketh her seed to germinate;
So shall the Lord God cause righteousness to spring forth;
And praise, in the presence of all the nations.

This is one of the shortest chapters in Isaiah, yet it is one of the fullest in Gospel instruction and comfort. We need not spend any time in noting when it applies, for all that has been said of preceding chapters, and of the entire book, applies here as well; moreover, the fact that Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth, after reading a portion of this chapter, said, "This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears," shows that it reached as far as the time of His first advent; and if it was applicable then, how much more now. God has not withdrawn His Spirit of Comfort from the Son, and therefore He is still clothed with the Spirit, "to comfort all that mourn." While there are many things in the chapter that might well claim all our attention, let us spend the most of our time and space in considering the covering which God provides for all people who will receive it.

A CHANGE OF RAIMENT

In two verses of this chapter is this clothing spoken of, namely, the 3rd and the 10th. The anointed of the Lord is commissioned to proclaim that God has provided "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" and the prophet breaks forth: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness." Suppose we put a few other texts by the side of these, and then see what they teach us.

Ps. xxxii. 1, 2: "Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile."

Rom. iv. 3-8: "What saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without work, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."

Rom. iii. 20-24: "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified [made righteous] freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Zech. iii. 1-5: "And He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Set a fair mitre upon his head, So they set a fair mitre upon his head and clothed him with garments."

Isa. lxiv. 6: "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."

What have we in these texts?-Simply this: that all men are by nature sinful; their nature is sin; they are not only covered with sin, but are filled with it. "Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works." Isa. lix. 4. Their best works are full of imperfection, and provide no covering. "Every man at his best state is altogether vanity." But God's works endure for ever, since they are all done in righteousness, and He has wrought a covering for all men, even the garment of His own righteous life,-the garment of salvation,-for we are saved by His life.

God covers Himself with light, as with a garment. Ps. civ. 2. In the statement that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. iii. 23), we learn that the glory of God-the light that surrounds Him-is His own perfect life. Righteousness is glory, even though it is not now so recognised among men; for in the world to come, when everything will appear just as it really is, the righteous will shine forth as the sun. Matt. xiii. 43. Therefore we know that man's original clothing was the light of the glory of God, and that this was lost and it became necessary to provide manufactured clothing for him only when he sinned. Our clothes are but the mark of the curse; and the fact that we must wear manufactured clothing is a constant sign that our bodies are still unredeemed from the curse. The more gay and pronounced is one's clothing, the more is the shame of the curse emphasised. Our present clothing of the body is nothing to be proud of, but rather something to cause shame. Thank God that it is not to last for ever.

THE CLOTHING OF THE LIFE: CLOTHING THAT GROWS

We have already seen, from the text quoted, that the exchanging of the filthy garment for the clean raiment is the taking away of all iniquity. The "fine linen, clean and white" is "the righteousness of saints." Rev. xix. 8. But this righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ, is put into as well as upon all them that believe. And this brings us to the heart of the matter-the way the clothing of the saints is prepared. The covering is the glory-the righteousness-of God, and the glory of God is seen upon His people simply because it is put into them. Remember that God is clothed with light as with a garment, because He Himself is light. His clothing is His life, and that proceeds from within, from the heart. We are clothed with the garment of salvation only when the salvation of God is within us, that is, when we are saved from the sins of our inmost being. Then we have an armour that none of Satan's weapons can pierce. When truth is "in the inward parts" (Ps. li. 6) it is a shield and buckler. Ps. xci. 4. The lions did not hurt Daniel, because innocency was found in him; it was impossible that Christ should be held by the grave, because He "knew no sin;" and it was this righteousness in the heart, filling His entire being, that made Him master of the winds and the waves, as well as of wild beasts and men.

Now we can see the intimate connection of verses 10 and 11, and the force of the word "for," with which the 11th verse begins. "My soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garment of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness; . . . for as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the

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garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." God's people are clothed with righteousness and salvation just as the earth is clothed with verdure. "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; . . . for the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself," that is, automatically. Mark iv. 26-28. We have all seen automatons, self-acting machines, and have wondered at the perfection of their movement, but have known that the power to move did not originate in them. So the earth brings forth fruit spontaneously, moved by the indwelling word which was planted in the beginning, when God said, "Let the earth bring forth." So the incorruptible seed, the engrafted Word, abiding in the souls of men, regenerates, produces a new life, which is a covering of glory.

THE GARMENT OF PRAISE

This clothing of salvation and righteousness is at the same time "the garment of praise." Compare verses 3 and 10. There can be no righteousness, no salvation, where there is not praise. The Kingdom of God is "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." Rom. xiv. 17. The anointing with the Holy Ghost is the anointing with "the oil of gladness." The walls of Zion are Salvation, and her gates are Praise. Isa. lx. 18. God compasses His people about with songs of deliverance. Ps. xxxii. 7. Indeed, it is by praise and thanksgiving that we appropriate the salvation that God gives. "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil. iv. 6. God says: "Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth Me, and prepareth a way that I may show him the salvation of God." Ps. l. 23, R.V. margin. The walls of Jericho fell only when Israel shouted victory (Joshua vi. 16, 20), and it was when Israel, going out to meet the enemy that vastly outnumbered them, began to sing and to "praise the beauty of holiness," that "the Lord set ambushments" against their enemies and utterly destroyed them. It is with singing that the ransomed of the Lord return and come to Zion. They come with "everlasting joy" upon their heads; and this joy is the gladness that springs up in the heart at the knowledge of God's wondrous salvation.

HOW REAL CLOTHING GROWS

It is perfectly in keeping with the thought of the chapter, that God's people should be clothed with the garments of praise and salvation, and covered with the robe of righteousness just as the earth bringeth forth her bud, since they are "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." The spring has just come, and the illustration is fresh before our eyes, as we see the bare and seemingly dead trees, and the naked earth suddenly clothed with beautiful garments. Whence came this robe of living green?-It came from within. The life power within manifested itself outwardly. "The life was manifested, and we have seen it" even in animate nature. The tree is clothed with the life that is in it; the life of the good seed-the Word of God-planted in the earth, clothes it with garments of glory and beauty. Even so is Jerusalem to put on her beautiful garments. Isa. lii. 1.

Speaking of the lilies, Christ said: "Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you?" Matt. vi. 29, 30. Christ says to us, Why do you worry about something wherewith to clothe the body, when your Heavenly Father, who knows all your needs, not only provides this everyday clothing, that soon wears out, but supplies us with clothing far superior to that of Solomon. Notice: Christ says that God will much more clothe us than the grass of the field; but the clothing of the grass of the field far excels all the glory of Solomon's dress; therefore we learn that God will clothe us even as He does the lily,-with garments that grow from the inner life,-but with a far more glorious dress. The righteous shall shine forth as the sun, even as the stars for ever and ever. The only question is, would we rather be clothed with God's righteousness than to walk naked? See Rev. iii. 17, 18.

Yet a few words more must be devoted to this wonderful chapter. Note that it is the poor to whom this glad tidings is announced. How fitting that the poor should be clothed! They are set free from prison, and given new clothing, and sent on their way rejoicing.

"He hath sent Me. . . to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." Literally, He hath sent Me to cry to the captives, "Liberty!" and to the bound, "Deliverance!" The Hebrew word rendered "liberty" means, "a swift flight, a wheeling," as of a bird that flies in circles, wheeling in flight through the air, and hence is the term for the swallow. There can be no more perfect picture of absolute freedom than a swallow flying through the air, and this is just the freedom that Christ proclaims to all men. Every one who will, may be as free as a bird; free from sin and everything that is a hindrance to perfect service to God, and this freedom is ours to enjoy now. "Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we are escaped." Ps. cxxiv. 7.

A PROCLAMATION OF UNIVERSAL LIBERTY

Remember that this liberty is for all. The Lord sends His servant "to comfort all that mourn." The proclamation of liberty is to all that are bound. Christ has entered into the strong man's prison house and has bound the tyrant that had usurped authority over men, and has taken from him "all his armour wherein he trusted." "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Heb. ii. 14, 15. Every prison door is open; every chain is broken; the captive has only to arise, and loose himself from the bands of his neck. Isa. lii. 2. In Christ every soul has been given power to break loose from every sin, every evil habit, every inherited or acquired evil, no matter what its nature. He has given us His own freedom, and when that is said, nothing more can be added. It is yours to claim by faith. If you do not know the way out of the prison, even though the doors be open,-if you cannot find the door,-enquire of Christ, and He will reveal the way to you. He is the Way. Accept Him in His fullness; study the perfection of the manifestation of His life; yield to it; and then stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free.

WHO MAY PROCLAIM THIS MESSAGE?

One thing more,-the greatest of all,-and that is, Who is anointed to proclaim this message of freedom? "Christ," you say. True; but it was a carpenter's son, Himself a journeyman carpenter, who read the message to a company of His

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neighbours and acquaintances, and said: "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." He was sent by the Lord God with the message of freedom and comfort, and "He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God;" and vice versa, every one who has received the word of God is sent. God has "reconciled us to Himself through Christ," and has "placed in us the word of reconciliation," so that we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were beseeching by us instead of by Christ; so that we pray in Christ's stead, "Be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. v. 18-20.

The anointing is by the Spirit of God, and every one who turns at the reproofs of God, which are the way of life, has the Spirit poured out upon him, and the words of God made known to him (Prov. i. 23), and is therefore sent with the message. Remember also that these words were spoken to the Jews by the man Isaiah, nearly eight hundred years before Jesus read them in the synagogue at Nazareth; and they were spoken with burning lips, from a full heart. Isaiah was no actor, but felt every word that he uttered. He was not speaking something that meant nothing to him, and could not mean anything to anybody for hundreds of years. The soul liberty was for the people "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah;" and Isaiah, whose soul had been made joyful in God by the clothing of righteousness that he had received (Isa. lxi. 10)-the purging of his sin, and the taking away of his iniquity (Isa. vi. 7),-was commissioned to proclaim it. So is every one who is willing to accept the anointing; for does not the message say to those who will hear, "Ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God"? Oh, it is glorious to be free, but that alone is small compared with the freedom to set others at liberty.

"Believing a Lie" The Present Truth 16, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

"In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin." This proverb is often illustrated by speakers who have a great flow of words without a proportionate fund of right thoughts. For instance, in one of the May meetings a zealous speaker asserted that "it is better to believe a lie with intensity than to believe nothing at all." But a lie is wholly bad, and cannot therefore be better than anything else. Moreover, it is impossible for anybody not to believe anything; whoever does not believe the truth, necessarily believes a lie; there is no neutral ground and the more intensely one believes a lie, the worse it is for him and everybody with whom he comes in contact.

"Partners with God. Matt. ix. 35-x. 8" The Present Truth 16, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

THE TWELVE SENT FORTH

"Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."

That was the kind of work that Jesus did, The reason why He did it is told in Acts x. 38: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him." He was "a Man approved of God. . . by many miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him." Acts ii. 22. He was in partnership with God-one with Him, the visible member, so to speak, of the firm, of which God the Father was the silent partner. So He said: "The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." John xiv. 10.

There are two very distinct words used in Matt. ix. 35, but they are in our English versions rendered by two words that to the ordinary mind mean essentially the same thing, namely, "sickness" and "disease." The first word is correctly rendered, and perhaps the second one is also, if we resolve it into its elements, lack of ease. What the word rendered "disease" in this and other places really means is "infirmity," "weakness," "softness." The corresponding adjective is rendered "soft" in Matt. xi . 8 and Luke vii. 25, in the expression "soft raiment," and in 1 Cor. vi . 9 it is rendered "effeminate." The statement in verse 35 therefore is that Jesus went about, God being with Him, healing every sickness of every sort, and all weakness, infirmity, every case of disordered nerves which rendered the possessor impatient and irritable. He healed not only actual sickness, but every enfeebled condition. Before His healing touch all weakness, lassitude, inertia, lack of energy fled, and bounding vitality came. He came to save those who were "without strength," and He did it; "for God was with Him."

"And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God

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with us." Matt. i. 23. That being the case, the same sort of work ought to be done by those who believe in Him. Even such is the promise. Mark xvi. 17, 18. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, . . . and hath put into us the word of reconciliation," so that as ambassadors for Christ, God is to work through us, in Christ's stead, even as He did through Jesus Himself. 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. Christ was here working by the power of God, to set an example of labour. He showed the nature of the work that God wishes to have done, and the character of His chosen workmen.

Proof of this is found in what immediately follows the statement quoted at the head of this lesson. Jesus called the twelve to Him, and sent them out to preach the Gospel of the kingdom, "and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness," even as He Himself did. The words here are identical with those in the statement concerning Jesus. He gave His disciples authority, power, over all devils, and to heal every sickness and every infirmity. And that means, of course, that He gave to them personally the power to rise above all infirmity. Lassitude is a thing foreign to the kingdom of heaven; super- abounding life characterises all that pertains to God. He says to us, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world;" and as God is with Him,and He as God is with us, the works that Christ's followers are expected to do, even until the end of the world, are not such as mere men could do of themselves, but such as would reflect honour on the power of God dwelling in men.

"Honour and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." Ps. xcvi. 6. The only real trouble with any person is lack of power. "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Gal. v. 17. "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Rom. viii. 8. Sin is weakness, degeneration, lack of Divine power; but the Gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." The cross of Christ is the power of God. Jesus Christ is our strength and our Redeemer; and He gave Himself, for us; therefore strength, endurance, must characterise the subjects of His kingdom. This He indicated in the command, "As ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give." The word rendered "sick" in this text is literally, "without strength," so that the command is really to heal those who have no strength. "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees." Isa. xxxv. 3. This shows Christ's true followers to be indeed partners, workers together, with God, who "giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might He increaseth strength." Isa. xl. 29.

Just a glance at the character of the men whom Christ chose for this great work. They were of the common people. Quite a number were fishermen. We look back upon what the most of them became under the Holy Spirit's guidance, and we unconsciously attribute this power to them from the beginning, and assume that Christ chose them because of their peculiar attainments. No; they were very ordinary men, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. i. 27-31. God chooses His workmen, not for what they are, but for what He can make of them.

In the church the terms "clergy" and "laity" have been adopted to mark the distinction between the ministers of the Gospel and the common people; but no such distinction exists in the Bible. The word "laity" is from the Greek word laos, people; but that is just what Christ's ministers are. Of Christ Himself it is said: "I have laid help on One that is mighty; I have exalted One chosen out of the people." Ps. lxxxix. 19. The Jewish priests came to regard themselves as a distinct class, far above the people, and so the Pharisees spoke contemptuously of "this people who knoweth not the law." John vii. 49. The rulers marvelled when they saw that Peter and John were but "laymen,"-common people,-and "they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." Acts iv. 13. That is the secret of power.

The possession of great gifts does not ensure one against failing. Judas was sent out as one of the twelve, and there is nothing to indicate that he did not have the same power that the rest had. Why not? The Lord did not choose His followers for what they were, but for what He could make of them if they would yield to His influence. Judas did not always listen to the promptings of Satan. There were in him possibilities of becoming a superior labourer. Even Satan was once a trusted servant of Jehovah, full of power and wisdom and beauty. It was jealousy, wounded pride,-or rather the yielding to pride, for pride when it is present is sure to get wounded,-that caused his downfall. So covetousness, offended dignity, made a traitor of one of the twelve intimate companions of Jesus. Beware of self-love. It is well to "covet earnestly the best gifts," but "the more excellent" way is the possession of love, the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit. Take heed that ye receive not the grace of God in vain; and "let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest ye fall."

"For Little Ones. Love for All Things" The Present Truth 16, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

"Holy, holy, holy Lord
God of hosts, when heaven and earth
Out of darkness, at Thy Word,
Issued into glorious birth,
All Thy works before Thee stood
And Thine eye beheld them good
While they sang, with sweet accord,
Holy, holy, holy Lord."

Do you notice that these lines, which perhaps you have often sung, speak of the birth of the heavens and the earth. This is the way that the Word of God speaks of the creation of all things. Read the second verse of the nineteenth Psalm, with the margin:-

"Before the mountains were brought forth [of born]
Or ever Thou gavest birth to the earth and the world."

It is a new thought to you that the whole creation is really born of God, and He is the great Father of all His works? In the fourth verse of the second chapter of Genesis we are told: "These are the generations [or births] of the heavens and the earth."

The word Genesis means "the birth," and this book is so-called because it tells us of the birth of all things, the light, the firmament, the seas, the grass and trees, the birds and fishes, creeping things and animals, as well as of the birth of man himself. It was by His Word that God brought forth all these things, so all things were born "by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever." And it is by that same Word that everything that comes into being is still born. For to all the living things that He brought forth in the beginning, God said, "Be fruitful, and multiply," and by the power of this Word they go on multiplying to this day.

Now if all things are, like ourselves, born of God, do you not see that this brings us into relationship with all, and not with our human brothers and sisters only. Last week we spoke of the different races of men that God has made "of one blood," and of the words of Jesus, "All ye are brethren."

But in one sense this is true also of all the things that He has made; for "through all created things thrills one pulse of life from the great heart of God." This life of our Heavenly Father in which we all share makes us all one, "every one members one of another," and

"Nothing useless is or low,
Each thing in its place is best,
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest."

Speaking of "St. Francis of Assisi," who never spoke to bird or beast but as his brother, Mr. Ruskin said: "None can love God, nor his human brother, without loving all things which His Father loves; nor without looking upon them, every one, as in that respect his brothers also.

Perhaps this will remind you of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," which very likely you have in your reading books. This is a parable in which the poet teaches the effect upon the heart and life and character of cruelty to any of God's creatures, or of love and kindly feelings towards them.

If you have read it you will remember that the mariner shot the albatross, the confiding bird that followed the ship

"And every day, for food or play,
Came to the Mariners' hollo."

From that time the bird seemed to hang like a dead weight round his neck, and trouble and misfortune followed him. He says:

"I looked to heaven and tried to pray,
But or ever a prayer had gushed,
A wicked whisper came, and made
My heart as dry as dust."

At last one day he was watching some beautiful water snakes that "moved in tracks of shining white" by the side of the ship.

"Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,
They coiled and swam, and every track
Was a flash of golden fire."

And as he watched them and admired their beauty a feeling of love for them touched his heart.

"A spring of love gushed from my heart,
And I blessed them unaware."

The first effect of this spring of love for his fellow-creatures that rose in his heart, he describes as follows:

"The self-same moment I could pray;
And from my neck so free,
The albatross fell off, and sank
Like lead into the sea."

And he ends the story of his experience with these true words:

"He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man, and bird, and beast.
"He prayeth best who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

-Australia has sent 6,239 soldiers to the war.

-Brisbane reports one death and two new cases of plague. In all, 227 cases, and seventy-four deaths have occurred at Sydney.

-Smallpox has broken out in Lausanne. There are twenty cases in the town, and the malady is spreading throughout French Switzerland.

-Snow fell in the North of England, May 14. It is said that only on ten occasions during the past thirty years has the temperature he May fallen so low.

-A complete telephonic and telegraphic apparatus has been arranged on the various platforms of the Eiffel Tower, from which messages can be despatched to all parts of the world.

-A new armoured cruiser, the Aboukir, was launched at Glasgow, May 16. The vessel is 440 feet long, has a displacement of 12,000 tons, and is intended to steam twenty-one knots an hour.

-Miss Florence Nightingale completed her eightieth year on Tuesday, May 16. Though an invalid unable to leave her room, she continues to take a deep interest in nursing and hospital work.

-Over thirty lives were lost through the capsising of two boats filled with young people, in an Italian lake, near Rome. The boats were within 300 yards of the landing, but only thirteen of the inmates were rescued.

-A pamphlet has just appeared, entitled "The Disruption of the Church of England," in which appear the names of over 9,000 clergymen who are said to be helping the movement towards Rome in the National Church.

-The death duties during the year ending March 31, 1900, show an Increase of ?2,840,334 over those of the previous year. This is believed to be due chiefly to the high death rate from influenza and pneumonia which prevailed for some weeks during the winter.

-A monument to Dr. Livingston, consisting of an obelisk twenty feet high, which is to mark the spot in Africa where the heart of the missionary was buried by his native followers, was recently shipped from this country.

-A grocer's license was refused at Montrose. In opposing an appeal against this decision, it a as stated that the certificates in favour of the applicant were all from Established Church ministers.

-E Telegrafo, a Sunday weekly in Guadalajara, Mexico, is said to be the smallest newspaper in the world. It is published in eight columns, fourteen and a half inches long, and one and a half inches wide, on thick manilla paper.

-The official list of British casualties in South Africa up to and including May 12 shows a total loss of 20,108. About one quarter of these man are reported as missing and prisoners; 2,492, or about one-eighth of the entire number died of disease.

-It is announced that a French syndicate has purchased a famous castle on the island of Corfu, belonging to Greece, for the purpose of turning it into a Greek Monte Carlo. Gambling is one of the evils of the last days which is decidedly on the increase.

-The British and Foreign Bible Society has upwards of a thousand translators and revisers in its employ. During the year 1898-9 the society aided in the production or revision of the Word of God in 139 different languages. Thirteen of these translations were made into languages in which the Scriptures had not previously appeared.

-The secretary for the Central Y.M.C.A. reports that at no period in the history of the Association has Bible study assumed so much importance as during the past twelve months. The present membership of the Association for London is 2,151; associates, 881; junior section members, 116. Forty-one meetings for young men are held weekly, with an aggregate attendance of 1,910.

-Mayence, on the Rhine, is to celebrate, in splendid style, the 500th anniversary of the birth of its distinguished citizen Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of printing. The festivities will extend over several days, from June 23 to June 26. The sum of 44,000 marks is already subscribed towards the expenses of the celebration. In a cavalcade numbering, it is said, 14,000 persons, all the nations will be represented. A printing exhibition will be one of the attractions.

-It is reported that the managers of the trunk railway lines centring at Chicago have under consideration a plan for holding services on all trains travelling long distances on Sunday. The proposal is that the dining cars should be turned into chapels every Sunday morning, and that clergymen should be appointed to conduct services to which all the passengers would be invited. Perhaps a leading object of this innovation is suggested in the comment that "the railway managers believe the adoption of the plan will increase business by removing much of the prejudice against Sunday travelling."

-Sydney is making strenuous efforts to get rid of the plague. 4,814 houses have been inspected, 532 have had notices to cleanse, and 38,000 rats have been killed and burnt. When the plague breaks out in an area of houses, the whole neighbourhood is isolated, cleansed, and disinfected, old dwellings pulled down, decayed timbers carried into the open and burns. It is said that thousands of tons of indescribable filth, she accumulations of a hundred years, have been removed, placed in barges, and carried few out to sea. It would be well if other cities would take warning, and do the same thorough-going work as a precautionary measure.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

Unto them that mourn the Lord promises beauty instead of the ashes of sorrow with which they have covered themselves. What is this beauty?-Here is the answer: "The Lord taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meet with salvation." Ps. cxlix. 4. This beauty is "the beauty of holiness," the beauty of the life of the Lord, the beauty of right actions, of work wrought in God. Then "let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us." What a change I from the ashes of despair to the beauty of the Lord. Are you feeling heavy and despondent? then this means you.

It is interesting and instructive to note that in the text, "to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (lsa. lxi. 3), the word for "heaviness" is the same as that rendered "smoking" or "dimly burning," in Isa. xlii. 3. The verb from which it is derived is the one generally used to denote failing eight, dimness of vision, or faintness. So for every one whose spiritual sight has become dim, whose faith is almost gone, and who is fainting by the way, the Lord has a message that will make him sing for joy. There is hope for all; no one need be discouraged, for Christ Himself is here by the Holy Spirit "to comfort all that mourn."

"'Trees of Righteousness'" The Present Truth 16, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

"Trees of Righteousness." -Those who accept the Gospel are called "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." Many times in the Bible the righteous are likened to trees, and are said to be trees. A tree unhindered in its growth is one of the most majestic objects in creation. Some trees have doubtless been standing since the flood, more than four thousand years, yet they are fresh and green and growing still. The young shoot is no fresher, no greener, than one of these ancient monarchs, and of course not nearly as strong.

What lesson has this for us?-Just this, that the Christian must ever be growing. How long does a tree grow?-Just as long as it lives. There is no limit set to the size of a tree. Some kinds of trees never grow as large as other kinds, but every tree, no matter what its kind, is perpetually growing. It never arrives at a stopping place. It never compares itself with some other famous tree, now dead, and says, "I am as large as it was, therefore I do not need to grow any more." Often no one but God can mark the growth from year to year, but it grows nevertheless, content that God knows. So the Christian, rooted and grounded in Christ, must always "grow in grace." He must know more, and have a larger experience this year than last. He has nothing to do with comparisons between himself and somebody else, but has only to use all the light and moisture that God gives him, and reach out for all there is yet to come.

The plant never shuns the light, but on the contrary eagerly turns towards it, and seeks it. Light is its life, and it rejoices in it. So with the true Christian. He never tries to see how little he can do with, but how much he can get, and he keeps growing. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing." Ps. xcii. 12-14. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Ps. i. 1-3.

What depth and breadth, what infinity, is suggested by the words, "the fulness of God." Nothing higher could be affirmed of Christ than that "it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell." Col. i. 19. "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Col. ii. 9. Nothing more than this can be said; and we may spend an eternity in contemplation of it without exhausting it.

All this fulness dwelt in Christ as the representative Man, to show that it in God's pleasure that all men should have His fulness dwelling in them. The Holy Spirit is Christ's personal presence; and when we are strengthened with might by this Spirit in the inner man according to the riches of His glory, Christ dwells in our heart by faith, so that we may "be filled with all the fulness of God." Eph. iii. 16-19. Christ has ascended on high, and has shed forth the Spirit, in order that He may "fill all things." Eph. iv. 10.

"And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." John i. 16. That is not to say that we possess His fulness, but that it is ours to possess. Christ has given us lie peace, yet there are thousands who do not even know the meaning of the word. It in theirs to possess, but they do not take it and make use at it. So with the fulness of God: it is given to man, and the case of "the Man Christ Jesus" shows that it is God's pleasure that His fulness should dwell in all men. "Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. iv. 7. The true church of Christ, which is composed of men who hear and acknowledge and wholly yield to the Word of the Lord, is "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." Eph. i. 22, 23.

But we must not make the mistake of supposing that the fulness of God consists merely in manifestations of power that dazzle the eyes and overawe the mind. It is very evident that there is a wide range in so vast a thing as the fulness of God. God is complete in all His attributes, which include goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience, etc. Not only so but it is in these qualities that His greatness consists; therefore we read: "Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy greatness hath made me great." Ps. xviii. 35. The word rendered "gentleness" is the ordinary word for "meekness;" it is God's meekness that makes us great, and so we are exhorted to learn of Him who is meek and lowly in heart. Christ is "full of grace and truth" (John i. 14), and this was the fulness of the glory of God. Therefore our longing prayer to God is not to be for something great in the eyes of the world, but instead, "Lord, give me Thy fulness of patience, Thy fulness of meekness and humility, Thy fulness of longsuffering, Thy fulness of goodness and grace and truth." What a blessed wonder that all this fulness of God is ours if we will but accept it. Having that we can be content, for we need nothing more.

May 31, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. God's Watchfulness and Solicitude for His People. Isa. lxii. 1-12" The Present Truth 16, 22.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lxii. 1-12, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

1. For Sion's sake I will not keep silence;
And for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest;
Until her righteousness break forth as a
strong light;
And her salvation, like a blazing torch.

2. And the nations shall see thy righteousness;
And all the kings, thy glory;
And thou shalt be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of Jehovah shall fix upon
thee.

3. And thou shalt be a beautiful crown in the
hand of Jehovah;
And a royal diadem in the grasp of thy God.

4. No more shall it be said unto thee, Thou for-
saken!
Neither to thy land shall it be said any more,
Thou desolate!
But thou shalt be called, The object of My delight;
And thy land, The wedded matron;
For Jehovah shall delight in thee;
And thy land shall be joined in marriage.

5. For as a young man weddeth a virgin,
So shall thy Restorer wed thee;
And as the bridegroom rejoiceth in his bride,
So shall thy God rejoice in thee.

6. Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem,
Have I set watchmen all the day;
And all the night long they shall not keep
silence.
O ye that proclaim the name of Jehovah!

7. Keep not silence yourselves, nor let Him rest
in silence;
Until He establish, and until He render
Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

8. Jehovah hath sworn by His right hand, and
by His powerful arm;
I will no more give thy corn for food to thine
enemies;
Nor shall the sons of the stranger drink thy must,
for which thou hast laboured;

9. But they that reap the harvest shall eat it
and praise Jehovah;
And they that gather the vintage shall eat it
in My sacred courts.

10. Pass ye, pass through the gates; prepare the
way for the people!
Cast ye up, cast up the causeway; clear it
from the stones!
Lift up on high a standard to the nations!

11. Behold, Jehovah hath thus proclaimed to the
end of the earth:
Say ye to the daughter of Sion, Lo thy
Saviour cometh!
Lo, His reward is with Him, and the recom-
pense of His work before Him.
And they shall be called, The Holy people, and
the redeemed of Jehovah;

12. And thou shalt be called, The much desired,
the city unforsaken.

It is plainly to be seen that it is God who is speaking in this chapter. It is He who says that He will not hold His peace, nor keep silence until the righteousness of His people-all Jerusalem-breaks forth as a strong light. When we consider this, what comfort we find in the words. God has charged Himself with our case. He is interested in our behalf. Now since God so earnestly desires our righteousness, and has said that He will not relax His efforts to that end, what is there on earth that can keep us from being righteous, if we are but willing? God is almighty, and what He has promised, He is able also to perform. Let no one say that it is impossible to live without sin. With God all things are possible.

God saves us for service. He is not content with merely making us righteous, and so saving us, but He will have the righteousness shine forth for the enlightenment

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of others, and salvation go forth from His people, even as it does from Himself. What will take place when all the people see the righteousness and the salvation which He brings to us?-"Many shall see it and fear, and turn to the Lord." Ps. xl. 1-3.

Compare verse 2 with Rev. ii. 17. What intimate relationship and loving companionship this reveals! Two friends, who are much more than mere friends, often know each other by a name that is not known to others. It would be a breach of confidence, almost a sacrilege, if they used the name before others. It is a sign of their mutual love and confidence. So God takes His people into intimate relationship with Himself, and He so takes them not merely as a whole, but individually. He has a special name for each one, which is known only to Him and that one. His love is infinite, and therefore there is enough for each one. There will be no jealousy because another receives the same attention that we do. How precious are His thoughts toward us!

"The Lord taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation." Ps. cxlix. 4. He will even make of them a crown of glory, and a royal diadem. Think of the exalted position to which God has determined to elevate His people: He will make them His crown of glory; they will be an adornment even to Him. What an incentive to walk worthy of the calling of God.

How many people there are who are called Forsaken. "Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God." Ps. iii. 2. The devil has told many people that they have committed the unpardonable sin, and that God has forsaken them; and he has, sad to say, agents on earth, who repeat the words. But "the Lord will not cast off for ever." Lam. iii. 31. "He that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out." John vi. 37. "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Heb. xiii. 5. Whoever is oppressed by the thought that God has forsaken him, may know that He has not; because the fact that he feels sad over the supposed casting off, is proof that he does not wish to be separate from God; and it is only man that can effect any such separation. Thank God, the time is soon coming when there will be no possibility for anyone to call another Forsaken, for it will be apparent to all that God is in the midst of His people. But if we are ever to rejoice in God's salvation, we should do it now. God has not forsaken Zion. See Isa. xlix. 14-16. Therefore "cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." Isa. xii. 6.

Watchmen have been set on the walls of Zion by God Himself. This is proof that He has not forsaken His people. It is the devil who would make people believe that God has forsaken them, because he knows that when they feel that they are out of God's care they fall an easy prey to him. But God says of His vineyard, His people,-"Lest any hurt it I will keep it night and day." Isa. xxvii. 3. So the watchmen whom He appoints, and whose duty it is to sound the alarm of danger, and also to announce glad tidings of good things, are not to hold their peace day nor night. They are the ones who are to "make mention of the Lord," that is, remind people of Him. To them He says: "Keep not silence yourselves, nor let Him rest in silence." "Take no rest, and give Him no rest," until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the whole earth,-until His people are saved, and made to dwell in the New Jerusalem, the capital of the new earth. How different God is from the unjust judge. See Luke xviii. 1-8. The unjust judge did not wish to be disturbed; he did not wish to have anybody-poor people, at least-come to him with a plea for help. But God, on the contrary, begs us to come to Him, and make known our troubles and needs. "Come any time, come day or night; yea, come both day and night, and do not let there be a minute's intermission, but keep making requests, even demands, of Me," is what God says. What a loving Father! Why will anybody be so distrustful as to go in want?

"'As He Thinketh in His Own Heart'" The Present Truth 16, 22.

E. J. Waggoner

We have lately heard the sentence, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he," quoted as teaching that anybody is just what he thinks himself to be; that is, if he thinks that he is ill, he is ill; if he thinks himself to be well, he is well; and if he thinks himself to be good, then he is good. This last statement should show everybody how absurd the interpretation is. It would do away with all reality, and make both this world and the world to come, with all that they contain, only imaginary things. It would shut the power of God out of man's experience, in that he would have no need for it. An examination of the context (Prov. xxiii. 6-8) shows the meaning. It is a warning against being deceived by the words of an evil man. He makes generous offers, "but his heart is not with thee," and "as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" that is, he is dishonest; he is not what he seems outwardly to be, but what he thinks in his heart. It is not the wicked thoughts that make a man evil, but the evil man thinks the evil thoughts. An evil man brings forth evil thoughts and acts, and a good man thinks good thoughts, and does good deeds. No man can by taking thought make one hair white or black, or affect his real condition in any way whatever. The mind of man cannot create; it can only grasp that which God has created. This is faith, and by faith, not by inspiration, a man is saved in body and soul.

"This World's Reward of Faithfulness. Mark vi. 14-29" The Present Truth 16, 22.

E. J. Waggoner

DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

The testimony of Jesus concerning John was, "He was a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." John v. 35. The object of light is to enable us to see the way, so that we may not stumble in it, or wander out of it. It necessarily reveals defects. It does not make defects, but shows where they are. The sun is a faithful witness, and will record on the sensitised plate, just what it beholds, without adding to or taking from. "All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light; for whatsoever doth make manifest is light." Eph. v. 13. When light ceases to show the sharp distinction between the good and the bad, the right way and the wrong way, it is light no longer. Light has no option in the matter; it must reveal things as they are; it cannot do otherwise than expose deformity when it exists.

Accordingly John, as a burning and a shining light,-not the Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, but the one who bore witness of that Light by letting the true Light shine through him unchecked,-could not refrain from reproving the sin of Herod, who had unlawfully and wickedly taken his brother Philip's wife. The fact that Herod was king could not make any difference. A king is but a servant of God, set in high a position that he may reveal the character of God more widely than other man, and who, if he is unfaithful to his Master, has the greater influence for evil; and therefore it is even more necessary that the sins of rulers be pointed out, that they may be corrected, than those of people in less exalted positions. "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." 2 Sam. xxiii. 3.

It has been clearly pointed out in these pages, from the Scriptures, that she fortieth chapter of Isaiah is the message of John the Baptist. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Isa. xl. 3-5. Compare Luke iii. 1-5. But the message of John the Baptist does not end with those verses; that message continues through the whole of the remainder of the book of Isaiah. In reproving Herod, John was but delivering the message that he was commanded to give, namely, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isa. lviii. 1.

FIRMNESS WITH MEEKNESS

The idea that John the Baptist was a harsh reprover, hard and unsympathetic in his nature, delighting in laying bare the sing of people, both high and low, and smiting to wound, is a false one. Many have unconsciously formed this opinion of him, but it is most unjust. He was a true servant of God, and as such he necessarily answered to the inspired description of the character of a servant: "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil." 2 Tim. ii. 24-26. The Lord does not send reproofs to condemn people, but to convict and convert them. The Comforter reproves. John xvi. 7, 8. "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." John iii. 17. "Reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Prov. vi. 23. Therefore God does not send any of the servants of Christ out into the world to condemn the world, but only to show them the way of life. No sin ought ever to be mentioned except for the purpose of saving sinners. To hold the errors and wickedness of any person or class of people up to ridicule or reproach, is in itself wicked unfaithfulness to God. There was hope for Herod, and opportunity for him to repent and be forgiven, and therefore John kindly but firmly reproved him. Strength is best manifested in connection with gentleness. The most skilful surgeons who wield the knife with firmness, are often the kindest and gentlest of men. Unswerving loyalty to principle and unequivocal denunciation of sin, may be, and must be if real, combined with kindness of disposition, hatred of controversy, and love of peace.

Herod's wickedness was due to weakness of character. That is, of course, in a certain sense true of everybody; but while sin is always weakness, there are many sinners who are leaders, and many others who are simply led. There are men of strong characters, designed for leaders in the right way, who sin boldly and fearlessly, and who have a positive influence over others, but are not themselves apparently influenced by anybody; and there are weak men, who would be good (or would at least seem to be good) if everybody else were good, and there were no temptation to evil, but who, being surrounded by evil, make no definite resistance. They love evil, although they fear its consequences, and having no settled principles, they are easily made the tool of designing persons. Of this nature was Herod. He was angry with John for disturbing his conscience, and had put him in prison, but even this was because of his evil associations. We read that "John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and kept him safe." Mark vi. 18-20, margin, and R.V. Herod was ruled by his paramour, and so John was cast into prison; yet the king had for a long time refused to do him any hurt. He doubtless thought that he could sat him free later on.

DANGER OF TRIFLING WITH TRUTH

There is in all these incidents a most important lesson for us to learn. We see how helpless the man is who does not definitely yield to the Lord. Herod took on the colour of his surroundings which were bad. Indeed, people of that disposition almost always sooner or later drift into bad company. He was like many other men, who will make any concession to gain and hold position and power, where their self love and desire for vain glory can be gratified, yet who, by their very concessions to gain power, show that they are slaves. In short, he was a politician, and, like Pilate, was a perfect type of his class. He knew that John was a true prophet, and that he spoke the truth, and he could not help honouring him; yet his weak interposition to save him from the malignant hatred of Herodias, arose rather from

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the fear of the consequences of putting a prophet to death, than from love of his goodness. His dealing with John was like that of Pilate with Christ. They thought that by making some concessions to the haters of good men, they could have their own way later, and save them; but they did not know the power of the master to whom they weakly yielded themselves. The man who has not a definite conviction, and who does not decidedly accept that which he knows to be true, is the slave of evil. He who dallies with his conscience, and trifles with truth, is sure to be swept away by the flood of sin.

"PUT NOT YOUR TRUST IN PRINCES"

Herod did not wish to kill John, and he was sorely troubled when he saw how he had been trapped. But he had given his oath, and so "could not help himself." Therefore he was not a king, but a slave. The history of John the Baptist is a picture of the people of God immediately preceding the coming of Christ, with this exception, that the decree that they shall all be killed (Rev. xiii. 15) will be prevented from being carried out by the appearance of Christ in glory, to deliver His people, and destroy the enemies of truth. There are some who place a great deal of dependence upon rulers; they think that the cause of God has much to gain from the State. It has much to give, but nothing to receive. The world is as much opposed to God now as it ever was. "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." "All they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Tim. iii. 12, 13, There are men in high position, who, like Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar among the heathen kings, and Nicodemus and Joseph among the Jewish rulers, will accept the truth, and will devote themselves to it; but these are the exceptions. There are many others who would willingly shield the righteous from persecution, if they could do it and keep their position. But laws have been passed, which seem innocent enough, and calculated to benefit the people, but which can and will be used by malicious persons to persecute those who are faithful to God. Then these officials will say, "I am exceedingly sorry: but I have sworn to uphold and execute the laws, and I cannot help myself." And so the faithful will suffer, while the wicked seam to triumph. But "the triumphing of the wicked is short." Jesus says, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." It is far better to lose one's life for a principle, than to gain a respite by compromising. The world rewards faithfulness with death, but God rewards it with life.

"CEASE TO DO EVIL"

Ought Herod to have broken his oath? Would it have been right for him to refuse to fulfil his promise. Most certainly. It was decidedly wrong for him to make such a promise, and swear to it; for he made it in the heat of passion, and the kingdom was not his to give away. The very fact, however, that it was wrong for him to make the oath, is evidence that it would have been right for him to break it; for it is always right to break off from an evil. Foolish, worldly-wise statesmen say that the best thing to do with a bad law is to enforce it. No; the best thing to do with it is to abolish it. And if it is contrary to God's commandments, the best thing for men to do is to disregard it. The best thing to do is always to do right; but since "all have sinned," the best thing to do is to "cease to do evil." It is never wrong to stop in an evil career. It is always right to stop doing wrong. Let no one deceive himself or allow others to deceive him with false logic. The logical course always, the Christian course, is to break off sin by righteousness.

"For The Children. Our Influence" The Present Truth 16, 22.

E. J. Waggoner

Do you know that there is not, a single little particle of matter in all the universe of God but what has an influence? Not simply an influence somewhere, but an influence everywhere.

This is not because there is any power in the matter itself, but because God fills all the things that He has made with His own Spirit and power.

You have heard of this power perhaps under different, names-of the power that attracts every single particle of matter to every other, and holds them together so that they form the stones, rocks, and the dust of the ground that make up this great world. You have heard, too, of the power that attracts things so that they move toward the earth, instead of away from it; like the apple falling from the tree, that led Sir Isaac Newton into a train of thought that showed him how this same power is working to attract the heavenly bodies to each other. This is what keeps them in their places, and draws them in their appointed orbits.

Though this power is called different names by men, yet it is really all one, the work of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, in whom all things "hold together." (See Colossians i. 17.)

The influence, the attracting power, that one thing has over another, is the drawing of this Spirit of love, which binds the whole universe into one great brotherhood, as we learned last week. Perhaps you remember the question that the Lord asked Job:

"Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the
Pleiades [or the seven stars]
Or loose the bonds of Orion?"

These sweet influences, these bands that hold together all the works of God, are "the cords of love," with which she Lord draws and unites all. And so close is the tie that binds them, that every movement of every single body is felt through all, and has an influence which affects the movements of all.

But as they are all under the control of the one great spirit, there is always perfect harmony, and not one ever moves out of time or place. As the Psalmist tells us:

"They abide this day according to thine ordi-
nances,
For all things are Thy servants."

But to you, His human children formed in His image to be His dwelling place, God has given a much larger measure of His Spirit and power. Yet He has left you free to choose whether the power of the life He has given shall be used for good or evil.

Remember, dear children, as you think over this, that "none of us liveth to himself." Think of the awful power of your life over others, and of how far your influence will reach. To impress this solemn thought upon us, some one has said:

"No life can be pure in its purpose and strong in
its strife
And all life not be better end stronger thereby."

Perhaps you do not see how this can be,-that your life, which seems so hidden and unimportant, can influence the whole world. Yet so it is; not simply your life as a whole, but your every action makes itself felt. We cannot have a better illustration of this great truth than one that has been often used: Throw a stone into a pool of water, and watch the result. See the influence of the stone upon the water. The movement of the stone causes a movement in the water as it touches it, and this little inner circle of water influences the water all around it, and this again the water beyond. Thus the ripple spreads, in ever-widening circles, till it reaches the utmost limits of the water, and touches the surrounding shore.

Even so your life, your actions, your movements, have their influence on those around, those whom you touch continually in your daily life. This may be a very small circle perhaps; but these, have in turn their Influence upon others, and what that influence is, is partly the effect of your influence upon them; and so you have your share in this also. Then those whom they influence in turn influence others, a wider circle, and the whole world feels the effect of your life.

Read carefully and remember the beautiful words in which one, writer expresses this, after telling us to patiently do is the work that has nearest which, if performed with faith and diligence, "will be felt to the uttermost puts of the earth":-

"God often uses the simplest means to accomplish the greatest results. It is His plan that every part of His work shall depend on every other part, as a wheel within a wheel, all acting in harmony. The humblest worker, moved by the Holy Spirit, will touch invisible chords, whose vibrations will ring to the ends of the earth, and make melody through eternal ages."

So you see that it is true, not that we each may have an influence somewhere, but that we each must have an influence everywhere.

Is it not a very solemn thought, that the whole world will feel the influence of your life, whether for good or evil? And do you not owe it to others for their sakes to be true, to be pure, to be strong, to be filled with the holy, loving Spirit of Jesus so that your influence will always be for good?

Seen in this, light, there are no "little things," for the effects of even our smallest actions are great beyond our power to measure. Even your conduct when no eye sees you, those things which are known only to yourself, by their influence upon you for good or evil change your character, and thus affect your influence upon others.

So be good in order that you may do good. And "do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can," while the days are going by. It may seem that you can do very little, but this is the strongest reason for doing what you can. Because you can do so little, be sure that; you never lose an opportunity of doing that little.

"If a smile we can renew,
As our journey we pursue,
Oh, the good we all may do,
While the days are going by."

It does not seem much, does it, to bring back a smile to one sad face? Yet see what may be the results coming from even so small a thing so "one sweet smile."

"One owed smile and two kind words;
Three merry laughs, like the songs of birds;
Four bright faces that once were sad;
Five little hearts made cheery and glad;
Six brave fathers doing their best;
Seven tired mothers strengthened and blessed;
Eight dear children filled full of glee;
Nine happy families pleasant to see;
Ten big blessings in one short while,-
And all springing forth from one sweet smile."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 22.

E. J. Waggoner

-Six European steamers arrived at New York, Friday, May 18, with 5,582 Immigrants.

-South Carolina reports a mining disaster, causing the death of twenty-two employees.

-The Daily Chronicle paper mills at Sittingbourne were damaged by fire to the extent of ?30,000.

-A World's Temperance Congress is to be held in London next month under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

-The House of Lords has unanimously passed the second reading of a Bill which raises the age at which boys may be employed in mines from twelve to thirteen.

-Barbers in Boston, U.S.A., are now required by the Board of Health to sterilise their razors, shaving brushes and mugs, immediately after using them; to give every customer a clean towel, and to wash their hands before calling "Next!"

-Russia has obtained from Korea, as a coaling station, the harbour of Masampho, said to be the finest in the country. This will now be the winter headquarters of the Russian fleet. Japan views the encroachments of her powerful neighbour with evident suspicion and alarm.

-The Seaman's Christian Friend Society reports holding 13,000 meetings on sea and land during the last twelve months, and 50,000 visits to ships and dwellings. The society's home bas sheltered 1,000 sailors, and its six reading rooms have been visited by 80,000 men.

-The National Anti-Vivisection Society passed a resolution at their recent annual meeting calling upon Parliament to pass a Bill, prepared by the Society, which provides for the anoesthisation of every animal vivisected, and that the animal should be killed before awakening from the anoesthetic.

-A member of the Royal Geographical Society, who has spent seven summers in Iceland, enthusiastically recommends it as a summer resort. He says: "The summer climate is superb, the air, though warm, being marvellously crisp and bracing, and the atmosphere so clear that mountains fifty miles away appear close at hand."

-The officials of the United States Treasury regard the recent petition for the coinage of half cents as a fresh indication of business prosperity. When it is remembered that a billion cents are already in circulation, and there is a monthly coinage of four millions more, it can hardly be said that the supply of email change is scanty.

-Cigarette smoking has been placed under a ban in Chicago. One railway company, and three large mercantile firms have issued orders prohibiting cigarette smoking by their employees. These orders affect over a thousand persons, by far the larger portion of whom are boys under eighteen years of age. Fully two-thirds of these boys, it is said, have been addicted to the habit.

-A well-known German scientist, says the Daily Chronicle, has been making some observations in South Africa on the subject of the influence of repeated detonations on the car. He examined the ears of ninety-six soldiers before and after a battle, and found marked changes in no fewer than forty-four, or nearly fifty per cent. In seven cases he found small hemorrhages in the ears, and in one case a large bleeding, while the firing caused the edge of the ear drum to become red in thirty-seven cases.

-Baking the patient in an oven raised to a temperature of 450 degrees is said to be the latest form of treating rheumatism in the States.

-Protestantism is said to be gaining ground in France. During the last two years, it is reported, 130 priests have come out from the Catholic Church. The people flock in large numbers to hear these ex-priests, and are deserting their churches. The Christian makes the significant comment: "In England towards Rome, under a false estimate of facts; in France, and Austria, and Spain, away from Rome, because the facts are only too well understood."

-One of the latest useful inventions is the automatic shoeblack, which La Nature describes as follows: At the bars of the machine are three openings, into which each foot is inserted in turn after placing the necessary coin in the slot. In the first opening the mud or dirt is rubbed off, in the second the boots are blacked, and in the third they are polished. The complete process occupies a minute and a half. The apparatus is worked electrically, the brushes being fired upon an axle which is put in movement by a small electric motor, which is started when the coin is inserted.

-Under Act of Congress recently passed the former republic of Hawaii is permanently adopted by the United States, and becomes a territory of Hawaii, under practically the same government as that under which the existing territories were organised. The Governor will be appointed by the President, but the legislature will be elected by the people, and, the territory will send a delegate to Congress who will have the right to speak but not to vote, just as other territorial delegates. Voters will be required to be able to read, either in English or Hawaiian. There will be no property qualification.

-The Automobile Club of America has formed a scheme for a national highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is proposed that the line shall start at Boston, and run by way of Albany, Syracuse, and Buffalo to Chicago; thence through Des Moines and Omaha to Denver; across the Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake City; thence south-westward to Sacramento and San Francisco. It is suggested that the cost of construction should be borne in equal parts by the national government, the State and territorial governments, and the counties, towns and cities through which the road may pass.

-With a view to ascertaining the truth of the theory which has been advanced that malarial fever is contracted through the bites of the mosquito, two English physicians will spend the summer in the most dangerous part of the Roman Campagna. They will live in a specially constructed hut, which is well ventilated and shaded from the sun, and mosquito-proof. The two experimenters may be out of doors in the daytime, but must retire to the hut an hour before sunset, and remain there till an hour after sunrise. If these gentlemen go through the season without catching malaria, it will be considered a proof of the transmission of the disease by the mosquito.

-An exchange gives the following curious bit of information:-A vase out from a single emerald has been preserved in a cathedral in Genoa, Italy, for 600 years. Its dimensions are: diameter, 12? inches; height, 5? inches. Every precaution is used to insure safe keeping. Several locks must be opened to reach it, and the key of each look is in the possession of a different man. It is rarely exhibited, and then only by order of the Senate. A precautionary decree was passed in 1476, forbidding all persons to approach the priceless treasure too closely. An antiquarian advances the theory that it was one of the gifts made to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba, and has written a book to prove his assumption.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 22.

E. J. Waggoner

We are pleased to learn on the authority of The Christian that out of 2,890 ministers of the Congregational body in England and Wales, no fewer than 2,400 are total abstainers. The fearful ravages of the drink habit in this and other countries would seam to be sufficient reason for keeping wholly aloof from intoxicants of every kind, and throwing one's whole influence on the other side, even if the Scriptures did not most emphatically and unreservedly condemn their use. Temperance reform is one of the most urgent needs of the world to-day. Every Christian layman as well as clergyman is in duty bound to agitate the matter and seek by every lawful means to suppress the traflic in drink.

The annual meetings of the Bible League, held in Lower Exeter Hail, Friday, May 18, were well worth attending. Many good points were brought out in the afternoon conference upon "The Higher Criticism and How to Meet it." The efforts of the League in holding up the Word of God in its purity and entirety are most praiseworthy. The watchword of Protestantism, the Bible and the Bible only as a source of Christian doctrine, needs to be sounded to-day with renewed vigour throughout the length and breadth of the land. Prayerful study of the Holy Scriptures themselves apart from church fathers and church traditions, is the most effective weapon that can be used against the formality and idolatrous regard for rites and ceremonies which is making such alarming inroads upon the church.

A correspondent of the Christian World suggests quite truthfully that the importance of the great Missionary Convention recently held in New York is hardly realised on this side of the Atlantic. It might not be out of the way to go a little farther and say that it was not realised in America. So long as Christian nations spend pounds for war and liquor and tobacco and a long list of luxuries, where they spend a few pence for carrying the Gospel to the heathen, it is too evident that they do not understand the importance of Missions.

The conference referred to was a marked one in many ways. There were present about 1,600 delegates and over 600 missionaries. The meetings were decidedly enthusiastic, and the outside attendance greater than could be accommodated in the large hall provided. Alternative services were arranged for the most important nights, and were very fully attended, overflow meetings being arranged extempore in several instances to satisfy the eager crowds.

Ex-President Harrison was in the chair the opening day, and addresses were delivered by President McKinley and by the Governor of the State of New York. This was rather an unusual thing, but no special advantage to the missionary cause. Missions do not thrive on popularity; they do not need the patronage of the State. The Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit is the effective weapon of their warfare. Governments would do well to restrain the wicked traffic in drink and opium which is working such fearful havoc in India and Africa. This would indirectly be a great help to missions, but it would not be patronage. The more distinct the missionary keeps himself from worldly governments, the more effective his labours for the spiritual upbuilding of the kingdom of God.

In his last instruction to the children of Israel, just at the close of the forty years' wandering in the wilderness, Moses said of God that He "went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by, what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day." Deut. i. 35.

What a feeling of homely companionship with God that expression gives us! What tender solicitude it shows on the part of God, and not only so, but it shown Him doing service for His people. He was, in short, acting as scout for the armies of Israel, going before them to find a good camping place for them, and to provide forage and water. Is it not wonderful to know that the great God of the universe thus serves mortal men?

How grateful the children of Israel ought to have been for such service! and yet we find that they often murmured at Him for the was in which He led them, and for the place which He selected for their camp. Indeed, they seemed to do more grumbling than anything else, and were scarcely aver satisfied. And good reason they seemed to have, too, for complaining, for the location which God selected for their camp was often a barren, rocky place, with not a drop of water; and everybody knows that water is one of the first essentials of a good camp. There were probably few men in the company, who did not think that they could do better themselves.

Ah, but when they murmurred they did not take into account the nature of things, nor the capabilities of their Leader. They did not know that sand or rock was just the same to Him as water, He "turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters." Ps. cxiv. 8. In the beginning He made the earth "compacted out of water and through water" (2 Peter iii. 5, R. V., margin), so that for Him a dry rock was just as good a drinking place as a river. In that flinty stone and dry sand His eye could see pools and streams of water. What if they could not see it? There are few of no who see the water that is provided for use until we are thirsty, and turn the tap. So if the people had known the power of God, of which they had abundant evidence, and had trusted Him, they would have been just as contented in the desert waste as in the fertile rain-filled valleys. With God among them, they were always by the side of fountains of living water. Ps. xxxvi. 8, 9; Jer. ii. 13.

Yet we, who have all this history recorded for our benefit, murmur even as they did. "But we cannot see God." Neither could they, and therefore they did not believe that Hit was among them. The essence of heathenism is not to trust in the God who cannot be sow. We look back upon the history of Israel, seeing how everything turned out, and think that they had no excuse for murmuring; if we were as sure of a successful outcome, we would not doubt nor complain. Well, they had no excuse for murmuring; but they had as much as we have. If they had known beforehand just bow everything was going to come out, they doubtless would not have found fault. Why can we not learn the lesson, that everything must turn out well when God leads. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" And He is for us, because He "gave Himself for us." Surely this is reason enough why we should love Him; and "all things work together for good to them that love God."

June 7, 1900

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Mighty Saviour. Isa. lxiii. 1-19" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lxiii. 1-19, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

1. Chorus: Who is this, that cometh from Edom?
With garments deeply dyed from Botsra?
This, that is magnificent in His apparel;
Marching on in the greatness of His strength?
Messiah: I, who publish righteousness, and am mighty to save.

2. Chorus: Wherefore is Thine apparel red?
And Thy garments, as of one that treadeth the wine vat?

3. Messiah: I have trodden the vat alone:
And of the peoples, there was not a man with Me.
And I trod them in Mine anger;
And I trampled them in Mine indignation:
And their life-blood was sprinkled upon My garments;
And I have stained all My apparel.

4. For the day of vengeance was in My heart;
And the year of My redeemed was come.

5. And I looked, and there was no one to help;
And I was astonished, that there was no one to uphold,
Therefore Mine own arm wrought salvation for Me,
And Mine indignation itself sustained Me.

6. And I trod down the peoples in Mine anger;
And I crushed them in Mine indignation;
And I spilled their life-blood on the ground.

7. The mercies of Jehovah will I record, the praise of Jehovah;
According to all that Jehovah hath bestowed upon us:
And the greatness of His goodness to the house of Israel!
Which He hath bestowed upon them
through His tenderness and great kindness.

8. For He said: Surely they are My people,
children that will not prove false;
And He became their Saviour in all their distress.

9. It was not an envoy, nor an angel of
His presence, that saved them;
Through His love, and His indulgence, He Himself redeemed them;
And He took them up, and He bare them, all the days of old.

10. But they rebelled, and grieved His Holy Spirit;
So that He became their enemy; and He fought against them.

11. And He remembered the days of old, Moses His servant;
How He brought them up from the sea,
with the Shepherd of His flock:
How He placed in his breast His Holy Spirit.

12. Making His glorious arm to attend
Moses on his right hand in his march;
Cleaving the waters before them,
to make Himself a name everlasting.

13. Leading them through the abyss, like a
courser in the plain, without obstacle.

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14. As the herd descendeth to the valley, the
Spirit of Jehovah conducted them;
So didst Thou lead Thy people, to make Thy-
self a name glorious.

15. Look down from heaven, and see, from Thy
holy and glorious dwelling:
Where is Thy zeal, and Thy mighty power;
The yearning of Thy bowels, and Thy tender
affections? are they restrained from us?

16. Verily, Thou art our Father; for Abraham
knoweth us not,
And Israel doth not acknowledge us.
Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father:
O deliver us for the sake of Thy name!

17. Wherefore, O Jehovah, dost Thou suffer us to
err from Thy ways?
To harden our hearts with the fear of Thee?
Return for the sake of Thy servants;
For the sake of the tribes of Thine inheritance.

18. It is little, that they have taken possession of
Thy holy mountain;
That our enemies have trodden down Thy sanctuary;

19. We have long been as those whom Thou hast
ruled;
Who have not been called by Thy name.

The student certainly cannot fail to be struck with the life and energy of Lowth's translation of this chapter. It will be noticed that the responsive portion is made very clear by the way in which it is presented to the eye. A chorus of voices is represented as asking the questions, and that Christ is the One who answers them there cannot be the slightest doubt.

Verse 9 is translated so entirely different from the ordinary rendering, which is so well known, and which has given so much comfort to so many, that a few words of explanation are demanded. The difference is due simply to the fact that in this instance Lowth has followed the Septuagint, and not the Hebrew. Which is more in harmony with the original text, cannot be decided; but the close student will see that the verse as here translated is no less comforting than in our ordinary English versions, and that the two amount to the same thing in the end. The idea is that it was not to an angel standing in God's presence, no matter how near, that the salvation of Israel was committed, but that God Himself took up their case, and bore them. He Himself was their Saviour. This is of course Gospel truth, in perfect harmony with what is expressed in the words of Paul, spoken to the elders of Ephesus, concerning "the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood." Acts xx. 28. In support of the thought conveyed by the rendering of the Septuagint, it may be noted that after God had said to Moses, "Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, to bring thee into the place which I have prepared" (Ex. xxiii. 20), Moses said, "See, Thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people; and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me," and God replied, "My presence [literally, "My face"] shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Ex. xxxiii. 12, 14. The student will find profit and comfort in both translations, and need not trouble his mind as to which is nearest the original.

It seems strange that there ever should have been any mistaken idea as to the time of the application of this chapter; and there could not have been if people had merely held to the text. But a well known song has either impressed a false idea upon the minds of people, or else has given voice to a common idea, to such an extent that attention must be called to it. In the song, "Mighty to Save," the idea is conveyed that this passage describes the crucifixion on Calvary, and in response to the question, "Why is Thine apparel red?" the writer makes the Lord reply,

"With mercy fraught, Mine own arm brought
salvation."

Now it is true that "His mercy endureth for ever," but the text says, "Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me; and My fury, it upheld Me. And I trod down the peoples in Mine anger, and made them drunk in My fury, and I poured out their life-blood on the ground." How a man could read enough of this chapter to be able to write the song referred to, and yet pass by, or deliberately pervert the words just quoted, so as to write it as he did, is a mystery.

If the student will compare the 34th chapter of Isaiah and Rev. xix. 11-21, especially verses 13 and 15, with the verses in our lesson, there cannot be the slightest doubt as to what is referred to. It is nothing less than the Judgment of the last day-the time when the sinners who have persistently and wilfully rejected the Lord meet their doom. The land of Idumea, Edom, is set as the representation of the whole earth. "The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies:" "for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea." Isa. xxxiv. 2-6. "It is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion." Verse 8; compare Isa. lxiii. 4.

But notwithstanding the fact that this chapter unmistakably represents Christ as returning from the destruction of the wicked, we must not lose sight of the cross. It appears here, although this chapter by no means refers to Calvary. The cross of Christ is not a thing of a day: it covers all time from Paradise lost till Paradise restored, and then its effects continue through eternity. The second coming of Christ, to Judgment, is but the consummation of the crucifixion. He comes to save His people, and it is only by the cross that anybody can be saved. In the third chapter of Habakkuk we have the picture of Christ's triumph over His enemies, when He marches through the land in indignation, and threshes the heathen in anger (verse 12), and it is said, "Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people." Verse 13. But for the second coming of Christ, the cross would have been endured on Calvary in vain; it would be incomplete. Every person may now-"today"-have a complete, full, and perfect salvation; yet salvation is not complete, not merely as regards the whole body of God's people, but as concerns individuals, until Christ comes. For in the first place, it is only by His coming that the saints of all ages can be with Him (John xiv. 1-3; 1 Thess. iv. 13-18), and in the second place the last days are to be so full of peril for God's people, that only His sudden appearance will put a stop to the purpose of a wicked world to put them all to death.

The power of Christ's second coming is the power of the cross. In Hab. iii. 4, margin, we read that in His coming to execute vengeance, "He had bright beams coming out of His side; and there was the hiding of His power." That side was pierced by the Roman spear, and from it flowed the blood and water of life; but that is His glory, and the power by which He saves His redeemed from all their foes. "Christ died for the ungodly," because He suffered all that the stubbornly impenitent will at last suffer. He was made to be sin for us, and in the cross of Christ we see the fate of the sinner. The destruction of the wicked as well as the salvation of the righteous, is in the cross, for both are parts of one thing. All the power and glory and awful majesty of the second coming of Christ are in the cross just now, to save whoever will

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come to it. Read all the references to the last Judgment, that you can find, think of the trump of God and the voice of the archangel, which shakes not only the earth so that the graves open, and the dead hear and come forth, but shakes heaven also, and then instead of trembling in terror at the thought of the future, rejoice in the knowledge that all this inconceivable power is at your disposal in the cross of Christ for present salvation. Those who have knowledge of, and look for, the second coming of the Lord, should be, and must be, the people who, above all other professed Christians on earth, magnify and rejoice in the power of the cross. It must be their constant theme, its grandeur and glory, its infinite and all-comprehensive greatness becoming more and more apparent as they near its consummation, until it alone fills their vision and their being.

It is impossible to go through the chapter, but whoever has read the first verses with the right sense will be able to read the rest more understandingly when he comes to them. Note that the arm of the Lord, which works so mightily in the destruction of the wicked, is that with which he gathers the lambs, and carries them. Isa. xl. 11. God Himself carries His people; even though they be gray-haired with age they are to Him still infants to be borne in His bosom. "Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

"A Royal Visitor" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

A Royal Visitor .-Jesus says: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with Me." Rev. iii. 20. And He will not come merely as a transient guest, for He says also: "If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him." John xiv. 23. Morever the Lord Himself proposes to do all the furnishing of the house in which He takes up His abode, for He says; "I will glorify (or beautify) the house of My glory." Isa. Ix. 7. So the poor man has not to try to prepare his house for the reception of Royaly,-what a sorry job he would make of it if he tried,-but has only to consent for the Lord to have full control, and He will henceforth provide everything. How strange it sounds, to speak of man's consenting to have God dwell in him as absolute ruler. One would think that everybody would be most anxious for Him may know how He employs Himself day by day continually; but if we think that He has ceased working, because He has again hidden Himself from human sight, the revelation has been all in vain for us. From the record of the life of Jesus we should learn not only to recognise His workmanship, but to see Him actually at work all round us every day.

"The Bread of Life. John vi. 5-14" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

(John vi. 5-14)¹⁰1

Just as God's thoughts are very deep, so that no person can ever sound them to the bottom, but can look into them again and again, and always find more in them than he had before dreamed of, so with the record of the wondrous things that Jesus did; for all that He said and did was only an expression of God's thoughts. The story of the feeding of the five thousand is one of the most familiar, and it has often been treated of in these pages, yet we can study it again with as much profit as if we had never before read it. Indeed, the more we have read it, the more we can learn from it. God's words and acts are for ever, and the Bible is to be our teacher as long as we live; if we were not to come book to its pages time after time, we could well bum our Bible as soon as we have once read it; but since it is to be our meditation day and night; we must never allow ourselves to think that we have learned all that any scripture has for us.

CHRIST NOT A MERE HISTORICAL PERSONAGE

The worst manner possible in which to read the life of Jesus is to consider it merely as a history. We are so prone to think of all the events in the life of Jesus as something in the past; but in go doing we unconsciously deny His Divinity; for since He is Divine,-the Word that was in the beginning with God, and is God,-so is He "the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." That which He did a thousand years ago, is that which He does still, and which He will always continue to do. Miracles are His ordinary and natural manner of working. In the wonders and miracles and signs which God did by Jesus of Nazareth, He was simply taking off the covering that hides Him from the eyes of men, and letting everybody see into His workroom, that they may know how He employs Himself day by day continually; but if we think that He has ceased working, because He has again hidden Himself from human sight, the revelation has been all in vain for us. From the record of the life of Jesus we should learn not only to recognise His workmanship, but to see Him actually at work all round us every day.

IN HIM ALL THINGS ARE CREATED

Let us therefore first think of what Jesus really did. He created food for a vast multitude of people. It is true that He had something to begin with, but He did not draw upon the original store, but increased it instead. There was more food left, after all had satisfied their hunger, than there was at first. As He took the food in His hands, it multiplied, so that it is as clear as daylight, that it came from Him-directly from His body. In this miracle, therefore, we have an illustration of the statement that "in Him were all things created." Even if He had not afterwards said anything about it, the act alone is sufficient to show that He is the Bread of life, and that only as we consciously eat and drink His life do we eat as we ought, or have real life.

Whoever studies this lesson ought not to be content without at the same time reading the entire chapter. Reference is made to the manna in the wilderness, and it is made clear that Jesus did for the five thousand, exactly what He did for the multitudes who came out of Egypt with Moses. He fed them with Himself-with His flesh and blood. And then when we read the account of the last supper, the night Jesus was betrayed, we have Christ's explicit statement to that effect. That meal is the pattern for all our living; not that we must eat nothing but bread and drink the juice of the grape; but the meaning is that we should eat only that which is the perfect manifestation of His spotless life.

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The manna in the desert was the daily food of the people. It was the "corn of heaven,"-"spiritual meat,"-but it was given to satisfy all the wants of the body. The bread with which Jesus fed the five thousand was barley bread, such as the people ate day after day. And that of which He plainly said, "This is My body," was the regular Passover bread, such as was found in every house in the land. All these things are intended to show us that the food that we eat every day is what Christ provides for us, from Himself. The miracle of feeding the five thousand is continually being performed on a much Iarger scale, and has been from the beginning. This is the great lesson for us to learn-that Christ is with us, working miracles in our behalf, just as really and truly as when all men could see Him going about doing good.

AN INDULGENT PARENT

It has often been set forth in these pages that the Lord's Supper, as the model meal, teaches us that the flesh of animals should form no part of our bill of fare. But some one will surely say, with an air of triumph, as though he had disproved the whole teaching, "But Jesus fed the five thousand with fish as well as bread." They think that that is a proof that He wishes that we should eat animal food; but that is a mistaken idea. Let it be noted that in drawing the lesson from the miracle, Jesus spoke only of bread. Further, it should be remembered that it was only at the Lord's Supper, where no animal food was, that Jesus said, This is My body; and that in the wilderness, where He gave the people "bread from heaven," He gave then no flesh of animals. And finally, we should not overlook a single expression that is used in connection with the fish in the desert. He gave them of the fish "so much as they would." He did then just what He has always done, and what He does still: He provides everything, and allows each person to choose for himself. He multiplies fish, animals, and birds, as well as fruits and grains, and gives people the privilege of eating what they please. At the same time He has twice indicated in the most striking manner what is best for men, and what they ought to choose. First, in the beginning, when He prescribed the proper diet for men, and second at the deliverance from Egypt, when He gave them only manna, providing it day by day. Yet when the people longed for flesh, He gave it to them, performing a miracle to that end. He gives to all people exactly what they wish, even though it is contrary to what He knows is best, but in so doing He does not free them from the consequences of their unlawful desires. It is always best, however, to choose only that which God has indicated is best.

A COMPANIONABLE TEACHER

Jesus knew what He would do, yet He asked the disciples what should be done. Like a father who is a companion and a teacher to his children, Jesus took His disciples into His confidence, making them sharers in His work. He gave them opportunity to express their opinion, so that their minds would be more intently fixed in what was done. He knew what He was about to do, but they did not, and so they began to speculate. If they had really known Him, they would at once have looked to Him to provide food for the people. We are, however, no more considerate than they. We have not learned the lesson, that "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." We forget, even after we have once learned, that God is always working to provide for His children, and therefore we indulge in so many anxious speculations as to where our support is to come from. Jesus would have us know that not only does He miraculously feed us, but He makes us partners in His work of feeding others, which is much greater. It is recorded in one place that when the disciples counselled Him to send the multitude away, so that they could buy food for themselves, He said, "They need not go away; give ye them to eat." Matt. xiv. 16. That is proof that they might have done exactly what Jesus afterwards did, if they had believed. They did indeed feed the multitude, in that they carried the food to them from the hands of Jesus. By this He teaches us that we should give to others as freely as He gives to us.

"False Logic and True" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

The word "logic," together with its derivative, "logical," is one of the most abused words in our language. For example, it is often stated of a person who has taken a false position, that logic-by which word reason is meant-would compel him to go to the most absurd and wicked lengths. A common example is the case of John Newman, of whom it is said that his intensely logical mind forced him to become a Roman Catholic. He could not logically, it is invariably stated by critics as well as admirers, have done anything else than become a Roman Catholic.

It is strange that no one has over thought to enquire of what use logic is, if it will not lead a man in the right way, but into error. What kind of reason is it, that leads one astray? If it be said that logic does not lead the man astray, but simply holds him in the error that he has already adopted, the case is no better; for if reason does not lead a man out of error, he might as wall have none; he is in that case no better than the brutes that perish. The sort of "logic" which will not allow a man to turn from a wrong course when once he has entered upon it, is the logic of the devil, and the less one has of it the better. It is not, in fact, logic at all, and to call it so is a gross abuse of the word.

For, let it be remembered, there is such a thing as logic, and it is a good thing, and always leads a man in the right way. It makes the simple wise, and directs the erring into the paths of righteousness, What is logic? The first verse of the first chapter of John tells no. The word "logic" is from the Greek word logos which occurs three times in this verse, and is rendered "Word," meaning Christ, the only- begotten Son of God. "Logical" is that which is of the nature of Christ. In Rom. xii. 1 we have the word used correctly, because used by the Spirit, where it is rendered "reasonable." To present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, is our logical service. Thus we see that true logic leads the impure man to purity, the unrighteous man to righteousness, the erring man into the way of truth.

Only that which is true is logical, for Christ, the sum of all logic, is the truth, and the right way. True logic not only keeps a man in the right way when he is in it, but it shows him when he is wrong, and leads him out of error into truth. The true Christian is the only logical person in the world, even though he may never have heard the word "logic," or the names of the famous heathen who are studied as masters of the art. One would scarcely send his boy to school to a man who did not know enough to come in out of the rain, or who, having fallen into a mud puddle, was so intensely "logical" that he felt himself compelled to remain there; yet people will spend months and even years studying the so-called "masters" whose "logic" was not sufficient to lead them from superstition to the light of truth. Let us not be so unreasonable, but come to Christ and learn of Him, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. "Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy law." "I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts." Ps. cxix. 34, 100.

"Don't Make Experiments" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

Don't Make Experiments .-A watch is a delicate piece of machinery, and needs good care. If my watch gets out of order, I do not presume to tinker with it myself; if I did, I should soon get it into a condition where it could not be repaired. Once it needed repairing, and I took it to a watchmaker who did not understand it, and who therefore had to experiment on it. The result was that the watch came back to me in worse condition than it was before. Now I take it to the people who made it, and who understand it so well that they can see at once exactly what is needed, and who do the right thing without needing to experiment.

But the human machine is much more delicate and complex than any watch. We cannot afford to make experiments with it. The best of all is that we do not need to experiment. If it is a soul trouble, we have the sure remedy in God's Word, and we have but to apply it. But we must apply it with firmness and directness; we must know that the result will be right. Even so with our bodies. People who would not think of experimenting with a watch, because it is too costly for them to afford to take any chances, will experiment with themselves all the time, and allow others to do the same. Nobody can afford to do it. If you don't know the right thing to do, find out, and don't do anything until you do know. When you adopt any course of life, do so because you know that it will produce definite results. We do not need to experiment, because we have a great Physician who "knoweth our frame," and can tell instantly what is the matter with us, and what to do for the trouble. He would have us work in harmony, in partnership, with Him; but we should make it our settled purpose always to learn His way,-the only right way,-and then follow it, not doubtingly, but with full confidence that the result will be health to our bones.

"For the Children. Water Turned into Wine" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

When you have heard of the wonderful miracle that Jesus did at the marriage feast in Cana, have you not sometimes wished that you could have sat at that table, and tasted "the good wine" which He provided near the close of the feast?

Yet you have often sat at your own table, and the water that has been changed into wine by His power, without a thought of Him. Are you surprised to hear that you have done this, and wondering how it can be? Let us see.

Every miracle that Jesus did was, like the wonderful works of God when He led His people through the wilderness, to teach us His ways, to open our eyes to see what He is doing for us all the time.

When He opened the eyes of the blind man, it was to show that He is "the Light of the world" the One who gives light and sight to all the people in the world.

When He called Lazarus from the tomb, He was showing that He is the Resurrection, because He is the Life, the One in whom we all "live, and move, and have our being."

When He fed the five thousand with the multiplied bread, He was teaching that all the bread in the world comes from Him, whose power multiplies the grain, and gives the yearly harvest.

When the water gushed from the dry rock in the wilderness, God was teaching that all the water in the world flows from Him, "the Fountain of living waters."

And as Jesus looked upon the water that He had given, and changed it by the power of His glance into rich, sweet wine, like the fresh juice of the grape, He was teaching that it is His presence that makes the earth bring forth and bud, and the light of His countenance that makes that mysterious change in the water that the plant draws from the soil, changing it into "the new wine" that "is found in the cluster."

For you know that it is the influence of the sunlight that makes this change. By its power the juices of the fruit are sweetened and enriched, and changed into life-giving food. And this light is a gleam from the glory of His face who is "the Light of the world."

To-day, as at the wedding feast, He looks upon the water stored in the little vessels He has provided for it, the beautiful fruits hanging on the trees and bushes, and in the light of His countenance the water blushes into wine. So in the growth and ripening of the fruits year by year, we can see a constant repetition of the miracle at Cana, Jesus changing water into wine.

As you taste the sweet fruits that He is thus providing for you continually, and are refreshed and strengthened by their juice, think of Him, the Fountain of living waters, and the Light of the world, and it will seem to you just as wonderful and as sacred as that which He provided for the wedding feast.

In his account of this miracle John says, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth His glory." In doing this He was showing the people His glory.

But He is, as we have seen, doing the same thing for us all the time, so He is always in this way showing forth His glory. Do you want to see the glory of the Lord? Then learn to see Him always and everywhere, by His very presence, from the fulness of His own life, providing for the needs of all that He has made. Then you will know that where He is (and He fills heaven and earth) there can be no want, no lack, for in Him "all fulness dwells."

"For that Thy name is near Thy wondrous works declare." "And they that know Thy name shall put their trust in Thee."

"Our Feathered Friends. Feathered Ventriloquists" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

Feathered Ventriloquists .-Many birds form their sounds without opening their bills. The pigeon is a well-known instance of this. Its cooing can be distinctly heard, though it does not open its bill. The call is formed internally in the throat and chest, and is only rendered audible by resonance. Similar ways may be observed in many birds other animals. The clear, loud call of the cuckoo, according to one naturalist, is the resonance of ante formed in the bird. The whirring of the snipe, which betrays the approach of the bird to the hunter, is an act of ventriloquism. Even the nightingale has certain notes which are produced internally, and which are audible while the bill is closed.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

-The total casualties of all kinds in Mafeking from the beginning of the siege were 924.

-Three fresh cases of plague occurred in Sydney May 29, and one death in Brisbane.

-The Khedive of Egypt is expected to arrive at Windsor Castle, dune 22, on a visit to the Queen.

-The Atlantic liner New York broke one of her propeller shafts on her recent out voyage, and was two days late in consequence.

-The collapse of some works at Southampton Docks, May 28, killed one man, and injured others, causing damages to the extent of thousands of pounds.

-Dispatches from India report the extensive prevalence of cholera, causing much mortality, and impeding arrangements for the relief of the famine sufferers.

-Immense petroleum deposits have been discovered in Roumania, the of vial survey estimating them as capable of yielding oil worth six hundred millions of pounds.

-The oldest missionary is Dr. Elias Riggs, of the American Board of Missions, who was born in 1810, and went out to Turkey in 1832. Mr. Riggs is still engaged in active work at Constantinople.

-Copenhagen's divorce rate is said to be higher than that of any other European city-572 per 100,000 marriages per year. The figures for Paris are 362, for Berlin 302, for Vienna 190, for Budapest 45.

-The eclipse of the sun occurring May 28, was observed under most favourable conditions in Spain, Algiers, and America. Astronomers are confident that the new observations, together with the complete anti extensive photographic record secured, will vastly increase the interest in astronomy.

-The thirty-fourth anniversary meetings of the China Inland Mission were held in Exeter Hall Tuesday afternoon and evening, May 29. 1,191 converts were baptised last year, making in all 12,956 baptisms since the commencement of the mission. About 800 missionaries are at work, but the most serious difficulties are encountered. The riots now going on in various parts of the empire threaten the lives of many missionaries. A considerable number of native converts have been massacred already.

-A hanging railway, the first of the kind in the world, is being built at Barmen, Prussia. It consists of a double-railed line, a little over eight miles in length, with eighteen stations. The road, beginning at Barmen-Rittershausen, follows the River Kupper through the thickly populated pities of Barmen and EIberfeld, and a little beyond. The iron framework over the river is supported by buttress piers of ironwork inclined towards each other; but in the public highways the structure is supported by vertical iron columns, which require no more space than lantern poets, The cars are run by electromotors, the speed, which is not expected to exceed twenty-five miles an hour, being regulated in the same manner as in electric street cars. As it takes only from tan to fifteen seconds to start, an average speed of eighteen miles per hour will be maintained in spite of the eighteen stations. Each car holds fifty persons. The cost of construction is some-thing over ?40,000 per mile, exclusive of the rolling stock.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

Whoever refuses to perform any task that God sets before him, or declines any service, no matter how disagreeable, no matter whether his refusal is based upon the consciousness of his own helplessness, or comes from love of ease, thereby rejects a gift of strength and wisdom, which God has offered. There are thousands of rich blessings from the hand of God, which we deliberately throw away because we do not like the covering in which they come to us.

People talk about seeking after light: but such a thing is wholly unnecessary. Light is everywhere, except where it is shut out. Men are not obliged to go in search for sunlight for their dwellings; they have only to open the blinds, and let the light shine in. The way to get more light from the Lord is to use what we have. There is not much inducement to give food to a child that is crying and begging for it while it has some already in its hands, which it refuses to eat. So when people have some light, no matter how little; and will not walk in it, with what confidence can they ask God to give them more light? "Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." "While ye have light believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light."

It is impossible for any one person in the world to know everything, but the next best thing, and the only way to supply the deficiency in our knowledge, is to know how and where to find the thing that we wish to know. If the desired information is concerning some event in history, the "Cyclop?dia of Classified Dates," published by the Funk and Wagnalls Company, 44, Fleet Street, will meet the requirement more often than any other one book known. It treats of all the most prominent events and persons of every country, from earliest times, and in many cases with persons and events that are not very noted. Each country is taken by itself, the events of each year or century being classified as religious, social, politics, etc., so that one can, by glancing through it, get an outline of the history of every country; while a copious index enables one instantly to turn up anything that is wanted. One can also in e few moments find out what important events were taking place in all parts of the world at any given time. The greatest space is devoted to modern history; and the work being American, the greatest space is given to that country, which has the least history of any: yet this little lack of balance is rather on account of paying too much attention to the one, than to neglecting the others. Nearly ten years' work by many noted scholars has been devoted to the preparation of the book, which will prove useful to everybody who wishes to know. It is a well put up, neat, compact book, furnished at ?2 to ?3 12s., according to binding. It is really worth having.

About three weeks ago a woman fifty years old, living in Paris, committed suicide "through grief at the death of her little dog," and it was only a few weeks before that, that another woman killed herself because her dog had died. In all such comes the persons have really ceased to live before they commit suicide. If they really lived, if they knew what life really is, nothing in the world could lead them to separate from it. What a sorrowful thing, that so many people's lives are so empty that the loss of a dog leaves nothing more. And yet that is what everybody's life will amount to, who does not accept Christ, in whom all fulness dwells, and who has ascended to heaven, "that He might fill all things." The life that He gives is so full that the loss of the world and all its treasures cannot empty it, or even diminish it.

How great is the kingdom of God?-"The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all." Ps. ciii. 19. It fills all space. Yet great as it is, the whole can be comprehended in small compass; "for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke xvii. 21. Who is it, then, who rules in the kingdom of God?-It is he who rules himself. He who rules himself, can rule the world; there is nothing impossible for such an one. "He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations; . . . even as I received of My Father." Rev. ii. 25-27.

But how shall one rule himself, and thus come into possession of this glorious kingdom? The case is very simple; we win by yielding. We have no power ourselves. We rule ourselves only by allowing the Holy Spirit of God to rule in us. When the Spirit of life is in us as our own, so that God's Spirit is our spirit, and His will the law of our life in the same manner that it is the life of the plant, we have in us the power that hovered over the face of the abyss in the beginning, and brought order out of chaos. So will there come order out of the chaos of our lives, and we shall be in perfect harmony with God's eternal purpose, and His great work throughout the universe.

"What Do You Believe" The Present Truth 16, 23.

E. J. Waggoner

What Do You Believe? -Lately a person said to me, "I cannot believe." She could not believe that God would save her.

"Doesn't He say that He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteonenees?" was the question. "Yes, He says so."

"Ah, then, the trouble is that God is such a known liar that you cannot believe His Word; is that the case?"

"Oh, no; I believe God's Word; I believe that He speaks truth," was the reply.

"Ah, yes, I see: you know that God tells the truth, but nevertheless you cannot believe what He says. That is, you are so constituted that you cannot believe what illogical and astonishing. What a strange creature you are; you don't believe that God forgives you, although He says that He does, and you know that He speaks the truth. You believe, in other words, that He does not forgive your sins. That is to say, you are so constituted that you cannot believe the truth, but you can believe a lie! Whoever heard of anything so absurd?"

What more is there to be said? Is it not evident that unbelief of God's Word is the most unreasonable and senseless thing in the world! It is self-contradictory, and would be laughable, if the results were not so serious. Remember this, that God has given a full measure of faith to every person (compare Rom. xii. 3 and Eph. iv. 7) and that there cannot by any possibility be any person on earth, who has his senses, who is so constituted that he cannot believe. The only question is, Does he prefer to believe a lie rather than the truth? How is it with you?

June 14, 1900

"What Shall We Do with Them?" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

What a delightful scene we have in our picture this week! a most charming picture of youth and innocence! The interest centres in the little girl intent on giving the motherless lamb its portion of milk, while the pet kitten gently reminds her that it considers that its rights are being invaded. A little way off two other lambs peep through the bars with longing eyes, perhaps with a bit of jealousy of their more favoured cousin. We can almost how the cluck of the hen, as she watches over her brood; and the k-r-r-r of the fowls on the old cart lulls us into the general feeling of quiet, restful content.

But into the midst of our peaceful meditation breaks the hard, practical question, "What are you going to do with them?"

"What are you going to do with what?" we ask in bewilderment.

The farmer, however, knows what is meant, and he at once replies, "Oh, those chicks will be good for four shillings apiece, next Christmas, and the butcher has already closed the bargain for the lambs, and is coming to take them to the slaughter as fast as his trade demands them." Then he stops, as though he had answered the question satisfactorily. But we are not satisfied.

"Why should they be killed?" we ask.

"What else would you do with them, pray?" he replies, in astonishment; "what could we do with all the animals if we did not eat them? they would soon overrun us,"

"Ah, yes; and the kitten? when do you propose to kill and eat that?"

"What do you take us for? do you think we are savages here? we are not yet reduced to the necessity of eating cats; and you could not find a man on the place hardhearted enough to kill one of the children's pets," the farmer replies, with so much indignation that we dare not

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venture to ask any questions as to how be proposes to dispose of the little girl.

In times of siege or shipwreck men have been known to eat horses, dogs, cats, rats, and other animals not usually put in the bill of fare, and they had hunger and the scarcity of food as an excuse for their course; but a man living on a productive farm, in a prosperous season, has no such excuse for killing the animals that trustingly eat out of his hand. He has enough to eat, of the very best quality, and the fact that he pleads the flimsy excuse that if he did not kill the harmless animals they would increase to the danger of the inhabitants, shows that at heart he recognises that he is doing a senseless and wicked thing. He never thinks of killing his horses, dogs, or cats, to prevent them from driving him out of his possessions.

"But of what use could a lamb or a chicken possibly be to us, if we did not kill and eat them?" asks the farmer.

We venture to ask, by way of reply, "Of what use is the little child?"

"The child! why, the child will grow up into a useful woman."

"No doubt; but all children do not grow up; are we to understand that if you knew that she would not live to womanhood you would kill her, and that you would count her life as useless, and, the money spent on her support as thrown away?"

"Certainly not!" the farmer replies with emphasis; "she has paid for herself many times over, from the very day that she was born; no money could buy the happiness and pleasure that comes from seeing her about, and hearing her innocent prattle; and every minute that she nestles in my arms is worth more than all the treasures of the Rand."

"Good! I see that you are a true man, with a proper sense of the value of things. Now have you never received the same pleasure, to a much less degree, of course, from watching the innocent animals, and from their confiding touch? and has it never occurred to you that the pleasure which their presence gives pays for the little attention that they require, just as truly as the little child pays for the much greater care that she needs? Indeed, is not the very privilege of oaring for them, sufficient payment to warrant you in leaving them in possession of their life, and in depending for your food upon that which God gave to man in the beginning?"

"I hadn't thought of it in that light, but I confess that the care of my livestock is one of the greatest pleasures of my life."

There is something here that is indeed worthy of serious thought. God has placed the animals under the authority of man, not that he should murder them, but that he should protect them. In giving man something dependent upon his care, God has linked men with Himself, allowing him to share with Him one of the highest prerogatives of Divinity, that of protection to the weak. God's idea of dominion is set forth by Christ, in the statement that the chiefest of all is he who serves, and that "the Son of man," who is Lord of all, "came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." To care for and protect the weak, to serve them, instead of to exist merely to be served by them, is the dominion God has given to man; but it has been sadly perverted.

What would the world be without the presence of animals? and yet men have been for centuries industriously striving to exterminate them: Who does not delight to repeat, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want?" but we must not forget that in His care for the sheep of His pasture. God sets us an example of how we should treat the creatures subject to our care. God does not slay and eat His flock, but gives His life, for them instead. Instead of using the dominion intrusted to them as a means of bringing them more into harmony with God; whose "tender mercies are over all His works," men seem intent upon turning the earth into a wilderness. Rather let us learn of Him whose work it is to save life, and not to destroy, that we may be fit for a dwelling upon the earth restored to its Eden beauty, where "they shall not hurt nor destroy," but "the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion end the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

"The 'Passion Play'" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

The following appears in one of the newspaper correspondents' reports of the first performance of the "Passion Play" at Oberammergau this year:-

Anton Lang was superb; it is difficult to conceive a more ideal Christus, combining strength, pathos, sympathy, with perfect expression. The patient resignation of the Christus while bearing and hanging om the cross was so effectively rendered as to move the audience to tears.

It was very moving, no doubt; but it must be remembered that the same audience would have shed tears over any other stage tragedy; and further still, that ninety-nine one-hundredths of them would doubtless read the Gospel narratives of the crucifixion without a trace of emotion. That which merely moves to tears, without moving to action, tends really to harden the sensibilities.

By the way, has it never occurred to the readers in how simple and matter-of-fact manner the story of Christ's betrayal and crucifixion is told in the Bible? A novelist would make volumes of what the pen of inspiration has put into a single page. The vocabulary would be exhausted by a newspaper writer, in the use of adjectives to portray the scene; but in the inspired narrative there is no effort to play upon the emotions of the reader. It is character, not mere feeling, that the Lord wishes to affect.

"Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death." It is not for Christ on the cross hundreds of years ago, nor over any story or representation of it, that we need to weep; but a little, yea, a great deal of sympathy with Christ in that which He still is obliged to endure in the flesh to-day,-in our flesh,-would be profitable, in that it would result in relieving Him of the load. We may well weep too of shame when we think of the suffering and sorrow that our evil passions have imposed on the patient Redeemer; but these tears of shame may speedily be transformed into tears of joy, when we realise that the cross of Christ is not a mere tale, an empty show, but the present power of God unto salvation from sin.

Two friends were walking in the forest in the early spring, when one of them called the attention of the other to a beautiful butterfly resting on the grass with outstretched wings. Such variety of colour, such rich tints, and such delicate shading, neither one had ever before seen on a butterfly. "See," said one, "with what marvellously beautiful clothing God clothes that little butterfly, that can live only a few days." "Yes," returned the other, "and since He bestows such care on it, how much more will He not do for us, who shall live through eternity." "He will beautify the meek with salvation." "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us."

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Revelation of God. Isa. lxiv. 1-12" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lxiv. 1-12, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

1. O! that Thou wouldst rend the heavens,
that Thou wouldst descend;
That the mountains might flow down at Thy
presence!

2. As the fire kindleth the dry fuel;
As the fire causeth the waters to boil;
To make known Thy name to Thine
enemies;
That the nations might tremble at Thy presence.

3. When Thou didst wonderful things, which we
expected not;
Thou didst descend; at Thy presence the
mountains flowed down.

4. For never have men heard, nor perceived by
the ear,
Nor hath eye seen, a God beside Thee,
Who doeth such things for those that trust in
Him.

5. Thou meetest with joy those who work right-
eousness;
Who in Thy ways remember Thee.
Lo! Thou art angry; for we have sinned:
Because of our deeds; for we have been re-
bellious.

6. And we are all of us as a polluted thing;
And like a rejected garment are all our right-
eous deeds;
And we are withered way, like a leaf, all of
us;
And our sins, like the wind, have borne us
away.

7. There is no one that invoketh Thy name;
That rouseth him up to lay hold on Thee:
Therefore Thou hast hidden Thy face from us;
And hast delivered us up into the hand of our
iniquities.

8. But Thou, O Jehovah, Thou art our Father;
We are the clay, and Thou hast formed us;
We are all of us the work of Thy hands.

9. Be not wroth, O Jehovah, to the uttermost;
Nor for ever remember iniquity.
Behold, look upon us, we beseech Thee; we
are all Thy people.

10. Thy holy cities are become a wilderness;
Sion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem is
desolate.

11. Our glorious and holy temple,
Wherein our fathers praised Thee,
Is utterly burnt up with fire;
And all the objects of our desire are become a
devastation.

12. Wilt Thou contain Thyself at these things,
O Jehovah?
Wilt Thou keep silence, and still grievously
afflict us?

The key-note of this lesson will be found in the fourth verse, a verse often quoted in the form in which it appears in 1 Cor. ii. 9, and almost as often misunderstood. The common idea of the text robs it of all present, practical application, and consequently the reader finds no present help and comfort in it. He simply looks forward to the future, as to a time when God will reveal in the New Jerusalem things which nobody has ever had any conception of. It is true enough that God has prepared wondrous things for His people, to be revealed at the coming of Christ, which will infinitely surpass anything that human minds can think, or human tongues speak; but that is not at all what is referred to here.

Let us read 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, as given in a most excellent translation. After having said, "We speak the wisdom of God," and then throwing in the observation that none of the princes of this world know it, the apostle repeats the thoughts in other words, saying, "We speak, as it is written, what no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and what has not been conceived in any man's heart,-that which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, even the depths of God." What is it, then, that the messengers of God make known?-It is God, as revealed in Christ the Wisdom of God. The Spirit searches the depths of God, in order to reveal Him to us in His uttermost perfection.

What about the things that God has prepared for them that love Him? What are they?-They are "the things of God,"-"the deep things of God,"-"for what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." And the Spirit searcheth these deep things, to reveal them unto us. These things-God's works-His own character-He hath prepared for those who love Him. Since the foundation of the world no people have ever seen any god besides Jehovah who "worketh for him that waiteth for Him." He gives to us Himself, and in Him all things consist. But He is now; He is from everlasting to everlasting, always the same. Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." His name is I AM. And He has given Himself for us. Therefore all the things that God has prepared for us in Himself,-"above all that we ask or think,"-are ours now. The gods of the nations are nothing; they are only the imaginations of men's hearts; and being nothing it is but natural that they should demand human works and human sacrifices. So all idol worship consists in what men can do. But God is everything, and therefore it is but natural that He should give, instead of receiving. No one can give Him anything, but He gives everything, and He gives it now. And why not? Now is the time when we need it most, and it is but in keeping with God's character, to give just when the gift is needed.

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This revelation of God to man is in everything that He has made. Rom. i. 20: "The invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even His everlasting power and Divinity." There is no excuse for anybody's ignorance of God, "because that which may be known of God [namely His everlasting power and Divinity] is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them." Verse 19. The true Light-the Word made flesh, the Word of life-"lighteth every man that cometh into the world." If any do not know the Lord, it is because their eyes are blinded to the light, so that they cannot see light in His light, and their ears are deaf to the sounds that mark His presence.

And that is just the case. God is near in every sunbeam, yet men do not perceive Him. His light is not light to them, because they take it as a matter of course. God has been doing wonderful things all our lives, and from the foundation of the world, yet He does them so constantly that men have become dead to all sense that anything at all is being done, and even men called wise discuss with childish gravity the question of whether or not miracles are wrought now. So the prophet, moved by the Spirit, wishes that the power of God might be manifested in a way to startle people out of their drowsy lack of perception, so that they could not help seeing. Let the heavens be rent, and the mountains be melted; let terrible things take place, "that the nations may tremble at Thy presence."

Yet even after the fullest possible revelation of God has been made, no human tongue can express, and no human ear can hear, and no human heart can conceive of or understand the things of God, wrought out in His own life for those who wait for Him. "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Cor. xii. 3. No flesh and blood, not even that of Jesus of Nazareth, but the Spirit of God alone, can make known the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matt. xvi. 16, 17. "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we had known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more." 2 Cor. v. 16. Men may read the words of God, and see nothing in them: other men will read the same words, and by the Spirit will see infinity in them. Moreover, the thoughts of the Lord are great thoughts, "very deep," and no words that human tongues or pens can frame can express their fullness and depth. Yet God's Word reveals God in His fulness. Therefore in every word of God, in every manifestation of His presence, the spiritual man, who "discerneth all things," will discern far more than can possibly be seen by any natural eye, or understood by any ear. But know this, and do not forget it, that this deep meaning lies in the words themselves, and not outside of them. The Spirit is not opposed to the Word, because the Word is the instrument which the Spirit uses. The Holy Spirit is the anointing which makes people know (1 John ii. 20), the eye salve that gives sight to the blind. Rev. iii. 18. The one who has that Spirit dwelling in him, an abiding Presence, is a seer. He can see what others cannot see, and is often laughed at as a dreamer. But that is of no consequence. Some wonderful things have been made known in dreams. The important thing is to have that Spirit of truth, through the love of the truth, which brings God with all His power and gifts into the heart. The heart is thus cleansed from sin, and its possessor sees and knows God. Therefore give heed to the words, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

The prophet, speaking in behalf of all men, said to the Lord, Thou "hast delivered us up into the hand of our iniquities." Isa. lxiv. 7. The Revision has it, Thou "hast consumed us by means of our iniquities," which amounts to the same thing. "His own iniquities shall take the wicked, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin." Prov. v. 22. Whoever sins is simply laying up for himself "wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgments of God; who will render unto every man according to his deeds." Rom. ii. 5, 6. The stubbornly impenitent, who at last are "burned up" so that they become "as though they had not been," are consumed by their own sins. Sin is a canker; it is like rust, which eats up iron as surely as fire burns wood. Thus sin eats out the life of men, so that they are nothing but emptiness. The nothingness to which the sinner goes at the last, is only the open manifestation of what he was all the time of his life of sin. Christ, the righteousness of God, whose life cleanses us from all sin, brings into our hearts "all the fulness of God."

In verses 9-12 there is a truth that is very likely to be overlooked. There we read that the "holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation." But it was many years after the death of Isaiah before Jerusalem was besieged and taken, the temple destroyed, and the land made desolate by the carrying away of the people. Shall we say that the prophet spoke by anticipation? If so, then the same might be said of any other portion of Scripture, which speaks of things as already accomplished. Moreover, in that case, the prophecy would have been utterly meaningless to those to whom it was first spoken or written. No; in these verses we see that whatever is at any time said of the city of Jerusalem, and Zion, applies primarily to the people, since it is always the character of the people that determines the character of the city or country. When the Holy Spirit is not allowed to dwell in the hearts of the people, chaos fills them, even such as the whole earth presented before the Spirit of God hovered over it. And since men are earth's rulers, the land goes to ruin with the people. Moreover human beings are God's temples, and therefore Zion may truthfully be said to be a wilderness when the hearts of men are a wilderness of sin. The earth is under the curse solely on man's account, and it will be made new again only by the same power that makes men new, and by the working of that power in them.

"For the Children. Among the Flowers" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

This is a very pleasant place to be, is it not? We all love to see the flowers, and to be right in their midst, where we can delight in their beauty and sweet scent.

But we must not end with enjoying them merely, for they are all beautiful pages in God's great lesson book.

"And every hedgerow blossom that doth grow,
And every little brown bird that doth sing,
Hath something greater than itself, and bears
A living word to every living thing."

You would not learn your lessons very well, would you, if you spent all your time admiring the book that they were written in, however attractive it might be? The lessons printed in the book are the principal thing, and the pictures that ornament it are only to help you in learning them.

And so it is in God's book. Jesus is the Great Teacher, and He has beautiful ways of teaching His beautiful lessons. "Who teacheth like Him?"

We are now right in the midst of "blossom time." The hawthorn, Iaburnum, and lilac are giving place to the honeysuckle and wild roses, and then all declare His "living Word to every living thing." In the gardens are the roses, the pinks and many other blossoms, among which

"A little monitor presents her page
Of choice instruction, with her snowy bells,
The Lilly of the Vale."

What is the message of the flowers? What do the roses and the lilies say? Here is one message that the Lord Jesus has written in them, which you may hear if you listen to their teaching: "I am the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the valley."

Where then does the rose's sweetness and the lily's delicate beauty come from? Like everything else that is good and beautiful it comes from the one Source, the true Rose and Lily, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not only the water and the light, that we were talking of last week, but all fulness comes from Him. The beauty of the flowers is a little unfolding of His hidden loveliness, and in their fragrance He is perfuming the air with His sweet breath.

So every lesson that the flower teach must be of Him, in whom they, like ourselves, live and have their being.

There is something very wonderful about God's lesson book, and that is, that we all, from the very aged down to the tiny child may learn our lessons from the same page. This is because it is "a living word to every living thing."

In the little flower God speaks to the infant attracted by its bright colours, but the same blossom carries a message to those of all ages who have "ears to hear." And as we grow, the lesson grows, and we still keep learning, never ending, never reaching the place where we can say that the lesson is learned and the page can be turned; for the thoughts of God unfolding in the flowers can never be fathomed.

Here is something for you to think of, that before we can undrstand one thing perfectly, even the simplest of the works of God, we must know everything. So if we could thoroughly understand one little lower, there would be nothing more for us to learn at aIl.

The more we know of one thing, the better we can understand everything. Some such thoughts as these must have been in the mind of the poet Tennyson, when he said to the little flower that he held in his hand:

"Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower-but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is."

That is, he would know everything. But this perfect knowledge belongs to God only, so there will always be something for us to learn about the least of God's works, if we live through the ages of eternity.

What a wonderful message, then, what a depth of meaning, is in the simplest wayside flowers. And since there is no end to what we may learn from them, the sooner we begin the better, for the more we shall be able to learn.

So if you have not already begun to read in God's book of nature, begin at once; but be sure that you begin right, with Jesus, who is the "Beginning and the Ending" of the whole creation of God.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

-The sting of a bee is said to have mused the death of young lady near Chepstow.

-The French Secretary of War has issued an order forbidding the sale of liquor in every military barracks throughout France and the colonies.

-There seems to be no want of work for female servants. A young woman who recently advertised for a situation as housemaid is reported as receiving eighty letters, three telegrams, and three personal visits from would-be employers.

-American explorers, working among the ruins of Nippur have discovered a urge temple library consisting of tablets covered with cuneiform writing. Sixteen thousand have been recovered during the last six weeks, and several thousands had been found previously. The date is supposed to be about 3,000 B.C. Evidently the ancient Assyrians were not wanting in culture.

-The Chicago presbytery, at the same meeting at which the name of the popular preacher and writer, Newell Dwight Hillis, was erased from the roils, by a unanimous vote adopted resolutions requesting the general assembly to appoint a committee to restate the doctrinal standard of the church. Several other important presbyteries have likewise petitioned the general assembly for revision.

-Most extensive forest fires have been raging in Northern Ontario.

-Contact with an electric light wire killed two men at Bilston.

-Two recent boating accidents on the Thames and Tyne resulted in the drowning of seven persons.

-During a violent thunderstorm in the Soutt of Ireland, two women were instantly killed by lightning.

-At Birkenhead a child drank from a bottle of rum which it found on the mantelpiece, and died from the effects.

-A telegram from New York announces the death of R. S. Storrs, of Brooklyn, one of America's foremost preachers.

-Several exalting bull-fights attended by large crowds of men and women have been held recently in the environs of Paris.

-A woodman in Vienna who was regarded as dead, and duly buried, was throe days afterward taken from the grave alive.

-It is claimed that some 12,000,000 acres of land have been made fruitful in the Sahara desert by means of irrigation from artesian wells.

-Pretoria was formally surrendered to Lord Roberts, Tuesday, June 5. This is generally regarded as pointing to a speedy termination of the war.

-Emperor Menuk, of Abyssinia, has issued a decree prohibiting the importation of spirits into his territories, and has also hidden under severe penalties the use of tobacco and snuff.

-The largest balloon ever constructed, and capable of lifting over six tons, will ascend from Berlin next month to make meteorological observations. It will be provided with provisions for several weeks and with two beds.

-Tesla, the New York electrician, is said to have completed arrangements by means of which he will be able to send a wireless message from New York to Paris in time to congratulate President Loubet upon the success of the exhibition.

-Further massacres are reported from China. The soldiers despatched by the Chinese government to quell the insurrectiose, known as the Boxers, fought an engagement with them quite recently close to Pekin, many being killed on both sides. It is believed that the rising is supported by several members of the Imperial family.

-The anchorages on both sides of the river for the new Brooklyn bridge are now completed. The width of the enormous structure when completed, will be 118 feet, including foot walks of twelve feet each, two bicycle paths of seven feet each, elevated railroad and trolley-car tracks. The length of the bridge from terminal to terminal will be 7,200 feet.

-It is estimated that the present war has cost Great Britain up to the month of March, the enormous sum of ?114,000,000. The Home Magazine, making a calculation of the amount of good that might be done with the money says: "It would maintain every aged poor person in the United Kingdom, educate all one millions of children, support all our paupers, replace every pound spent throughout the kingdom on every form of missionary and charitable work, endow all our hospitals, support every church and chapel with their tens of thousands of ministers, maintain thousands of convalescent homes, libraries, and museums, equip and support thousands of technical schools, pay for an army of 50,000 missionaries, supply coals, blankets, and medical comforts to millions, and still leave millions more to spend on similar works of usefulness."

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

The June number of Life and Health has a contribution from the able pen of Dr. J. H. Kellogg on the question, "Can man live a century?" which is well worth careful reading. There are also a number of other articles on timely topics. The paper may be ordered from this office or from a PRESENT TRUTH Agent.

The famine in India continues still, and the suffering is intense. We would call attention to the fact that PRESENT TRUTH has just opened a relief fund. Donations from any of our readers may be sent to the International Tract Society, 451, Holloway Road, and will be promptly forwarded to our missionaries for distribution to the needy.

We often hear it said that life is a burden, and many people regard it as too heavy to be borne, and so get rid of it, by committing suicide. Others not wishing or not daring to go to that length, seek to benumb their sensibilities, and lose the vivid consciousness of life, by dissipation, taking narcotics, etc. What a fearful mistake! Life is not a burden. On the contrary, life is that which enables us to bear burdens. The burden becomes too heavy to be borne only when our hold upon real life is weak. Christ is the life, and He is the one who calls all the weary and heavy laden to come to Him to find rest from their burdens. With His life, the heaviest burdens become not only bearable, but are found to be a joy. Not less, but more of life is what all need; and there is enough for all, and to spare. Would that all knew the joy of it!

One of the speakers in Exeter Hall recently said most truthfully that "in the great Armageddon between the forces of good and evil the child is the strategic point, the key of the position." We are in hearty sympathy with the efforts being made to save the children from the degrading associations of the public houses. It is heartrending to any Iover of humanity to see mere babes carrying between them cans of beer, and stopping now and then to take a sip of the poison. In spite of the earnest, untiring efforts of temperance reformers, drunkenness is steadily on the increase in this country and idiocy and insanity are following close in its wake. It is high time that every Christian took a firm, decided stand in such a vital matter. Intemperance is eating its way into the very vitals of the nation. Alcohol has not one redeeming feature. It is the curse of civilised countries, the instigator of the darkest crimes, the cause of pauperism, imbecility, and insanity; in short, the devil's most potent instrument, Christianity's deadliest enemy.

What a vast difference of meaning can lie in the same words, when spoken by different persons with different dispositions. One man says, "If you begin to help people, then you can continue helping them as long as you live!" and so he wraps himself up in his great cost of selfishness, and goes his lonely way, content that he has himself all to himself. Poor soul! But his neighbour gets a view of the love of God, and says with joy, "Oh, yes, do a man a real service, and then you have found the way to his heart, so that you can keep on serving him and doing him good as long as you live." The joy of life is the joy of giving of giving that which is dearest; far in giving up self for others, the person gains as many as he gives himself to. This is the joy of the Lord, who draws us to Himself by the gift which He bestows on us, and then rejoices when by that means He has bound us to Him, and has induced us to call upon Him as long as we live.

It is absolutely impossible for anybody really and permanently to better his own condition at the expense of somebody else's welfare or happiness. The reason for this lies in the fact that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men," and that "there is one flesh of men." All human beings are therefore the same flesh and blood, so that whatever injury one does to another he does to himself. "His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate." Ps. vii. 36. But the principle holds good on the other side as well, so that we may be sure that whatever good one doss to another, he does to himself. The surest way, therefore, to do well for ourselves is to serve others. "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant; . . . wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above every name."

"Strength in Weakness" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

Strength in weakness .-God chooses in general the weakest men, and often those who have been the wickedest, to carry out His work in the world, in order that the weakest sinners may thereby have courage to believe that there is hope for them. If the one who preaches the Gospel were by nature strong and good, most people would entirely lose heart; but when they see what the preacher, one like themselves, has attained to by the grace of God, they take courage to go forward. It is for this reason, if for no other, that the minister of the Gospel ought above all things, never to forget the pit whence he was; drawn, or the weakness and sinfulness of his nature. Every priest of God, taken from among men, must be one "who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity." Then, strengthened morning by morning by the word of the Lord, he will always "know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary."

"'Supernatural'" The Present Truth 16, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

"Supernatural." -On account of our fallen condition and limited knowledge we have a vocabulary vastly different from what it would have been it we had always known the Lord. In the perfect state there will be no such word as "supernatural;" for that which is commonly called "supernatural" is only the Divinely natural-the real. That which we call natural-namely the very few things that we are familiar with-is almost nothing in comparison with the infinity that is above and beyond the limited range of our senses. Now that which is most common, that is, that which exists in the greatest profusion, is most certainly in reality the most natural. The trouble is that we are too gross to appreciate it. When we ourselves have become spiritual, partakers of the Divine nature, abiding in God, and so looking at things from His point of view, then the so-called supernatural is to us perfectly natural. It is not that familiarity produces indifference, but that, knowing God, we expect Him to do great things. The grace of God, when received and appreciated, will enlarge and elevate our language as well as our thoughts and our actions.

June 21, 1900

"'I Am.' Matt. xiv. 22-33" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

JESUS WALKING ON THE SEA

It had been a busy day with Jesus. On receiving the news of the death of John the Baptist, He had gone by boat across the Sea of Galilee, to an uninhabited place (Matt. xiv. 13), but was unable even there to find the solitude He desired, for as soon as the people heard of His departure "they followed Him on foot out of the cities," and He had spent the day healing their sick. There is, by the way, something most precious and at the game time most pathetic in this seeking of the multitudes after Jesus. What a blessed thing to be so filled with the attractiveness of God, that people are irresistibly drawn to one. "God was with Him," and He had not to beg the people to come to bear Him speak words of life, that were more than sound. Yet it is most pitiful to think that among all the multitudes that followed Jesus, there were none who loved Him for Himself alone. Though surrounded by thousands, Jesus was always alone, for there were none, even of His most intimate disciples, who understood Him. As the representative Man, He longed for human sympathy, and was helped by it whenever He found any of it; but with Him it was all giving, and very little receiving. He spent no time, however, in self-pity, but was "moved with compassion" when He saw the needs of the people, "and He healed their sick."

That in itself would have been more than sufficient for a day's work, for the healing of every case was a drain upon His vitality. See Luke vi. 19; viii. 46; Matt. viii. 16, 17. But the thousands of people

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were in the desert place without food, and Jesus would not send them away hungry. He regarded them as His guests, since they had come out to sea Him, and as a Son over His Father's house (Heb. iii. 6, R.V.), He felt bound to fulfil all the duties of hospitality. So He set to work to feed them all, drawing upon the treasures of His own life for the supply. No wonder then that, having sent His disciples and the multitude away, "He went up into a mountain apart to pray." There was One who understood Him, and from whom He could receive comfort and encouragement and a renewal of strength.

"And when even was come, He was there alone. But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves; for the wind was contrary." Jesus was alone, and the disciples evidently thought that they were alone, for one record contains the words, "It was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them." John vi. 17. This seems to indicate that the disciples felt a little nettled, to say the least, at the thought that Jesus had constrained them to leave Him, and to cross the sea alone. But they did not know Him. They were to learn that however lonely He might be, He never for a moment lost eight of the needs of others, in thinking upon His own condition. That night they were to receive a practical demonstration of the promise, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." They were to have an experience which in all their after lives would make them appreciate the reality of the words, "Lo, I am with you alway."

"In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." But the disciples did not know Him. They had seen His power over the elements, yet since they had never seen the power manifested in that particular manner, they did not think that it could be a real person walking on the water. They were still superstitious fishermen, and cried out in fear, that it was an apparition, a phantom. The very term that is used to designate the thing seen, condemns their foolish tear; for if it had been really only a phantom, an apparition, a creature of their own imagination, it would have been nothing to fear, since nobody can be injured by that which does not exist. Men in general, however, are more affected by the figments of their own imagination than by that which is real. Most people live in an unreal world.

Jesus however soon brought the disciples to a sense of the real, by saying, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." There is in these words a deeper meaning than appears on the surface as we have them translated. The translation is undoubtedly correct. "It is I;" but in the assurance of His presence there is the revelation of His universal presence; since the words, literally rendered, are: "Be of good cheer; I am; be not afraid." The Greek words are identical with those used in John viii. 56, "Before Abraham was, I am."

"I AM." That is His name. Everywhere and always, He is. He is the truth; and when we trace the word truth back to its ultimate root, we find that it signifies "that which is." He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is the faithful and the true witness. Take the words, "I am," as the name of Christ, and add as the complement to the sentence whatever good thing you desire and long for, and you have it. He is all that, and more; for He is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Yes, He is in us with all His Divine power; for "the Word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart." Rom. x. viii. Jesus was in reality just as near the disciples when He was alone on the mountain praying, as when He got into the boat with them. So from this lesson we are to learn that He is always present. There is no trouble, no storm, so great that it frightens Him away.

Peter seized upon the words, "I am," and said, "Lord, if Thou art, bid me come unto Thee on the water." Jesus said, "Come," and in the strength of that word he went; but soon he forgot Jesus, and then he began to sink. He believed the words, "I am," that Jesus said of Himself, but he did not continue in them. To us the exhortation is, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him; rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith." Col. ii. 6, 7. Peter began to walk by faith in Jesus, but he began to look at the things that were seen, instead of the things that were unseen, and so he sank. The waves were to be seen round about him, and Jesus seemed to be at a distance. He could not see that Jesus was at his side, and round about him closer than the waves, but it was so.

The cry, "Lord save me," found instant answer. Peter had not yet come to Jesus, for he was walking on the water to go to Jesus when he began to sink; but as soon as he cried out in his extreme need, Jesus stretched forth His hand and caught him. The intervening space was nothing, for Jesus was there, even though He seemed to be at a distance. He who sometimes seems to us to be far off in the heavens, is so near that the shortest prayer uttered in sincerity finds immediate answer in our salvation.

It is worth noting, too, that there was no necessity for Peter to get out of the boat to go to Jesus. In a few minutes at most Jesus would have been in the boat with them; but Peter, with childish impulsiveness, could not wait. We need not lay it all to vanity; nor to the spoiled child's desire to "show off," although there may have been something of that element in the request. But Peter loved the Lord, and his nature was as simple as that of a child, and his love was ardent and spontaneous. Moreover his request showed confidence in the Lord, and the heart of the Lord as well as the heart of every man, is touched by every expression of confidence and trust. Jesus says, "Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out." No matter how mixed may be the motive, the heart of the Lord can never repel any indication of childish confidence. The Lord does not require certificates of good character, or enquire closely into the motives, before He receives anyone, but takes every request, every profession, at its face value; and even though the profession of faith be mingled with pride and self-love, He accepts it, that He may, by coming into closer relationship with the individual, be able to win him to a more sincere and more intelligent faith. He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the dimly burning wick. What an incentive to confidence in God, that He has accepted us in the Beloved, even though we have been unworthy, and what an admonition concerning the tenderness which we should manifest toward the weak in faith, we find in this lesson.

"Wherefore didst thou doubt?" The meaning of the word is, to waver, to hesitate. Faith works by love, and perfect love casteth out fear. Faith means confidence and boldness. The believing man does not fear. "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid." Isa. xii. 2. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof." Ps. xlvi. 1-3. We need not say, "If He is," but, since God is,

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we can do all things in Him. If we know that we are walking in Him, we can walk with boldness and our steps may be as firm on the raging billows as on the solid rock. But we must not forget, nor be frightened by appearances. We must "hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Heb. iii. 14. GOD IS; His name and all His fulness is in Christ, in whom all things are, and "as He is so are we in this world." His existence is ours, so that all that he is we may be. Therefore be not faithless, but believing, for "he is faithful that promised."

"The Gospel of Isaiah. The Glorious Inheritance. Isa. lxv. 1-25" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isa. lxv. 1-25, LOWTH'S TRANSLATION.)

1. I am made known to those that ask not for
Me;
I am found of those that sought Me not:
I have said, Behold Me, here I am,
To the nations which never invoked My name;

2. I have stretched out My hands all the day to a
rebellious people,
Who walk in an evil way, after their own
devices.

3. A people who provoke Me to My face con-
tinually;
Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning in-
cense on the tiles;

4. Who dwell in the sepulchres, and lodge in the
caverns;
Who eat the flesh of the swine;
And the broth of abominable meats is in their
vessels:

5. Who say: Keep to thyself; come not near unto
me, for I am holier than thou.
These kindle a smoke in My nostrils, a fire
burning all the day long.

6. Behold, this is recorded in writing before
Me:
I will not keep silence, but will certainly re-
quite;

7. I will requite unto their bosom their iniquities;
And the iniquities of their fathers together,
saith Jehovah:
Who burnt incense on the mountains, and
dishonoured Me on the hill;
Yea, I will pour into their own bosom the
full measure of their former deeds.

8. Thus saith Jehovah:
As when one findeth a good grape in the
cluster;
And sayeth Destroy it not; for a blessing is
in it;
So will I do for the sake of My servants; I
will not destroy the whole.

9. So will I bring forth from Jacob a seed;
And from Judah an inheritor of My moun-
tain;
And My chosen shall inherit the land;
And My servants shall dwell there.

10. And Sharon shall be a fold for the flock,
And the valley of Achor a resting for the herd;
For My people, who have sought after Me.

11. But ye, who have deserted Jehovah;
And have forgotten My holy mountain;
Who set in order a table for God;
And fill out a libation to Meni:

12. You will I number out of the sword;
And all of you shall bow down to the
slaughter.
Because I have called, and ye answered not;
I spake, and ye would not hear:
But ye did that which is evil in My sight;
And that in which I delighted not, ye chose.

13. Wherefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
Behold, My servants shall eat, but ye shall be
famished;
Behold, My servants shall drink, but ye shall
be thirsty;
Behold, My servants shall rejoice, but ye shall
be confounded;

14. Behold, My servants shall sing aloud, for glad-
ness of heart;
But ye shall cry aloud, for grief of heart;
And in the anguish of a broken spirit shall ye
howl.

15. And ye shall leave your name for a curse to
My chosen;
And the Lord Jehovah shall slay you;
And His servants shall He call by another
name.

16. Whoso blesseth himself up the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth.
And whoso sweareth upon the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth.
Because the former provocations are for-
gotten,
And because they are hidden from Mine
eyes.

17. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new
earth;
And the former ones shall not be remembered,
Neither shall they be brought to mind any
more.

18. But ye shall rejoice in the age to come, which
I create;
For lo! I create Jerusalem a subject of joy,
and her people of gladness;

19. And I will exult in Jerusalem, and rejoice in
My people.
And there shall not be found any more
therein
The voice of weeping, and the voice of a
distressful cry;

20. No more shall there be an infant short-
lived;
Nor an old man who hath not fulfilled his
days;
For he that dieth at an hundred years, shall
die a boy;
And the sinner that dieth at an hundred
years, shall be deemed accursed.

21. And they shall build houses, and shall inhabit
them;
And they shall plant vineyards, and shall eat
the fruit thereof.

22. They shall not build, and another inhabit;
They shall not plant, and another eat;
For as the days of a tree shall be the days of
My people;
And they shall wear out the works of their
own hands.

23. My chosen shall not labour in vain;
Neither shall they generate a short-lived race:
For they shall be a seed blessed of Jehovah,
They, and their offspring with them.

24. And it shall be, that before they call I will
answer;
They shall be ye speaking, and I shall have
heard.

25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
But as for the serpent, dust shall be his food.
They shall not hurt, neither shall they de-
stroy,
In all My holy mountain, saith Jehovah.

This chapter is naturally divided into two portions, the first sixteen verses showing who are the true Israel, and that no

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particular race or nation constitute God's people, but that they are gathered out one by one from "all nations, and kindreds and people, and tongues;" while verses 17-25 tell of the new earth, in which "the righteous nation that keepeth the truth" will dwell throughout eternity.

In order to understand the first two verses, we have only to read Rom. x. 19-21. From those verses, taken in connection with what precedes, namely, that the sound of the Gospel has gone to the ends of the earth, we learn that the Gentiles are referred to by the words, "I am inquired of by them that asked not for Me; I am found of them that sought Me not," and that the "rebellious people" to whom God has stretched out His hands all the day is Israel after the flesh. With the inspired comment to guide us, we can have no difficulty in reading the chapter, for in verses 3-7 we have a picture of the Jewish people, who prided themselves upon being God's people, no matter what abominations they committed. The fact that their ancestors had been the objects of special blessings, in the deliverance from Egypt, and subsequently, and that they had the law, was their boast, although they did not keep the law. Rom. ii. 17-23. They thought themselves too holy to associate with the uncircumcised heathen; but God has shown that a circumcised heathen is no better than an uncircumcised one, and that it is faith and obedience that distinguishes the true Israelite from the heathen.

Moment by moment the Christian lives. If we gain a victory today, that is no proof that we shall gain another tomorrow. It is a proof of the power and goodness of God, who ever lives to bless; but if we reap the benefit of His mercy in the future, it can only be by continual yielding and consecration. Our breath moment by moment is an evidence that God is with us; but the breath that we breathed yesterday will not profit us today; we need a fresh supply. Much less can we be benefited by that which somebody else has breathed. So for a person to base his confidence on the fact that he belongs to a denomination that at some time in the past had marked evidences of the presence and power of God, is to build his hope for bread today on money that was spent last year. It is a grand thing to have entrusted to us the ark in which are the oracles of God; but we may have this and still be accursed captives of sin. Far better is it to have our own hearts and temples of the Holy Spirit of truth.

Everybody who knows anything about the Bible knows that it forbids the use of swine's flesh; but nothing in the Bible shows so clearly how God regards the filthy beast, and those who take it into the most intimate relation to themselves, than the passing reference in verses 4 and 5. There the eating of swine's flesh is classed by the Lord with the most abominable idolatry. The hog is one of the most filthy and disgusting of animals, gross in its habits, and the imparter of grossness to all who have anything whatever to do with it; yet there is no other animal in the world that is in such demand as food for men. In this we see how God's order has been perverted. Satan has done his best to reverse every design of God, and among the majority of mankind he has succeeded for even thousands of professed Christians, to say nothing of non-professors, seem to be bent on making their religious practices as far different as possible from what God ordained. When Satan induced men to worship devils instead of God, while still professing to serve God, he led them to sacrifice swine upon their altars, in contradistinction to the clean and innocent animals that were sacrificed in the worship of God. It is eminently fitting that the hog should be used by those whose lives are devoted to the service of Satan; but that men and women who profess to worship the God of heaven, and to be guided and controlled by the pure life of Jesus Christ, should take the filthy animal into their bodies is a part of the mystery of iniquity. Everybody is shocked at the impiety of Antiochus Epiphanes, who defiled the temple of God in Jerusalem by offering hogs upon its altar, yet that temple at best was only a figure; think then how much greater sacrilege it is to offer up the swine in our own bodies, which are the real temples of Jehovah.

Concerning the heathen gods mentioned in verse 11, one ancient writer has made the following sensible comment, which may save a great deal of useless speculation: "Why should we be solicitous about it? It appears sufficiently, from the circumstance, that they were false gods, either stars or some other natural object, or a mere fiction. The Holy Scriptures did not deign to explain more clearly what these objects of idolatrous worship were, but chose rather that the memory of the knowledge of them should be utterly abolished. And God be praised that they are so totally abolished that we are now quite at a loss to know what and what sort of things they were."

Just why Lowth has "a good grape" instead of "new wine," in verse 8 it is impossible to tell, for the ordinary Hebrew text most certainly has it as in our common version. The lesson, however, is not materially affected by the difference. As Lowth has it, it shows how God does not take people in bulk, but as individuals. Just as we will pick out a single good grape from a cluster of unripe or decayed fruit, so God selects His people out from the world, or even from among churches and societies that have the name of belonging to Him, until Israel is composed of those in every nation and class in society, who are without guile. This is evidently the lesson to be drawn from verse 8; but there is an incidental lesson in it as rendered in our version, that may be noted. The new wine is found in the cluster, and not in the fermenting vat. And a blessing is in it. When we eat the fruits of the earth in the natural state in which God Himself prepares them for us, or as near it as possible, and recognise God in the gift, we get the blessing of His own life. God's life is most holy and precious, and we should be most careful not to pervert it or misuse it. The stream of life from the throne of God is perfectly pure, but it may become contaminated by the abuse of men; therefore we should be solicitous to go to the fountain head, and take the unperverted life directly from God Himself.

The great lesson from the first section of the chapter is the wondrous love and patience and forbearance of God. He loves those who love Him not. He calls for those who have not inquired for Him, and seeks out those who have never given Him a thought. And more than this, He is not easily offended when slighted and deliberately rejected. He not only seeks out those who are ignorant of Him, but He bears long with the waywardness of those who have known His goodness and have not appreciated it. To Israel He saith, "All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." Wonderful love! Oh that it may always be ours. It may be; for the Holy Spirit so freely given to us, if received, sheds abroad in our hearts that love that "suffereth long, and is kind," "seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,

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thinketh no evil." It is not ours by nature, but grace can give us the Divine nature, of which it is an attribute.

In striking contrast with the sorrow and anguish incident to this present evil world, and the sure destruction that is to be the fate of all who are united to it, is the state of the servants of the Lord. The new heavens and the new earth will obliterate from the mind every thought of the want and the suffering endured in this earth. And as this thought is impressed on our minds in reading this description of the joy and peace of the world to come, let us not forget that God has already placed the world to come in subjection to man, and that we may now taste its power. Just now, in this time of hardship and tribulation, in the midst of all this world's lack, it is ours by the Spirit to know "the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." Eph. i. 18. God has placed eternity in our hearts, so that beginning right now we may be glad and rejoice for ever in that which He creates; for "if any man be in Christ there is a new creation; the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. But all things are of God." 2 Cor. v. 17, 18.

Compare verses 17-19 with Rev. xxi. 1-5; and there can be no question as to the application. The Lord is not here speaking figuratively of some mere local work to be done in one nation, but is speaking of the real change to come over all the earth, and He uses language as plain and as perfectly adapted to our comprehension as possible.

Life in the world to come will be very real. Strangely enough, the term "real life" conveys to most people a sense of hardness and bitter suffering. How sad it is that so many know of no joy except in imagination, and find no happiness except in dreams. But the real-that which God creates-is infinitely beyond the wildest flights of human imagination. Imagination is not needed by the servants of God, for the real brings to them wonders of joy and happiness and knowledge that have never been conceived of by any human heart. There will be nothing vague or misty or shadowy in the new earth, but people will associate together just as in this world, only with no trace of sin. It is sin that has made this earth what it is, and all the change that is needed to make it new is to remove sin from it. "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat of the fruit of them." There will be possessions in the land, but no buying and selling, for everything will be free as the gift of God. "All mine is thine" will be the motto of every inhabitant. That which socialists vainly dream of, and infinitely more, is assured to men through the Gospel.

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Rev. xxi. 3, 4. From this we know that verse 20 of our lesson chapter marks the transition stage. Remember that the final destruction of the wicked, and the renewal of the earth, does not take place until a thousand years after the appearing of Christ and the first resurrection (see Rev. xx.), during which time the saints have been reigning with Christ in the New Jerusalem in heaven. Consequently the sinner an hundred years old, who dies accursed, is but a boy in comparison with them. Seventy years is considered full age in this life, yet the sinner who goes to destruction at the age of a hundred years is compared with the saints reigning in glory, as one who is cut off in early boyhood. For from the time of Christ's coming there will not be among the saints such a thing as a short-lived infant, but all will live an endless life; yet the thousands of years upon a man's head will not make him old, nor diminish the freshness of youth.

A tree is one of the best representations of continual youthful life, and the tree of life is the model for all trees. Such will be the life of all God's people. They will live for ever, as long as the tree of life, to which they have free access, exists. Their life will be that of God. Do not be misled by the words in Lowth's translation, "they shall wear out the works of their hands." The idea is not that any work of their hands will become so worn as to be thrown aside, like the garments now worn, but that they shall enjoy themselves. They will ever live to enjoy their own work, and will not die and leave it to others. "They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them."

"'The Days of a Tree'" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

"The Days of a Tree." -The trees shown in our illustration are among the oldest now existing upon the earth. Some of them have reached a height of over 400 ft. and their age is estimated at 3,000 years or more. These trees would seem to substantiate the theory of scientists that there is no reason why a tree should die unless destroyed by accident or design, or unfavourable conditions.

"The ages attained by some of the conifers are scarcely less extraordinary than their colossal bulk. The greatest longevity assigned to any tree is perhaps credited to the celebrated taxodium of Chapultepes, in Mexico, one hundred and seventeen feet in circumference. In Lombardy there is a cypress tree which is said to have been planted in the year of our Saviour's birth. There is even an ancient record that it was growing in the time of Julius C?sar. Near the ruins of the Palenque are trees whose age is estimated to be over four thousand years."

"For the Children. Lessons from the Flowers" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

"Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous.
God has written in the stars above;
But not less in the bright flowerets under us.
Stands the revelation of His love."

Last week we spent a little time together "among the flowers," and this week we will speak of a few of the simple lessons that they teach us. "God is Love;" and so whatever reveals God to as brings a message of love. And this is what the flowers teach us in many ways. One of the first things that they teach us is that the Creator likes to have things beautiful. Everything in the Garden that God planted was "pleasant to the sight." Eden means "delight;" and this shows us that God delights in what is beautiful.

When the Garden was complete, He rested and was refreshed by the perfect beauty of His new creation. "The Lord taketh pleasure in His people; He will beautify the meek with salvation."

All the beauty of creation is the revealing of the beautiful life of Jesus that is in all His works. He is "altogether lovely," and so whatever reveals Him must be beautiful.

The beauty of the flowers is not an outward decoration, something that can be put on for special occasions, or worn only when some one is looking. It belongs to the life, and to apart of the flower itself, and not a mask to hide its defects. So it is always there, whether anyone looks or not. The hidden rose is as beautiful as that which grows in the fall view of every passer-by.

The God of beauty wants to train His children to love what is beautiful go He has "spread beauty round us everywhere;" and He says, "Whatsoever things are lovely, think on these things."

One great reason for this to that "by beholding we become changed." So we must train our eyes to see what is beautiful, and our minds to think upon it, remembering always that "the beauty of all created things is but a gleam from the shining of God's glory." As we learn to see His image in it all, the reflection of His lovely face, we shall be changed into the same image from glory to glory. Then the Lord will take pleasure in us, and be refreshed by beholding His own perfect beauty reflected in us.

There is much that we may learn, too, from the fragrance of the flowers. This, like their beauty, is a part of their life, and not something put on, like we put scent on our handkerchiefs and clothing. It comes from within, and they breathe it out continually because it is their very nature.

And so it is when Jesus, the sweet "Rose of Sharon and Lily of the Valley," abides in the hearts of His children, the fragrance of His life will make His presence known to all.

"As some rare perfume in a vase of clay
Pervades it with a fragrance not Its own,
So when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul
All Heaven's own sweetness seem around it thrown."

As we "consider the lilies, how they grow," we may learn how, like them, to become beautiful, and sweet by having the life of Jesus unfolding in us unhindered. He says: "I will be the dew unto Israel; He shall grow as the Iily."

You know that God wants us, as we see His works, to learn His ways. All things that He has made, and in which He is still working, are to teach us of His ways of doing things. And a beautiful lesson of love and courtesy the flowers teach: that is, not to be content with doing only what we think the necessary things; but to do everything in the very best and sweetest manner possible, in the way that will give the greatest pleasure to everybody: For

"God might have made the earth bring forth
Enough for great and small.
The oak tree and the cedar tree,
Without a flower at all."

Take, for instance, the apple tree, the cherry tree, and other fruit tree in whose spring beauty we have lately taken so much pleasure. Think of the exquisite fragrance of the orange blossom and other flowering plants through which God hands us our food. See how in doing this He has so accompanied the gift with "an odour of a sweet smell;" and so much that it is "pleasant to the sight."

Is not this a beautiful, royal way of doing things? This is Love's way, and "the royal law," the law of love, written in the heart is the only thing that can make us like our Heavenly Father in this. As we are the children of the great King of glory, He wants us to learn His own royal, kingly way of doing things, so that from seeing our good works men will "glorify our Father which is in Heaven."

Not only to the obedient and thankful is He kind, but He is equally good to all. He makes His sun to shine, sends His rain and gives His flowers for just and unjust, even for the unthankful and the evil.

As we dwell in His house to behold His beauty, as we enquire in His great temple of nature to learn His ways, His Spirit will come upon us and make as like Him.

Shall we not learn from Him to do everything in the loveliest way that we can? Shall we not, by inviting Him into our hearts; let love make beautiful our simplest actions, kindness shed its sweet fragrance over in our words and deeds, and learn to do our most for the pleasure and happiness of all with whom we have any dealings?

"For O how God must love us,
And this poor world our ours,
To spread blue skies above us,
And deck the earth with flowers."

"Temperance. Something New and Good" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

It is impossible for perfection to be found in any work of human hands or brain, but we are convinced that a very near approach to it has been made in a little sixpenny pamphlet written by Mrs. Lauretta Kress, and just issued by the International Health Association, Limited, 59, Paternoster Row, entitled "Life and Health Cookery: A Guide to Healthful Living." The latter part of the title has reference of course only to healthful living as affected by eating and drinking, and not to all the other things that go to make up a period physical and spiritual life. We have not by any means seen all the cookery books in the world; but of those which we have seen, whether larger or smaller, we have no hesitation in declaring this by far the best; and since our advice is always in everything, "Get the best," we can heartily recommend this to all our readers. It is not perfection but it is a long stride in that direction; and if those who get it will study not merely the various dishes, so as to know how to prepare them, but above all the principles so briefly yet clearly set forth, and will adopt them, they will surely live a simpler, slower, healthier life-a life more free from cares and worry-than ever before. This is not the language of enthusiastic exageration, but of sober, practical experience in the things referred to.

Of the two hundred recipes in this little book these are a few which we think perfect consistency with the principles set forth would require to be omitted; and there would even then be a far greater number of dishes described than any family could ever need on this earth. But the whole is so good that we will not quarrel with the few defects. Those who come to an understanding of the principles underlying the formulae, will be able to avoid the few steps aside from the path of perfect consistency. Indeed, if all people had a perfect knowledge of a few basic principles of physiology, both animal and vegetable, there would be no need of cookery books, for each one could prepare his own food in the way beet adopted to his needs; but until people become accustomed to living by principles, they stand in need of some simple directions, such as are given in this cookery book, to enable them to make the application.

It occurs to us that in this connection a few words concerning the real object of cookery, and the almost universal perversion of the art, may be of more interest and profit than in any other. They can be only suggestive.

The popular idea is that cooking is the art of making food taste good, or, as commonly stated, of "making it palatable." Out of this erroneous idea have grown the practice of making such combinations as will conceal the taste of things that by themselves are nauseous, and of making even disgusting things attractive to the palate. All such doings, although practised with the most sedulous care by thousands of gentle housewives, most excellent women, are but a part of the art by which Satan works to hold the human race in the bondage of gross appetite and corruption. When God placed man in Eden, He gave him "every tree that is pleasant to the eye, and good for food," and said, "of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat;" making only one well-known exception. Everything that God had made was "very good." It was good in itself, without the addition of anything to make it good. Although on account of the curse there are not now so many good things as in the beginning, and there are many most harmful things; yet much of good still remain, and whatever God has made good cannot be made better by any art of man.

"Then you do not believe in cooking anything," some one will at once exclaim. Oh, yes, we do; it is a thing made necessary by the curse, and it will be necessary to a greater or lesser degree so long as the curse remains. In the beginning, when all was perfection, when the conditions of atmosphere and sunlight were different from what they now are, the sun did all the work that was necessary in preparing food for man's use. The fruits and grains-the only things that God originally designed that man should ever eat-were by the sun, while they were on their native branches, made ready for immediate assimilation by the human system, so that man had only to pluck and eat. A reference to Isa. xxi. 26, which speaks of the time of "restoration of all things," will show that this statement concerning the sun's power is not fancy. Not only is the influence of the sun diminished but our seasons are short, and so we take advantage of the sunlight that is stored up in gas, coal, and wood, to supply far as possible that which is leaking in the sun's direct rays. Here then we have the real and only proper reason for cooking food: it is not to make bad or tasteless things good, or to add some new taste, but to bring out the true taste of that which is already good, and to bring the food to a condition where it can be appropriated by the human organism. In short, the cooking of food, when it is in no way perverted, is simply the finishing of the ripening process.

Many things, as most fruits, need no artificial ripening to prepare them for assimilation; but of foods that need to be cooked, there is nothing that human beings ought to eat that is not by itself alone palatable and even delicious when hest is properly applied to it. When this fact is recognised, it will be seen that the addition of condiments of any kind whatever, such as pepper, salt, sugar, spices, etc., which are commonly added "to make things taste good," is only an evidence of the cook's ignorance. To say, as is so often the case, that a certain thing is "not good" without the addition of salt or some other condiment, is equivalent to one of two things: it is either an admission that the thing ought not to be eaten (for we are to eat only that which is good), or else, provided the article is something that God has given us for food, to say that He has offered us something that is not good; and that is plainly to deny His word. Everything that is good for food has the good taste in it, and each thing has its own peculiar taste; the art of cooking is to develop this characteristic flavour at the same time that the substance is prepared for digestion. No flavour that God has

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imparted to good food should ever be concealed by the addition of any other substance; but two, or sometimes even more, things good in themselves may be combined by a skilful cook in such a way as to preserve the individuality of each, while forming a new flavour. In general, however, each food should be cooked by itself alone, so that it will be eaten for its own good qualities. The more simply food is prepared, the better.

From this it will appear that although thousands of years have elapsed since the cooking of food became a necessity, and we are just at the close of what is supposed to be the century of greatest progress in the world's history, the art of proper cookery can scarcely be said to be even in its infancy; it is almost unknown. It is by slow steps that we some back to the beginning; but we believe that the little book that has led to this dissertation is calculated to do much toward the restoration of the lost art, and to help men and women to the state where foods and their preparation will be our faithful servants, instead of our masters.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

-At Aldershot, Monday, June 11, three soldiers in training died of heat apoplexy.

-A lamp explosion caused the death of a young man and woman at Kensington.

-Mrs. Gladstone, who has been seriously ill for some time, passed away the evening of the 14th.

-Miss Hanbury, of Richmond, Surrey, a well-known Quakeress, has just completed her 107th year.

-A human body in excellent preservation, and thought to be 1,500 years old, has been discovered in the past in Schlerwig.

-During a sham fight by members of a Boys' Brigade near Liverpool, a youth was fatally stabbed through falling on a bayonet.

-The United States health department reports smallpox in every State and territory of the country, though not in a serious form.

-On one Sunday 450,000 people paid for admission into the Paris Exposition. It is claimed that 6,000,000 have already visited the place.

-The German Navy Bill, providing for a considerable increase in the armament, was finally adopted by the Reichstag by 201 votes to 108.

-An Italian officer claims to have invented an apparatus by which he can photograph an enemy's position, trenches and works at the distance of ten miles.

-Street accidents have been very numerous in London within the last few days. The 9th inst. five inquests were held over victims, two of them being cyclists who had been run over.

-The Ashanti rising is assuming more serious proportions. The column under Colonel Carter and Major Wilkinson recently sustained a defeat with heavy casualties. Reinforcements may have to be sent.

-Something of a sensation has been created in church circles in Norfolk by the action of the two Caister church-wardens, who flatly refuse to pay the customary five-shilling fee for being sworn in, urging that it is a sorry practice to make them pay for the privilege of working for nothing.

-The situation in China continues to be serious. It is said that Russia holds 6,000 men in readiness to interfere and quell the insurrection, if the Government does not very soon take vigorous measures. The "Boxers" have destroyed the summer residence of the British minister.

-From India comes the good news that the monsoon has just set in on the Bombay coast. The monsoon winds bring with them the rain, which is needed for the winter crop. Already some rain has fallen in the Descan and the Central Provinces, two districts suffering from the present famine. If this condition of things continues, and the rain becomes general, the prospects of the next harvest will be favourable. Meanwhile the famine continues its fearful ravages. The relief funds are not adequate to meet the demands of the situation. Over large tracts of country the cattle have all died off. These must be replaced, or the poverty-stricken natives will not be able to plough the land and sow their crops.

-Three men were drowned in Poole Harbour by the capsising of a boat.

-A swarm of dragon-flies recently passed over Belgium, quite darkening the air. The present swarm is said to be the sixteenth that has been registered since 1673.

-Certain shopkeepers being fined at Cardiff for Sunday trading retaliated by prosecuting others who were breaking the law, including a cabman who was driving a minister.

-According to a Daily Express telegram from Washington, the United States proposes to spend ?20,000,000 on new warships, and ?4,000,000 on armour plate. There will be eleven armoured battleships and three cruisers.

-It is rather interesting to note Count Tolstoy's opinion of "In His Steps." According to a recent interviewer, he regards the author as no doubt a well-meaning young man who has yet many things to learn, one of them being that Christ would never have become editor of a daily paper.

-Lord Carson, the Indian Viceroy, has addressed an earnest appeal to the Lord Mayor, in which he points out that the present famine covers twice the area of that of 1897, and yet the British public has subscribed only ?370,000 in the present year as over against ?700,000 pounds three years ago.

-Eight thousand dockers are on strike in London and Middlesborough. The trouble arose, it is said, through breach of promise on the part of one of the firms. The men demand an increase of a penny an hour between seven and five o'clock, and a shilling instead of ninepence an hour after five.

-Considerable interest has been aroused in medical circles in Germany by the discovery by Dr. Otto Emmerich, of a specific against morphia poisoning. The remedy, which is a distilled vegetable oil of intense acidity, is taken internally at the rate of two or three drops daily. After such a course of treatment extending over three to six weeks it is claimed that the patients acquire an intense loathing of the use of the morphia needle.

-A severe thunderstorm did considerable damage Tuesday, June 12, especially in Northamptonshire, where it was preceded by a hailstorm the previous day. Three children just leaving school were struck dead by lightning at the little village of Arthingworth. At Stoke Doyle a fire ball falling on the roof of one of a row of thatched cottages, set fire to it, and the whole row was destroyed. Manchester was deluged by rain, which for a while put a stop to the traffic. Harwich suffered severe damages.

-The meetings of the World's Temperance Congress held in London last week were well attended, and marked by earnest enthusiasm. The delegates from Great Britain numbered about 1,200, representing about fifty temperance organisations. The foreign delegates numbered a hundred, including Dr. Legrain of Paris, President of the French Anti-Alcoholic League, Mr. Joshua Bailey, of Philadelphia, Chairman of the National Temperance Society of New York, Herr Voss of Denmark, Johannes Ditter of Iceland, Mr. Skargynacks of St. Petersburg, a Brahman Pundit, and many other distinguished persons. The Archbishop of Canterbury presided at the Congress, and delivered a stirring address. Wednesday evening a demonstration . . . was held in Exeter Hall, presided over by Sir Wilfred Lawson, M.P., and addressed by him, by Lady Somerset, Canon Wilberforce and others. The Congress has for its aim, "Total Abstinence for the individual, Prohibition for the nation." The delegates spoke hopefully of the future, but also showed a realisation of the difficulties attending this much-needed reform.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

The Bishop of Carlisle says that although enormous strides have been made by the Church since he was ordained, the observance of Sunday in his diocese is distinctly on the decline. This is not at all to be wondered at; for people cannot stand for ever on nothing, and there is nothing whatever to support anybody in Sunday observance.

At a recent meeting in Grosvenor House, in aid of the Bishop of St. Alban's Fund, some statements were made showing the remarkable growth of the East End of London, Lord Cross, who presided, said that at the beginning of the Queen's reign there were only 35,000 inhabitants in the East End, whereas now it has a population of about a million, and is growing at the rate of 48,000 annually. In 1865 the churches provided accommodation for one-fifth of the inhabitants; now there is seating capacity for only one in eighteen, and only one clergyman for each 4,500 inhabitants.

Contrary to the common idea that white meat is more digestible, containing less uric acid than dark meat, and therefore more suitable to the sick, a series of articles published in a German Medical journal, by Drs. Offer and Rosenquist, in which the results of many analyses are given, shows that there is no appreciable difference in the two kinds of meat, and that the only way of limiting the ingestion of deleterious extractive and nitrogenous substances is to diminish the amount of meat taken, rather than to forbid dark most only. From this it appears that those who would be wholly free from these poisonous substances must discard meat entirely. "But how could feeble persons gain strength without eating flesh?" some one exclaims. Sure enough; how is it possible for a person to live and thrive without taking poison? When will people learn that life comes from life, and not from death?

Stronger and stronger comes the call for some form of conscription in this country. Lord Wemyss, writing on this subject to Public Opinion, notes the fact that "the whole Swiss nation is compulsorily organised as one great national army, ready at all times to take the field with all necessary war organisation, armament, and equipment. Every born Swiss is forced to serve in this national army in other words, is a conscript," and says that a similar state of things here would make the country, as regards home defence, impregnable. In order to show the prevailing sentiment, he says that "a circular has been issued asking lords-lieutenant, high sheriffs, chairman of quarter sessions, chairmen and vice-chairmen of county councils, mayors, provosts, presidents of chambers of commerce, and presidents of chambers of agriculture, whether they are in favour of a modified form of compulsory service for home defence only, and to this query the replies in the affirmative have been more than two to one." The prospect is that the whole world will soon be a military camp, and when all are armed and drilled, they will certainly soon find an opportunity of trying their weapons.

The World's Temperance Congress, which has just been brought to a close in this city, has doubtless accomplished much good, both through the fresh stimulus it has given to the workers by bringing them in contact with associate workers in other countries, and through the influence the meetings have exerted upon Londoners who have been in attendance. Most of the speeches were decidedly optimistic; but for the sympathetic listener, a deep under-tone of sadness made itself heard at intervals. A few of the old veterans who attended the preceding congress in 1846, frankly admitted that the progress made had not met their expectations. In spite of strenuous efforts to drown it, the liquor traffic has steadily grown, and to-day holds such a strong position and exhibits such enormous proportions that its enemies do well not to be utterly disheartened.

A valuable feature of the meeting was the attention given to methods of educating the public, and endeavouring to awaken men and women to the terrible danger which confronts them. This is in the end the most effective kind of work that the friends of temperance can engage in. Laws may and will be evaded, all may be seen in Maine, (U.S.A.) where drunkenness exists in spite of prohibition; but let the principles of temperance lay hold on the heart and mind of a man, and he cannot getaway from them. The kingdom of temperance must be built up within the hearts of Englishmen, before the English nation can be temperate. Nevertheless, judicious legislation can be of very great service in co-operating with the efforts of reformers. And since, as Lady Henry Somerset pointedly remarked, we have legislated for the fish of the sea and the fowls of the air, it seems no more than just that we should give at least an equal protection to our children, who under present conditions are exposed to cruel and needless temptation and the most degrading associations.

A writer in the Royal Magazine, speaking of the production of champagne in France, says that "to-day the power of champagne rivals that of statesmen and kings. If the Press is the fourth estate, then of a surety champagne is the fifth. No social function is complete without it. It oils the wheels of Diplomacy, and knots which reason fails to loosen champagne severs with ease. Indeed, so great is the demand, that 40,000 acres in the vicinity of the river Marne are given up to the cultivation of the vine. As the average production is twenty-one million gallons (the sales to this country alone exceeding twenty million bottles a year), the wine trade is gradually altering the aspect of the country."

Most pitiful indeed is the state of things when men can with light hearts declare that wine is ruler. How can they fail to be overtaken by the day of the Lord as by a thief?

"Studies in Daniel" The Present Truth 16, 25.

E. J. Waggoner

Studies in Daniel .-With this issue of PRESENT TRUTH the studies in the book of Daniel, entitled "The Gospel of the kingdom," by W. W. Prescott, will end for a season. Lack of time at present to give the subject all the attention that it deserves is the cause of the cessation of the studies, which we trust will be only temporary. The stoppage does not involve any abrupt change, since the subject is complete with the close of the seventh chapter. The last five chapters form the second division of the book of Daniel, and can be taken up by themselves at a later time without any embarrassment either to reader or writer. Meanwhile those who have read the articles in the preceding chapters, and have preserved their papers, will do well to read then again; and those who have not saved the papers or who have never had them, will do well to secure them, for the article will well repay study, and will wonderfully assist anybody in the study of the book of Daniel. We know of nothing else published, which touches and makes clear the keynote of that book as these articles do.

June 28, 1900

"A Sound Mind" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

A Sound Mind .-The prodigal son had wasted all his substance in riotous living in a far country, "seeing life" and "having a good time," as so many say. So he doubtless thought, until his money was gone, and he began to starve to that extent that he envied the hogs their miserable food. But when he came to himself, he said, "How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and, I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to, my father." The expression, "to come to one's self" is a familiar one, and is used to indicate that one has is a familiar one, and is used to indicate that one has recovered his consciousness after a period of unconsciousness or mental aberration. The young man had been insane, crazed by appetite and passion and the glitter of the world; but at last he had come to his senses, and he saw things just as they were.

His case is given as a representative one. No sinner is in his right mind. There is a common notion in the world, that when a man becomes a Christian in earnest, so much so that he makes an abrupt and radical change in his life, he is "out of his head;" but that notion is on the principle that every insane or intoxicated person thinks that others are in his condition, and that he himself is sound in mind. The truth is that the true Christian is the only perfectly sane person. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Tim. i. 7. He gives us His own mind, which is the highest wisdom, even though the world may call it foolishness. No person on earth ever went insane through accepting the Gospel of Christ. Such a thing is impossible. The Lord casts out evil and unclean spirits, and leaves the afflicted soul that was wild and uncontrollable, "clothed and in his right mind." Peace and quietness come by the Gospel. So whenever you hear of one who has "religious mania" know that it is through failure to lay hold on the eternal life which is the sum of Christianity.

"No Condemnation" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

No Condemnation .-"Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, whereinsoever our heart condemn us; because God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." There are very few people who do not misunderstand this text because they read into it something that it does not say. Their idea is, that if our heart condemns us, God, who is greater than our heart, and knows all things, must condemns us far wore than our heart does. This is just what the text does not say. If it did, there could be no hope for us; but we read that in this very thing, namely, that God knows all things, we are to assure our heart before Him. Yea, in the very things wherein our heart condemns us, we are to assure our heart, because the great God knows.

Yes, God knows, and He knows all the sin of our heart long before we do. If when we first become conscious of the sinfulness of our heart, God also first discovered it then we might have cause to fear that He would condemn us. But He is not taken by surprise at the revelation of, deceitfulness and sin, as we are when we first begin to make the acquaintance of our hearts; because it is no revelation to Him. He has known the story all the time, and has borne with the sin. He has had all the load upon Himself. It is His patience and forbearance and long-suffering that has kept no alive. But "the longsuffering of our God is salvation." Condemnation means death; and if God, knowing all things, even the depths of the sinfulness of our heart, had condemned us for it, He would not have kept us alive during all the years of sin. God does not delight in seeing people duffer, that He should treat men as a cat does a mouse. He does not condemn people to death, and then keep them alive just to prolong their agony.

But it is only in Him that we live, and the knowledge of this should give us confidence when our awakened conscience begins to condemn us. Who is he that condemneth? It is God that justifieth. God justifies, instead of condemning; and nobody, not even our own heart, has any right to condemn when God justifies. And so in the very moment of self-condemnation we find joy and peace. The only condemnation is when sight comes and is deliberately and finally rejected because the darkness of sin is preferred to it. The matter, in short, is this: Since God, who knows all things about us, does not condemn us, what right has our heart to condemn us, when it knows so little? With this knowledge we can assure our heart whenever it would condemn us.

"Egyptian Plagues in Argentina" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

Such is the striking heading given to an article by a Danish resident in Buenos Ayres, written in April to the Flensborg Avis. One can see from the letter that the writer is not a Christisn, and that makes his statements all the more striking, inasmuch as they are not made with any reference to the last days. We give herewith a summary with translation of a few paragraphs. After saying that this year they had been smitten with all the plagues of Egypt, which is of course an exaggeration, he writes:

"First it was the grasshoppers, the Argentina farmer's yearly- recurring scourge. They came from the north in great swarms, and covered the green wheatfields like a living carpet of red, and then made off; leaving the bare black fields without a living spear." This plague, however, was not so bad as usual because the swarms, of locusts came earlier, and there was quite a successful onslaught made on plague was past, another came, which was much worse. It was them.

"When this plague was past, another came, which was much worse. It was the heat. We have this summer had a degree of heat the like of which has never been known here in the city. During more than two weeks the thermometer indicated over 40 degrees Celsius (104∞ Farenheit) in the shade, and in the sun it was more than 60 (140∞ F.). The air was shimmering rind drowsy with the heat, and was so heavy that one could scarcely draw a breath. There was no wind, and in breathing one filled his lungs with fire. People fall upon the streets, as if the black plague raged in the city; the hospitals were so overfilled that the sunstruck cases that were brought in were laid in rows on the floor, and in the worst days the hospital waggons were not sufficient to gather up the sick, so that military ambulances had to be called into requisition."

Finally the intense heat came to an end, but only to give place for a new unwelcome guest, one of humanity's most frightful scourges, the Indian bubonic plague. This, however, thanks to good sanitary arrangements, was held in check, so that there were only a few sporadic cases.

"So the attack of this enemy was repulsed, and the city again breathed freely; but the peace was only of short duration. One fine Sunday afternoon, it began to rain, and instead of stopping after the lapse of a few hours or a day, it continued day after day for a whole week. And it was no fine shower, that tall, but it poured down literally in pailfuls. At last the sewers in the lower parts of the city were not able to receive the water, and the streets were changed to rivers, and the open spaces to seas. In many streets the inhabitants had to be rescued from their houses in boats. In other places the houses were undermined, and buried their occupants in the ruins; and the individual cases that were missed by the rescuers were obliged to remain in the surrounded houses in about .the same conditions that the English were in Mafeking. Surrounded, without hope of escaping, they remained under a ceaseless cannonade of thunder and lightning, fearing that they would die of hunger when their provisions failed."

"Out in the country vast stretches of territory lay under water. In order to get a mouthful of grass, the cattle were obliged to dip their heads in the water to their eyes. They could not lie down, and they became thin and weak, and so were lose able to withstand the last and worst plague that visited us, and which we still fight against, namely, the foot and mouth disease. This began three months ago and has spread with fearful rapidity. It attacks by preference the imported, fine cattle, and if the sick animals are not treated, the death rate is great among them, sometimes as high as 60 per cent. When they are rightly treated, however, the disease is soon over, and the mortality is not great, but the animals are greatly weakened, and the amount of milk is materially diminished.

"Everything has been done by the Government that could be done to arrest the disease, but this is almost an impossible task in a country like this, where the herds are so large, and where the cattle run loose during the entire year."

As cattle-raising is the chief industry of the country, business has necessarily received a severe check. In the last fifteen or twenty years millions of dollars' worth of animals have been imported from England for breeding purposes, and the value of the Argentine cattle has been thereby more than doubled. But now, on account of the foot and mouth disease, it is impossible

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to export fresh meat, since other countries very naturally forbid its importation. But commerce will find a way out of all difficulties, and the way out of this is to turn the tabooed cattle into meat-extract, and right here comes in this compensation, that the original, half-wild Argentine cattle yield a larger per cent. of extract; and their hides are more valuable, than those of the finer, imported cattle go our flesh-loving friends way comfort themselves with the assurance that no matter how much the plague may rage among the cattle, they need not be deprived of their "ox in a teacup." What matter if it is from infected meat? The stimulating affect of meat extract is due wholly to the fact that it is concentrated poison and the more poison it contains, the more imaginary energy does it give.

We do not by any means present the prevalence of disease among castle as the special reason why people should not consume their flesh in any form whatever; but we do say that those who, from the highest and purest motives, abstain from all animal food, are thereby preserved to a great extent from the dangers of the plagues which are coming on the earth, and which are soon to culminate in "the seven last plagues," that last test as to who possess the fulness of the life of God. Even now the judgments of God are in the land; when will the inhabitants begin to learn righteousness?

"Papal Protestantism" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

The following extract from a vivid account in the Daily Mail several days ago, of a religious riot at Peckham, shows that Protestantism is not by any means necessarily Christianity:-

"Leaguers of the Cross, acolytes, men and women of 8t. Francis's Roman Catholic Church, Peckham, bearers of statues of the Virgin and banners of saints, and carriers of candles and crucifixes, had assembled in the Lower Park-road, and had formed up for the Peckham annual Catholic procession. The sun shone, the hands got ready to play, four hundred policemen lined the route, and all was calm.

"But suddenly there came marching down the road a band of Peckham Protestants with banners bearing anti-Catholic mottoes and devices. One represented the cross toppling over, another bore the inscription, 'Mafeking is relieved-the Pope is a prisoner.'

"On came the new band; small in comparison with the lineal mile of ranked Roman Catholics, but determined in character and bold in execution.

"They walked right up to the Catholics, faced them, and looked as if they were about to walk through or over them. One of the Protestants, Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Whale, Royal Marines, flourished a Bible in one hand and a strip of parchment in the other, and shouted:-

"'I protest against this idolatry. This procession is illegal.'

"Then his silk that went spinning away in the sunshine and was finally crushed, and the parchment was snatched away and crumpled. Protestants and Catholics closed together in a m?lÈe. The religious sentiment that abhors the carrying of images and crucifixes through the streets animated the arms of the small group; and determination to go right through with their cherished procession gave force to the fists of the larger body.

"The Catholics, profiting by the experience of former years, had gathered to their procession several hundred muscular Christians who were men of thew and sinew. In a moment there was a m?lÈe. Two or three men looked up out of it with blood-streaked faces. Protestant bannerpoles cracked and splintered like matchwood, and the pieces were handed round to serve as Catholic button holes.

"The Irish blood, running hot in the veins of many of the Romanists, was up. It looked like bloodshed and slaughter. Then, like a bolt from the blue, down swooped a squadron of mounted policemen. Foot constables followed them up and a few seconds after the fighting Catholics were out off from their main body, three militant Christians had been marched off towards the police-station, and the riot was at an end."

This is a mild sample of what is styled the "No Popery" crusade, but the protest is just as much a part of the Papacy as is the thing protested against. Thus: The papacy is anti-Christ; Christ Himself said that whoever is not for Him is against Him, and that whoever does not gather with Him scatters abroad; but it is most certain that in these so-called "No Popery" ebullitions there is nothing of the Spirit of Christ, and therefore they are but manifestations of the spirit of anti- Christ. Some people imagine that the recurrence of these protests is evidence that there is a strong Protestant spirit that will hold in check the progress of Roman Catholicism; but the truth is that they are sure tokens that the party that protests is leavened with the spirit of Popery. Christianity knows no force but the mild though almighty power of the Spirit of God. There is nothing in a name; and since there are so many methods of protesting no one need be zealous to be known as a Protestant, but should be content to be a Christian. The name "Protestant" is not distinctive; the name "Christian" means a follower of Him who is meek and Iowly in heart, and who used no violence even when attacked and grossly misused. Learn of Him.

"Christ the Bread of Life. John vi. 22-40" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

(John vi. 22-40.)

The beginning of this lesson goes back to the lesson for last week, for it grows out of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand men, besides women and children, with five barley loaves. One must have that event in mind in order to appreciate the words of Jesus that are recorded in this lesson.

The people that remained on the side of the sea where the miracle was performed, saw that Jesus was not there the next morning, and they knew that He did not go with the disciples, and that no other boat had come and gone, and they, therefore crossed the lake to find Him. Their first question indicated that they were moved chiefly by curiosity. "Rabbi, when camest Thou hither?" This may seem a perfectly natural question; but it indicates that they were yet children, attracted by mere externals, and not having minds educated to grasp realities. They wondered, but did not believe. All the world will yet be astonished at Christ: "kings shall shut their mouths at Him;" yet few will believe the truth concerning Him. Those who really know and trust the Lord will not be carried away with childish wonder when they see a miracle, for they will know that He always does great things, and that miracles are but His natural actions; they will take it as a matter of course that He does miracles, but will be filled with that which is far higher than mere wonder, namely, with appreciation of that which His mighty acts reveal, and with love for His great goodness.

Jesus saw at once how shallow were the feelings that prompted the people to seek Him, and said; "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you; for Him hath God the Father sealed." He had fed them with barley bread, which had satisfied their physical hunger; but

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that could not keep them from getting hungry again, and He would have them seek food which would give constant and enduring satisfaction. He said: "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." Compare John iv. 14 and vii. 37-39. We see that the reason why those who come to Jesus, believing on Him, never hunger and thirst any more, is not that one meal satisfies them for ever, but that His life in them affords a constant and inexhaustible supply of nourishment. Their souls are continually nourished by the water of life and the hidden manna, just as is the tree that grows by the ever-flowing stream.

It seems almost incredible that the very next day after feeding from the loaves that multiplied in the hands of Jesus, anybody could have been so blindly unbelieving as to say to Him: "What sign showest Thou then, that we may see, and believe Thee? What dost Thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat." To ask for a sign after such a miracle as had been wrought the day before, would have been the grossest impertinence, if it had not been that the people were blind. They could not see that they had had the very same experience that their fathers had had in the desert. They would have eaten bread from heaven, but they were as unconscious of it as their fathers were.

It was not Moses, but the Lord, who gave the people manna in the wilderness. And that was literally bread from heaven. Ex. xvi. 4. It was "spiritual meat." 1 Cor. x. 3, 4. "Men did eat angels' food." Ps. lxxviii. 25. It was "the bread of the mighty," even of "angels that excel in strength." Yet they died, because they did not eat in faith. They all ate, "but with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness." 1 Cor. x. 6. "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." Heb. iii. 19. That manna was their daily food, by which their bodies received nourishment, yet if they had received it in perfect faith, recognising the Giver in the gift, they would never have died. Their food would have done for them what it does for the angels in heaven.

God gives Himself in all His gifts. He gave the Israelites manna, in order that they might know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Deut. viii. 3. In the eating of their daily bread, they were to see that God gave them something greater than that. The bread which they saw and handled with their natural eyes and hands was not the Word of God, yet it was given them in order that by it they might grasp that Word. The bread that we eat, if it be pure and uncorrupted, is indeed the body of Christ, as Jesus Himself said (Matt. xxvi. 26; 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24), and as He demonstrated before the thousands; for no one can contemplate that miracle, in which Jesus took five small loaves in His hands, and fed many thousands of people, and had much more left after all were filled than there was at the beginning, without seeing that the bread which the people ate came from His own person His life: they were literally feeding on Him; yet it is possible, and very common, to feed upon the bread that comes from heaven, without receiving any real life from it.

This seems to many so self-contradictory that they do not believe it. In that they are no different from the Israelites, who ate the manna in the wilderness, or the Jews who were fed with the five loaves by Jesus. When Jesus said that His flesh is the true food, and that without feeding upon it no one can have life, they asked, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" Yet He had done it, and they did not know it. It is all a matter of faith. The flesh of Jesus of Nazareth could not profit anybody, even though they could have cut it off and eaten it; for "the flesh profiteth nothing." Nevertheless it would have satisfied hunger for the moment, just as bread does; and so we see that our daily bread profits us not at all unless we eat it in faith, learning from it that God has a wealth of life to bestow, which cannot be contained in anything that our physical senses can comprehend. If our daily food does not teach us this, we might just as well never have eaten.

The practical lesson is that the life is more than meat. Matt. vi. 25. We are not to live mere physical, sensual lives, but to be wholly spiritual. The seeming paradox in this lesson (it is indeed a paradox to mere human understanding, but straightforward truth as God sees) is the same as that of having these natural, corruptible, fleshly bodies, and yet not being in the flesh, but in the Spirit. See Rom. viii. 8-13. Although our natural bodies call for food day by day, we are not to eat to gratify appetite, nor even for the mere satisfaction of our hunger, but solely that we may glorify God. He who eats for this purpose, will never sell his birthright for a mess of pottage; he will no more compromise the truth, for fear that he may starve, if such a thing were necessary, than dishonour God in his life. He will desire food solely that he may have strength to serve God, and therefore he will never forsake the service of God to any degree whatever, in order that he may eat. Such an one, and such only, will derive the highest physical benefit from his daily food; for no one can really have the life that now is, without the godliness that secures to him the life to come. The spiritual is the only real and lasting. Nothing but Christ is worth having. He gives all the value there is to everything we have, and when we do not consciously take of Him, we have nothing. Shall we not then, not blindly, but with intelligent faith, constantly pray, "Lord, evermore give as this bread"?

"'Meats Which God Hath Created to Be Received'" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

A friend writes: "I am greatly interested in your articles on food reform, etc., but I should much like your exposition of 1 Tim. iv. 1, 3, 6," and asks us to note particularly the expressions, "commanding to abstain from meats;" "for every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused;" "for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer." Several have expressed surprise that in our articles on the proper diet for man we have made no mention of this passage, and such others as Rom. xiv. 1-3; but the reason why we have not is because they have no bearing whatever on the subject, and there is no occasion for referring to them. When, however, the question is asked, we are very willing to take time to consider their application.

In the first place, we hope that every reader of the PRESENT TRUTH could conscientiously bear witness, that verses 1 and 2 plainly show that we are not among those referred to in this passage. However mistaken any may think us to be, we trust that none get the impression that we are hypocritical liars, and that no one has found anything in the paper which he imagines can be styled "doctrines of devils." Faith in Christ will be found inculcated on

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every page, and that is the basis of all our health teaching.

As a matter of fact, the text in question needs no exposition, as it explains itself. It tells what certain ones will do in the last days. Who those people are, and just how they will command to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving, we must confess that we do not know. But we do know that the advocates of food reform, and of a return to the diet which God prescribed for man in the beginning, do not come within the range of the warning here given.

It should be understood by all that in the Bible the word "meat" does not necessarily mean flesh. It is the old Saxon word for food of any kind, and is not in itself distinctive. Whenever the flesh of animals is referred to in the Bible, the word "flesh," and not "meat," is invariably used. For example: "God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat. And to every beset of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green, herb for meat; and it was so." Gen. i. 29, 30. Here we see that the word "meat" excludes all flesh of animals, since flesh was not included in the diet originally designed for any of the lower animals, much less for man.

And this, by the way, has a bearing upon 1 Tim. iv. 3, since it tells us what the meats are, which "God has created to be received with thanksgiving." One thing is most certain, that is that they do not include the flesh of any living creature. God did not create any beast, fish, bird, or creeping thing to be eaten; the only things which He created to be eaten are fruits and grains for man, and green herbs and vegetables for the lower animals; and therefore whoever advocates a return to the original, God-given food, is the last person in the world to be charged with commanding to abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving.

But what about the statement that "every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused"? The connection settles that. The word "for," which introduces the verse, shows that the statement grows out of the preceding one, and depends upon it. The term "every creature" in this instance is obviously limited to that which God created to be received. The warning is against those who command to abstain from food which God created to be received, which, as we have seen, does not include flesh; and therefore the subsequent remarks must be within the range of that food. The products of the earth have been sanctified by the Word of God-set apart for the use of man; flesh meat has not been thus sanctified, but has been permitted as a concession to man's lust and hardness of heart.

Now that we have given that text all the attention that it seems to demand in connection with the food reform, we will notice one or two remarks that occur in a note accompanying the question. The writer says: "I believe I have in the past made too much of vegetarianism, but I do not do so now. When asked my reasons for abstaining from flesh foods, I simply state that what God first ordained for the food of man I find all-sufficient for me, and the most enjoyable. . . . I leave the side issues, and avoid contentions." That is good, and is exactly the position taken in this paper, except that we have never advocated "vegetarianism," and repudiate the name "vegetarian." We are Christians, and believe that we are saved by the life of Christ, when we give it free course in us. We know that nothing that we can eat or drink or do can bring Christ into our lives; but we know also that "fleshly lusts" "war against the soul," and that we may do very many things to keep Christ out of His rightful place in our lives; and inasmuch as every thoughtful physician will admit that flesh and all animal products tend to excite the lower nature, we submit that no one ought to lay this extra burden upon himself. It is not merely a question of health, although that follows right living, but it is one of spiritual-mindedness.

We also avoid contentions, for "the servant of God must not strive" about food any more than about anything else. The work of the Gospel teacher is simply to set forth truth in all its fulness before people, "whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear," and leave them to do as they please with it. His responsibility ceases with the faithful delivery of his message. So far are we from "commanding to abstain from meats which God has created to be received," that we do not presume to command anybody to abstain from that which God has not created to be received. The Lord is our Judge, and He is our Lawgiver, and for man to command, after God has commanded, is absurd presumption. God has shown us what is good, and has exhorted us to "eat that which is good;" and we are content with simply declaring His Word. We have no controversy with any. Our correspondent says further, in relating his experience: "I do not drink tea; coffee I may drink once in a year or longer, cocoa no oftener as a rule. I often long for coffee, but very seldom take it, as stated, as I detest stimulants, after the inner man, as I believe they somewhat dull the conception of glorious truths."

That is exactly what they do. But the statement, "I often long for coffee," shows that our correspondent has not yet come to the Gospel basis of health reform. Healthful living is embraced in the Gospel, and a man's Christian life is his whole life, including every act, which, whether it be eating or drinking, or anything else, is to be to the glory of God. But the Christian life is not a penance; it is not a continual longing for forbidden things. The Christian does everything that he has a mind to do, yet he does nothing that is contrary to truth and purity, because he has the mind of the Spirit. When God saves us wholly from the guilt of sin, He saves us from the love of it, so that our heart and our flesh cry out for God, and not for anything that will dull our sense of His presence. In Christ is all fulness, and those who dwell with Him in the heavenly places are "abundantly satisfied" with the fatness of the house of God, drinking continually of the river of His pleasures.

The true health reform which we advocate, which consists simply in taking into the system nothing except the pure life of the Lord, can no more be a burden than Christ's life is. The Gospel frees us from every yoke of bondage. The last thing in the world that we should think of doing, would be to deprive any person of any real pleasure or enjoyment. On the contrary, we hold out to people a way of life which is full of the joy of the Lord-one continual joy. To be continually longing for something, and to be fighting against that longing, is torture, and the Lord does not call men to the rack. He teaches us what is good, and then puts into our heart such a desire for the good that there is no room for longings after forbidden things. From personal experience in every wrong way of living, and also in recognising and accepting only the life of the Lord, we can testify that the pleasure derived from the very eating of proper, God-given food, together with the freedom from any anticipation of evil results, the perfect health enjoyed,

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and the sense of cleanness, and the higher appreciation of spiritual things, are beyond all expression. The soul that has been in the bondage of corruption, cannot, when once freed, easily be brought to long for its old chains.

"A Faithful Ambassador" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

If the young man of whom the following story is told had not obeyed the command of the Master, "I say unto you, that ye resist not evil," he would not only have risked his life, but would certainly have missed the heaven-sent opportunity of being God's mouthpiece in beseeching a lost sinner to accept the salvation purchased by the sacrifice of His own life. Of all who are themselves reconciled to God, the Apostle Paul writes: "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."

"For the Children. The Great Dragon" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

Since the beginning of the war in South Africa, you have doubtless heard, and perhaps thought, a great deal, about soldiers and battles, defeats and victories, and many things connected with armies, comp, and war.

During the last few weeks especially, in celebration of the victories gained by the British troops, the streets have been lined with flags and banners. The union flag of Great Britain has been seen floating everywhere.

This, as you most likely know, in made by the union of the three national crosses of England, Scotland and Ireland, the cross of St. George of England, of St. Andrew of Scotland, and of St. Patrick of Ireland.

A red cross on a white ground is the awn of St. George. You know the story of St. George and the dragon Connected wish this, the table of how St. George fought and conquered the great dragon that was a terror to the people, and delivered them from its destroying power.

Now I am going to tell you a story, not a fable, but a true story of a real dragon, and how he was conquered. This is of much more importance to you than the relief of Mafeking or the fall of Pretoria, for the old Dragon is still going about seeking whom be may devour. But the One who has conquered him has told us just how we may escape from his power.

The Apostle John saw in a vision the history of this "great red Dragon," and he was told by the Lord to write it out for us. So John wrote:-

"I beheld and there was war in heaven; Michael and His angels fought against the Dragon, and the Dragon fought and his angels."

"Michael the Archangel," "the chief Prince," the Captain of the Lord's host, is the Lord Jesus Christ. You know who it was that fought against Him in heaven: he who was once called "Lucifer, Son, of the Morning," but who is now, as John goes on to explain, "that old serpent called the Devil, and Satan." You see that there were some in heaven who joined him in his war against Michael, for "the Dragon fought, and his angels."

Then John tells the result of this war: "And the Dragon fought, and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven."

This was the beginning of the great war that has been going on ever since, the war between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong. For Jesus is "the Truth," and Satan is the father of lies. God's Word tells us that "he abode not in the truth, . . . for he is a liar, and the father of it." So all truth, all that is right and true and good, comes from Jesus; while falsehood, error, wrong of any kind comes always from His enemy Satan.

Think of this, children, when you we tempted to stray ever so little from the strict truth, that in doing this you are joining the Dragon and his angels in their warfare against the Son of God, and I am sure you do not want to enlist in their army.

Perhaps you know the old Latin proverb which means, "Great is the truth, and it must prevail." The same thing is taught in Faber's lines,

"For right is right, since God is God,
And right the day must win."

So Michael did not fight with the Dragon to see who would get the victory, but to show to every one that he already had it. The victory was decided before the war began.

How different this from any of the wars of the nations of earth. In them any small chance may turn the tide of battle and bring victory to one side or other, as history has often proved. But in this great warfare the victory is always on the right side, the side of truth, because it is the side of Christ, who who has, "all power in heaven and in earth." "The banner that has Christ on one side, always has Victory on the other."

So "the great Dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." The prophet Isaiah saw this long before John did, and he said: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, Son of the Morning! how art thou cut down to the ground." And Jesus said: "I beheld Satan as lighting fall from heaven."

But though defeated in this first great battle, the Dragon did not stop his war. He came into Eden, the garden of God, in the form of a beautiful fiery serpent (this was before the serpent was cursed and made to grovel in the dust, as it now does) and he deceived Eve so that she did not know it was the Dragon, the great enemy of Christ. So she was taken captive by him, and through conquering Adam and Eve he got power over the earth and began his work of destruction here.

Then Michael, who had conquered him in heaven, came down to earth to fight the great Dragon that was destroying His children. But because it was man whom the Dragon had overcome, it was man only that could break his power over the human family. So the Son of God came in the form of man and fought with the Dragon and conquered him, so that all might see that God had given to man the victory over him.

Michael dealt the Dragon a crushing blow, bruising his great head, but in doing this His own heel was bruised, and for ever He will bear the marks, the scars of the wounds that He received in this conflict.

"Crown Him the Lord of Love;
Behold His hands and side,
Those wounds yet visible show,
In beauty glorified."

Now the great Dragon knows that he has been conquered, and that his power over man has been taken away; but he still lifts his ugly head and roars in a way to make people think that he has all power. But Jesus says: "Behold I give unto you power over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

If we believe Him, and place ourselves on His side, He will clothe us in invincible armour, give us a sharp sword that cannot be broken, and Michael Himself and all His angels will fight for us. Then we can sing the grand old hymn of Martin Luther:-

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"And were this world all devils o'er,
And watching to devour us,
We lay it not to heart so sore;
Not they can overpower us.
And let the prince of ill
Look grim as e'er he will,
He harms us not a whit:
For why? His doom is writ;
A word shall quickly slay him."

Another time we will talk more about the war that the Dragon is still carrying on in the earth, and the armour that God has provided for His soldiers.

"Conquering now, and still to conquer,
Rideth a King in His might,
Leading the host of all the faithful
Into the midst of the fight.
Not to the strong is the battle,
Not to the swift is the race,
But to the true and the faithful
Victory is promised through grace."

"A Tragedy of the Forest" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

The sacredness of life is so little comprehended by most men, that the sacrilege of wantonly destroying God's creatures who share it with them has come to be regarded as "sport." A writer in Scribner's some time since told a striking story of one who for weeks and months followed the trail of a stag, but when at last he came is sight of his prey, "so grand, so charged with life, he seemed a precious, sacred thing" and the hunter could not shoot. For a time he waited, hoping to get the mastery over this feeling, which he at first despised as a weakness, but when the creature turned and faced him, and he met the full, clear gaze of its regardful eyes, he trembled, and "found it hard to look a wild beast in the eyes when he was trying to take its life." That gaze finally revealed to him a kinship with himself; he saw the stag as a conscious sharer of the same life that throbbed in his own pulses, and he could not bring himself to "the awful crime" of slaying one whom he now recognised as "a brother."

Something of the same feeling was doubtless experienced by the farmer who said that he could not kill or eat "anything that had looked out of eyes." A recent writer gives this pathetic description of his experience in witnessing what he calls "the murder" of a beautiful doe by a party of campers:-

"There were two pirates in our party, who wanted blood, and one day we heard them shooting down near camp; they finally yelled for me to come down with a lantern. It was just dusk, and I took a lantern and started. When I got them, they showed me a wounded doe they had shot, and one of the butchers was about to out her throat. I wanted to go away. She tried to rise up, and bleated so pitifully that the tears came to my eyes; but I did not want to be considered a baby; so I stayed to see it out. If God will spare me from witnessing another such scene, I shall be happy. The doe seemed to think I was the only one in the party that had any heart and she looked up at me with the most beautiful eyes I ever saw, except the eyes of the girl I love, and there were tears in her eyes, if I know tears when I see them.

"One of my friends put his knee on the neck of that beautiful creature, and held it down, and took a knife and placed the point on her beautiful throat, as a murderer might on the throat of a beautiful woman. There was a cut in the flesh, the blue blood came out in torrents, the body heaved, the deer cried, and the life blood went out. I felt as if I had stood at the death-bed of a beautiful child, and watched the last heaving of the bosom as the last breath come like a sigh almost human.

"I wanted to go away and cry, but those heathen would never have let ma hear the last of it, so I stayed. I did nothing but carry the lantern, and I hated those fellows who dragged that beautiful creature up to the camp. They were covered with blood, and seemed to glory in it, like men you have read about who have killed somebody. The boys worked all the evening, skinning that beauty, and talking of how they plugged her in the foreleg, and in the stomach, and how she fell down and bleated, and got up again, and tried to get away, until my brain reeled and I went to bed.

"In my dreams now I see that dark place in the woods, dimly lighted by the lantern, and the tragedy enacted there I see the appealing look of those beautiful brown eyes. It is a wonder I did not stand between those men and their victim, and make them let her go.

"The boys sent me a piece of venison from that doe when we got home, but I might as well have attempted to eat a piece of my sweetheart. I am no cannibal. Do you know, I find it hard work to speak to my two friends who murdered that deer?"

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

-A Minneapolis merchant holds a life insurance policy for ?200,000, the annual premium being ?9,676.

-Fire in a New York tenement caused the death of ten occupants, and severely burned six others.

-Wireless telegraphy is now in practical use between two of the Fire Brigade stations in London.

-One man was killed, and sixteen people were injured, by a runaway tramcar, near the exhibition grounds in Paris.

-London hospitals have treated nearly two millions of patients during the pass year, about half of whom required surgical aid.

-Sharp fighting is reported from Ashanti. More troops, with new supplies of arms and ammunition, have been dispatched.

-A Norwegian gold-digger from the Klondyke was robbed of ?10,000, the entire amount of his savings, while celebrating his marriage at Christiania.

-The London dockers' strike continue, neither extending, nor giving signs of collapse. Imported non-union men are doing the work; hence there is little delay in unloading the shipping.

-A boy getting beyond his depth while bathing at Waterford, his brother went to his assistant, and was soon In danger himself. A friend then plunged in to save the brothers, and all three were drowned.

-The new canal, connecting the North Sea and the Baltic, by way of the rivers Elbe and Trays; was opened by the Kaiser at Lubeck. The canal is forty-two miles long, 120 feet wide, has cost ?12,000,000, and required five years for its construction.

-The tram strikers of St. Louis have in a number of instances resorted to personal violence in attempting to stop the running of trams, the casualties from such disturbances amounting thus far to nine killed, six severely wounded, and 150 otherwise injured.

-Fifty young Englishmen have bought a large tract of laud within fifteen mules of New York City, and are establishing themselves there as a farmers' colony. The farming is to be carried on according to the beat scientific methods, and the customs of English social life are to be rigidly adhered to by the colonists.

-A spot on the sun about thrice the diameter of the earth has been discovered by means of the great telescope at the Paris Exhibition. The discoverer says that this spot, which will be visible to the naked eye in a day or two, will probably be followed by other spots, and the consequence will be a period of excessively hot weather.

-A very serious railway accident occurred on the 16th inst. A train on the Great Western railway, crowded with passengers bound for the races at Windsor, was standing at the down platform at Slough, when the West of England Express, which had followed it from Paddington, rushed into it with terrific force, both wrecking it, and tearing down a considerable part of the station roofing. The woodwork soon took fire, and a heart-rending scene followed. Three passengers were instantly killed; two have since been added to the list, and more than seventy are reported as injured. The train hands rendered hearty and efficient assistance. The canoe of the accident is not known, but is believed to be due to some defect in signalling.

-A party of excursionists travelling from Hastings on the South-Western railway had a very unpleasant shaking-up. When Hampton Court was reached, the train dashed into the stop buffers at the end of the platform, and forty of the passengers received slight injuries. The accident is attributed to defective brakes.

-The Republican Convention has met at Philadelphia, and nominated Mr. McKinley as its candidate for the American Presidency. The leading planks in the Republican platform are the gold standard, protection for American industries, and expansion. This party also advocates liberal pension laws, and a reduction of the taxes imposed on account of the Spanish-American war.

-An exchange relates that "women bull-fighters performed in Spain and dispatched four bulls to the delight of a vast audience." This does not surprise us very much. When thousands of women can sit in the amphitheatre, and watch with pleasure the progress of the bloody sport, it is Sheba expected that a few will be found who have the hardihood to take a hand in it themselves.

-A scientific congress sitting in Rome has come to the unanimous conclusion that the trailing skirts of women are productive of disease. The dresses of women who had promenaded the streets for an hour were found to be infested with whole colonies of microbes. It ought not to be necessary for scientists to prove the harmfulness of the long skirt. Common sense would tell us that a woman's dregs was not intended for a street sweeper.

-The Bible Temperance Association of Belfast has passed a resolution offering one hundred guineas to "any chemist who will, before any competent committee, extract a single ounce of alcohol from any quantity of grain, grapes, or other vegetable substance, an produced by nature through life and grows before deterioration by chemical decomposition, fermentation, or decay has taken place." They might safely offer a thousand and times as large a prize for the thousandth path of a drop of alcohol-produced by life and growth, for they would never be called upon to pay the money.

-The Daily Chronicle tells the following little story of Russian red taps: "A gentleman In Moscow ordered a particular kind of bows from one of the Government breeding establishments. After a delay of three weeks he received an official communication, spread over much paper, to the effect that as he had omitted to forward a stamp for a reply there could be no answer to his request. This document was signed by several officiate. The gentleman apologised and sent the stamp at once. In the course of the next week he received another communication from the breeding establishment to say that a horse such as he required could not be supplied."

-The news from China, though sufficiently serious, is somewhat more assuring. According to a dispatch from Shanghai, Admiral Seymour, with the combined European relief force, has reached Peking, having done some fighting on the way. The legations are reported to be safe. The Boxers have burned the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Mission Chapel, and a number of Chinese houses in the neighbourhood of Tientsin; but on attacking the foreign settlement, they were repulsed by the guard with a loss of about a hundred men. Russia baa landed four thousand troops in China the Japanese troops there number 3,000, and with British reinforcements the relief force should be about 10,000 strong. All the powers, including the United States, are hurrying more troops to the country. Lord Salisbury, in a recent speech before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, begs the missionaries to moderate their zeal in China, and especially to avoid giving unnecessary offence to the native religions.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

It is one thing to be serious, but quite another thing to be sad. Many people make the mistake of thinking that both words mean the same thing. Life is aserious thing, but there is no sadness in it, if we have real life. The more serious the question of living is with us, the more joy and gladness do we have. It is a serious matter to be a Christian, but only pure joyousness. One who is a Christian in real earnest, in all seriousness, is the gladdest, happiest being in the world.

In an article on "the Rationale of Ceremonialism," in the Church Family Newspaper, Rev. Chancellor Liss says that,

"The ritualist picks out the very century-the thirteenth-in which the blunders in doctrine and practice of an age of ignorance bad began to be formulated, labels its practice "our Catholic heritage," and strives by every means in its power to force that practice upon a nation which began to grow great from the very moment it cast that system of doctrine and ritual aside."

A good example of what may be done by one who has a will to do is furnished by the case of G. H. Burleigh, a carpenter, who ten years ago joined the Toronto police force, and then began the study of medicine, devoting his lonely night walks to thinking over and fastening in his mind the various knotty questions involved in the study, with such success that he has obtained the degree at M.D. at the university. How often we have thought, as we have passed by watchmen, cabmen, gate-keepers, etc., "What a wonderful opportunity they have for study!" Yet it is a rare thing to see one reading even a newspaper. Their abundance of leisure time is wasted in idle, half-unconscious dreaming. As a rule, the hard work of the world is not done by those who have the most time at their disposal, but by those who make it.

Apropos of the crisis in China it is interesting to note that while the missionaries have come in for a considerable share of the blame, nothing has been said about the unscrupulous traders whose zealous worship of the god mammon, leads them to deceive and cheat the unsuspecting natives in all manner of ways, and gives these a very unfavourable impression of the foreigners. It is possible that the missionaries have made mistakes, but in view of the fact that the Chinese we notoriously indifferent in purely religious matters but keenly alive to material interests, it is more than likely that acts of injustice in matters of trade are really at the bottom of the trouble. The white man's greed is proverbial amongst the natives of the Orient, and forms one of the most serious impediments to the spread of the Gospel. The fact that missionaries have been massacred, is no barrier to this understanding of the situation, for the Chinese naturally do not distinguish between white men. They regard them all as undesirable trespassers who have entered the country with suspicious motives and are to be ejected if possible.

"The Glad Tidings" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

The Glad Tidings is the appropriate title of a book by Dr. E. J. Waggoner, just issued by the Pacific Press Publishing Co., of California. This work, which is a practical study of Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, comes out at a most opportune time. Probably no part of the sacred Word is better calculated to throw light on the questions at issue between the so-called sacerdotalists and those who oppose the introduction of Romanist forms and ceremonies than this epistle. In fact, the circumstances which called it forth are, in the main, reproduced to-day, when there is a large and apparently growing class, within the pale of the Protestant churches, who, it must be said, "pervert the Gospel of Christ," and seem to justify the saying that Christianity has more to fear from her friends than from her enemies.

A positive testimony is needed at such a time, and this we find in the book under review. The author deals not with theories, but with living facts; with Christianity, not as a system of doctrine, but as the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. The book, therefore, is not only of interest to the Bible student as a thoroughgoing exposition of an epistle which presents some difficulties and whose teaching has been frequently misapprehended and misapplied, but in its practical treatment of the great verities of the Gospel it affords spiritual instruction of benefit to every Christian.

Perfect clearness is a marked characteristic of the book. There is no beating about the bush, no theological hair-splitting, no mystification. The author knows precisely what he wants to say, and has the faculty of telling the reader so that he will know it too.

We predict for this helpful and timely work a wide circulation, and are sure that wherever it is read, it will give clearer views of the saving power of the Gospel.

For the price, see announcement on previous gage.

"Indian Famine Fund" The Present Truth 16, 26.

E. J. Waggoner

To those who have already donated to this fund, and - others who are intending to do so, it may be a satisfaction to know how far their contributions will go towards the relief of the sufferers. When it is seen how much can be accomplished by a comparatively small sum we believe that others will be encouraged to give according to their ability. The following estimate to given by a contemporary which asks the question, "How many lives will you save?"-

"One penny a day will support one life.

"Four shillings will save a life for two mouths.

"Eight shillings will save a life until the harvest.

"One pound will save a man, wife, and child until the next crop is gathered.

"Two pounds will save a whole family from death.

"Four pounds will save ten lives for four months.

"Five pounds will save them and afford them the comfort of blankets during the rainy and cold season.

"Ten pounds would save five families.

"Twenty pounds would save a small community."

July 5, 1900

"The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel. The Gentile Woman's Faith. Mark vii. 24-30" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

(Mark vii. 24-30)¹¹1

In studying this lesson no one must fail to compare with it the parallel record in Matt. xv. 21-28, which is more full, several particulars being given there, that are not mentioned by Mark. In our study we shall combine the two, and take them as one.

After having fed the thousands in the wilderness, Jesus was much sought after, for the people were much taken with the idea of having Him for their king. Then, as now, the people longed for Government support; and to have a king who could at any time provide them with abundance of food, without their being obliged to work for it, was a very attractive prospect. But Jesus did not come to be king over this present evil world, or any part of it, and He evidently wished to be alone, for He took a long journey, from Capernaum to the region of Tyre and Sidon, "and entered into a house, and would have no man know it." He knew that His time for labour was short, yet He did not seek to keep Himself continually before the eyes of the public. He understood that no matter how pressing the work was, He could perform it better by taking seasons away from the crowds of people. We hear it often said in praise of some evangelist's zeal and endurance, that he works constantly, and does not allow himself any vacation. It is very doubtful praise, if we take Jesus as an example. It is not by continuous talking that any preacher can accomplish the most good.

"But He could not be hid." The word concerning Him had gone out through all the earth (Ps. xix. 4; Rom. x. 17, 18), and wherever He went people recognised Him, and flocked to Him. He was the light of the world; and a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. He had no need to advertise Himself; His works testified of Him; they were His letters of recommendation. When we consider how the people came to Jesus, not merely out of curiosity, nor for selfish motives, but in faith, we can better understand that which is promised to His church, in these words: "Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a people that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified thee." Isa. lv. 3-5.

Here was a case in point. A woman of Canaan, a descendant of the same people that inhabited the country before the Jews came into it from Egypt, came to Him, begging Him to cast an unclean spirit out of her little daughter. The woman was a Gentile, for that, according to the margin both in the old and the new version, is the meaning of the word rendered "Greek" in verse 26. A Gentile woman sought and found Christ. Moreover it seems as though Jesus took that long journey solely to grant that woman's request; for we do not read of any other work done in that region.

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At first Jesus appeared not to heed what the woman said. "He answered her not a word." The disciples thought that this indicated indifference, because she was a Gentile, and they said, "Send her away, for she crieth after us." They did not know the Master as well as the woman did, for she was not at all disheartened by His silence, but continued pressing her request. Then Jesus said, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel;" but this saying, instead of repelling her, made her still more bold, and "she came and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me." Then Jesus uttered the words which at first thought seem so cruel, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs." The Greek is still more expressive, for it has "little dogs," puppies. Surely, she will now turn away in offended dignity. Not at all; she was ready with a reply, and said, "Yes, Lord; but the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs." After that speech what more could possibly be said to test her faith? Jesus answered and said, "O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." The woman believed, for she at once want her way satisfied, and found her daughter healed.

The first lesson taught by this scripture is that every one who believes the Lord is by his faith an Israelite. Jesus said that He was sent to none but the lost sheep of the house of Israel, yet He immediately granted that Gentile woman's request, and seems to have been sent to that region by the Spirit for that express purpose. The words and the act, taken together, show that the Gentile woman was one of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In the tenth chapter of John we learn who are the sheep of Christ's fold. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Anyone who will follow Jesus and who is willing to receive life from Him, is one of His sheep. If people would but consider this one incident, it would settle all the controversy concerning Israel. It is not any special raw or nation on earth, but those in all nations who seek and find the Lord as their personal Saviour.

Did Jesus call the woman a little dog? Not by any means. He simply made an abstract statement; it was the woman herself who seized upon it, and applied it to herself; and by so doing she made her case sure. Pride seeks to exalt itself, but faith is humble. It would be in keeping with the spirit of the natural man to say after such a saying, "I am not a dog." How quickly we assert our dignity. How natural for us to make out as good a case as possible for ourselves; but this woman was wiser; she had the wisdom of humility. She wasted no time telling how worthy she was, but showed Jesus that according to His own words she had a just claim; for, admitting that the children's bread ought not to be given to the dogs, and even tacitly admitting herself to be a dog, she still had a right to the crumbs. Meekness and lowliness of spirit win where pride and self-esteem fail. It is better to be considered a dog, and to get all that we need, than to assert our claim to honour and dignity, and to get nothing. "A living dog is better than a dead lion."

Christ's words and actions showed that He considered the woman to be one of the children, and not one of the little dogs. It was true, as He said, that it is not fitting to give the children's food to the dogs, and the Lord will not do that; but He gave to that women the best that He had, and in so doing He robbed nobody else. Therefore it is clear that He owned her as one of the children of God.

Such faith as the woman had is very rare. The same may be said of the quickness of her perception. But this faith and wisdom were the result of her humility. "With the lowly is wisdom." She had a very humble opinion of herself, and that made her wise in the things of God. She showed that she knew the value of heavenly gifts. When Jesus said that the children's bread ought not to be given to dogs, she went straight to the main point, and indicated that she would be satisfied with the crumbs that nobody else would notice. That which others would consider too trifling to be worth any attention, would be sufficient for her, if it came from God. The least thing from Him is great. A crumb from the Lord's table is enough to feed a multitude. "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the treasures of many wicked." The woman's reply showed that she had a just owes of the fulness of God in Christ. In Christ the small and great unite in one. A crumb means a feast, and a moment comprehends eternity.

One thing more. It is a lesson concerning the power of genuine faith in God. Jesus said, "O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." This shows us that true faith can have anything it desires. True faith will not desire anything that is not good, and God cannot withhold any good thing. It is impossible to believe too much in God. We cannot have too strong faith, nor can our faith in God grasp too much. We can have all that we believe for. God is infinite in goodness, and in the power to do good. The greatness of His goodness is unsearchable. We cannot think of anything too hard for Him to do, that will exhaust His generosity. "He cannot deny Himself," and therefore whatever good thing we believe that He will do, must be done. Some people-professed Christians, too, even ministers-seem to be afraid that people will believe too much, and will claim too great things from God. Instead of inciting people to believe without limit, they are continually in a fear of anxiety lest they become fanatical. But it is impossible for perfect faith and fanaticism to go together. Faith comes by the Word of God, and fanaticism comes from neglecting the Word. So think of every good thing that you can; call to mind everything that you could possibly desire, not to satisfy your feelings, but to make you better, and then know that God is able and willing to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Therefore to Him be the glory in Christ Jesus, throughout all ages world without end.

"The Present Reward" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

The Present Reward .-Filled with the Spirit of truth, the Psalmist David said of the commandments of God: "In keeping of them there is great reward." Ps. xix. 11. This is the way the Lord would have us look at the matter, but it is not the common view even among professed Christians, and for this reason so many people of the world are repulsed from accepting the Gospel. They receive a false impression of what it is. They get the idea from much of the talk of Christians, that the Christian life consists in "giving up" everything that is pleasant, and is one continual grind of stern "duty," the word being supposed to signify the doing of disagreeable things because one is obliged to.

But that is not Christianity at all. The commandments of God are "not grievous." 1 John v. 3. They are on the contrary "more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." Ps. xix. 10. They are not something hard that we are obliged to do now, in the hope of receiving something by and by that will make up for the hardships endured. There is ample reward in the very doing of them. The law of God is His life, and nobody can do it except by the life of Christ-"God with us"-in him; but the life of the Lord brings fulness

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of joy. Every unconverted person imagines that there is no pleasure except in a life of self-indulgence, and that to become a Christian is to give up life; but whoever accepts the Lord learns that he never before knew what life is. The superabundant goodness of God is shown in this, that in the very keeping of His commandments, however contrary they may be to the desires of the natural man, there is a reward beyond all calculation, for all the joy of the redeemed in eternity is simply the joy that comes from the righteous life of God in them.

"Our Father's House" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

"Thus saith the Lord: The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; what manner of house will ye build unto Me? and what place shall be My rest? For all these things bath Mine hand made, and so all these things came to be, saith the Lord; but to this man I will look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My Word." Isa. lxvi. 1, 2, R.V.

David "found favour with God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him an house. Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as smith the prophet, Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool; what house will ye build Me? saith the Lord; or what Is the place of My rest? Hath not My hand made all these things?" Acts vii. 45-50. These words, spoken by Stephen full of the Spirit when he was on trial, charged with speaking blasphemous words against the temple, were considered by the Jewish rulers to be the sum of unpardonable blasphemy; yet in his prayer at the dedication of the first temple, which was one of the most beautiful buildings ever made by man, Solomon had said, as the Jews had read the words thousands of times: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded." 1 Kings viii. 27.

Where then does God live? where is His home? "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God far off? Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill all things? saith the Lord." Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." Ps. cxxxix. 7-10.

Heaven and earth are both within our Father's house; for it is not possible that His throne and His footstool should be outside of His house; therefore we see that the whole boundless universe is God's dwelling place, and every spot and every portion of space, is holy because of His presence.

In view of this, how much more forcible and comprehensive are the words of Christ: "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John xiv. 2, 3. We know of the New Jerusalem which is to be the capital of Christ's dominions, and with the presence of which this little earth is to be honoured; but the scriptures already quoted preclude the idea that the New Jerusalem itself can fulfil the words of Christ. God's house is the universe, and the redeemed are to be given the freedom of it, to roam through it at will, as well as to "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth," and to be perfectly at home in any of the innumerable shining mansions which awaken our admiration and awe on a cloudless night. Truly it is "a large place" into which God brings His redeemed captives.

But wonderful as this is, there is something yet more wonderful. It is indicated in the last part of the verses quoted at the beginning. After making what house man can build for the God who has the earth for His footstool,-only a very small part of the furniture of His house,-the Lord says: "But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word." "For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." Isa. Ivii. 15. Marvellous! Incomprehensible! The God whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain makes a humble mortal His dwelling place! "He hath made everything beautiful in its time; also He hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end." Eccl. iii. 11, R.V., margin.

If we read John xiv. 23, knowing that the word "abode," in the last part of the verse, is the same word in the Greek as that rendered "mansions" in the second verse, it will appear more striking than ever before. Thus: "If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love Him, and we will come to him, and make our mansion in him." What infinite possibilities this opens up before man! We can pass by for the present the glory and beauty with which God will adorn His dwelling place, and think only of the wisdom and understanding that is indicated in the promise, "I will dwell in them." We read that "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men." 1 Kings iv. 29, 31. This was because in his youthful piety he yielded himself wholly to the Lord. What "largeness of heart" there must be when the God who fills the universe makes the human heart His mansion, so that through the Spirit the man is "filled with all the fulness of God." He puts the universe into every true believer's heart.

"The Most High dwelleth not in temples

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made with hands;" "for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them." 2 Cor. vi. 16. A temple not made with hands, for "the Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Job xxxiii. 4. Coming to Christ, the Living Stone, we are "built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 1 Peter ii. 3, 4.

Let no one become critical and give place to unbelieving questions as to how God can be our dwelling-place, and at the same time dwell in us; how He can contain the universe, and yet dwell in all His fulness in each person's heart, bringing eternity and the universe there. Leave the working out of the problem to God, and let us enjoy the blessedness of the fact. "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 1 John iv. 16. We need not carry this subject further at this time. If we let the truth here set forth fasten itself in our minds, it will furnish rich food for meditation. To recognise God in our own bodies, to know His presence there continually, cannot but work a revolution in our lives. Life becomes a sacred treasure to be preserved with the utmost care, and our own body, as well as every other human body, is regarded as a holy thing, to be treated with the highest reverence. The fact that we are the proper dwelling-place of God, and that holiness becomes His house, must give us serious thought as to how we have treated His temple. "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. iii. 17. But we have all defiled the temple, for "we are all as an unclean thing, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." Are we then all doomed to destruction? No; for there is a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness; and of this cleansing of the sanctuary of God we shall, God willing, speak at another time.

"'Every Whit Whole'" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

There is an impression among some people that a man is a better man after having tasted sin after knowing evil experience, then repenting, being forgiven and restored. This is a mistaken impression. Innocence is far better than penitence. Penitence is infinitely better than despair, but a life is never so beautiful after sin's fires have swept over it as it would have been if it had been kept untarnished and had radioed God's first thought for it.-Dr. J. B. Miller.

We reprint the foregoing for two reasons. First, because it corrects a false idea that is all too common, and second, because it contains a grievous error that is also very common, and which is sure to work ruin to every one who does not escape from it.

It is indeed a mistake to suppose that a man is better for having sinned. Many professed Christians, and especially some revivalists, seem to be proud of their previous career of sin, and are constantly advertising it Now it is necessary for us always to remember that we are sinners, and that we have been brought up out of the horrible pit, and that we are kept from falling, only by the power of God; nevertheless the tree of knowledge of good and evil is not the tree of life. God never designed that man should eat from the first. To say or to think that a man is a better man, and better able to serve the Lord, because he has sinned grievously, is the same as saying that the fall of man in Eden was really no fall, but was necessary for his more perfect development; and that is to agree with the serpent, in charging God with arbitrarily and selfishly placing the prohibition on man, in order to keep him down. It is, in fact, equivalent to saying that the penitent thief, who suffered the just reward for his deeds, was a better man than Christ, who "did no sin;" for if it were true that a man is better for having sinned, then the saved sinner would have an advantage over the Saviour. Christ not only did no sin, but He "knew no sin," and for that very reason He is the Saviour of mankind. He knew the power of sin, however, for He met it, and conquered it.

The error, and it is a most pernicious one, is that "a life is never so beautiful after sin's fires have swept over it as it would have been if it had been kept untarnished and had realised God's first thought for it." This is to belittle and disparage the power of God. It is to say that Satan has to a certain extent gained a victory over the Lord, so that He cannot do with man that which He set out to do. God declares that His strength is "made perfect in weakness," and that where sin abounds grace much more abounds.

It is this error, which cannot be too strongly denounced, that is responsible for much of the discouragement that Christians give way to, and which prevents them from attaining the heights of holiness of character, which God designs they should reach. It cuts the nerve of faith, by which alone the work of righteousness is accomplished. No man will go farther or rise higher than he believes is possible. Consequently many people rest content with imperfection, because, having been born in sin, and having added to their heritage by long practice of evil, they think it is impossible that they can ever rise above a certain height. That this persuasion comes from the adversary of souls is evident from the feet that we are exhorted to be perfect as God is perfect, to purify ourselves as He is pure, and that we are made "complete in Him."

No one can use the language referred to without forgetting or else depreciating or even denying the miracles of Christ. We read that when the man with the withered hand, stretched forth his hand at the command of Jesus, "it was restored whole, like as the other." Matt. xii. 13. He Himself said of the man whom He healed of an infirmity of thirty-eight years' standing, that he had been made "every

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whit whole." Of the impotent man at the temple gate, who leaped and walked by the power of the name of Jesus, Peter said, "the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." Acts iii. 16. Shall we say that these men were not as strong as they would have been if they had never been iII? if so, we disparage the power of God in Christ, and say that Christ was an imperfect workman.

Then there are the dead that have been and will be raised at the command of the Lord. And here is the final test of the whole matter; for the dead, are the perfect examples of the working of sin. Shall we say that they never have so much life as they would have had if they had never died? Will those who are raised incorruptible at the sounding of "the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God," and who are thus ever with the Lord, follow Him about only half alive? Will they always have some of their grave clothes hanging about them? Will the musty odour of the tomb always cling to them? Not by any means. No one believes it when it is put that way, and yet it must be so, if we can never be what we would have been if we had not sinned. Jesus came that we might have life, and that we might have it "more abundantly;" and this superabundance of life in Christ cleanses from all sin, so that we in Him become "perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it, "that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Eph. v. 26-27. Is He not able to do that which He purposed? To say that He cannot, Is to say that His sacrifice was incomplete, and His work a partial failure. Do not believe it. Do not let anybody shake your faith in Christ to "restore all things."

God has promised to make all things new; shall we say that the earth will never be as beautiful as it would have been but for the curse of sin? Never! "The Lord shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." Isa. li. 3. His people will be glad and rejoice for ever in the new heaven and the new earth which He creates, because "the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." Isa. lxv. 17, 18. There will be no trace of the curse to remind them of the past. Rev. xxi. 4, 5; xxii. 3.

But the power of God will be no greater then than it is now. The power by which He will make new heavens and a new earth for the righteous to dwell in, is the power by which He now, makes new men to dwell in them. Our first birth has made us heirs of many infirmities; our second birth makes us "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." Being born from above, we become sons of God just as fully as Jesus Himself is; and therefore since He never sinned, we become as though we had never sinned. "As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." Rom. v. 19. It is His righteousness, His obedience, in us, and nothing that we have done or can do, that makes as righteous. Therefore to say that we cannot be as perfect as we would have been if we had never, sinned, is to say that sin handicaps the Lord, and that He cannot live as perfect a life in sinful flesh as He could if the flash were sinless. Banish the thought. It is despiteful to the Spirit of grace.

What wondrous joy and comfort there is in the knowledge that Jesus is a perfect Saviour! What a firm ground it affords to faith, and what infinite possibilities it opens up! It assures us that we shall renew our youth, even though we have wasted it in dissipation and vice; for God redeems our, life from destruction; He brings it completely back. "He is the Saviour of the body," for He who forgives all iniquities also heals all diseases. Every evil habit and tendency may in Christ be replaced by its opposite; and the infirmities of body, that are the result of sin, may, yea, surely will, when the Divine life is fully and understandingly accepted and yielded to, be removed; so that out of weakness we may be made strong. This is "the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." "What a wonderful Saviour!"

"The Secret of Freshness" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

The Secret of Freshness .-When the poor widow cried to the prophet Elisha for help in her poverty, as her creditor had come to take her life-her two sons-in payment of a debt, the man of God found that she had a pot of oil at home, and told her to get all the empty vessels she could find or borrow, and to go home and shut the door upon herself and her two sons, and to pour out oil into all the empty vessels. And she did so. "And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed." 2 Kings iv. 1-6. If she had only had more empty vessels, she might have had more oil.

Even so with the grace of God. It will flow in as long as there is a place for it, because it is inexhaustible. But here is a problem: When He fills us full, so that through the Spirit by faith we are "filled with all the fulness of God," how are we to keep the stream flowing, so as constantly to have a fresh supply? The answer is this: We must always remember that we are "made full in Him," and that in ourselves we are but emptiness. So we may every day and every hour present our empty lives to the Lord, for Him to fill them, and we may never be without our vessel full of grace and truth, and never lack an empty one in which to receive a fresh supply.

"Children's Corner. The Two Armies" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

Have you a visited an Armoury, or seen the armour room at the Tower of London? If so you have men the large, heavy suite of armour that man used to wear in battle when the most of the fighting was done hand to hand, instead of at long distances with cannon, guns and explosive shells, as it now is.

You will remember the experience of young David, when Saul had him dressed in his own heavy suit of armour. It did not fit him, and was such a weight that he could not move freely in it, and he said: "I cannot go with those, for I have not proved them."

Now the whole earth is a great battlefield where there is a battle always being fought, the great battle of sin with righteousness, of truth with error, of "the great Dragon," "called the Devil and Satan," with "Michael the Archangel," who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And no one in the world can be simply an onlooker in this great warfare. All must take either one side or the other, and have a part in the conflict. So we have each to choose which army we will enlist in, and who shall be our captain and leader.

The Lord Jesus is a kind and loving Master, who rules His army only by love, and all His soldiers are perfectly free and happy. Besides this, the victory is always on His side, for He has already taken away all the power of the Dragon, and made on open show of his defeat.

But the Dragon is, as you may well believe, a hard and cruel task-master, who keep his soldiers in cruel bondage, makes them his slaves, and gives them heavy burdens to carry. And besides this, his his soldiers are always on the losing side.

You think it strange then, do you not, that he should get any followers at all; and wonder why every one does not enlist in the army of Jesus? Well, we must remember that the Dragon, when he is looking for recruits, does not go about in his real character, but he has terrible power to deceive.

He took the first woman captive "through his subtlety." He appeared in the form of the beautiful and wine serpent, and the fruit that be persuaded her to taste looked very sculpting, and at first no doubt tasted sweet and pleasant.

This is the way that he is still deceiving the people of this earth. He knows each one, and suits his temptations to their weaknesses. And he always promises something pleasant, some reward for yielding to his persuasions. But "sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

However fair its fruits at first appear, however pleasant to the taste, remember, dear children, that they are deadly poison, and that tasting them will bring you under the cruel power of the Dragon, and place you among those who "through fear of death, are all their lifetime subject to bondage."

Never think it a little thing to be disobedient, to be untruthful or deceitful in anyway, or to be unkind. For all these things show that the Dragon is getting his chains round you, and you will be "led captive by him at his will."

The Lord Jesus gives wisdom to His true soldiers, those who Iove and follow Him, and study the Guide Book that He has given to His army. He says that they shall not be ignorant of the devices of the Dragon,-they shall not be deceived by Satan. When they meet him in the name of Christ their Captain, and resist him with the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God), his mask always disappears, and he has to show himself in his real hideousness.

There is another thing that keeps many in the army of the Dragon, and that is that they do not make a real, full, determined choice to be the soldiers of Jesus. All these the Dragon seizes and forces into His service, but Jesus will have none but those who love and choose Him.

Jesus said: "He that is not with Me is against Me." So all who do not put themselves by their own free choice right on His side, are in the army of His enemies, doing battle against Him.

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But you, I am sure, all want to be the Lord's faithful little soldiers; so if you have not done it already, enlist in His army without delay. He enrolls all His soldiers in the Book of Life, and all who continue faithful to the end, have their names kept there for ever. That means that they live for ever, and the Great Conqueror gives them a seat on His own throne when the warfare is ended.

You know that all who wish to become soldiers in the British army have to go through an examination before their names are enrolled. They must be over a certain age, they must be more than a certain height, and they must be strong, to be able to bear the hardships of a soldier's life.

But Jesus says: "Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out." None are too young, none too small, none too weak, for His army. This is because the Captain Himself has all power, and is able to give it all to each one of His soldiers. He clothes each one in a suit of His own tried and proved armour, and it is this armour that I am going to tell you about, but we must wait now until next week.

"The Son of God goes forth to war,
A kingly crown to gain;
His blood-red banner streams afar,
Who follows In His train?"

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

-Sydney has added a rat crematorium to its list of public buildings.

-A steamer and some smaller boats were swept over some falls in British Guiana, causing the death of sixty persons.

-A gigantic fossil water-plant, the stem of which is four feet in diameter, has been unearthed at Fall Top Quarry, Clayton.

-Russia is planning to connect the Baltic with the Black Sea by a canal 994 miles long, but requiring only 125 miles of artificial excavation.

-Three new forts have been constructed at Dover, armed with guns which will shoot eleven miles, or more than half-way across the Channel.

-Anti-typhoid inoculation in the army has proved a failure. Although the soldiers were inoculated on the way out to South Africa, the deaths at the front from fever have been enormous.

-The curiosities displayed in the new Babylonian room at the British Museum include, it is said, Nebuchadnezzar's bronze doorstep, and the seal of Darius, who cast Daniel into the den of lions.

-The situation in Ashanti is reported to be very critical. The Governor at Coomassie stated that he could hold out until the 20th. Owing to floods the relief force can only move a few miles deily.

-Kansas has in sight the greatest wheat crop in its history. The State glean inspector estimates the yield at 85,000,000 bushels, and thinks that 20,000 extra farm hands will be needed to harvest it.

-The plague is still doing its devastating work. Sixty-three cases were repotted from Hong Kong last week, and fifty-seven deaths. From Rio Janeiro twenty-five fresh cases are reported, end twelve deaths.

-A landslide in Georgia led to the wrecking of a train, part of which toppled into a river. The dÈbris took fire, and thirty-five passengers were crushed, drowned, or burned.

-The approaching 200th anniversary of the foundation of the kingdom of Prussia is to be celebrated at Konigsberg by the coronation of the Kaiser and Empress. It is an interesting fact that though William II. has occupied the throne twelve years, he has not yet been crowned.

-The strike of London dockers, involving the idleness of 6,000 men, continues, and an appeal has been issued by the strikers for monetary help. The appeal states that 20,000 persons are now in need of food, and that the Dockers' Union is unable to meet the demands made upon it.

-The Health Department of Victoria recently condemned a cow on sale at a public market. On examination it was found that the udder of the cow was teeming with tubercles. Photographs were made which are to be used la connection with the health lessons liven in the state schools.

-A new combine has been launched, to be known as the American Bridge Company, containing twenty-eight of the largest concerns in that line, with a capital stock of $70,000,000. Another large combination is reported to be forming, namely that of the crucible steel manufacturers.

-The tenacity with which a Chinaman adheres to the calling of his forefathers, is illustrated by an announcement in a widely circulated Chinese weekly. A celebrated dancing-master, Hung-Foo-Choo announces that he is to hold a religious service to which the public are invited, in honour of the 1,000th anniversary of the death of his ancestor, who was the first of the family to take up the profession.

-The Hygienic Institute at Wursburg University, where it will be remembered the Rontgen rays were discovered, report some very interesting experiments. It has been found that certain electric currents possess the quality of destroying bacteria, and may be used for curing diseases caused by infection. The treatment is said to be simple, painless and without evil consequences, as only the very weakest currents come into play.

-The Buddhist sects throughout Japan are preparing on a grand scale for the reception of the bones of Buddha, which are to be sent from Siam to Tokio, to rest in the temple at Tokio. A thousand Buddhist priests will meet the precious relies half way on the journey, and half a million yen (about ?100,000) is to be spent in Tokio in organising a fitting reception. Evidently Buddhism is not dead.

-Tientsin was relieved the morning of the 25th, by a force under Russian command, which proceeded immediately to join Admiral Seymour. The Foreign Legations have left Peking, being escorted by Chinese troops. Japan has appropriated ?10,000,000 for carrying on military operations in China. An American regiment bas sailed from Manila, and a force of five or six thousand will soon be dispatched from Germany, Italy and France are also sending troops.

-The Central London Railway, work upon which was begun in 1891, has been completed, and was formally opened by the Prince of Wales last week. The line runs underground between the Bank and Shepherd's Bush, following the course of Cheapside, Newgate-street, Holborn, Oxford-street, Bayswater-road, and Uxbridge-road-in all a distance of a little less than six miles. Stations and cars are lighted, and the trains are drawn by electricity. Almost the whole of the plant comes from America. The total cost is ?3,114,000.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

It is reported that out of 28,000 camels used by the French troops in the campaign in northern Africa, more than 14,000 have died from lack of food and water. At one time they dropped off at the rats of 150 a day. The Ioss of human life in war usually absorbs the entire attention of people; but the loss of animal life, and the suffering caused to these dumb servants, is most shocking. War is a cruel thing, with no redeeming features, yet no human government can exist without it. Why then should we not long for the coming of Christ, and the beginning of the reign of pews on this earth?

It is stated that "the last is heard of the proposed union between the Primitive Methodists and the Bible Christians, as the joint committee appointed for the carrying out of the proposal has held its first meeting. The circuits of the Primitive Methodist Church proved overwhelmingly opposed to the anion, and all negotiations had therefore to end." The real result would have been the same if the negotiations had not failed; for real union is never the result of negotiation, but of growth by the Spirit of life in Christ. People do not become united because they agree to units, but they agree because they are united in heart and soul. Resolutions and promises and professions of faith do not make people one. Only God can join people together in one body, and He does it for all who are willing that He shall dwell in them. When this is the case, however, there will be no difference of opinion over the Word, for the Spirit will lead all into the one truth.

What is called "a crusade against Sunday golf" has been revived in New York, and several prominent religious organisations are trying to get laws passed making golf-playing on Sunday a criminal offence. And what has given rise to this zeal for Sunday?-Just this, that some clergymen have found that the game is causing a great falling off in their congregations. Well, if they succeed in getting it suppressed, and then succeed in what inevitably follows, namely, in getting a law passed making it a criminal offence to stay away from church on Sunday, what will they have gained? They themselves may seem to have gained something, but the truth of the Gospel will have gained nothing; and no man or society on earth can really gain anything unless the cause of truth and righteousness is advanced. When will professed preachers of the Gospel learn men cannot be made righteous by law? The worst of all is, that man who will vigorously denounce the idea that men can be made righteous by the law of God, will think to accomplish the result by human laws. "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh," they imagine that they can do by laws made by men in that same weak flesh. Such a course is derogatory to both law and Gospel.

The Woman's Temperance Convention recently held at Edinburgh, was addressed by several round-the-world missionaries, one of whom said that among the Moslems, when any person was found drunk, he was accused of being a follower of Jesus. It is a deplorable but undisputed fact that drunkenness is one of the most striking characteristics of the so called Christian nations. Let it not be thought for a moment, however, that this vice has anything to do with true Christianity. The Word of God pronounces a solemn woe upon the drunkard; its whole testimony is unequivocally against intemperance of every kind.

The appalling growth of intemperance and the insatiable greed for money-making, which is closely connection with the liquor traffic, and which more than anything else hinders restrictive legislation, are both prominent signs of the last days. "Take heed to yourselves," said the Saviour, referring to the time of His second coming, "lest at any time your hearts be over-charged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this world, and so that day [the day of His appearing] come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the earth." Luke xxi. 34, 35.

The statement was recently made in the Daily Mail that "lovers of birds, as well as lovers of fine feathers" would be interested in a sale that was to take place the next day, and then followed the list of things to be sold, which included 150 packages of osprey feathers, and 217 packages of bird-skins. We should say that "excited" or "indignant" would be a far more appropriate word than "interested," to be applied to real lovers of birds, in this connection. No lover of anything that is good can feel any interest or pleasure in a traffic which involves heartless cruelty to thousands of innocent fellow-creatures. The "lover of birds" who has real interest in such a sale must love them just as a butcher loves a fat calf. In the interest, not merely of the birds, but of refinement and gentleness of character among human beings, we exhort all readers of the PRESENT TRUTH to discountenance the wearing of birds and feathers. No one can doubt the strength and the heartless tyranny of the goddess Fashion, which can make gentle women emulate savages.

"True and False Loyalty" The Present Truth 16, 27.

E. J. Waggoner

True and False Loyalty .-The following from the Toronto correspondent of one of the daily papers is so very expressive of the false ideas of loyalty that we becoming prevalent, we give it place in order to point out the error:-

Prohibition sentiment is strong in Ontario, but Canadians generally believe in relegating it to a second place where loyalty to the Queen is concerned.

Corporal Courtney, of A Battery, Kingston however, found his temperance principles too strong. On May 24 the corporal was ordered to march a squad of battery men to the canteen and there to drink the Queen's health in beer. He refused to obey the order, and for this act of insubordination has been reduced to the ranks.

A few papers in the Province call the corporal a martyr to principle, but the public generally say that under the circumstances it served him right.

It is a strange idea, that loyalty to the Queen necessitates the denial of one's principles. Stranger still that one must drink beer, in order to show loyalty. And really strangest of all, that anybody should suppose that the Queen's health in England can be affected for the better by the drinking of a few kegs of beer by some soldiers in Canada. The really loyal man is the man who is faithful to principles which, if they were generally followed, would ennoble and enrich the nation. "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people." Therefore the truly loyal man is the one who refuses to do wrong even though commanded to do so by the highest official in the land. No country can have worse enemies than citizens who have so little appreciation of and respect for principle as is indicated in the item quoted.

July 12, 1900

"Righteousness and Health" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

Righteousness and Health .-"Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness go up with healing in His wings." It is very easy for us to make a mistake in regard to healing, the mistake being to desire health solely for our own sakes, that we may be freed from pain, inconvenience, and expense. While God keeps both saints and sinners alive,-for "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things,"-and the measure of health that a sinner enjoys is only of the Lord's mercy, it is a fact that righteousness must accompany the making of us every whit whole. Note that the healing comes from the Sun of Righteousness. The Sun of Righteousness shines in fulness upon those who truly and understandingly fear the name of the Lord, and then healing follows. Since we are to do all things only to the glory of God, we should desire health only in order that God may be glorified; and we way be sure that if we know the Lord so well, and are so fully yielded to Him, that we are

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prepared to let His life be perfectly manifested in our mortal flesh, He will be much more glorified by perfect health in us than by disease.

Or what use is a perfect tool to one who has not the strength or the skill, to use it? It will either lie useless, and rust away, or else it will be ruined by the clumsy attempts of the owner to use it. On the same principle, a perfect organ of the body, or an entirely new body, would be of no real use to one who has not a new mind and spirit with which to guide it. Why should a deaf or dumb or blind man ask for perfect ears or tongue or eyes, if his mind was not so renewed that he would never more hear or speak or see evil? God is indeed glorified by health rather than by disease; but a righteous blind or deaf man can glorify God far more than a sinner with sound eyes and ears. It ought not to be difficult for anybody to see that, much as an afflicted person desires health, he ought to long for the righteousness of God's Spirit far more; and then when be is fully cleansed from sin, and walking in the light, he may know that it is just as easy for God to make him "every whit whole" as to heal a single organ of the body. There are glorious things for those who recognises and love the life as it is manifested by the Divine Word.

"Fashion" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

The scientific congress recently held In Rome has decided that the trailing skirts worn by women are traps set to catch disease and death in the form of microbes and bacilli, and has condemned the practice. This is no new thing, for, as a well-known physician told a Daily Mail reporter, physicians have long known that women's skirts are germ collectors, but when they are of moderate length they do not catch more microbes than other articles of clothing, a coat, for instance. Said he:-

You can't help collecting germs in one way or another. You find them on your coat, on your umbrella, in the lining of your hat; but there is no reason-except the one dictated by fashion-why women should go out into the streets and sweep up all the loose microbes they can and then take them home for their children.

If all people were sensible, and regarded their bodies God's temples, and life as a Divine trust, to be guarded with care, the mere pointing out of a danger would be sufficient; but the sad fact is that most people care very little for life. A dressmaker who was interviewed on the subject said: "You see ladies will have long skirts in spite of the terrors of influenza and all the other diseases combined, and we must give them what they want." Some, however, will heed the warning, and some even of those who prefer to be ruled by fashion, rather than by God, may be moved to make some improvement when they learn that an authority in fashion has said that ladies will not allow their skirts to trail in the dust if they can help it; and they can.

"Suffrage" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

The annual Congress of Mothers, which recently held its fourth annual session at De Moines, Iowa, May 22-25, discussed many questions of the utmost importance, but totally ignored woman suffrage. In this they showed remarkably good sense. As a general rule, the women who seriously study the problem of home-making and motherhood find there such a large field for the energies of women that they feel no special need of opening up more territory. Surely the influence which an intelligent, devoted, God-fearing woman can wield in the home over which she is placed in charge, is something far more potent and lasting in its effect than anything she can do with the ballot box. It is all well enough for women to insist that they are as well fitted as their brothers to make the nations laws; but what everybody knows already is that it is the failure of women (and of men, too, it must be confessed) to properly attend to home matters that makes so much public legislation necessary. The secret of every real and lasting social reform lies in elevating the home life, and we are glad to see that many worthy organisations are giving increased attention to this matter.

"Milk and Meat" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

The Medical officer of the Vestry of Hammersmith has issued a circular on consumption, in which among other things he advises the following precautions to be taken to avoid the dread disease:-

"No milk should be need which has not been thoroughly boiled. All meat should be thoroughly cooked, and no meat suspected to be diseased should be eaten."

It is strange that people cannot see that these directions are based on the fact that one is likely to find tuberculosis in all milk and most, even in that in which it cannot be discovered by the inspector. They will consume their boiled meat and milk with the utmost complacency, confident that they have destroyed whatever disease germs it may contain. But what pleasure or profit can one derive from the eating of diseased food, even though it has been rendered comparatively harmless? Certainly such food cannot build up a healthy system. Food that has itself begun to degenerate and to consume away, cannot supply man's need. And what shall be said of the advice not to eat meat that is suspected to be diseased? Few people with any care whatever for their health would do that. The most of the trouble comes from meat that is not suspected. The suspected thief is not half so dangerous as the thief who has the reputation of being honest. How much better to eat the food which God created to be eaten, the fruits and grains, which convey pure life, and build up sound bodies and clear minds. When they are diseased, they reveal it on the surface, and so no one is in danger from them.

"The Good Confession. Matt. xvi. 13-26" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

(Matt. xvi. 13-26)¹²1

Jesus had returned from healing the Gentile woman's daughter, and was in the region of Cesarea Philippi, in the north east of Palestine, near the source of the Jordan, when He put the question to the disciples, "Whom say man that I the Son of man am?" The answer was ready, because everybody was talking more or less about Jesus, and the disciples knew what was being said. There were various opinions about the new Teacher, but most of them were the result of thoughtless curiosity, instead of being based on an intelligent appreciation of His work. Some said He was Elijah, some that He was John the Baptist, and others that He was Jeremiah or some other of the ancient prophets. All knew that He was more than an ordinary man. All the answers indicated that people thought He was one risen from the dead; but since they thought that He had this mark of Divine power, why could they not readily admit that He was the coming One for whom God had prepared a new body? By the answers which showed their ignorance of Christ's real nature, the people showed themselves to be without excuse for not knowing Him.

Then came the direct question: "Whom say ye that I am?" Promptly came the answer from Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Anybody else might have known this, as well as Peter and the other disciples; for Peter did not know it by any wisdom or shrewdness that he possessed. Jesus question, "Blessed art thou Simon, son of Jona;

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for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." God is no respecter of persons, and is as willing to reveal the truth to all men as to any one person.

There was nothing in Christ's bodily appearance to indicate that He was the Son of God. Indeed, that was rather against Him. See Isa. liii. 1-8. The flesh of Jesus veiled His Divinity, so that only the works that He did, and the words that He spoke, could make it known. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. God is Spirit, and His sons are born, not of flesh nor of blood, but of the Spirit; and therefore only those who are spiritual can recognise them. Thus it is that to be "a lover of good men" is a characteristic that marks one as taught by God, and so to that degree able to teach others.

The term "flesh and blood" is used in the Bible as a synonym of earthliness and mortality. It indicates everything that is the opposite of God. "Flesh and blood doth not inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." Jesus Christ, whose name is "God with us," God manifest in the flesh, reveals what the infinite power of God can do, what righteousness it can work, in spite of the weakness of the flesh, and through it. Jesus, "born of a woman, born under the law," was partaker of flesh and blood, just the same as all those whom He came to redeem, and was therefore partaker of all human weakness in like measure; yet He never gave way to any weakness, and "knew no sin." This is to show us all that the inherited and acquired weaknesses of our flesh cannot hinder the perfect manifestation of the righteousness of the Spirit of life in us, if we as earnestly desirous of it. The flesh cannot reveal godliness, but it cannot hinder godliness from revealing itself. Christ has "power over all flesh," even over ours. So while our flesh will continue to be corrupt until the coming of Christ, when this mortal shall put on immortality, and "corruptible shall put on incorruption;" the corruption of the flesh can be so cleansed by the stream of life flowing through it, and still abiding in it, that no impurity will manifest itself. This is the glorious lesson to be learned from "the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The lesson gives us a glimpse of "the mystery of godliness." It reveals to us the fact-not the explanation of it-Christ can dwell in all His fulness in every man, so that each one has the whole of Him, and yet even "the heaven of heaven cannot contain Him." Until we realise that Christ is infinitely more and greater than any or all flesh, greater even than the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth, we do not know Him as we ought to know Him in order to appreciate Him as our Saviour. "The flesh profiteth nothing." "Henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh; yet henceforth know we Him no more." 2 Cor. v. 16. When we know Christ as "a quickening Spirit," we have really entered into the holiest by the new and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil. God grant that for every reader of this paper, the veil may quickly be done away. Not only may Christ's flesh no longer serve to veil His Divinity from the eyes of our understanding, but may our flesh no longer serve as a veil to hide the shining forth of Him who "dwelleth between the cherubim," and whose rightful throne is our heart.

Again we ask the question, "Why did Christ ask the disciples what men said of Him, and what they held Him to be?" It was certainly not because He did not know, nor was it because of any feeling of vanity. It was evidently a desire to prove the disciples, to see how much they were affected by public opinion. The disciples had "an opinion of their own," and yet not of their own. It was not an opinion, but positive knowledge derived from God Himself. Only people who have this personal acquaintance with Christ through the Spirit can really confess Him, and can give a positive testimony when others are in doubt.

One thing must not be forgotten, and that is that talking about Christ does not make one a Christian. In the days of Ezekiel the people seemed to be talking of little else but the message that the prophet had from the Lord; but it amounted to nothing. See Eze. xxxiii. 30-32. It is true that "with the mouth confession is made unto salvation," but this saving confession cannot be made unless "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Not only does mere talking about Christ amount to nothing, but the most zealous profession of faith is worse than useless if the life itself does not make the confession. "Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross."

Words, human words, are empty things. Only the Word of God is living and powerful and everlasting. It is not by talking, not by anything that any man can say, that the Christ of God can be made known. Belief in Christ's Divinity cannot rest on human authority. It is of no use merely to tell people that Jesus is the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, unless the word spoken is the Word of life-unless the speaker's own life is in the words. It is not argument, but the manifestation of the life of Jesus in the flesh, in spite of the flesh, that wins.

Moreover the fact that one has made a good confession of Christ's Divinity does not ensure him against denying Him. How much knowledge of Christ's Divinity ever really took possession of the mind of Judas, we do not know; but we do know that Peter, who was foremost in declaring Christ to be "the Son of the living God," and who, when others forsook the Lord, said, "Thou hast the words of eternal life; and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God" (John vi. 66-69), denied the Master with oaths, saying, "I know not the Man." "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." "We are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Heb. iii. 14.

Little time need be spent with one who believes the Bible, to show him who is the foundation on which the church is built. He does not even need to be told-what is indeed the case-that the word "Peter" is not the same as the word rendered "rock," in Matt. xvi. 18. "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. iii. 11. The church is built, not upon the apostles and prophets, who are a part of the church, but upon Jesus Christ, who is the chief corner stone, and the entire foundation; for this tried Stone, this precious corner stone is laid in Zion "for a foundation." Isa. xxviii. 16. Peter was indeed a stone, but a rolling stone, while Christ is the Rock, in whom is no unrighteousness. The word here rendered "rock" is the same that occurs in Matt. vii. 24, 25; 1 Cor. x. 4; 1 Peter ii. 7; and Rom. ix. 28. It is not Peter, not even the confession that Peter made, but Christ Himself,

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that constitutes the "sure foundation" of the church. Against this foundation the gates of hell-hades, the grave-could not prevail, for they could not hold Him. God brought Him forth from the grave, "having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be holden of it." Acts ii. 24. Here is something on which to build.

"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness."

"On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand."

No man, nor any number of men combined, can form a foundation for anybody's faith. They who would make Peter or any other man the foundation of the church, forget that flesh and blood cannot reveal the Christ. The strongest man is as helpless as the weakest: all stand in equal need of Christ the only Rock.

But what about the keys of the kingdom of heaven? Were they not committed to Peter?-Yes, to Peter and the other disciples, and not to them only, but to all the true and sincere believers in Christ. Wherever two or three believers are gathered in Christ's name, there He is in the midst of them, with all power in heaven and earth. Every one who has been reconciled to God, has given to him the word of reconciliation, that he may act as ambassador in the absence of Christ's visible presence. Reference to Jer. i. 10 shows that this power to bind and loose was no new thing given to men. But it is no power inherent in man, and is possessed only by those who are filled with the Word; for it is the Word itself that works. Even Christ Himself said, "I can of Mine own sell do nothing; as I hear I judge" (John v. 30), and the servant is not above his Lord. But every servant may be as his Lord, and this assurance should make us confident in Him, in the face of all the weakness of the flesh.

"Children's Corner. The Armour of Righteousness" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

This is what the Apostle Paul calls the armour we were talking of last week, that the Captain of our salvation provides for each one of the soldiers in His army. It is not our own righteousness-or rightdoing-that is a protection to us, "for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." But Jesus clothes His warriors with the robe of His own perfect, spotless character, and in this they are more than a match for all the hosts of Satan.

If some of the world's great warriors, such so Alexander or Napoleon, could put their own spirit and hope and fearlessness into each one of the soldiers in their army, what a strong and almost invincible host they would have, would they not?

This is what the Captain of the Lord's host does for us; He puts His own armour upon us, so that nothing can harm us, and He puts His Spirit within us to make us fearless and strong.

His Spirit, the Spirit of power, is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of holiness or righteousness and purity. So if you would be strong to fight in His army, it can only be by letting Him make you holy and pure as He is.

Wherever there is sin, there is weakness and cowardice. "The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion," which will not flee, even when it is pursued and attacked.

When our Captain puts His own armour of righteousness upon us, He says, "I give unto you power over all the power of the enemy." Then if we believe His word, we shall be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."

In the sixth chapter of Ephesians we are told about the different parts of this wonderful armour. There is

THE HELMET

of salvation, to cover the head. David know something about this, for he had proved it and found that it fitted and protected him a great deal better than the armour of King Saul. He said: "Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle." It was this that made him so fearless when he fought the great Giant Goliath, and other of the enemies of the Lord.

We are told of Jesus Himself that He puts "an helmet of salvation upon His head" when He goes forth to finally destroy all the hosts of evil. So you see that the armour He gives us is just the same as His own. This is shown also by

THE BREASTPLATE

of righteousness; for He is "clothed with righteousness as a cloak."

The breastplate covers the heart, and so we are to let His righteousness guard our hearts from all evil. He says to us through His Word: "Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" And of those who trust in Him the Psalmist says: "His truth [which is His righteousness] shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday." These are some of the devil's weapons of destruction, but the strong breastplate of righteousness can protect us from them every one.

THE GIRDLE

You all know what a girdle is for. It is to bind the garment, and keep it from flowing loosely everywhere. So all our thoughts are to be kept within the girdle of truth, and not allowed to run loose upon that which is not true, nor upon our own or anyone else's imaginations. "Whatsoever things are true. . . pure. . . lovely, think on these things."

Then the mind will be kept pure and become strong and always ready for immediate service wherever the Captain needs us. We shall be able to say like David: "Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle."

"Imaginations" are one of the things that we are told exalt themselves against the knowledge of God." They are enemies that should not be given any place or quarter, but they are to be "cast down" by the weapons of our warfare.

THE SHOES

The shoes that Christ's soldiers wear, like all the rest of their armour, have wonderful power in them. Would you not like to have a pair of shoes that would keep you from ever getting weary? that would put such strength into your feet that you would never grow tired.

This is what these shoes do for those who wear them. Our feet are to be "shod with the preparation of the Gospel of

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peace." The Gospel of peace is "the power of God unto salvation," and so our feet are to be shod with the power of God, that we may be strong to carry the glad tidings of the Gospel to others.

Of those to whom this work is given the prophet says: "They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Solomon knew something about these shoes. In his Song of Songs he says to the church of Christ, which is His army, "How beautiful are thy feet with shoes."

"Beautiful feet are those that go
On kindly ministries to and fro,
Down lowliest ways if God wills it so."

David also wore these strong shoes, and he said: "He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places." Did you ever see a hind bound lightly from rock to rock, stepping without fear upon the narrowest ledges, seeking the "high places" among the rocks, hills, or mountains? How swift their feet, how light, how sure, how strong! And so may yours be if they are shod with His wonderful preparation of the Gospel of peace.

THE SWORD

Notice that the sword is not ours, it is "the sword of the Spirit." And the first place where the Spirit will use it will be in our own hearts. He will have to cut away from its everything that is evil, for this would make us weak and useless in His army. His sharp sword, the Word of God, will pierce even to our most secret thoughts and take away all that is not good. Then the Holy Spirit will abide in our hearts, and "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall put Him to flight."

This is the only sword that the followers of Jesus are to have anything to do with. Of every other sword Jesus says: "Put up thy sword into its sheath, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

THE SHIELD

To protect our whole bodies from the fiery darts of "the old serpent," we are to take "the shield of faith,"-faith in Jesus and in the free gift of His righteousness to us. Even this is not something that we are to provide for ourselves, but it is the gift of Jesus. It is "the faith of Jesus,"-that faith which endured every kind of conflict with Satan and won the victory every time,-that He gives us for our shield. "For this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

-The June rain record was the highest for years.

-A steamer sank near Rockferry, after colliding with another steamer at anchor; six sailors perished.

-Washington University in St. Louis is the fortunate recipient of the gift of one million pounds sterling.

-During a thunder storm a few days since a man was killed by lightning while hoeing in a field. Another man was struck dead on the top of a hay-cart.

-A London merchant has placed his country mansion and fifteen acres of grounds at the disposal of London factory girls, who will stay at the house in batches of thirty-five during the summer.

-The law abolishing the banishment of criminals to Siberia has been passed by the Council of the Empire and duly signed by the Tsar. Siberia will now have their opportunity to develop its resources.

-A new liner, the Oriona, has been added to the fleet of nine boats carrying on the fortnightly service between London and Australia. It is 8,000 tons register, 10,000 horse-power, and 517 feet in length.

-The steamship Orotava, with 1,200 troops bound for South Africa, collided with a German trading steamer during a dense fog, off Ushant. The German steamer was cut in two, but its mast fell on the deck of the Orotava, so the crew of the sinking vessel were able to climb over safely and were taken back to Southampton.

-A Sunday service of omnibuses having been started in Bournemouth, the Town Council passed a resolution condemning the innovation, and announcing its determination in future to grant only six days licenses. The company's shareholders were then summoned to a meeting, the result being to 2,766 votes in favor of and 150 votes against, continuing the Sunday traffic.

-The inquest at Slough upon three passengers killed in the Slough railway accident, resulted in a verdict that the loss of life was due to the neglect of the driver of the expressed to notice the signals, and that the said driver was suffering at the time from "mental aberration." The driver stated in evidence, that he "must have lost myself in some way," as he did not see the signals. He had driven trains carrying 150,000 passengers in all, and had never had an accident before.

-The week's list of suicides includes a law professor, aged 36, a reported millionaire, and a servant girl, the latter accomplishing her purpose by pouring paraffin oil over her head and body, and setting fire to herself. Sad it is that some people know of no rest but that of the grave.

-An exchange tells the following gruesome tale, which should be a warning to parents who are in the habit of frightening their children into obedience by threats which they do not expect to carry out:-"A lady, returning to England on board an American liner, when in mid-ocean tried to quiet the baby by saying in the presence of her other children, 'If you are naughty we shall have to put you through the port-hole.' She shortly after words left the cabin. On returning she missed the little one, and in reply to her question, 'Where's baby?' one of the children said, 'Oh, Mama, baby was very naughty again, so we put her through the port-hole.' The vessel was stopped and back, but, of course, without result."

-Reports from China though more or less conflicting reveal a very grave situation. Admiral Seymour was forced to abandon the march on Pekin, and returned to Tientsin, having lost sixty-two killed, and 280 wounded. The reports from Pekin are to the effect that the Europeans, in number about 1,000, are either all massacred or an hourly danger of it. The German Ambassador is said to have been hacked to death by the mob. The whole city is in the utmost confusion, some reports having it that the reins of government have been assumed by Prince Tuan, commander-in-chief of the army, who is bitterly anti-foreign. Some of the viceroys are combining in a policy of the independence of Pekin. News has come that the missionaries of the China Inland Mission were safe down to the 25th.

-The Christian World gives the following account of the latest effort at aerial Travel: "On Monday evening, July 2, a German aerial ship made a trial trip of five and thirty miles, from Friedrichshaven to Immenstadt, and safely landed its ship's company of five persons. Count Zeppelin, a German officer, who has been experimenting for thirty years, is the inventor. The air-ship is 420 feet long and pointed at both ends, resembling in appearance a colossal cigar. It is made up of twenty-four aluminum bands, pointed like the segments of a huge insect. Within, the cylinder is divided into seventeen compartments, and each compartment contains a small gas balloon. The motive force is applied by two benzine motors of sixteen horse-power which were all minimum screws, and the air-ship is directed by steering apparatus fixed in front and in the rear. Count Zeppelin claims that his ship can do twenty-five miles an hour, and that he has solve the difficulty of getting a vessel in mid air."

-From two to four hundred lives are believed to have been lost in the fire which broke out in the North German Lloyd's dock at Hoboken, opposite New York City, on the afternoon of June 30. The flames, first observed among some bales of cotton, were rapidly carried by the wind to the adjoining peers, where four of the company's ships lay. Three large steam ships, the Saale, the Main, and the Bremen, were burned to a water line, but the hall and machinery appeared to of escaped without much damage. The new Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, was cut loose from her moorings, and towed to a place of safety before the flames had taken hold. Heart rending scenes occurred on board the burning steamers, the loss of life been greatest in the whole of the Saale. Numbers of people jumped from the burning peirs and ships in the water, many were rescued, but many others perished. The whole pier frontage of the company, extending for a quarter of a mile, has been destroyed, and the loss is estimated at ?1,000,000.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

The cholera is making sad havoc with the inhabitants in some parts of India. In fourteen of the famine-stricken districts of the Bombay presidency there were 7,586 cases during the weak ending June 16, 5,042 of which proved fatal. In sixteen native states there were 7,911 cases, and 5,235 deaths. The famine grows worse. The number of those suffering from its effects is now given as nearly 100,000,000.

The Catholic Times significantly points out that "should such union be effected, one of the first results of it would be a great impulse to the prospects and power of the Catholic Church;" since "they [the Latin peoples] will carry with them into the council chamber the religion which in the vast majority they believe, just as Great Britain carries with her the Protestantism that is her popular creed." This would also mean it is further stated, "an enhanced position of respect and authority for the successor of St. Peter, and an increased prosperity for the people under his Apostolic sway."

However the efforts to secure this union may result it is very evident to one who studies the signs of the times that the material prospects of the Papacy are brightening. The wound which it received in 1798 is being healed. The nations will yet bring their honour and wealth, and this will form the closing scene in the great rebellion. The only remedy for the growing evils of the last days is the second coming of Christ. Deceptions the most insidious will multiply on every hand, so as to unsettle, if it were possible, even the very elect. But the Gospel light will shine clearly through is ail, and the Lord's people, those who have "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus," will be gloriously delivered.

It will perhaps be remembered that the Presbyterians of America, at their recent General Assembly, appointed a committee on creed revision. The Baptists are evidently looking in the same direction. Dr. Johnston Myers, in a commencement address delivered before the Rochester Theological seminary, said: "We Baptists need to change some of our statements of doctrine, as the Presbyterians are thinking of doing. The world is moving on, and if we would continue to lead men to Christ, we must adopt the new truths that show Christ, in a light which can illumine the world of to-day. We need a new statement of the theory of inspiration, of the doctrine of the atonement, and of the church ordinances."

We are inclined to agree with the Doctor that a change is needed; but we do not think that substituting one man-made creed for another will materially help the situation. What the churches need to-day is not new truths, nor even new statements of old truths, but the simple Gospel as it is in Christ. The various doctrines mentioned are all stated with perfect clearness in the Word of God, which is the only divinely authorised creed. There can be no arbitrary statement of doctrine without binding the conscience of the believer, and closing the mind to advanced light.

To some people who recently paid her a visit, Miss Florence Nightingale, who is now eighty years of ago, said that she had never been really happy until she began the work of relieving the sick and wounded, and that she had never seen an unhappy day since. Here is a suggestion that many may read with profit. There is any amount of misery in the world, that might be relieved at once if the sufferers would set about helping somebody else.

"China" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

China .-The latest advices report China as all aflame. The rebellion is rapidly spreading in the northern provinces, and in Southern Manchuria the rebels have destroyed coal mines and broken railway and telegraph connections, so that Port Arthur is out off from the North. There seems to be some prospect of Japan being permitted to take a leading part in restoring order. Evidently China will never again be the independent power she has been; but under European tutelage the real interests of the Empire may probably be served better than they have been in the past.

"A Latin Union" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

A Latin Union .-The Anglo-Saxon union, so much talked of in these days, has set the world to thinking seriously, and now it is proposed to unite the Latin races into a confederation. A few weeks ago a meeting in the interests of such union was hold at Madrid, attended by the Spanish prime minister, and his cabinet, and other parsons of note. The meeting was simply for preliminary organisation. Its programme is to strengthen the bands which unite the various Latin countries of the new with those of the old world. A conference has been summoned to meet in Madrid next October, and great things are hoped for as a result. It is urged in favour of the idea that the Latin governments of South America, united with France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, under the leadership of France, would altogether make up a force to be reckoned with in the politics of the world and would most effectually check the growing power of Anglo-Saxons.

"Indian Famine Fund" The Present Truth 16, 28.

E. J. Waggoner

We call the attention of those interested in this fund, and those who have not yet become so, to the article in this number, "India's Only Hope." The condition of those whom we hops to relieve is terribly emphasised by the statement this the unbearable struggle for life has almost crushed out the desire for it. Truly they are in the condition described by the Apostle, "having no hope, and without God in the world." Since the only hope of India, as of all the world, is in the coming of the Lord, the burden of every Christian should be to hasten the realisation of that hope by doing all that is in his power that "the Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations; for then shall the end come."

We thankfully acknowledge, the following donations received since our last issue:-

July 19, 1900

"The Basis of True Education" The Present Truth 16, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

"The Word of the Lord came to John in the wilderness." "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth."

What a wonderful thing it is to have the word of the Lord come to us! There is power in that word. John was in the wilderness, away from men, and there the word of the Lord came to him. How did he get it? It came to him, and he recognised it as the word of the Lord, and that word was power and wisdom to him, and in him. "He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion."

So when the word of the Lord comes to a person, what comes to him?-Power, wisdom, discretion. "For the Lord giveth wisdom," not a part, but the whole, all one can have. Then, apart from what one gets from the mouth of the Lord, he cannot understand anything and he cannot know anything. We have a basis here for education. Out of the Lord's mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. Out of the Lord's mouth cometh the word, which He breathes forth, the word that made the heavens. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." So the word of the Lord is the breath of God. Therefore, all Scripture is the breathing 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 unto all good works."

Hear Job: "I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." In reality it is the spirit in man and the breathing of the Almighty that giveth understanding; whether he be old or young has nothing to do with it. That is demonstrated in the little boy Jesus who was talking with the old doctors. There were many present of mature years; but there was one of only a few years who could teach

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them wisdom. Why?-Because it was the Spirit and the inspiration of the Almighty that gave Him understanding. Now God is no respecter of persons. The Spirit is given freely to every one who asks.

It is the Spirit and the breathing of the Almighty that gives understanding; and that Spirit of Christ is the spirit of meekness and humility, of receptivity or teachableness.-"If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Jesus was not a prodigy; He was an example and pattern. Therefore the wisdom that was manifested in the child Jesus at twelve years of age is simply the wisdom that should be in every child at that age, and the wisdom that might be, would be, in every child at that age, if that child was subject to the inspiration of the Almighty. When Jesus came before the people, they were astonished at His doctrine, and they said, How does this man know? Mark you, they did not say, He does not know anything: no; their question was, How did He learn? We never had Him in our school; He has no diploma; then how is it possible for a man to have wisdom greater than we, when He did not go through the set form and ways? Yet in every question asked of Him He knew what to say or what not to say; He knew when a question ought not to be answered. It takes a good deal of wisdom to know that.

Take this text: "We speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that comes to naught: but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." We preach "as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. . . . . For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak."

Let us consider this matter. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." That is, if any man has not, the Spirit of Christ, he is not a Christian. That is a simple proposition; the Spirit of God marks one as a child of God, a son of God, as one with the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Spirit is given to us for a definite purpose, as we read here. What for?-"That we might know." We just cut the scripture right off there for a moment. It is given to us that we may know. How much can a person know who does not know the Lord? It may seem to some as though it is drawing the thing too fine if it is stated that a person knows nothing, if he does not know God; or that a person cannot know anything, if he has not received the Spirit of God. But let us see. The Spirit is given to us in order that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God." Since God does not do things in vain, it follows that without the Spirit we cannot know the things that are given to us of God?-"He giveth to all, life, breath, and all things." "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give as all things?" In Him were all things created, in heaven and on earth-things that you can see, and things that you cannot see. "All things were made by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." "Now we have received. . . the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." Or, to put it briefly, we have received the Spirit which is of God, that we may know all things. Since God does not do things in vain, without that gift of the Spirit we cannot know the things that God has given to us-and He has given to us all things; therefore without the Spirit of God we cannot know the things that God has given to us-and He has given to us all things; therefore without the Spirit of God we cannot know anything.

This is just the recognition of a simple fact. If we recognised that simple fact, and held to it, every one of us would be at the entrance of the school that would teach us all things. The examination is simply one question, Do you know Jesus Christ? That is the examination question that admits one into the university course, the course in which one may learn all things. When he knows the Lord, and knows the Spirit of God, then he has the key of knowledge.

The child knows its father. But that is not to say that the child knows all that the father knows. There is a difference there. The child may know its father without knowing all that the father knows.

That is a matter of time. Of course we shall never know all that our Father in heaven knows; but we shall never know anything that He knows if we do not know Him.

Here is a person who has not much education, and here is one who has a great deal, so the world goes. But let this poor, despised man, called an ignoramus, who knows the Lord Jesus Christ, come to the day of judgment, and let this man who has all the polish and culture of all the schools, come to the same place, not knowing the Lord,-who knows the most? That ignorant man may not have so great a range of things to show; but he knows the Lord; and he has the key of knowledge, and all eternity in which to study. I think he has the best education. What is the thing which we ought to study, then?-The Lord Himself, the Word of the Lord; and it is no narrow education for in Him are all things.

"The Seed-Sowing of the Gospel" The Present Truth 16, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

"And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear, But when the fruit is ripe, immediately be putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." Mark iv. 26-29, margin.

The seed-sowing contains not only the promise of the harvest, but it determines what the harvest will be. The harvest is really present in the seed sown. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Gal. vi. 6, 7, 8.

The Word of God tells us that "all flesh is grass." Isa. xl. 6. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed to men by the power of the Spirit, "that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." Isa. xl. 6. "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth

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before alI the nations. Isa. lxi. 11. Therefore in the growth of plants from the seed we have a perfect picture of the Christian's growth in grace, or of the growth of the kingdom of God in the heart of men.

The first lesson is given by the Lord, and is found in John xii. 24, 25. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."

Nothing in nature exists for itself. The son shines to give light and warmth to the world. The grass and trees grow only for the purpose of pleasing the eyes of men, and of supplying life to all creatures. To give up and to utterly abandon self, is the law of the universe. "Even Christ pleased not Himself." Rom. xv. 3. "That which thou thyself sowest is not quickened, except to die; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; but God giveth it a body even as it pleased Him, and to each seed a body of its own." 1 Cor. xv. 36-38. If a farmer should say, "I have but one bushel of wheat, and propose to keep it; I will not waste it by throwing it upon the ground," everybody would call him a foolish fellow. The only way to have it increase thirty, sixty, or a hundred-fold, is to cast it into the earth, knowing that he will never see those grains again. The same thing holds good with the grain that is eaten; we cannot get the life from it without destroying it as grain. The grain that is "preserved" is never of any use. What is the seed whence all things come?-"The seed is the Word at God." Luke viii. 11. This is true from the very beginning. When the waters were gathered together unto one place, and the dry land appeared, the earth was empty. It could not produce a single thing. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so." Gen. i. 11. What was the seed which God cast into the ground, from which everything sprouted?-It was nothing other than the Word of God. The Word became grass and trees, just as afterwards it became flesh.

Christ is the Word of God, the Word of Life, which was in the beginning, and from which everything proceeded. John i. 1-3; 1 John i. 1, 2. He is the Seed whence spring not only the plants of the field, but also the "trees of righteousness." It was as true of Him as of the corn of wheat, that He could not bring forth fruit without yielding up His life. That which the chief priests and scribes and elders said mockingly, as a reproach, was His glory: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save." Matt. xxvii. 41, 42. If He had thought about Himself, and had been intent on saving Himself, He could not have saved anybody else, for without the shedding of blood, the giving of life, there is no remission. Heb. ix. 23. Nay, He would even have lost His own life if He had attempted to save it; for, having come into this wicked and lost world, there; was no possible way out except the way of the cross.

But the sacrifice of Christ goes back of this present world. He was foreordained as a ransom "before the foundation of the world." 1 Peter i. 20. In order to become a quickening Spirit, He died. Through death He destroys death and the one who had the power of it. Rev. ii. 14. He is not a useless seed; He died-emptied Himself-that He might bring forth much fruit.

"That which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be but a bare grain: . . . but God giveth it a body." Therefore when Christ, the true Seed, came into the world, He saith, "A body hast Thou prepared Me." Heb. x. 5. The sacrifice was complete. Never again does He have the form that He had before coming to this earth; He was made in the likeness of men, and it was as the Son of man that He suffered the death of the cross, and was in consequence highly exalted, receiving a name that is above every name. The work is still going on, for He is continually giving Himself for mankind; or, rather, the sacrifice, which is made once for all, is eternally efficacious and active. Everything in the universe exists, and will continue to exist, only because His life flows out to it and through it.

The seed dies, and produces others of the same nature. From a single grain of corn a hundred others may come, and each one of the hundred will have the same life, and as much of it as the original seed. So it is that "unto every one of us is given to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. iv. 7 "Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." John i. 16. "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. ii. 9); and when He dwells in our hearts by faith,-when the seed springs up in us,-we also are "filled with all the fulness of God." Eph. iii. 17-19). Every believer receives all the fulness of the life of Christ, the true Seed.

"As He is, so are we in this world." 1 John iv. 17. This necessarily follows from being born of His death. So the children of the kingdom are the good seed. Matt. xiii. 38. The life of the only begotten Son, who emptied Himself, passes into the Seed of the woman, the Son of man; but not merely into the Man Jesus of Nazareth, but into so many as received Him. He is the "first born among many brethren." All who receive Him have the power given them to become the sons of God, and that power is the power of the resurrection; for it was the resurrection from the dead that proved Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. Rom. i. 1-4. The seed by which we are born again is incorruptible, even the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever (1 Peter i. 23); and when that Word abides in us, it gives strength, victory over the wicked one, and preserves from sin (1 John ii. 14; iii. 9).

BELIEVERS ARE HERE IN CHRIST'S STEAD

So Jesus Christ was but the Model Man. He is, in fact, "the Man Christ Jesus." There is no other man, for He makes all who believe and makes them in Himself "one new man." Eph. ii. 15. It is only in Christ that we become "a perfect man." Eph. iv. 13. The seed that is sown produces other goods, endued with the same life, that they may in turn be producers of life. So all who believe are here on earth in Christ's stead, to carry on, in His name and by the power of His life, the work begun by Him. He calls all to come to Him and drink the water of life; but He adds, "Let him that heareth say, Come." And, in order that their call may not be in vain, that none may came to them for life and be disappointed, He says, "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." John vii. 38.

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Not unto the angels, but unto men, has God put in subjection the world to come. Heb. ii. 1-8. The work of the Gospel, by which men are to be made new creatures, and a new earth prepared for a suitable dwelling for them, is committed to men. God "hath put in us the word of reconciliation" (2 Cor. v. 19, margin), by which men are born into the kingdom of God. The Word abiding in us transforms us, so that we have its nature, and are, in Christ, also the Word of God; so that if any man speak, he will "speak as the oracles of God." 1 Peter iv. 11.

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made." Ps. xxxiii. 6. By the same word the heavens and earth are to be made new; but the Word that creates anew is to be in the mouths and hearts of men. God says: "I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people." Isa. ii. 16. The Word of God, the Seed that is to beget children for the kingdom, and also to prepare the kingdom for them, is to be spoken by men. But it will be by men who have died with Christ, giving up their lives, never to take them again, and whose lives are nothing but God's Word incarnate. When they speak they will speak with authority, for they will speak just what they are, yet not of themselves.

SAVED SINNERS SAVIOURS OF OTHERS

What a glorious prospect and privilege! The greatest glory of "the Word of Truth, the Gospel of our salvation," is not that it saves sinners, barely drawing them into the city of refuge, but that it makes saved sinners saviours of others. God sent Christ into the world to save the world (John iii. 17), and He says to all who are willing to be made conformable to His death, "As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you" (John xx. 21). Who would count his life dear, in view of such a high calling, especially since the life which we impart to others is the eternal life that abides in us and saves us?

"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not: but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." 2 Cor. iv. 1, 2.

"Catholic Prayer" The Present Truth 16, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

A pastoral letter to the clergy of the archdiocese of Westminster has been issued by Cardinal Vaughan, in which he says that public prayers for the preservation of peace may now be discontinued. Those who pray according to order will doubtless obey, but those who think will surely wonder where the peace is for which they have been praying, and why they should stop now!

"The Transfiguration. The Power and Glory of Christ's Coming. Luke ix. 28-36" The Present Truth 16, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke ix. 28-36)

"And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, He took with Him Peter and John and James, and went up into the mountain to pray. And as He was praying, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment became white and dazzling, and behold there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah; who appeared in glory, and spoke of His decease which He was bout to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him. And it came to pass, as they were parting from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah; not knowing what he said. And while he said these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, My Chosen: hear ye Him, and when the voice came [was past] Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of the things which they had seen."

It will readily be seen that in order to understand this lesson we must read that which immediately precedes it, since reference is made to certain sayings of Jesus. We need to know what "these sayings" are. If we read from the eighteenth verse, we see that they include His question as to whom the people and the disciples said that He was, and the information concerning His betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. Then He spoke about taking up the cross and following Him, and said that whoever would save his life should lose it, while he who would lose his life for Christ's sake should save it, closing with these words: "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God." In Matthew it is given, "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom" (Matt. xvi. 28), and Mark has it: "There be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." Mark ix. 1. Then follows the story of the transfiguration.

From these verses alone we are warranted in concluding that the transfiguration revealed the power and glory of Christ's coming in His kingdom, and was a likeness of that event. But we are not obliged to draw conclusion, for we have the fact stated in plain language. One of those who were with Jesus when He was transfigured writes thus: "We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and

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glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And the voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount." 2 Peter i. 16-18.

Those three men, Peter, James, and John, were the ones who stood by when Jesus was speaking, who saw the kingdom of God come with power. They saw the Son of man come in His kingdom. So by studying the transfiguration we may know the nature of Christ's second coming, and some of the results of the power of it. In the first place, we see that the coming of Christ will be visible and personal. There will be no "secret rapture," no coming secretly and snatching the saints away while others are entirely unconscious of it. Such an idea is a fabrication of a disordered human imagination, with not the slightest foundation in Scripture. He will come like a thief in the night, it is true, in that He will come when people are not expecting Him; but "He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him." Rev. i. 7. He ascended to heaven in full view of the disciples, until a cloud received Him out of their sight; and as they stood gazing up at the place where they had last seen Him, two angels appeared to them, and said, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven."

When Christ comes He will come in all the glory of heaven, so it is said to us, "Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Col. iii. 3, 4. At the representation of His coming, in the mount, two saints appeared with Him in glory, as representatives of the millions of glorified saints at the last day. At that time there will be two classes-those who have been asleep in the graves, and those "which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord." "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor. xv. 51, 53. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17.

Of those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, so that they are taken to heaven without ever having died, Elijah was the representative on the mount of transfiguration. In the second chapter of Second Kings we have the account of the translation of Elijah. He never died, but was taken to heaven just as the righteous will be who are alive at the coming of Christ. On the other hand, Moses died, and the Lord buried him in the land of Moab. Deut. xxxiv. 1-7. Yet he was present in glory on the mount of transfiguration. How did he get there? Evidently by a resurrection, for there is no other way by which a person once dead can come to life, and go to heaven. "So shall we ever be with the Lord," wrote the apostle after saying that the dead should be raised first at the coming of the Lord, and then the living should be changed. The only way to be with the Lord is by the translation of the living or by the resurrection of the dead. But let no one get the idea that death is translation. It is not in any sense of the word. Those who die are never translated, but if they are righteous they will be translated at the coming of the Lord. Moses, however, like Elijah, was taken to heaven before the mass of the saints.

But some one will say that we have no evidence of the resurrection of Moses, and that we have nothing but assumption to show for it. That is a mistake. The fact that Moses died, and that he was nevertheless in the mount with Elijah, talking with Christ, is sufficient evidence that he had been raised from the dead. We need no further evidence. But there is incidental reference to the resurrection of Moses. The Apostle Jude exhorts us not to speak evil of any person, and says that even Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil He disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke thee." Jude 7. Satan is the one "that had the power of death." Heb ii. 9. He claims all the dead as his lawful prey. But Christ came to spoil him of his goods, and has the keys of the grave. But for the one mistake of Moses, when he "spake unadvisedly with his lips," he would undoubtedly have been translated as Enoch was; but after having tasted death, God would raise him from the dead. Satan, however, disputed the right of Christ to take away one whom he claimed as his prey, but his opposition amounted to nothing, and so Moses appeared with the Lord in glory. Thus we have the assurance that the power of the coming of the Lord is the power of the resurrection. It is the power that transforms people from corruptible to incorruptible; therefore everybody who believes in and works for the coming of Christ ought to be a transformed person, living in the Spirit.

What were these two glorified saints doing on the mountain with Jesus?-They were talking with Him of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. What were the three disciples doing?-They were asleep. Did Jesus take them up there with Him to go to sleep. Most certainly not. He took them with Him in order that they might have the conversation, and see the glory that should follow His crucifixion. They did indeed see and hear something, for they were awakened by what was going on; but if they had been awake all the time,-and they certainly could have kept awake if Jesus did,-they would not have been taken by surprise when Jesus was taken and crucified, and they would not have shamefully forsaken Him. "Let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober." "Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly, He find you sleeping." Mark xiii. 35, 36.

"They feared to enter the cloud." Yet it was in the cloud that Jesus received the messengers from heaven; the voice that spoke to Jesus, proclaiming Him the Son of God, came from the cloud, and that voice "came from heaven." Clouds and darkness are round about the throne of God in heaven (Ps. xxvii. 3), therefore they are not to be feared. The clouds only cover the glory of the Lord, and the darkness is to Him as the light. Therefore let no one mourn when darkness comes, but rather always and in all things give thanks to the Father who "hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the inheritance in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Col. i. 12, 14.

"Children's Corner. In the Country" The Present Truth 16, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

Are you glad to shut up your school books, and put your slates away for a season, now that the summer holidays have come again? No doubt you are looking forward to happy weeks of freedom in the country or at the seaside; or if you be obliged to stay in the city, to long, pleasant days in the parks.

But although you will be out of your usual school-room for a time, remember that you are not, and never will be as long be you live, out of school. Each day brings its lessons, wherever you may be, and by them the Great Teacher is preparing you, if you will learn them, for the deeper lessons which you may learn by and by in His kingdom. For if you should live there for ever, you will always have something new to learn.

I hope you are so fortunate as to be able to say this summer, like the little girl in our picture, "My school-room lies on the meadow wide," for this is a beautiful place to learn much of the wisdom of God through seeing His ways of working in nature.

Let us think of a few of the things that will be your teachers there, of whom you may enquire the way of the Lord by looking into the secrets of their life. For in each thing that God has created by His Word, His wonderful, deep thoughts are unfolding before our eyes, so that we may read them and learn to know Him.

Do you not see, then, that in the study of nature,-the works of God,-we are holding communion with our Heavenly Father, the Great Creator whose life and thoughts are revealed in them all?

The first thing you notice in the meadow is the grass,-the grass of the field. Gather as many different kinds as you can find, and see how God has clothed it with beauty. Think what it is that makes each blade and spear of grass grow and develop, "each after its kind." It is the Word of power that God spoke to the earth in the beginning, "Let the earth bring forth grass." Remembering this, you will see the powerful Word of Cod at work in the frail grass, forcing it up from the hard ground, and clothing the land with this beautiful soft green carpet.

Perhaps you will then be reminded of one of the reasons why God makes the grass to grow. We read it in the 104th Psalm, written perhaps by the shepherd youth David, as he watched his own flocks peacefully feeding: "He maketh grass to grow for the cattle."

This brings us to something else very often to be seen in the meadow: the cows and sheep grazing on the fresh green grass that God has made to grow especially for them. Here is a lesson of His loving-kindness, who "satisfieth the desire of every living thing." For of all that He has created we read in the same Psalm: "These wait all upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them they gather; Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good."

There is much that you may learn from the cows and calves, the sheep and lambs, the horses and colts, asses and foals, that

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you are likely to find in the meadow at different times. "Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee." And the great lesson that they all teach is that "the hand of the Lord hath wrought this." Like the sun, moon and stars, these living, breathing, beautiful creatures are always proclaiming to those who will hear, "The hand that made us is Divine."

If you begin to look up in your Bibles all the passages that speak of the different animals that God has made, you will, I think, be surprised to find how much their Maker has told us about them in His Word.

The first lesson teaches their likeness to the grass of which we have been speaking, for they are formed by the same Word from the dust of the same ground. God who said, "Let the earth bring forth grass," said also, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind."

So you see that there to a relationship between the cattle, and the grass upon which they feed; they are only different forms of the same Word of life, wherein we may learn different lessons of the Creator's wisdom, love and power. They both came from one place,-the dust,-and when the life that holds them in their different forms departs, they mingle together again in the same dust.

As the cattle feed upon the gross, the life that is in it passes into them and shows itself in other ways than in the grass. See what you can learn from each of the ways of God of His wisdom shown in their wonderful workmanship. His tenderness in their love and care for their little ones, the fulness and joy of His life in the fresh young animals of all kinds.

Then there are the flowers among the grass, on whose bright petals you may read sweet lessons of the love of Him who placed them there for you. And in these same beautiful blossoms there are wonderful secrets of wisdom hidden, like the honey, to be "sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."

Perhaps if you carefully watch the bees, butterflies, and other insects at work among the flowers, you may find out some of the secrets,-wonderful links in the great chain of life,-and another time we may tell you more about them.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

-Another riverside fire in New York has destroyed some oil works, the damage being-estimated at ?1,000,000.

-Dr. Cunningham Geikie estimates that the workmen of Great Britain squander ?100,000,000 a year on drink.

-A Peterborough man made a bet that he would hang himself, and did so, life being extinct when he was discovered.

-A municipal crematorium is to be opened at Hull, the tariff to be suffiently low to place the privileges of the institution within reach of all.

-It is said that there are In South America 30,000,000 people who have never seen a Bible, and know nothing of the Gospel.

-Three workmen were suffocated by sewer gas at Southampton, the third descending a manhole to rescue the other two who had been overpowered by the gas.

-The Prince and Princess of Wales have fitted up a pretty farmhouse a close to Sandringham for the use of needy officers, especially Colonials, invalided from the war.

-The London Dock strike ended Monday, July 9, after lasting four week. The men struck for higher wages, but returned to work without receiving any concessions whatever.

-The death rate in London last week, 13 per thousand per annum, was, with one exception, the lowest point reached for years. West Ham showed the lowest rate, 9.1; Croydon coming next with 9.9.

-The failure of the wheat crop In Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, is said to be the most disastrous ever known. Instead of 225,000,000 bushels, harvested in 1898, there will be but 75,000,000.

-The American Minister at Constantinople reports that the Porte has agreed to pay the indemnity of ?20,000 demanded by the United States Government as compensation for mission property destroyed, within three months.

-A Jewess, the first lady of her race to obtain the M.A. in England, has gained that degree in connection with University College, Liverpool. In London University the only recipient of this degree the present year was a woman.

-Drinking has greatly increased in the Philippines since Americans assumed control. It is claimed that there are now over four hundred saloons in Manila alone. Unfortunately rum and the higher civilisation go head in hand.

-A strike has been declared by the dockers at Rotterdam, making necessary the discontinuance of a number of steamboat services. The managers refuse to make concessions, trouble is feared, and soldiers are held in readiness to act immediately if necessary.

-A Roman Catholic bishop, two priests, and two sisters are reported as murdered at Mukden, Manchuria.

-Dr. Linsen, of Copenhagen, has invented an apparatus for curing skin affections, by concentrating a powerful light on the diseased part. The Princes of Wales presented an outfit to the London Hospital, which has been in successful use during a few weeks.

-The Australian Federation Bill received the royal signature on Monday, July 9. It is believed that the inauguration of the new commonwealth will take place about the 1st of January, 1901. The issue on which the parties in the Federal Parliament will first come into conflict, is the tariff.

-New York has been suffering from a heat wave culminating in a record temperature the 7th inst., when the thermometer registered 101 degrees in the shade. Several deaths from apoplexy were reported by the police; also suicides owing to the influence of the heat, and one case of insanity so caused.

-Massachusetts is to make a radical change in the treatment of her Insane. After 1903 the State will take over from the municipalities the entire charge of these cases. They are to be made a colony on a large tract of land, living in separate cottages, and engaging in light labour suited to their condition, at the same time taking regular treatment.

-At Tacoma, Washington, an electric tramcar, containing a hundred excursionists, suddenly plunged over a precipice 120 feet deep. Thirty-five men, women, and children were killed on the spot, and eighteen injured, half of them fatally. At Parkersburg, Iowa, a train dashed into a gasoline tank and exploded it, six railway employees being killed, and twenty-five passengers severely injured.

-Rain has fallen in some provinces in India, but the fall is still greatly below the average, and in Genteel India, Guzerat and Rajputana, there has been little or no rain. In these provinces the prospects are very dark, the cattle bought in anticipation of the rains are dying, and the people are greatly discouraged. Plague and cholera following in the wake of the famine, are claiming hosts of victims.

-At the annual meeting for the Bernardo Homes it was reported that 3,000 fresh cases had been admitted during the last year, making the total number of children maintained, wholly or in part, during the twelve months nearly 7,500. The emigration work is going on successfully. More than 10,000 boys and girls have been settled, chiefly in Canada. The total receipts last year amounted to ?147,000, being an increase on the figures of the previous year of ?3,000. Dr. Bernardo pointed out, however, that the receipts hate been steadily diminishing during the present year, and there is at present a deficit of nearly ?10,000.

-Affairs seem to be taking a more favourable turn in China. The Empress has resumed the reins of government, and has urged her subjects to protect the Europeans at all costs. The Emperor has also reappeared, and sent a message to the Russian, English and Japanese governments, deploring the recent occurrences, and imploring their aid in putting down the uprising, and upholding the existing Government. The situation of the foreigners in Pekin is not known, though reports from Chinese sources maintain that they are holding their own, and that the Boxers are gradually dispersing. In view of recent events it is interesting to learn that the arms and ammunition which the Chinese Boxers and soldiery have been using so effectively, were furnished by England and Germany, the latter country sending to China only last year 460,000 Mauser rifles, and 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

The Secretary for war has stated in the House of Commons that the Government has ordered new guns which will fire eight rounds a minute, instead of five.

The Minneapolis (U.S.A.) Journal puts a whole sermon into the following short statement and pointed question: "The wheat crop of Indiana is practically a failure through the ravages of insects, because the birds, quails chiefly, have been shot off. Ladies, is your hat on straight?"

When it is "China against the world," as a daily journal puts it, there can be no question but that a war in that quarter will be a world war. Readers of prophecy will remember that it is when the nations are angry that Christ takes to Himself His great power, and reigns, and gives reward to all that fear His name, both small and great. Rev. xi. 18.

The correspondent of the Evening News reports a "furious anti-Chinese riot" in Chicago. Some one started the story that a Chinese laundryman and some of his fellow-countrymen had been capturing boys and subjecting them to fearful tortures in the rear of the laundry, and a crowd gathered and raided the place. The mob demolished the laundry, and of course found no boys, but they dragged the Chinamen out by their queues, and would have murdered them if a platoon of police had not arrived in time to prevent it. Without the slightest idea of sarcasm, or any sign of noticing the anomaly of the situation, the reporter writes that the Chinamen "are locked in the goal for safety." The mob are of course at liberty. Yet the people wonder that the Chinese are anxious to get rid of foreigners. It must be remembered that such things took place in the United States before there were ever any massacres in China, and that the Chinese regard all Americans and Europeans as Christians? Is it any wonder that they do on feel attracted to Christianity? When the record is made up, it will be found that the responsibility for the death of those who have doubtless been murdered in China, rests largely upon citizens of so-called Christian countries.

Everything pertaining to China is now read with intense interest, and we herewith give the testimony of three independent, impartial, and competent persons as to the cause of the Chinese hatred of foreigners. No one has more interest in missions, or knows more about them, than Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop, and in response to the question if she thought that the missionaries were at all to blame for what has happened, she said:-

"The Roman Catholic missionaries have interfered with litigation, and that perhaps has done more than anything else to make foreigners detested. Should a Christian Chinaman be at law with a Chinaman not a Christian, the priest would actively side with the former. Should the case go against the Christian, there would be an appeal to the French Minister at Peking, in order that he might bring pressure to bear in the interest of the Christian. That kind of interference has had an ill effect on the Chinese mind, making much trouble, as also has the claim of the Roman Catholic missionaries to rank with Chinese officials."

"Temporal power of a sort?"

"Well, yes; and, further, it is certainly the case that where Roman Catholic buildings have been destroyed excessive claims have been made in compensation."

Dr. F. E. Clarke, President of the Christian Endeavour Association, who came to the World's Convention directly from China, said in answer to the same question:-

If every stranger who had visited that country had behaved an a Christian, or even with honesty and uprightness, the history of the country might have been very different But repeated foreign aggression breaking across the conservatism of centuries has enraged the Chinese to a degree that has given currency to the most absurd stories. The Rev. George Clarke, business agent of the China Inland Mission, who has spent twenty-five years in China, says that "if the English public would only take the trouble to distinguish between Protestants and Roman Catholics they would be able to apportion the responsibility. As an example, he stated that in Peking the Roman Catholics built their Cathedral spire overlooking the Imperial residence, and would not lower it without indemnity. In Tientsin they built their Cathedral on ground that did not belong to them." In the whole; it is quite evident that in this case, as in most others, the heathen have been expected to manifest all the Christian graces that their professed Christian neighbours lacked, and when they do not the world is shocked at their depravity.

The Daily Mail raises its voice against the influx of "religious dramas," saying that it is time to call a halt. It says: "These early Christians who sing so assiduously; these actors 'made up' to imitate in appearance as closely so they dare the divinest of all figures; those mixtures of sensuality and the Gospels, are getting overdone." While many religious papers seriously review these plays, and imagine that they see in them an evidence of increased public interest in religion, it is refreshing to have a secular journal utter so strong a protest.

Wireless telephony is the latest discovery. The Post Office authorities are conducting a series of experiments in it between Sherries Island and Anglesey, and people have already conversed in subdued tones across a stretch of five miles of water. As the engineer-in-chief of the Postal Department asks, "Who can say what may result?" People will soon begin to think of the words of Solomon: "Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber, for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall, tell the matter." Eccl. x. 20.

Some wholesome, if not palatable, advice was given to missionaries by Lord Salisbury at the recent meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. He said that Christians are not slaughtered in China because the Chinese dislike their religion, but because they have the idea that missionary work is a mere instrument of the secular Government. "If missionaries do not observe the utmost caution," said be, "they may cause the lose of many lives, and they may attach to the religion they desire to preach the discredit of being an instrument of territorial greed, and a weapon in the warfare which one secular Power wages against another."

The great danger lies in the fact that the Chinese regard all Europeans and Americans as Christians, and they are helped to this conclusion by the common assertion that these are "Christian nations." Moreover, the Governments have not been unwilling to make capital out of the missionary.

July 26, 1900

"Jesus and the Children. Matt. xviii. 1-14" The Present Truth 16, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

"Who is greatest?" It was a burning question with these Galilean fishermen; it has been such with mankind in all ages of the world. The feverish striving after wealth which is a marked characteristic of the present generation is really an outgrowth of the desire far the power and high social position which money confers upon its possessor.

The ambition to be great is by no means confined to worldlings. It has wrought fearful execution within the pale of the church. It was the religious leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees and scribes, sitting in Moses' seat, who delivered the Saviour to be crucified, being moved with envy because His influence with the people was greater than theirs. The entrance of this same ambitious spirit into the primitive church robbed it of its purity, fervent love, and whole-souled devotion, and turned it into the corrupt ally of a more corrupt civil government, the combination making a persecuting power which has never seen its equal.

The Master well knew the evil effects of worldly ambition, in blighting the spiritual life, and closing the faculties to divine truth. He had told the Pharisees. "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (John v. 44). It must have been with the deepest concern that He saw this spirit growing in the hearts of His disciples. As brought out in the parallel passage, Mark ix. 30-50, they had been disputing of this very matter on the way, and as a natural consequence, they were wholly unfit to understand the important instruction their Lord was giving them with reference to His death and resurrection. The opportunity was seized of teaching an important lesson which doubtless lingered long in the minds of the disciples.

A child is called, and placed in the midst; then follow those immortal words which have sounded down through the ages: "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." We can readily picture the scene. There was the circle of anxious, troubled disciples; beyond them the multitude; in the midst a little child, with the upturned, slightly wondering face, the trustful look, and sweet innocence so characteristic of childhood. The picture lent force to the words. Here we have the answer, marvellously compact, clear as a sunbeam, yet arising out of the profoundest depths of wisdom, to a question which all the great sages of antiquity had discussed and argued for ages, but had never settled.

What is there in the character of a

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child that makes it an example to Christians?-Noticeably, an utter absence of the ambition to rule and abundance of simple unwavering faith. Unless woefully deceived again and again until forced to do otherwise, the child has implicit confidence in its parents, and looks to them for everything. Even so the Christian may and should look to his Heavenly Father to supply all his needs. The Lord regards the inhabitants of the fallen world as His children; and His great heart of love yearns after His wayward sons and daughters. He says: "Turn, O backsliding children, and I will bring you to Zion;" "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto Me, My Father, Thou art the guide of My youth;" "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Similar expressions abound in the Word. Seemingly the Lord has taken every possible means of encouraging man to recognise Him as their Father, and realise the lasting joy and peace which flow from such recognition.

Mark supplies another incident which is well worth noticing in this connection. It seems that the disciples had not only disputed as to who should be greatest, but had already began to name their prerogatives. As John related it, "We saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us." Mark ix. 33. Of course, if the disciples were to exercise this kind of spiritual jurisdiction over the minds and consciences of men, it was quite important that they should have a clearly defined head; hence their question as to who should be greatest. But such an idea was far from the mind of the Master. His commandment was, "Forbid them not," and this instruction applies with equal force to the present day. The true Christian of every age are to be like Christ, "holy, harmless, undefiled." There is at the present day a growing tendency on the part of church people to legislate sinners into the kingdom. Sunday destruction for instance is to he put down by force. The church is to take the law in its hands, and compel men, whether they will or not, to yield an outward homage to so-called Christian institutions. This is nothing more or less than the papacy. The weapons of the true church are not carnal but spiritual. Christians who thus seek to rule over the consciences of their fellow-man are most effectively denying their Lord and Master.

Humility is set down as the secret of true greatness. "If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all and servant of all." Distinction in the cause of Christ is gained through self-sacrificing service. The secret of the marvellous power exerted by Paul, is revealed in his words: "Though I be free from all man, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more." (1 Cor. ix. 19.) In this respect, Paul simply followed his Lord and Master, who said: "The Son of man is not come to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Offences must come, but woe to those by whom they come. An offence is here used to designate that which will induce sin. It is bad enough to enter the paths of sin ourselves; but it is an awful crime to draw others into sin. Nevertheless, such offences do abound on every side. Satan's agents are busily engaged; allurements to sin are spread out on every side, many of the most dangerous ones ostensibly innocent and harmless. Our only safeguard is the divine Word; but it will never fail. "Great peace have they which love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them." Psalm cxix. 165.

In verses eight and nine (Matt. 18) the reference is evidently not to literal hands and feet; for the resurrected body will not be disfigured in any way. The meaning is rather, as Mr. Barnes observes that "temptations to sin, attachments, and employments of any kind that cannot be pursued within leading us into sin, be they ever so dear to us, must be abandoned, or the soul must be lost. . . . It is better for us to go to heaven without enjoying the things that caused us to sin, than to enjoy them here, and then be lost." The metaphor used is a singularly appropriate one, inasmuch as a person's besetting sins often seem as much a part of himself and as hard to give up as his members. The power of the drink habit is well known; the reader may have heard more than one of its victims say, "I would gladly give my right arm, if I could get rid of this terrible curse." Thank God such cases are not hopeless; but severe measures must be taken, the offending member must be summarily removed. God will perform the operation; but the sinner must be willing to have it done, and must bear momentary suffering. There is no anaesthetic provided, but something better: divine strength to endure the suffering.

It is related of a surgeon who lived and plied his calling before the discovery of chloroform, that he would give those directions to his patients: "First look at your diseased limb, then look at me, and don't take your eyes off mine for an instant." It would be hard to give better directions to the repentant soul. First look at your sin, consider well your hopeless condition; then fix your eyes on the Saviour and keep them there. Give the Lord a chance to make a clean job of it. An operation interrupted by the patient coming to, and refusing to have it proceed further, would involve much additional suffering, and might result in death. Yet how often do we not subject the Lord to this embarrassment. Some darling habit is given up, the sacrifice is laid on the altar; but before it is entirely consumed, we snatch it away again, and cherish it for m time till it grows to dangerous proportions; then the effort is made again. This is mere trifling with the Holy Spirit, choosing alternately between Christ and Satan, and enjoying neither the indifference of the world nor the peace of God.

Verses 11-14 in which the Saviour's mission is likened to that of a shepherd seeking his lost sheep takes on new meaning and beauty as we come to understand the intimate relation in which an Eastern shepherd stands to his flock. Travellers tell us that the Syrian shepherd of to-day not uncommonly knows all his sheep by name, and can call any one to his side by repeating the name. He guards his flock by day and by night, and risks his life to save them from the attack of robbers or wild beasts. Christ is the good Shepherd. His sheep know His voice, and follow Him. They are helpless themselves in the presence of an enemy; they have no recognised leader except the Shepherd, who leads them through green pastures and by the living waters, and protects them from all dangers.

That which is not good in itself can never do anybody any good. Good can come only from good, not from evil. One may say as much as he pleases, "Let us do evil, that good may come," but good will never come from it. From evil only evil can come. And this is true respect. Just as one cannot become good by doing evil, so can one not receive good by taking that which is bad. Life cannot

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come from that which tends to produce death. Healing cannot come from poison. To expect to gain health by taking poisons into the system is even more senseless than to expect to get strength by living on nothing. Eat that which is good, and only that which is good, namely, the life of Christ, and He will make you good.

"Practical Love" The Present Truth 16, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

The love of God is different from the love of man. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends;" but the love of God is such that He sent His only Son to die for us while we were yet sinners, and in open rebellion to Him.

There is no particular thanks to be given to one who loves those who love him, or whom he is under obligations to love; but God loves those who hate Him, and have rejected Him. And it is this very rejection of Him that calls out a greater love, and it is because of this that the Lord wants that He may be gracious.

That is what the Lord is doing all the time. Titus iii. 3: "For we ourselves were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved no by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

Here is a lesson for us, and if we learn it, we have learned the law of life. It is not easy; it is impossible for the natural man; and the only way that it can be learned is by the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts. When this is done, then the very unloveliness of people will appeal to us for our love, for only by the manifestation of love toward them, can they be won from their unloveliness.

It is not within the power of a human being to do this of himself. True love is of God; and when we yield ourselves to let the Lord instill into us, breathe upon us, permeate us with that love, then we son do it, and not until then. Then we will, love because we cannot help it.

The greatest thing in the world is love. "Now abideth faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love." It abides for ever. Prophecies shall fail, tongues cease, and knowledge vanish away, but love continues for ever. This is true in the very nature of things, for God is love, and so long as He exists, love continues.

God manifests His love in everything about us-in the sunlight which is life to all the world; in the plants that grow; in the air we breath; in the food that He gives us abundantly; in the water that we drink;-everything that we receive at His hand is but a manifestation of His love to us, and that He would save us from sin and keep us alive to all eternity.

Sometimes we have a hard time in our Christian life. We look at others who make no profession, and we say, "He has a much better time than I do-l cannot understand it." Did you ever think that that is the Lord's way of trying to win that person to Him-by showering His blessings upon him in such profusion, manifesting His love toward him so graciously, that perchance he will exclaim, "The goodness of God leadeth me to repentance." And then if he never does repent, do you begrudge him the little pleasure he gets, when you know that that is all the pleasure he will ever have?

God speaks courage and hope to us, only that we may pass them on to somebody else. He gives to us His love, in order that we may manifest that love to others, that through us they may know what God's love is toward them.

God loves with an everlasting love. In all inanimate nature this love is shown. It never receives anything that it does not give out for the good of mankind; therefore, we, the highest of God's creation, should give out to others what we have received. How greatly below the lowest of God's creatures we are, when we fail to do what they do.

It is in order that those who are indifferent and rebellious may learn who God is, that He is the embodiment of love. Jesus manifested the most tender patience and kindness to Judas, who harboured in his heart the greatest sin against Him. It was because of his great sin that the Saviour's heart of pity was so drawn out to him. If we have not learned this lesson, just so far we come short of being the Christians we ought to be. If, under similar circumstances, we cannot manifest the same tender kindness and patience that Jesus did, then just that far we fail of knowing as we should the love of God.

It is a great thing to be a Christian-to grasp the love of God as it is-but we need not be discouraged. God sheds His love abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost that is given to us freely, and to all who ask Him. Perhaps our efforts in behalf of some are not appreciated, and apparently do the individual no good, yet they are not lost, for there is in the effort itself a reflex action on ourselves, and we are made the better by it. God sends His blessings on the evil as well as on the just, He loves the sinner as well as the saint, and this is the lesson of all lessons that we are to learn.

"The Practical Application of Justification by Faith in Everyday Life" The Present Truth 16, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. v. 1.

I do not purpose to tell you what you already know that there is no other way of salvation except through faith in Christ. You yourself could tell any seeker for peace and pardon that he has but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved; that however good his intentions, however strong his efforts, however good his present connection, nothing will avail for the sins he has committed already; that when he has committed a sin the thing is done, and he cannot change it. Nothing that we can do to-day will undo what we did yesterday. It is fixed. Therefore we must find pardon-a free pardon-from God, and this is obtained through the Lord Jesus Christ who is set forth as the righteousness of God. That is to say, in Christ, God gives us His own righteousness.

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The assurance of the fact that we may obtain this free gift of righteousness through our Lord Jesus Christ is that we live. No one needs any more assurance than that. That is proof that God wishes to save us. We know very well that we are under the curse,-we feel it within our own bodies. We know that death has passed upon all men because of sin, and we have felt the workings of death, yet we live. Some of us may have been at times looking as it were into the very grave, and felt that it was the next step for us. Especially do people feel this when old age creeps on. Then they realise something of the workings of death, and appreciate the fact that the body is but feeble at best. That is evidence that the curse is here, and we see it in everything else as well as in man. Nevertheless, in spite of it all, we live. This fact shows that God is long-suffering. Although men have sinned and merited death, God is still bearing with them, and all this that they may have time to repent.

This is not a bare theory; it is not speculation. It is fact, and a very practical fact, and what we want you to see is how very practical this truth is. It is an everyday, practical experience. The fact that we live is proof that God is keeping us, that we may lay hold upon eternal life. If God had not had that design for us, then He would have let us go-let all mankind go-to destruction long since. But God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, and if we meet His appointment, we shall find the salvation. God is bearing with us. Christ bearing the curse is prolonging our lives that we may lay hold upon the eternal life that is given to us. The Word is nigh us, even in us, and thus God is longsuffering. What a wealth of meaning there is in that word longsuffering. God is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God is what He wishes us to be. His love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given unto us. God's love is the love that He wishes to be manifest in us, even as He puts it upon us. In 1 Cor. xiii., that wonderful chapter on love, some of the characteristics of love are given, and one of them is that it suffers long and is kind. We know something of what it is to suffer, to endure. The word itself implies something unpleasant, pain, sorrow, heaviness of heart. Love suffers. It receives chastisement, stripes, abuse, persecution, alI manner of evil and yet it is kind. God does not expect us to be anything that He is not, and so we find Him longsuffering. He suffers long with us. All our evil, all our sin, falls upon God. It is He who bears it, because He is our life, and thus we have made Him to serve with our sins. Although sin is distasteful to Him, yet He suffers it,-suffers on our account. The suffering of Christ on the cross, the thorns, the scourging, and the malicious accusations,-all that was a visible presentation of that which God is obliged to suffer all the time, because of sin. The whole earthly life of Christ's was but a little section of His hidden life set forth that we may in that little period of time see who Christ is, what contradiction of sinners against Himself He is suffering, what He is enduring all the time, what the Godhead suffers on account of man's sins. Therefore God says, "I am He that blotteth out thy sins for Mine own sake." We can now more vividly realise how glad God is to cleanse a soul from sin. He Himself is thus relieved of the burden of it. "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." So we do not have to wait until we get to heaven to swell the song of joy around the throne of God: but anyone now in this life, at this very time may help to swell the chorus of praise and joy in heaven; for when anyone repents he adds to the song, and to the joy not only of the angels, but of God Himself.

God waited long in the days of Noah, and He waits still. That is the longsuffering that bears reproach, abuse, false accusation, and yet says nothing. Oh, what has not God had to bear in all these thousands and thousands of years-false charges against Him, not alone by His bitter, out-spoken enemies, but even by His professed followers, who profess to know Him, but in works deny Him. In all this He has kept silent, waiting the outcome of the course of events, and allowing His own life to demonstrate to the world just what He is. When the time of judgment comes, when every secret thing comes to light, then even those who have not already found peace with God through believing, will see the ways of God, and every mouth will be stopped, because He will then have lived down accusation.

Here is one of the practical phases of this justification by faith. The apostle says that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and then goes on to show how this works out. "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulation." Do we? Oh, so many of us do not-we sigh and complain under tribulation, but there is where we do not make a practical application of justification by faith. We are to glory in tribulation, "knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience; and experience hope: and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Now mark: "We have peace with God," the peace of God that keeps the heart and mind through Jesus Christ. God's own peace, a calm in the midst of reproach, is the part of those who are justified by faith and who live by faith.

One would naturally think that a free pardon offered to everybody would be seized upon with avidity. Here the Lord who upholds everything offers a free pardon, and free access to His eternal kingdom to whomsoever will, and He does this by giving Himself. It would seem that everybody would seize that, but it is a fact that only a few do accept this offer of salvation. Men will fight against and repel their best good. They will begin making excuses for not accepting the pardon, and try to find some proof that it is not so. And why is all this? Why will men act so? The reason is plain when we think about it, and it will let us into the secret of why so many who profess to believe in justification by faith do not get the blessedness and peace out of it that they should, but go through life troubled, and full of unrest. The reason for all this is because the very acceptance of righteousness by faith implies a confession of our own unrighteousness. The natural man begins to doubt and question the statement, that "there is none righteous, no, not one," and that he must be justified wholly by Christ. He thinks there is some goodness in him-he knows some that are all unrighteous, but feels sure that there is one that is not all unrighteous-and that is himself. In his case the Scriptures do not mean just what they say-ah, that is the way we all argue naturally. But it is not true.

"Being justified by faith." It is God that justifies. "Not he that commendeth himself, but he whom the Lord commendeth is accepted." So, do you not see, that in justification by faith, in accepting the Lord as our righteousness, we must absolutely and for ever admit and hold to the fact that we have no goodness at all; that there is no good thing in us. It is so natural to justify self; to guard our own feelings, our own reputation. From childhood to old age it is the same; when reproved we try to shake off the offence, so as to make it appear not quite so bad as it is, to justify ourselves.

How was it with Christ. If there was one in the whole world who could with right justify himself and defend his own reputation, that one was Christ. He was called a glutton and a drunkard, an associate of publicans and sinners, one who kept company with bad characters, men of bad reputation, and yet He never attempted to justify Himself. He made Himself of

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no reputation; "therefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is above every name." He wasted no time trying to maintain His reputation. Suppose He had? How much else would He have done? not much. Some of His followers say that they cannot rest under false accusation, for it will hurt their influence! But He paid no attention to it, for He had not any reputation to maintain, as His influence came from what He was, and not from what people said about Him.

We sometimes have evil things spoken of us and have to suffer under accusation. We say, "That hurts." And sometimes people get so far lost and carried away with their sense of indignation at the injustice that they say, "What makes it so hard to bear is because of the injustice of it-the things that are said of me are not true." Now let me ask, Would you feel better over the accusation if it were true? That is to say, would you rather be in the wrong, and have a good reputation than to be in the right and have a bad reputation? We know how the world chooses, how we have been ourselves: the thing that self-justification always looks to is appearance and not character. The natural desire is to present a fair exterior, no matter how bad we are, instead of to be pure in the sight of God regardless of what people think of us.

Every effort at self-justification, building up our own cause, trying to make ourselves appear right in the eyes of the world, is a denial of justification by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because if He justifies us, we have no need to justify ourselves. But if it depends upon me to present a right appearance before the world, to correct all false ideas and false impressions about me, to have people understand the exact facts in the case, then I am taking it out of the hands of the Lord, showing that I do not believe in His justification but in self-justification. But the fact is, God alone is righteous, and so He alone can justify; and whoever is not justified by faith in Him is unjust.

Here is a thing that would save us so much time if we would only make it practical in our lives. It would give to us that peace which God alone has, and can give, a peace that passeth all understanding. God waits. He can afford to, for He inhabits eternity, and the event will prove the righteousness of His cause. But we may also dwell in the secret place of the Most High. We should also inhabit eternity, and if we dwell with Him, we can afford to wait; and so we can count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations-when people say all manner of evil against us falsely.

I remember a case in point. There was a leader in the church of whom bad stories were circulated by some who had conceived a dislike for his work. His wife was very much wrought up over it and could hardly rest day or night; she was so concerned about his reputation, that it spoiled her peace of mind and her peace with God. We have all had the same experience, of letting the feeling of the injustice that we are suffering drive away our peace with God. When talking to her about it, she said, "Oh, but there isn't a word of truth in it." I replied, "Would you feel better if it were true?" "Oh, no," she replied, "Then, said I, you ought to be very glad that such stories can be told about your husband, and not a word of truth be in them." She had not thought of it just in that light before. "Rejoice and be exceeding glad" when men shall say all manner of evil against you falsely. If it is false, then we shall not need to justify ourselves. And if an evil report about us is true, then we should not wish to justify ourselves, but should commit ourselves to the Lord, who alone can justify the ungodly. When Christ was reviled, He reviled not again. When He suffered He answered not, but committed all to God, and as we read in Isaiah "It is God that justifieth Me." All through His life it was true of Him, as was said of Him on the cross, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save."

We are told to be ready to every good work. Suppose a case. Some one comes along and inquires for the Master-"I would see Jesus." With him is a paralytic. He is near to death, and not only does he need immediate healing if he does not go into the grave, but there is something else still worse than the disease of his body-he is a sinner, and he is troubled about his sins. He wants words of comfort spoken to him; he wants some one to say, "Son, be of good cheer. Thy sins are forgiven thee,"-some one who can speak with authority and assure him of pardon. But you answer, "I am sorry, but the Master is not at liberty to-day. He has suffered abuse just as long as He can, and He is determined to endure it no longer. There have been so many false stories told about Him that He has felt it due to Himself and to the work in which He is engaged to put a stop to it and bring the parties to justice, and to-day He is engaged in that." This is just what would have been said if He had given Himself to the task of justifying Himself. But He was always ready.

But suppose we do not go so far as that. We will not take the case to court, remembering that as Christians we cannot go to law, or the case may be only of a petty character and not of enough importance for the intervention of the law. Now in the case before us, suppose we don't say anything to anyone. We do not let anyone know how much we are wrought up, how much our spirits boil within us over the injustice that we think has been done us, or may actually have been done to us. But as we are walking along the road, something is seen that brings to our minds the transaction, how we were ill-treated, were over-reached, we did not get the deference we should have had, ect., and then we brood over it,-this is actual, real life-our spirits rise in indignation, and we pity ourselves. In this condition of mind, we come in contact with a poor, trembling soul. We are too much engrossed in ourselves to see whether he is in need or not. Perhaps he makes bold to ask us, "Sir, what must I do to be saved?" So you come right down from the place where you were, and say to him, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." You may say these words, but would he believe them? If not, why not? Because from that position of self-pity, self-justification, you could not with all your heart say that, and if you did utter the words they would not be with any authority, the very position you were in at the time of uttering them was one of disbelief in Jesus Christ. For, being justified by faith we have peace though all the malice of hell is ranged against us, we are at peace, fearing no evil. Being justified by faith we have peace, and nothing can stir up or produce turmoil in the heart. So even if we do not say anything to repel the injustice, yet thinking upon it in our own minds, that feeling of being abused, and the accompanying self-pity unfits us for the good work we should do, and cuts the very nerve of true Gospel effort. We can not afford to do that. How far reaching is this simple truth, that the Lord has taken our case, and we do not have to bother with it.

One thing more. There is practical philosophy in listening to reproofs or reproaches without answering again. For example: Some persons seeing us engaged

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in something that perhaps we do not know very much about, will volunteer advice. We resent it because this is our business. We know all about it, and we will, more or less politely, give that person to understand that he is to mind his own business. It might be-the case is supposable-that somebody else knows more than we about the matter and maybe able to tell us something we do not know, but if he finds that we are rather testy, and will repel any suggestion, especially if it is not given in the way just pleasing to us, then he will withhold it, so we shall miss valuable reproof or instruction. If a person tells us something that we know, we have lost nothing. If he tells us of faults that we know, it is all right, because it is an evidence that others can see what we have seen. It confirms our judgment. And if we have not noticed them, we do well to keep quiet, for somebody may see something that we have not seen, and if that evil is in us, we do not want to be blind to it, and we ought to listen and learn. Then, being ready for every good work, we commit ourselves to God, and He keeps us. What a vast amount of time it would save us, and what a wonderfully comfortable people such a people would be to live with and get along with. And that is just what God's people should be,-a people having the characteristics of the 13th of 1 Cor., who will not get into a controversy or trouble with anybody. God assumes the whole responsibility of the whole life, taking our case in His hands. He is the one who will maintain the right of the afflicted and the cause of the poor. He will render vengeance where vengeance is due. He will make the crooked straight and the rough places plain and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it. Where? In the place where the way of the Lord is prepared in His people.

There is something attractive about this life. I love to think of it because I need to think about it. I need this every hour, day by day. And because l need it, I know you need it. We never get beyond this truth. In all our experience it is faith in Christ, which means that I am nothing but God is everything. God is great and I am small, so I will acknowledge that He alone is righteous, and He takes that which is not, to glorify Himself, and so He makes me righteous in Him. So we can give thanks to God who gives to us His unspeakable gift of life through our Lord Jesus Christ.

"For Little Ones. The Sheep" The Present Truth 16, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

We began last week talking about things to be seen in the country, and our picture this week shows us something that can be own at some time or other in almost every English meadow. It is interesting to count how many flocks of sheep are passed in riding through the country, and the number of them will show that the raising of sheep is very largely undertaken in this country.

No country produces finer sheep than England. Their fleeces are large and well suited for making up into clothing. The Spanish sheep have finer wool, and tome of this is usually worked up with that of the English sheep, but the fleece of the Spanish sheep is not nearly so heavy as that of the English.

A flock of sheep is a beautiful sight, and brings to mind many of the tenderest passages of Scripture. See how many of these you can recall.

From the earliest times there have been very close ties between men and the gentle, harmless sheep, perhaps because, being so helpless, they require more of man's care and thought than animals of more strength and intelligence. And do you know that the way to cultivate love is to bestow kindness and thoughtful care? So every good shepherd learns to love his sheep, because they need so much of his attention.

One of the first things that we are told in the Bible is that Abel "was a keeper of sheep." No doubt his work among the sheep taught him many lessons of the Lord's love and care for him, which made him obedient and faithful to God.

The riches of kings and princes in the old patriarchal times of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, consisted largely of their immense flocks and herds. You can recall many incidents in the Bible that show this, and many scenes in which the sheep are a part of the picture.

The cause of the separation of Abraham and Lot was that their flocks and herds had become so large that the land could not bear both. There was continual strife among the herdmen, all anxious to get the best pasturage for their own flocks and herds. Think of the evening scene at "the mouth of the well" in "the east country" to which Jacob fled from the wrath of Esau. While he waited at the well, making enquiries about his uncle Laban who lived near, "Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them."

And during all the years that Jacob served Laban for the love that he had for the beautiful shepherdess, his work was "to feed and keep his flock." When he left, he described his anxious and faithful care for them in the words:-

"Thus I was: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Thus having been twenty years."

The occupation of Moses in the land of Midian for forty years was that of a shepherd; he "kept the flook of Jethro, his father-in-law." And it was when he was leading the sheep that the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush.

Of the shepherd boy David I need not remind you, for you know well the beautiful shepherd psalm in which he sings of the love and care of the Lord our Shepherd for us the sheep of His pasture.

It seems sad, as we see the happy flock in their peaceful country surroundings, to think of what will be the end of so many of the sheep-to be driven terror-stricken through the crowded city streets to the slaughter houses where their lives will be sacrificed, and they will be butchered to make food for man. But this we will talk more another time.

"No flocks that range the valley free
To slaughter I condemn;
Taught by the Power that pities me,
I learn to pity them."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

-The King of Portugal designs to come to England attar his visit to Paris in September.

-The report of the secretary of the Christian Endeavour Society shows that there are 60,000 local societies with a membership of 3,500,000.

-An American paper reports a rainfall at Mobile Alabama a few weeks ago, in which twelve and one half inches fell in nine hours, the largest on record.

-The American Minister to Korea cables that the Boxers have destroyed the Catholic Mission three miles from the Korean boundary and fifty miles from the American mines.

-A new law has come into force in the State of Arkansas. U.S.A., by which a woman that wears a stuffed bird in her hat is lisble to a fine not less than ?5 and not exceeding ?10.

-The Globe correspondent telegraphed on the 17th that 100,000 Chinese armed with Mausers and modern artillery were encamped at three places within forty miles of Shanghai.

-According to telegraphic advise, July 17, received by the Danish Mission Society, the Danish mission station in Fung-kwang-tung, in the peninsula of Liao-tang, has been destroyed. The missionaries, however, have escaped.

-Thirty persons were killed and 1825 injured in 125 towns in the United States by accidents from firearms, toy cannon, giant crackers and other explosives on the fourth of July. Such things are to be expected as long as people think that noise is patriotism.

-An announcement is in made from Oerebek, Iceland, that an undamaged cork buoy has been found marked "Andrea's Polar Expedition, 1896. No. 8," without Dover or contents. Andrea's brother, who was concerned in the organising of the expedition, thinks that the discovery of the buoy justifies an optimistic feeling as to its safety.

-The intense heat of last week resulted in the death of many people. The temperature in London rose to 95∞. It is a pity that people do not know that a diet almost exclusively, if ,not wholly, of fruit, and a few nuts, with no meat or vegetables, will enable one to stand the hottest weather without discomfort, and to do the usual amount of work, too.

-At the annual meeting of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Ritchie, President of the Board of Trade, pointed out that while the figures of British foreign trade indicate upon a superficial view a very satisfactory state of affairs, there is on close impaction little cause for sell-congratulation. He said that the increase in exports during the past six months was due to an increase in price, and not to increase in quantity. There has been an actual decrease in the amount of exports.

-Some good advice was given at the North London Police-court when duties Fordham told the large number of people who were before him for drunkenness, and who pleaded the excessively hot weather as an excuse, that they should resist the temptation, since the more people drank the hotter they became, especially if they drank bear or spirits. This self-control, however, is something that most people do not possess, and which is weakened by every indulgence. Few can deprive themselves of a momentary gratification in order to secure a permanent good.

-Coomassie was relieved by Colonel Wilcocks Sunday, July 15, the date indicated by Governor Hodgson shortly after his escape as the latest practicable.

-The allied forces captured Tientsin on the 14th after a heavy bombardment, during which many fires occurred. The losses of the allies are said to be nearly 800.

-News has been received at Shanghai that a massacre took place July 9 at Tai-ynen-fu, the capital of Shan-si province and that forty foreigners and one hundred native converts were killed.

-Sir Alfred Milner has appointed a commission of six members to inquire into and report upon the direct losses suffered by the people of Cape Colony in consequence of the war. This is with a view to compensation.

-China has now taken the aggressive, and has declared war against Russia. Chinese troops crossed the border into Siberia, and have destroyed the town of Blagoveschonek, together with its garrison. A Russian transport with munitions has been stopped by the Chinese. On the Eastern Siberian Railway almost all the stations have been burned to the ground, the bridge destroyed, and the track torn up.

-The Chronicle says: "When we consider that we have three wars on hand, that our taxation is by no means light, and that reforms at home cannot be carried out without additional expenditure, the prospect is not one which can be contemplated with equanimity. The present Government is not economical, and if it obtains a renewed lease of power one trembles to think of the figure which the income-tax may yet reach."

-From St. Petersburg came the news July 18 that Prince Tuan had mobilised 950,000 Chinese troops for the express purpose of clearing China of foreigners. This is the lartest army ever rallied since the time of Xianes, and it does not begin to exhaust the resources of the Chinese Empire. By the side of it, the 500,000 men which all Europe proposes to send to China, make a very poor showing. It seems as though China is at last thoroughly awake, and nobody dares guess what the end will be.

-It is proposed in Paris that the maritime powers of China shall be occupied, and fortresses erected and garrisoned along the coast. "China must cease to be a military nation," says the Matin. But that is easier said than done. It is estimated that at least half a million of European troops would be required for this, and that is no doubt far too mall an estimate. Moreover the jealousy between certain powers bids fair to prevent any concerted action. No one Power wishes to do anything that will benefit another.

-The trouble in China is already making is material impression on British trade, and if it continues it is likely to throw thousands of mill operatives out of employment in Lancashire alone. Since March, when signs of unrest began to manifest themselves in China, hundreds of the little cotton mills which sprang up all over Japan after the Chino-Japanese war, have been shut down, and in India hundreds of the cotton mills are working short time. And now comes the news that several Lancashire cotton mills have been obliged to close their doors, and that cotton manufacturers, and cotton shippers are of anxiety as to what the end will be. "No shipments, no orders, no trade whatever," is what a leading authority in Manchester says sbout the China trade of Lancashire at present. In ordinary times China takes ten per cent of England's total shipment of cotton. Leading firms of Moscow have received news that their warehouses of tea and silk at Kaigan have been plundered and afterwards burned by Chinese rioters and troops. The goods destroyed are valued at 7,000,000 teals (about ?1,167,000.)

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

On the 19th inst., the intense heat set fire to a large cotton mill at Ashton-under-Lyne, and damage to the extent of several thousand pounds was done.

The German government has intimated to those firms that have been sending arms and ammunition to China that this branch of their business had better came for the present.

Two earthquake shocks were felt at Torquay on the 18th, the first one lasting three minutes. No damage was done, but houses were severely shaken, and the occupants were badly frightened.

The calling out of the Militia for garrison duty is a serious hindrance to agriculture, inasmuch as it has been the means of a wholesale removal of labourers. It is calculated that fully sixty per cent. of the Militia comes from the villages, and their absence during hay-making will be a considerable drawback to the farmers.

This is the time when the ice-cream vendor gathers in the pennies, while his customers gather in the microbes. A shopkeeper in Liverpool was found making ice cream in a room full of dirty rags. "While the process matured, he sawed dirty wood, and the dust settling down formed a 'top' to the delicacy." Some other ice-cream had been set to cool in an unwholesome outhouse. He was fined 30s. and costs, the magistrate remarking that it was a pity he was not given his own ice-cream to eat. According to an official, Liverpool has 500 varieties of ice-cream. London would doubtless show a larger list.

But no one need be in any danger from ice-cream made in unwholesome surroundings, it he will but remember that ice-cream at best is a most unwholesome product, entirely unfit for the human stomach. It is a cheat, in that it does not cool one, but rather increases the thirst. A glass of home lemonade will go much further towards quenching one's thirst on a hot day than will any ice-cool drink or concoction. It is not, however, necessary to take hot drinks, but very cold ones should be avoided. A glass of good water at the ordinary temperature, with a little lemon juice in it, and no sugar, is the best drink far this season, or, for that matter, for any other season.

The outlook for the starving millions in India, and for the other millions as well, who are not yet starving, is not at all reassuring, when we read that the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway Company has advised all the other railway companies in the Presidency that through bookings for food stuffs for places on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway cannot be accepted, owing to the impossibility of working the goods traffic in the absence of an efficient water supply for the engines. Where water enough for an engine cannot be obtained, what hope can there be for the people?

The Fourth International Zionist Congress is to be hold in London, August 11 to 16. The Zionist movement aims at the settlement of a large proportion of the Jewish people in Palestine. The meeting this year promises to be of exceptional interest, as the condition of the Jews in Eastern Europe is most distressing, and the delegates will without doubt be most zealous in trying to devise some practical plan for their relief. Whether one believes the idea of the return of the Jews to Palestine is practicable and possible or not, no observer of the signs of the times, or sympathiser with the oppressed and suffering, can fail to be interested in the results of the approaching Congress.

The inability of the Powers to cope with the situation in China, and the reason for it, is thus briefly set forth by a writer in the Figaro. "The Chinese," he says, "have studied us minutely, and have discovered the weakness of our military infatuation. Europe is in truth one vast camp, with millions of soldiers. What is the object of these gigantic armaments? Certainly they are inadequate to carry war outside the old continent, and they may be described as a means of mutual intimidation. . . . We are in excellent form for shedding the blood of one another. But we are in distress when called upon to meet a common foe beyond the seas." Thus it appears that the huge armaments which the nations have been building up as a means of safety and defence, are in reality but a clog. The machine is perfect, but not adapted to the work in hand.

While the entire civilised world is shocked at the wholesale massacre of Europeans by Chinese, and it can be understood only by remembering that humble life is not held as sacredly in China as in some other countries, it must not be forgotten that they had provocation. Such treatment as China has received at the hands of the nations whose representatives have been murdered, would long since have brought forth vigorous and armed protests from those nations, even if not in the same manner, if they had been subjected to it. An intelligent Chinaman in the East-end said to a reporter: "Can you wonder that our people rise up when they see their ports taken from them? What would you English do if France took Dover, and Germany took Hull, and Russia Southampton?" The terrible deed that has been committed should not blind anybody to the fact that the Powers are the aggressors; and moreover China is not the only country in which assaults have been made upon foreign legations.

The new torpedo-boat destroyer Viper, just constructed for the British Navy, is the fastest craft afloat, having made forty-two miles an hour.

"The New Crusade" The Present Truth 16, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

The Daily Mail of July 16 had as one of its leading headlines the word, "The World's Revenge," and said under it:-

The massacre of the Europeans at Pekin is bound to make the war to a very great extent one of revenge.

The ever-increasing armies which the Powers are sending to the East indicate their appreciation of the gravity of the coming war. Indeed, it is stated on good authority that 500,000 men will be necessary to bring the war to a successful termination.

Then followed a list of the contingents of the various nations, and immediately afterward the following from its Rome correspondent:-

The troops who are leaving for China have been enthusiastically cheered in all the towns they have passed through.

The Pope, on being informed of those demonstrations, said, "May my blessing accompany those soldiers and those of the other nations who an embarking on the first war since the days of the Crusades, actually made in the cause of civilisation."

Comment is unnecessary.

August 2, 1900

"Front Page" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

There is probably no other tree that exists in greater variety, and that is more beautiful and stately in every variety, than the palm tree. Moreover, it is as useful as it is beautiful. From the different species of palm an abundance of different kinds of delicious and nourishing food is obtained, and from its leaves and fibres are manufactured clothing and dwellings for men.

Because it is one of the most perfect of trees, it is used as a symbol of a righteous man. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright." Ps. xcii. 12-15. They will be upright as the palm tree, to show the uprightness of the God who dwells in them.

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It is said of the palm tree that "it will not be pressed or bound downward, or grow crooked, though heavy weights be laid on it." This is the case with the real Christian, who, though cast down, is not destroyed, and who cannot be bound down by any chain that Satan can forge.

The palm is one of the most symmetrical of trees. A perfect tree of any kind is always symmetrical, but the palm seems, more than any other tree, to be superior to circumstances. In this it is the picture of the righteous man, who walks in the light, and as the light shines equally all round him, grows equally toward the light in every direction, because he eagerly takes in every ray of light.

"They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing." The palm tree, like all other trees, never ceases to grow, and never outlives its usefulness. Even so with the true Christian: he never ceases to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The paIm tree has abundant fatness, but it is not gross in appearance. It is always lithe and slim. Its fatness is in the fruit that it yields. Even so should it be with men. People in general have a faulty idea of fatness. They think that it means abundance of adipose tissue, and this ability to tip the scale at a high figure. So they will praise the looks of a fat person, even though that person be dull of perception, and sluggish in movement. The palm tree has fatness, but it does not store it up for itself, but gives it off for the benefit of man. So the fatness of the child of God, who lives continually in the Father's house, is not obesity, but is constantly given off for the service of others. He always gives, yet never lacks. He is always labouring, yet never worn out. This comes, not naturally, but from Christ, who is the tree of life, the model and mainspring of the life of all His people.

"'By Grace are ye Saved'" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

"By Grace are ye Saved." -Under the appropriate heading "A Medi?val Christian," one of the daily journals told the story of a young lady music teacher who recently died at Battersea as the result of injuries inflicted by herself as a penance for sin. To the hospital nurse she said that she had no thought of committing suicide, and added, "I have been studying my Bible too deeply, and thought that by torturing my body I should purify my soul." The coroner's jury rendered a verdict in accordance with her statement, and thereby showed their lack of acquaintance with the Bible. Deep study of the Bible never led anybody to think that self-torture will purify the soul, or save from sin. From first to last the Bible is opposed to any such idea. A quiet, orderly, godly life, through faith in Jesus Christ, is set forth as the one essential thing in every page of the Scriptures. Take this for example: "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

"Changing the Truth into a Lie" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

The address of Lord Halifax at the annual meeting of the English Church Union, of which he is President, very plainly plainly needs only the recognition of the Pope to be thoroughly Roman Catholic. He said:-

In the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper the bread and wine, through the operation of the Holy Ghost, become in and by consecration verily and indeed the body and blood of Christ, and that Christ our Lord present in the same most holy sacrament of the attar under the form of bread and wine is to be worshipped and adored.

Speaking of the "Real Presence," he went on to say:-

Christ's visible presence is, indeed, withdrawn from us, but we believe that He is with us invisibly. . . . This presence He, who, in the days of His visible sojourn upon earth, was subject to His own creatures, now vouchsafes at His altars, according to His own institution, at the voice of his Church. We have no need to ask with Mary Magdalene where His sacred Body has been laid. We have that Body given into our keeping as often as we will. We possess Him in the Holy Eucharist, and, possessing Him, we repeat in each Eucharist what He did at the Last Supper in the Upper Chamber-we offer Him, sacramentally present under the outward and visible signs of Bread and Wine, to the Father, as the Lamb that has been slain, in commemoration of that death and passion by which He made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

Nothing could be further from the truth, or could show more complete ignorance of what Christ did at the Last Supper. He did not turn bread and wine into His body and blood, but sitting by His disciples, in the flesh, He took bread and wine and said, "This is My body," and "This is My blood," and they were not one whit different after He said those words from what they were before. The bread was His body before He took it up, as much as afterwards. The church has no voice in the matter. There is a world wide difference between "This is My body," and "This becomes My body."

"'A Cloud of Witnesses'" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

Thousands have sung with fervour Dr. Doddridge's hymn based on Heb. xii. 1, in which occur the lines,

"A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey,"

without once thinking of the text or its meaning, while the most of those who have given the matter a moment's attention have taken it for granted that the "witnesses" spoken of by the apostle were the worthies mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, who are now looking on to cheer us as we run the race. This, it is needless to say to the careful Bible student, is a most erroneous notion, inasmuch as the dead, who "know not anything," "neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun," cannot possibly be spectators of our conflict. In a sermon on the text, "compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses," Dr. Alexander Maclaren recently used the following language, which may be taken as wholly unprejudiced:-

"Witness," in exact conversational English, has come to mean, as a verb, "to see," and, as a noun a "spectator." And that modification of meaning is natural enough, because the essential qualification of a man who is to bear witness about anything is that he shall have seen the thing of which he is to bear testimony. But there is no reason whatever that I know of in the use of this word in the original, to suppose that it ever passed through that modification of meaning, and ever signified a spectator merely. It is always, so far as I know, confined to its true and proper meaning of "one who bears witness" and, attests by personal knowledge a certain fact. So, then, the ordinary understanding of these words, which has brought solace and soothing to so many a heart, I am afraid is not in them. At least, it is not in that word "witness," which does not mean here "spectator." The point of the writer's allusion is, not that they see us, but that we are conscious of them. It would have been irrelevant to his object to have dwelt upon the questionable statement that they looked upon us. If we confine our attention to the word itself, one is obliged in exegetical honesty to say that it does not bear our the ordinary notion that there is any knowledge amongst those who have gone from us of what is being done here on earth.

"Forgiveness. Matt. xviii. 21-35" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

Matt. xviii. 21-35.

This lesson will be best understood by considering it in connection with that of last week, and taking into account also the intervening verses. After discoursing of true greatness, and warning against offences, the Saviour gives directions for the proper settling of any differences that might arise between brethren. The person who has been wronged is to go and tell the wrong, not to his neighbours and friends, that it may be mooted about as public property, but to the responsible person, and to him alone. If this first effort at reconciliation is unsuccessful, further measures are to be tried. Were the divine instruction faithfully carried out, society would have to look elsewhere for subject matter for conversation which is largely given up to discussing the injuries, real or fancied, which some one has received. The so-called harmless gossip is really a most reprehensible thing. Injuries only fancied assume serious proportions, slight misunderstandings ripen into feuds, ending perhaps in bloodshed, all because of the pernicious habit of talking about the things which do not concern us.

While the Saviour was discoursing on injuries, Peter asked the question: "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?" The answer was: "I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven." However, to show that it was not a matter that could be settled by figures, the ensuing parable was spoken, which teaches clearly that an unforgiving spirit is not justified under any circumstances. Strictly speaking, man has nothing to forgive. Sin is so manifestly against God, and God alone, that David could appropriately say in the penitential Psalm: "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." Any wrong done to a human being is really done to the great Creator Himself, whose arms of infinite love encircle every one of His children.

This is especially true of the Christian, whose life is said to be "hid with Christ in God." He lives, as it were, within a charmed circle. To the extent that he has submitted himself to the Divine will, he is surrounded by barriers which effectually shut out all disturbing elements of every kind except such as conduce to his own growth in grace and the advancement of the Gospel. Not only is he shielded from evil men, but the arch-fiend himself is denied access to him except in so far as the Father permits. Of this Job's experience is an illustration. Surely such loving and assiduous care from One so powerful should relieve the Christian of fear lest he should suffer severely at the hands of men, and likewise of any revengeful feelings toward those who do him wrong, since they are powerless to act independently of God.

Paul wrote: "Be kind, one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake forgave you." And Christ said: "Be ye therefore merciful even as your Father in heaven is merciful." How full and abundant is our forgiving to be?-Even as God's. But His "mercy is great unto the heavens"! Ps. lvii. 10. Surely man can never attain to such a marvellous development of this grace. Very true, he cannot attain to it, but God be thanked it is possible for the humblest Christian to obtain it. Justification is a free gift, but so also is sanctification. Christ died to pay the penalty of our sins, but He has risen from the tomb, and desires to live over again, in the person of His obedient follower, the same perfect life that He once lived upon this earth. The Christian life is truly an incarnation of the Divin e in the human. Hence the forgiving Spirit and all the other spiritual graces are "from above, and come down from the Father of lights." Through the "exceeding great and precious promises" we become partakers of the Divine nature, and it really becomes natural for us to forgive those who wrong us.

It may be said, "I want to forgive but I cannot." The answer is, Pray for a forgiving spirit: ask God to help you to see the solemn fact that while any trace of bitterness remains in your heart; your condition before God who judges according to the truth, is more hopeless than of the person who has wronged you. In many cases the unforgiving spirit proves a stubborn foe largely because it is regarded in the light of a privileged member. Some Christians, like Jonah, think they do well to be angry, or at least think it is one of the minor sins, when the provocation is sufficiently strong. Such a view is wholly wrong. The grace of forgiveness occupies a most important position, if it is absent, or has but a weak and sickly growth, the Christian life as a whole suffers the effect most keenly.

How is the forgiving Spirit imparted?-Even as faith, it "cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." If you would have it in larger measure than at present you must pray for it; you must take time to read your Bibles, you must watch unceasingly. Christ is the perfect example. Wicked men plotted to take His life: His own disciple betrayed Him by an act of basest perfidy; His other disciples forsook Him in His hour of trial, and one denied Him with an oath; the soldiers crowned Him with thorns, and spat upon Him, the multitude derided Him; yet never did one impatient word escape His lips, but instead there came from His heart of infinite love that wonderful prayer: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." The same Spirit will animate the Christian to-day. He will do more than tolerate passively to submit to wrong treatment. There will be absence of hate, and abundance of warm, hearty love. The renewed heart, though sorely grieved by sin, has an unutterable longing for the salvation of the sinner, recognising him as the purchase of Christ's blood.

"I can forgive an injury" says some one, "but I can never forget it." This feeling is really a very common one, though not always frankly avowed. Is it right? Of course not. The Word says: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Such forgiving is certainly not like that which our Heavenly Father has shown to us. Suppose He should reason the same way: "Man has rebelled against My authority, I will forgive him this, but to restore him to favour is impossible. Henceforth I can never regard him with the affection I had for him before. He does not deserve My friendship." How different would be our prospects under such a regime! Fortunately, this is an impossible supposition. The fact is that the Lord has given the most precious thing that Heaven could provide, His only begotten Son; and He not only provides for our perfect and complete restoration to our former estate, but grants us now His comfort and love, in richest measure. Similarly we are not only to forgive him who has wronged us,

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but as Paul tells us, "comfort him lest perhaps such an one should be swallowed up with over-much sorrow."

How cruel does the act of the debtor seem; himself forgiven an enormous sum he seizes his fellow-servant by the throat, and exacts the uttermost farthing. Yet this is what we see taking place all about us in the world to-day. The worship of mammon is almost universal. Everywhere hearts, crushed and bleeding, are trampled under food by men who insane striving after wealth makes them oblivious to everything else. Not only is this spirit seen amongst the very wealthy. Sympathy for the poor and the needy is sadly wanting. The feeling of a common brotherhood needs to be cultivated. It gets its strongest stimulus from the practical recognition of a common Fatherhood. And herein lies the essence of the whole matter of forgiveness. Let the Christian fully awake to the joyful fact that the Lord has really forgiven his every sin, has completely washed his guilt away by the blood of His Son, so making him perfectly "accepted in the Beloved," and he cannot help but freely and fully forgive any injury which may have been inflicted upon him.

"Living by Faith" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

"The just shall live by faith." God has but one truth, even as there is but one God, and one Lord, and one faith; and that truth is the same for every age, and for all people. Yet "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," not because the truth changes, but because it is infinite, and we walk, make progress, come nearer and nearer to the source of the perfect day-to God, who is the light.

Every detail, everything that God has to give to us, and has for us to believe and do, is in that one sentence; "The just shall live by faith." How does the just man become just?-"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." What a marvellous thing that peace with God is! That means more than simply absence of war-this we can say there is no difference between us and Him. It includes all that, because peace is the cessation of all hostilities; and when we surrender unconditionally and lay down our arms (and that is the only terms on which God can make peace with anybody), there is no warfare, and we are not fighting against Him any more and we are at peace with Him. But that is not all: "Being justified by faith we have peace with God." Instead of our previous attitude of opposition, we agree, with Him, and, by that marvellous love by which He lifts the poor out of the dust, and the needy out of the dunghill, and sets them upon the throne of glory, we sit side by side with Him, sharers with Him of His everlasting peace, for He is our peace. Thus we have peace with God. The peace of God is ours. It is not simply that we have stopped fighting; but we have peace with Him, the same peace that He has. That is the way a man is made just; and being made just, he "shall live by faith." We are to live the Christian life just as we began it. The beginning continues to the end, for Christ is the beginning and the end. When we have drawn our first breath, we continue to live by continually repeating the act. Even so with spiritual life. The whole of it is but a continuation of our first acceptance of Christ. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him." Col. ii. 6.

"The just shall live by faith." Mark that, they shall live. Sin and death go hand in hand. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin," and wherever there is a crack big enough for sin to enter, death pops in with it. It is there, for the sting of death is sin; death has passed upon all men, because all have sinned. We all have death in us, we have all felt its working. We are all born under the curse. What is the curse?-It is death. But we are not dead. We look out over all nature and see the curse upon the whole earth and yet we see life everywhere. What a marvel! Death kills, and death is upon all creation, upon man and beast and plant, yet life is seen everywhere!

How can this be?-Simply because Christ Himself suffered the cross that the blessing might come to us; and He still bears it. He died that we might live, and the cross still stands with outstretched arms. Death had no dominion over Him, and the very fact that we live shows the presence of Christ crucified in us, as in all creation, swallowing up death. All the power that there is in all creation is the power of the cross of Christ which saves from sin and saves from death.

Now Christ died a willing sacrifice. "I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." God hath raised Him up, "having loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that He should be holden of it." Acts ii. 24. Why was it impossible that Jesus Christ should be held by the power of the grave? Because there was no sin in Him. "He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." "We know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin." Therefore death had no power over Him. From the moment that He was born, Satan himself was on hand to take His life. That is what the Bible says: the dragon-the Devil-stood by the woman to devour her child as soon as it was born, and from the time that Satan put it into the heart of Herod to slay all the children of Bethlehem, in order to put the infant Jesus to death, until He hung upon the cross, the one purpose in the mind of Satan was to get Him under the power of death. If He had yielded in one thing, how long do you think it would have been before Satan would have taken His life?-It would have been done instantly. But we have in the fifth of Hebrews this glorious truth concerning Christ, "who in the days of His flesh when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death," that He "was heard." Day after day and night after night His prayer was to be delivered from death-and He was heard. In this is our life and victory. When Christ died He did that for which He came into the world, to offer Himself as a sacrifice, that others need not die. Nevertheless He was saved from the power of death How so?-Because He was saved from sin. Jesus Christ was tempted in all points like as we are. He had all human weakness, and felt all the power of sin pressing upon Him, knocking for admittance, clamouring for mastery, and He prayed to the Father for deliverance from the power of it which would have meant death and He was saved from it. Read Isa. I. 7-9. He died, it is true, but He died voluntarily, and by the same power by which He went into the grave, He came out of it. He had all sins upon Him, yet if He had committed one of them, He would have died involuntarily, and no sacrifice would have been made. So although He went into the grave, He was delivered from it even before He went in.

Whose sins were upon Him? My sins were there. Your sins were on Him. He bears the sins of the world. This very evil that is clamouring in my flesh and in

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yours for the mastery,-ah, that is what He prayed to be delivered from. He felt it for there is not a pain, a pang, a sorrow, a grief, not a single thing that affects any human being, but that touches Him. All those inherited sins of yours and mine-these things that we have been excusing ourselves for and despairing of being able to overcome, were on Him, and He felt the crushing power of them; but He prayed with strong crying and tears to be delivered from them-and He was heard. He was saved from sin and death, and His victory is ours.

Mark this: when a man comes to the Lord and prays to be delivered from a sin, at that very moment Christ says, "That thing that you are praying to be delivered from, I also prayed to be delivered from-and I was heard; I gained the victory over that sin; it is vanquished, and all you have to do is to lay hold of My victory by faith, and you are free." With that Word it is possible to be delivered, and eternally delivered from sin. Not in some future time, but now.

Some time ago I attended a service, and was much struck by the hymn. It was an excellent one, inspiring and uplifting; it showed the presence of Christ, but the last verse, and I am sorry to say that the people sang it with more gusto than any other, was:

"Oh when wilt Thou ever
Make My heart thy home?
When we get to Heaven,
Then the time will come."

That is putting it too far off. "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Here then, is the possibility of living without sin. But you ask me "Do you never expect to sin?" I reply that I do not make any provision for it. I cannot discern the future, and I have no right to say what will happen to-morrow, or that I never will sin; but I make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof, and I know that as long as I live by faith in Him, He can keep me. "Not I, but Christ." "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Who is it, then, that is living?-Christ; not I; and that solves the whole problem. Can you keep the commandments of God?-"Not I, but Christ; He can. O, give Him the glory continually. He can do it; and so there is no self-boasting. Yet "my soul shall make her boast in the Lord."

Now let us come to this question a little more closely. "The just shall live by faith," When? When we get to heaven? Yes, of course. We shall live by faith when we get to heaven, because there is no other way that a creature can continually live. Don't think that the time will ever come when you can live without faith. Faith, hope, and love will abide to all eternity. But now, now is the time when we are to live by faith. We all live just now. Eternity is only continual now.

What then have we come to?-"Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Where are they?-They are here. If they are not, they ought to be, and the time is coming when God can say it of men and women in this wicked world. How nearly do they keep them? There is no qualification; they keep them. How many of them?-All of them. By what power?-By the power of the life of Christ in them, who says, "I delight to do Thy will O, My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart."

Suppose that you and I take it for granted-as we have often done-that whenever a strong temptation comes we have got to sin. Suppose we think, "I was born with these tendencies, and cannot help it, but I will fight against them. I will show a good front; I will let the Lord see that I propose to make a good stand against them, and then of course I will give way because I will have to. But I will show the Lord that I do not sin of my own purpose, but because I am compelled to. How often we have tried to persuade ourselves that that was the Christian life. But the devil knew he had us all the time; he knew that he had the victory over us; and we knew in our own selves that we never had the victory at all. There was no victory. Why did we fall under his power?-O, we expected to; we planned for it. Of course the reason why we planned for it was because we did not know of any better way; we did not know of the possibility of being saved from it. It was not because we loved to sin. You know that. We did want to be saved from it; but we supposed we had to sin when the thing came with a specially strong temptation. And the Lord forgave us for all that. O how many times He forgave us. Thank the Lord for that. But He forgave us, and bore with us, not that we should continue in that way, but in order that we might learn a better way, even the possibility of making not only a show of resistance, but of everlastingly overcoming by the power of Christ. So we can say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercy, who redeemeth thy life [buys it back] from destruction," by the same power by which He saves us from sin. In saving us from sin He saves us from destruction.

But this is not a matter that we are going to think ourselves into. You do not think yourself into resisting the temptations of Satan. You do not work yourself into it; but faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Now the word of God is in all His works. The word of God is living; the word of God is life. And God has put His word into tangible shapes, into visible forms, so that we can see it, and feel it. "That which was from the beginning, which we have seen, which we have looked upon, which our hands have handled, of the Word of life; for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and declare unto you, that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." "Thy words were found, and I did eat them." God gave manna, to the children of Israel, and why was it? "That He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." In giving bread, he made them know it.

God gave the children of Israel bread in order that they might learn that they did not live by bread alone. Strange, wasn't it? He gave them bread in order that they might find out that they lived by the word of God, because the word was in the bread, yet the word of God is greater than can be contained in all the bread there is on earth. It is living water, yet it is greater than can be contained in all the water there is on earth. It is in the air, yet it is greater than can be contained in all the air. God gives us life by these visible agencies, in order that we may accept the larger portion of life brought to us by invisible agencies.

It is by every word that we live. There is life enough in any one word of God to save a man, yet we need them all. One word will bring a man from the grave, yet if he rejects one word he will die, because the same life that is in one word is in every word. Whoever rejects one word, rejects the life, and so really accepts no word at all. If we take the first word that comes to us we live. Suppose then that there comes another word, and I do not like it

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very well, so I think I will skip it, and take some other instead. Then what? Is there life enough in one word to save a man when he rejects another word of God? Oh, no! Because then I am rejecting the whole word.

"The just shall live by faith." This shows that the Scripture contemplates the existence of just, that is, righteous persons,-not people somewhat better than the average, but people "without fault before the throne of God," because His life is perfectly manifested in them. Of such it will be said: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." With them principle will never be subordinated to expediency, nor will they be dominated by circumstances. The law will appear in their lives as fully as it did in the life of Jesus, for the life of Jesus will be manifested in their mortal flesh. Such people may be rare, but there must certainly be some in the world now, and before the Lord shall come there will be a vast number. Only such ones will be "alive and remain until the coming of the Lord," and will be taken to be with Him without dying. What a glorious thought, that men can be taken from the earth directly into the presence of God, without their presence there producing the least incongruity. Their lives in the earth will be exactly what they will continue to be in heaven-exactly such as that of the angels now.

They will be just, and because they will be just they will live. When God in ancient times brought His people out of Egypt, He said: "Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." Ex. xxiii. 25. Then when God has set His hand the second time to deliver His people, and bring them into their own land, it must be that those who serve Him here will have sickness removed from them. When, in spite of sinful human nature, they live on earth as they will in heaven, it must be that, in spite of weak, mortal flesh, they will be victors over disease, even as they will be in heaven. Is not this also a glorious prospect?

Someone will say, "Do you mean to say that there will be none in heaven, who have not on this earth revealed that perfection of life?" By no means. There will be thousands in the kingdom of God, who have been in feeble health all their lives, and who have died of disease, just as there will be thousands there who have had very little knowledge of God's word, and have ignorantly violated many precepts while conscientiously living up to all the light they had. But God's purpose in this earth is greater even than the salvation of men. It is the demonstration of His power before the universe. God is going to have a people that keep all His commandments perfectly, in order that he may show Satan, and the whole world, and the angels in heaven, as well as the inhabitants of unfallen world, what He is able to do through weak, human flesh. The Gospel is for God's glory, as well as for our salvation. We are not to accept the life of God merely in order that we may feel good, and escape destruction, but that God may be glorified. God will have, before the end comes, a people who in body and soul witness to His power as fully and completely as did Jesus of Nazareth. Satan will attempt to fasten sin and disease upon them, but will find nothing in them, and will not be able to get any hold upon them. Fearful plagues will be in all the earth, but they will escape. The very air itself will be death-dealing, but they, living wholly in the Spirit, will not be affected by it. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy aide, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even The Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." Ps. xci. 1-10.

Let no one imagine that people will in a moment obtain this immunity from disease. That is to say, a company of people will not be subject to all sorts of diseases, affected by every change in the atmosphere, and suddenly, when the last plagues begin to come, be proof against all disease. When the seven last plagues begin to fall, they will simply go on living as they have in the lesser plagues that have been in the earth. Such a people will be for signs and wonders, and the Lord desires to have them now, for now, in the day of salvation, is when the highest witness to God's saving and keeping power is needed.

This state of things will not come by accident. People will not unconsciously blunder into the way of life, but will keep walking intelligently. They will keep all the commandments, because the full light of the law will have shone upon them. The law will be in their minds, and written in their heart. Even so they will be free from disease, not because God arbitrarily makes them so, but because they know and obey the law of life. They know every word of God, and live by it. In the place where God promises to take sickness away from His people, who keep His commandments, He says, "I will bless thy bread and thy water," indicating that their food will have much to do with their perfect health. They will eat only that which is good, and refrain from everything that could by any possibility harm them. God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. But the Lord gives knowledge, and just to the extent that we take it, and treasure it in our hearts, will it be life and health to our flesh. The life of God is perfect, and He can as well keep us in perfect health as barely alive, if we will but believe and receive. Is it not worth while? Can any false, fleeting enjoyment outweigh this perfect eternal life? Oh, give diligence to learn and accept of the Lord every principle of life, and then with body and soul render practical thanksgiving to Him for His unspeakable gift.

"For Little Ones. In the Meadow" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

Have you ever carefully watched the busy bee at his summer day's work? If not, do so this year, and see how many interesting facts you can find out for yourselves. You will most likely notice many things that you will not understand, but you can enquire and find out the meaning of mach that he is doing.

Of course you know what is the bees' object in their work among the flowers,-the search for honey and "bee-bread" for the little ones in the hive is probably all that they think of. They seem to be possessed by an absorbing desire for work, as though all they lived for was to fill the wax comb that is being built by the workers at home.

Those who keep bees for the purpose of selling the honey now provide ready-made comb, which they empty as soon as the bees have filled it. The bees then patiently set to work to fill it over again, thinking perhaps what a fine store they are gathering for use during the winter, when all the flowers will have faded.

Of course the bee-keepers see that they have plenty, but they sell all that the bees do not need. As so much of the bees' time is saved by having the comb made for them, they can spend more time out among the flowers gathering honey.

But this work of the bees among the flowers has a meaning and purpose of which they know nothing. They are being used by God to make the flowers grow to beautify the earth. They are unconscious gardeners working in the Lord's garden. For from each flower that they visit they carry away a little yellow dust which you may have seen sticking to them. Perhaps some of you know Miss Ingelow's pretty lines:-

"O velvet Bee, you're a dusty fellow,
You've powdered your legs with gold."

This gold-dust is very valuable to the flowers, for without it all their seeds would be useless. Then what good does the bee do by carrying it away, do you say?

If you watch him closely you will see that when he visits the neat flower he dusts some of it off as he delves into the heart of the flower to take his toll of sweet honey. He leaves the dust in payment for what he carries away, and it is of much more value to the flower. It falls upon the ripening seeds, and makes them fertile and able to bring forth fresh plants and flowers to feed the next generation of bees. So the bee is working for the interests of his own race, after all, is he not, as well as for the good of the flower.

Notice the colours of the flowers that the bees visit, and now that you know what he is doing among them, you will no doubt be glad to see that he likes the same colours and scents that we do. A naturalist who has made a special study of this says that bees visit mostly the red, white, blue and yellow flowers. The colour and the fragrance are the guides that attract them, and so the most beautiful blossoms with the strongest scent are sure to be visited and fertilised, and thus the "survival of the fittest" is provided for.

You see then that the colours, the scent, and the sweetness of the blossoms each has its object, and is a part of the wonderful plan through which the Word of God is working to fulfil itself, and to cause the earth still to bring forth as He commanded it in the beginning.

But this is only a little glimpse into the wonders that are taking place all about us in everything that we can see. "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."

Solomon tells us how he sought out and found some of the wisdom which made him such a wise king and counsellor. He says: "I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things."

You may get some seed from one of the flowers in your garden, and keep it until the spring, and plant it, but find that the flowers which come from it are quite a different colour from the one that produced the seed. You will most likely already guess why this is.

The pollen or dust brought by the bee from another plant had given to the seed the characteristics of the flower from which it was brought. Sometimes the new flowers may be a mixture of both colours, the colour of the plant that bears the seed, and also of the one that fertilises it.

In this the flowers are like the little children, who may resemble either father or mother, or both parents. For the seeds are the babies of the plants, which are cradled in the ground until the strength of the life in them makes them grow and push themselves up from their earthy covering into the light.

You will see many butterflies too in the meadow. Suppose instead of chasing them, and trying to grasp them, and spoiling their beautiful, delicate wings with your clumsy little fingers, you should watch them carefully and see what you can learn.

Did you ever see one with its long tongue dipped down into the deep cup of a

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honey-laden flower? When it is satisfied and draws it out, you will wonder whatever it is going to do with it, and wherever it can keep it, until you see it beautifully curled up like the spring of a watch and packed safely away in its case.

But the butterfly is not so busy as the bee, for it does not store any honey, and it is such a dainty, airy creature, that it needs very little food. In its former state as a caterpillar it fed all the time, and we might think, to see how little it eats, that it then laid in a store of food to list all its butterfly life. The butterfly usually lives only a short time, and its chief work seems to be to provide for the increase of its race by laying a great number of eggs. How beautifully and faithfully it does this work you can see by the description given on this page.

"A Lesson from Nature" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

It is a law of nature,-that is, it is one of the laws of God,-that all our powers should grow by exercise. By using the little strength, the little knowledge, the little talent that we have, we increase our store. By giving out all the we have, we gain more, and not by saving and keeping. The more that we do, the more we use the powers that God has given us, the more we shall find ourselves able to do. But if we try to save our strength by not doing anything for ourselves or others, we shall lose even that which we have. You remember how clearly Jesus taught this lesson, in the Parable of the Talents. The one who used all he had, gained much more, while the foolish servant who buried his Lord's gift in order to keep it safely, had it taken away from him.

In many ways God is teaching us this lesson in all nature. See if you can read it in this little true story of

THE SLAVE MAKING ANTS

One day, in the year 1804, a famous naturalist be held a large body of ants march rapidly over the ground in an unbroken column. Their behaviour was most military, and there was no straggling. Presently they came to an ant mound, where another species of ants lived. Some of these ants were on guard, and, on seeing the enemy approach, messengers were sent to the interior of the mound to call the rest out. In a minute a great battle was on, which ended in the victory of the attacking party. The conquered ones retreated to the bottom of their nest, while the conquerors followed in after, and presently each returned with a baby ant in its mouth. These ants were brought up as slaves, as was later discovered by the same naturalist.

After awhile the masters became so dependent upon the slaves for everything, they could do nothing for themselves except fight other ants. They lost their teeth; they forgot how to build; they neglected their young, leaving the slaves ants to care for them; they even lost the power of feeding themselves, and when, by way of experiment, a few were placed by themselves, where there was lots of food, but no slaves to give it to them, they died, every one of them, from hunger.

Once a man took a few of this species and kept them by themselves for a couple of days, and then, just as they seemed about to die, he gave them one slave ant. Working all alone, this fellow built a nice home, washed and cared for the baby ants, and fed the older ones, who were about dead from hunger.

Which were the real slaves, and which was the master?

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

-Over six and a quarter millions of people are in receipt of relief in India.

-But little news comes from South Africa, and that little is not by any means favourable to the British arms.

-The Mansion House War Fund now exceeds ?980,000, and the Indian Famine Fund amounts to ?326,000.

-Bank of England officials estimate the amount of gold coin in actual circulation in the world at 865 tons.

-In least London there ere said to be 1,575 tenements of one room only, and of these one is inhabited by eleven persons.

-An Australian blacksmith who could not afford to give money for missions, agreed to shoe four horses for nothing for a year if the money in payment might be sent to the missionary society.

-The hot weather continues, and as the heat increases the price of coal advances. It is expected that fifty shillings a ton will have to be paid for coal next winter.

-The Chinese officials continue to assert that all the foreign legations are safe, but no proof is forthcoming. An assertion by the ministers themselves would settle the question; and this would be an easy matter, if they were yet living.

-The Russian Minister of War is in favour of pouring 100,000 troops into Manchuria, and of purging it of rebels from end to end; but the Czar wishes his armies to limit themselves to the defence and pacification of the frontier districts.

-At a meeting held at Lord Tweedmouth's residence it was decided to appeal to the public for at least ?11,000 to set the Free Convalescent Home, Mitcham, on a sound footing, as a memorial of Mrs. Gladstone. The Home was founded by Mrs. Gladstone.

-Pastor Hillman, of the Reformed or Presbyterian Church in Hamburg, has been dismissed by his church for preaching socialism. It is said that the struggle of the dock labourers against their employers helped to make the church impatient over the sociological sermons of their pastor.

-The Secretary of State for India has received the following telegram from the Governor of Born bay:-"Following are figures for week ending July 14:-Famine stricken districts, 9,876 cases of cholera, of which there were fatal 6,322. Native States: Cases of cholera, 9,740; deaths from cholera, 6,617."

-The village of Kirk Smeaton, in Yorkshire claims a survivor of the battle of Waterloo in Mrs. Mary Neale, who has passed her ninetieth year. Mrs. Neale has vivid recollections of the day, and well remembers riding in the baggage-waggons with her father, and witnessing the rout of Napoleon's Old Guards.

-The Medical Officer shows that the rate of infant mortality is higher in six municipal boroughs of Cheshire then the thirty-three chief towns of England and Wales. In Hyde one child out of every four dies before its first year is completed. This high rate of mortality is attributed to the unhealthy employment of the mothers, the careless treatment of the children, and the general insanitary condition of the towns.

-It is expected that from 40,000 to 60,000 men and women will land at Cape Nome this summer in the mad rush for gold. Doubtless most of these will be disappointed while a few will become immensely rich. The whole coast as well as the country inland, is described as a treeless, moss-covered waste, with scarcely a shrub to relieve the monotony. There is no limit to the hardships and dangers which men will undergo in order to obtain a little of this world's riches.

-The Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham has issued to his clergy the following decree: "We hereby give you notice that, by our episcopal authority, we forbid any priest in our diocese to publish or circulate, either in the public press or by any other means, any circular, letter, or other document reflecting on our own action, or on the action of any priest of our diocese, without our express permission. And we declare hereby that any priest who shall presume to violate this our command shall thereby incur suspension ipso facto. This our decree is to be in force until expressly revoked." This decree is said to be "remarkable," but it is remarkable only as showing the spirit of the Papacy. If the law allowed it, such decrees would be followed, in case of disobedience, by something far more severe than simple suspension from office.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 31.

E. J. Waggoner

In a recent address to the students of New College, Dr. Marcus Dods said:-

The world has always been more successful in converting the Church than the Church has been in converting it. The hold of the world is deep and inveterate; and the preacher must be conscious that the force that is with him is greater than that which comes against him. In our day the childish craving for pleasure is a veritable poison in our social life.

The woman of Samaria, with whom Christ talked at Jacob's well, left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: Is not this the Christ?" John iv. 28, 29. Yet we have no record that Jesus told her anything of her past life except the one fact that she had had five husbands, and was then living with a man who was not her husband. But that was enough. It was not necessary for Christ to enumerate every individual act of sin; the mention of the one laid bare her whole life. All that she had ever done was in that one thing that Christ told her. She did not attempt to excuse herself by saying that she had no other fault, at any rate, but recognised in that one thing the picture of her whole life.

An important thing for us to note in this connection is that the woman found Christ in the conviction of sin. This is the way God would have it with us all. It is the Holy Spirit that reproves and convicts of sin; but He is at the same time the Comforter, and He convicts but to comfort. Instead of sinking down in discouragement when we are reproved for our faults (and how quietly and tactfully the Lord reproves), we should take courage from the reproof, knowing that it is the way God takes to reveal to us the Christ who saves from sin. In the conviction we find healing. "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Prov. vi. 23.

Another very important lesson for us to learn is that when the Lord forgives one thing, He forgives everything. There is no half-way work with Him. Just as in the mention of one sin, He brought to the woman's remembrance her whole life, even so, when we come to Him penitently confessing any sin that comes to our attention, and humbly asking forgiveness, we may know that in forgiving it He forgives all the sins of our life. We are "saved by His life," and that life is not given to us piecemeal. Christ gives Himself to us wholly and undividedly. To every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, and that gift is infinite, so that in Him is plenteous grace found to cover all our sin. Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. Therefore we may always be joyful in God.

A daily journal says that fifty-five per cent. of the children of the London poor die under the age of five years, a few of them dying "dramatically," that is, starved, beaten to death, or by accident. "But we do not hear of the quieter tragedies of child life that are happening around us daily, of the little ones carried off in shoals by fever, bronchitis, diphtheria, acting on puny frames that have never known sufficient nourishment, the disease helped an its way by foul air, and an attempt at nursing so crude that it can hardly be differentiated from neglect. . . . It is a heavy tax for the nation to levy on poverty."

The Daily Mail in its report of the proceedings at the World;s Convention of the Christian Endeavour Society, says that "there is nothing in the representatives of this new religious movement of the old type of pietism that used to offend. . . One never hears from Dr. Clark or his helpers any of the old-time religions phraseology." Whether or not they are to be congratulated for this is a question. It is a fact that the professed Christian world has come to place too much stress upon more phrases, and there is need for people to be awakened to the truth that true religion does not consist of words.

We are fearful, however, that the Endeavourers are in danger of making a sad mistake,-the mistake of thinking that the world is joining the church, when it is the church that is joining the world. We heard one of the speakers at the convention congratulate the young people because they had "the advantage of living in an age when the world does not sneer at Christianity." He said that the world sneers only at the sham, and that "the world is determined to nail every counterfeit to the counter." It is true that much of what the world sneers at as Christianity is only a perversion of it; yet the world is itself but a show, a counterfeit, and loves its own. Christ said to His disciples: "Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you." "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you." "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." It is as true now as it was eighteen hundred years ago, that "the friendship of the world is enmity with God." "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

The Church Family Newspaper says:-

"We are rapidly being disillusioned as to the feebleness of the military resources of the Chinese. The same process, indeed, is going on as want on during the commencement of the Boer war. We now understand the terrible fact that China to-day is stored full of the best arms and ammunition that Europe could produce. It matters little whether they have been purchased from Birmingham, from Krupp's works in Germany, or from Creusot in France. They are reaping the results of having bought the very latest and newest type of weapon and ammunition, and German adventurers have taught the Yellow Man as well as Frenchmen have taught the Boers how to use them, and curiously enough the first victim was the German Ambassador.

"This is the cruel irony of fate, and the logical result of a commercial system which recognises no national or moral principle in the sale of any article of commerce, whether be the best cannon or the worst gin. The natural consequence is that the chances of peace in the Twentieth Century seem to be growing small by degrees and beautifully less."

The degrees by which the prospects for peace are diminishing are large and rapid, but the beauty of the situation is not apparent.

The Lord is speaking of the condition of the world when "the Redeemer shall come to Zion," and especially addressing those "that turn from transgression in Jacob," says: "Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." Isa. ix, 2. To them the harbingers of the approaching storm are only evidences of the "good time coming," and so they cry "Peace and safety." Then it is that "sudden destruction cometh upon them. . . and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. v. 3.

August 9, 1900

"Front Page" The Present Truth 16, 32.

E. J. Waggoner

How many hundreds of thousands of people have sung the words accompanying this beautiful picture, and still sing them, and will continue to sing them! There is inspiration in them. As you sing them, are they the outpouring of your own heart, or are they mere words that you read from a book, or that you have learned to repeat parrot-like? If it is the latter, then the singing is but empty sound, with no worship in it: if you sing the words with the Spirit and with the understanding,-if they come from your heart, expressing your own feelings,-then the son is as pure worship of God as is the song of the lark, or of the angels in heaven.

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Can it be so, that these words are not mere figures of speech? That we may really see the river of God, and sit by it, and drink of its clear water? Most certainly. Whoever worships only figuratively, whether it be in song or prayer or anything else, is still under the old covenant, with the veil still remaining over his heart. When one turns to the Lord, there is a removing of the veil: that which is figurative and unreal passes away, and we have to do only with Divine realities. How strange it is that people will talk about the figurative, shadowy worship of the Jews of old, and will discourse fluently of how the "old dispensation has passed away, and that we no longer worship God under forms and shadows, no longer have a figurative sanctuary, and yet will use words in their songs and prayers that they do not expect to be taken literally. It is a sad fact that, although the way into the Holiest is open, few who profess to worship the Lord come really into His temple, to His living throne, where they can see the "pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." There are few who really see God, yet the sight is for all who are purified by living faith; and certainly every one who can see God can see the river of life that proceeds from Him.

"He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field, the wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watereth the hills from His chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy works." Ps. civ. 10-13. "Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it; Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; Thou poreparest them corn, when Thou hast so provided it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; Thou settlest the furrows thereof; Thou makest it soft with showers; Thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness; and Thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness; and the little hills rejoice on every side."

Read these two passages of Scripture, and you cannot help seeing that the only meaning that there is in them is that the earth is watered from the river of God, the river of water of life, that proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Every day God is pouring out upon the earth the blessings of heaven, blessings direct from Himself, and is pouring out Himself and His free Spirit in the gift of life, yet people do not know it. They repeat the words that declare it, and yet are unconscious of it. If all the professed people of God but really believed that which they profess, the whole world would be transformed for them, and would in very deed soon become entirely new.

There are things to be seen that these natural eyes of our body cannot discern. With these eyes we cannot see God, for they are but physical, and spiritual things are spiritually discerned; but we are to be spiritual now and here, before we receive spiritual bodies, and so are to be able to discern spiritual things. With our natural eyes we can see the springs of water coming from the rocks in the mountains, or gushing out of the earth in the plain; but when we use the reason that God has given us, we know that the earth is not the real source of that water. Whence does the water come, that we see springing forth so pure and refreshing from the rock? The answer is given in the Bible, and if we really thought, we should know it without being told. When the children of Israel were in the desert, and were famishing for water, God told Moses to smite the rock in Horeb, the dry place, and as he did so, water gushed forth and ran like a river. The rock itself had no water, but the Lord stood upon it, and the people "drank of that spiritual Rock that went with them; and that Rock was Christ." 1 Cor. x. 4. He is the producer of all things. From Him everything comes. The water that we drink day by day comes from Him as directly as does the river of water of life that John saw, and is in reality but the overflow from it. If we believe this simple truth, and know that we drink only of the river of life, we shall have new life day by day, and that daily life will be the life of heaven. Only so can we live pure, Christian lives.

We must consciously receive the life of the Lord, and then we shall allow Him to direct it in His own way. Then will He see to it that our ways are right. But we must remember that the life has been perverted and put to base uses, and that therefore it is necessary for us to be careful that we take the life in its purity, "fresh from the throne of glory." See in the picture how the different persons are eagerly taking the water. Many are scooping it up from the stream that runs along on the ground; but one is not satisfied

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with that. He is holding his vessel high up, to catch the water just as it issues from the rock, before it comes in contact with the earth. Even so should we do all the time. In the case in the desert there was not room for all at one time to take the water just as it gushed forth; but all can come at one and the same time to the throne of grace, and all can take the life that is given, before it is defiled by the curse. We cannot afford to be indifferent in this matter. God gives His life to us by various means, and under various forms-in food and drink and light and air, as well as by the Holy Spirit aside from any of these agencies; end in taking these gifts of God we should be most solicitous to receive them directly from His hand. We must see that we get the life in the simplest and purest possible form, before it has been loaded with the curse. Our diligence and care in this respect will indicate and be the measure of our desire to receive the Holy Spirit, which seals us children of the Everlasting Father.

"Sight for the Blind. John ix. 1-17" The Present Truth 16, 32.

E. J. Waggoner

(John ix. 1-17.)

The student who confines his study to the verses indicated as forming the lesson, will lose a great deal, for some of the most striking features of the narrative are in the latter portion of the chapter. In our study, therefore, we shall proceed as though the entire chapter were included in the lesson.

The story is very simple, and easily learned. Jesus was passing by, and saw a man who had been blind from his birth. The disciples, full of the native childish curiosity that delights in the speculative rather than the practical, asked Him, "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" It was obvious enough to anybody who thought instead of wondered, that the man was not born blind in consequence of anything that he himself had done, and Jesus said that it was not because of any special sin on the part of his parents, but in order that the works of God should be made manifest in him. Then adding that He must do the works of Him that sent Him while it was day, and that He was the Light of the world, He moistened some clay and anointed the eyes of the man with it, telling him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam; the man did as he was told, and came back seeing.

How many who road this narrative realise that it is the true account of something that actually happened? To most of us, as we read the story of the various miracles of Jesus, they are more stories, and, while we nominally believe them, the events recorded are so very far away from us, and so lost in the haze of the distance, that it is almost if not quite the same to us as though they never happened at all. Our minds do not take hold of them as real occurrences, and we should be most surprised if we should see anything of the kind take place now. People do not expect miracles, and yet they are the ordinary working of God, and are being performed before our eyes every day.

That miracles, even such as the opening of the eyes of the blind, are the ordinary work of God, is shown by the words of Jesus, just before He opened the eyes of the blind man, and with reference to that event: "I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day." To open the eyes of the blind is one of the ordinary works of God, and He is constantly at it. This man was born blind. That is, his eyes remained after his birth in the same condition that they were before he was born. Every child, as well as every other animal, has eyes before coming into the would as a separate being, yet it cannot see. Its eyes are closed. When it comes forth to the light, the same miracle is wrought on it that was wrought on this man, for whom it was not performed at the usual time. In his case God had delayed the process, in order that people might see that the opening of peoples' eyes is the result of special action on His part, and not of chance, or what people call "nature." This is what the lesson teaches us, and if we learn it and remember it, we shall have something of great value.

"In Him we live, and move, and have our being." There is no life and no living except in Him, and nobody can see except in and by Him, for He is light, and He is all the light that there is. Jesus is set forth as the revelation, the manifestation, of the Father, and therefore He is the Light of the world. He is the Word of life that was in the beginning, and was manifested unto us (1 John i. 1, 2), and this life is the light of men. John i. 1. From the statement that Jesus is the light of the world, coupled with the fact that immediately after saying it He demonstrated it by giving a blind man his sight, enabling him to see as other men, we learn that the light that greets our eyes every morning, and that, shines in the sun and moon and stars, is nothing else than the light of the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ. If we do not recognise this truth, we are, walking in the light as though we were in the midst of darkness; we are blind. God is everywhere, filling heaven and earth, and if we do not see Him, it is simply because we are blind. We have eyes, but, they are of no real use to us. "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John i. 5, 7, But whosoever lacks faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly-kindness, and love, "is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." 2 Peter i. 9. Compare the preceding verses. Whoever remains in sin is as blind as the man was of whom we are studying. Every heathen, that is, every one who does not recognise and worship the Lord, is as blind as the images of silver and gold in which he trusts. See Ps. cxv. 2-8.

The change from sin to righteousness is a new birth, and is analagous to the first birth, by which we come into the world. When a child is born into the world, it is a new creature, yet so common is the occurrence, that few ever think of the mystery of it. Nobody in the world can understand the mystery of life, the mystery of birth, but all believe in it; yet at the same time most people have no faith in the new birth, by which a man becomes a new creature. Both births are accomplished by the same power, and one is really no more mysterious than the other; both are equally beyond the power of human comprehension. The same power that gives us our life in the first place, and that renews it day by day, has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness. "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things," and He gives all things, even all things that pertain to everlasting life and godliness, in the gift of life that is bestowed on all men. The free gift has come upon all; but few will acknowledge that they are blind, and so they never see. Christ is anointed "to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind" (Luke iv. 18), and He does this

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work by the same power by which He upholds all things. The proof that a man can be born of God, and can be made free from sin, is found in the fact that we live, and see the light of day.

"But," some one will say, "you are confusing the spiritual and the natural." No; we are doing nothing of the kind. The perfectly natural, that is, the nature which is perfect, is spiritual. The exceeding great and precious promises of God are given unto us that by them we might be "partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter i. 4. The Divine nature is spiritual, for God is Spirit, and the only real, perfect man is the man who has that nature. Having that nature, we discern spiritual things,-we see God. Without that nature, we see nothing, but are in reality dead. The miracles of Jesus that are recorded "are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John xx. 31. But life through Christ means sight, and perfect sight means the ability to recognise God in everything. If as we read the Bible, its words were real to us,-if we did not read them as in a dream,-we should have the perfect life of the Lord; for His Word is Spirit and life. Whoever studies this lesson and does not see that which he never saw before, who does not see and experience the life and light that are eternal, has studied to no profit. These things are not written merely in order that we may fill up a vacant hour, or that we may learn a few things merely as matters of history, but that we might have present, eternal life. Are you really studying the lesson?

To every man who becomes a real man in Christ Jesus, there comes a change as real and as great as that which came to the poor man of whom our lesson tells. People who have not had this experience think that they see as much as anybody, and they will not believe those who tell them of things not seen by the eyes of our body. Never having seen spiritual things, they do not believe that such things exist. But when they accept Jesus, the light of the world, they can say, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." We never become really conscious of our blindness until we see, and strange as it may seem, we cannot continue to see except as we remember and acknowledge that we are in ourselves blind. That is, we see only in the Lord.

The man who is spiritually blind, and therefore really blind, thinks that he sees as well as anybody else; but the man who in Christ receives his sight, knows that he sees, and no cross-questioning or brow-beating by skeptical philosophers can shake his testimony. "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen." Do you believe? then you can see. Do not wait to see before you believe, for it is not true, as commonly asserted, that "seeing is believing;" on the contrary, believing is seeing. But remember this, that as long as you say concerning any truth of God,-anything that is spoken of in the Bible,-"I cannot see it," you acknowledge yourself to be blind, and are therefore not competent to be a judge of anything spiritual. Such an one needs to be taught. But he who has received from the Lord the eyesalve, and whose eyes have been anointed that he may see, needs not that any man should teach him. 1 John ii. 20, 27. That is to say, although we are all in need of more knowledge, and may learn from everybody and everything, when we have once received the light of the Lord, we are capable of discerning between truth and error, between right and wrong, and do not need to ask anybody whether or not that which we see is real. Such assurance as this is most blessed. "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun."

"Every duty we omit obscures some truth we should have known."

"Children's Corner. The Voice Upon the Waters" The Present Truth 16, 32.

E. J. Waggoner

A little while ago we told you about the birth of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. We told you that the word "Genesis" means "the birth," and that this book tells of "the generation" or birth of all things when they were brought forth by the great Creator. "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is."

It was His word, His mighty Voice, that produced the great world of water. "When He uttereth His voice there is a multitude of waters in the heavens." And that which produced it still controls and rules it. "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea."

"The Voice of the Lord is upon the waters." His Spirit is still moving upon the face of the deep, and the power of His life, that fills all things, works in it His own will. He holds the waters in the hollow of His hand, so no depth can separate us from Him.

"If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even then shall Thy hand lead me.
And Thy right hand shall hold me."

You remember how Jonah once took ship and tried to hide from God upon His waters of the great deep. But the Lord let him be out right into the midst of the angry waters, and carried down into the depths. He said:

"The deep was round about me;
The weeds was wrapped about my head.
I went down to the bottom of the mountains."

This was to teach him that even there the Lord was right with him, and that it was impossible to flee from His presence.

In the beginning the mighty Voice of God upon the waters gathered them all together, and "shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth." There are many most beautiful and majestic passages of Scriptures referring to this. Find out as many of them as you can while you are at the seaside this year, and in sight of the mighty waters they will have now power and meaning to you.

This Voice not only was, but still is upon this waters. If it should cease to speak to them, we should be swallowed up like the hosts of Egypt when the Voice of God let go the waters of the Red Sea, after all His own people had safely reached the shore.

So our experience every day is really just as wonderful as that of the Israelites when they walked through the waters on dry land. It is the Voice of God to-day just as much as then, that keeps the people from being overwhelmed by the waters of the great deep.

Jesus showed the power of His voice over the waters, when He spoke to the angry Sea of Galilee, and

"The wild winds hushed, the angry deep
Sank like a little child to sleep;
The sullen billows ceased to leap."

There is another way in which this mighty Voice is still working in the waters. For after gathering them together and calling them "Seas," God spoke to the waters, saying: "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that both life." And in obedience to His Voice, "the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind," "great whales, and every living creature that moveth."

The Psalmist tells us that in "the great and wide sea" are "things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts." There is not a drop of the waters of the sea that is not filled with life,-with living creatures so small that they can be seen by us only with the microscope, and many that cannot be seen at all. These are all brought forth by the power of the abiding Word, the Voice that is upon the waters, filling them to-day with life, as in the beginning.

Everything in the sea is brought forth from the waters themselves, and there is in the water all that they need to sustain their life. Some time we hope to tell you man about the things in the sea, and then you will in more clearly how this is.

Once more the Voice of God will speak to the waters, when He shall come to gather His children. For the seas contain something that is very precious to Him,-their cruel waters have swallowed up many of His loved ones. But not one of these will be lost, for the sea shall give up the dead which are in it.

He who caused the great fish that had swallowed Jonah to cast him forth upon the dry land, will make the hungry waters restore all that they have swallowed, and

"The million that sleep in the mighty deep
Shall live on the earth once more."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 32.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Prince of Wales has received the honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons.

-The outlook in Manchuria and Siberia is very serious. There is a general irruption of Chinese in all parts, and the Russians are meeting with great difficulties.

-At New Orleans, U.S.A., on the 25th ult., a serious anti-negro outbreak occurred, mobs of armed men parading the streets, and shouting, "Death to the niggers!" The negroes were hunted down, and savagely beaten, five being killed and fifteen badly injured. The excuse for the insane outbreak was the shooting of two policemen by a negro desperado.

-The steamer Deutschland, of the Hamburg-American Line, the second largest steamer afloat, being exceeded in size only by the White Star steamer Oceanic, has made a record trip both in crossing and in recrossing the Atlantic. The outward voyage from Plymouth was made in five days, fourteen hours, six minutes, although fog was encountered the last three days, the longest day's run was 536 miles.

-So much coal is being shipped from Great Britain to the Continent, especially to France and Russia, that fears of a shortage at home are entertained. Hundreds of tons daily are entering the ports of France, and the growing opinion that this is in view of a possible war, when it may be used against the country from which it comes, is leading to a demand that the Government interfere and put a stop to the wholesale export of coal. Russia has an order of 140,000 tons of Cardiff coal to be delivered in the Black Sea before the end of the year.

-An Imperial Chinese Edict, dated July 17, states that the origin of the present conflict in China was the long-standing antagonism of the people to Christians and their missions.

-While the increase in the price of coal affects everybody, very few will be at all troubled over the announcement that diamonds are about 40 per cent. higher than they were three or four years ago.

-On the occasion of the French President's visit to Cherbourg, 24,800 cannon shots were fired. As each shot costs about ?4, nearly ?100,000 was expended in a very short time in smoke and noise.

-Another attempt to swim the English Channel from Dover to Calais was made July 24, but the swimmer was forced to give up after being in the water four hours and three-quarters, and swimming fourteen miles.

-The Supplementary Estimates to meet the costs of the war in South Africa, and the expenditure in connection with the trouble in China have been issued, the House of Commons being asked to vote the sum of ?11,500,000. The revised total of the Army Estimates is now given at ?76,309,153.

-A Consular report on the Argentine Republic tells of the enormous and systematic destruction of locusts in that country. No less than twelve thousand tons of locusts were destroyed last year under the direction of a commission appointed for that purpose, and as a result the wheat and maize crops were exceptionally large.

-From all parts of the country, reports of heat so intense that in many districts, particularly South Lincolnshire, the grazing prospects are assuming a most serious aspect. The pastures are becoming scorched, and owing to the scarcity of grass farmers are sending large supplies of stock to market.

-The famine in the extreme south of Italy is assuming an alarming aspect. So intense is the destitution among the peasantry that the higher ecclesiastical authorities have ordered all the shrines in the churches to be stripped of their jewels and other precious ornaments, which are to be sold for the benefit of the poor.

-Six chairs of the style of Louis XIV. have just been sold for the enormous price of ?20,000. They are upholstered in the famous Gobelin tapestry, and were made specially for Marie Antoinette. While this extravagant price was paid for chairs on which nobody will ever sit, there are thousands who are scarcely able to buy the meanest chair on which to sit down.

-It is stated by those who know the situation, that "London is on the eve of the most serious coal famine of modern times. The head of one of the greatest coal combinations said that he would gladly buy a quarter of a million tons at the rates of two months ago, but the coal is not to be had. His statement is, "If trade increases as at present, if the demand goes on as now, and if in the early winter the railways get blocked with other goods traffic for any time, it is impossible to say how high prices will go, say that they will be almost unthinkable."

-After the capture of the native city of Tientzin by the allied forces, it was given up to pillage, and a terrific time ensued. It is reported that the Government stores contained over 600 tons of silver, and the rich embroideries, costly furs, silks, etc., were thickly strewn in the streets; but this was of no consequence by the side of the indiscriminate slaughter. The carnage was most hideous in the quarters assailed by the Russians, who showed no mercy, bayonetting all, regardless of age or sex. The slaughter is said to have been frightful.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 32.

E. J. Waggoner

Read this: "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages." Eph. iii. 20.

Read also that He "is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Jude 24.

With this read: "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?" (Jer. xxxii, 27), and add to it the statement by Jesus Christ, that God has given Him power over all flesh. John xvii. 2.

Let every reader consider these words well, and say deliberately whether he believes them or not. Do you believe that God can do all things even in human flesh? Do you believe that Jesus Christ has power over all flesh, so that perfect and everlasting righteousness may be wrought in it? In short, do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? If you say that you do; then why are you not saved from sin? Can you tell?

If you believe that God can do all things, even to saving the weakest soul from sinning, and yet are not yourself saved from it, there can be only one of two reasons for it: Either God is not willing to do it, or you are not willing to have Him do it. Which is it? You dare not deliberately say that God is not willing, for that would be worse than to say that He is not able. To have the power to save one from death, and not to be willing to save him, is to be guilty of the crime of murder. It is heartless disregard of life. You dare not charge that upon God. He shows the untruthfulness of such a charge by giving us "life, and breath, and all things." Then if you are not saved, it must be that you love sin rather than righteousness, and so love death rather than life. "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" Choose life, and it is yours.

The Boers state that their plan of campaign is to maintain guerilla warfare until the Presidential election in America in November, as they have been promised intervention if the Democrats are successful.

The aggregate income of English Churchmen amounts to so large a sum that, according to Prebendary Ingram, if the Scriptural plan of giving one-tenth of one's income were adopted by them, no lees than eighty million pounds a year would pour into the coffers of the church.

During the past five years England has supplied to the Chinese Empire "190 field and position guns, with over 60,000 rounds of ammunition, and 297 machine guns, with 4,228,400 rounds." Germany has also been supplying arms and ammunition, and English and German officers have been teaching the Chinese how to use them. Who can wonder when the pupil seeks to put his lessons into practice?

"'Base Treachery'" The Present Truth 16, 32.

E. J. Waggoner

The following from the Daily Mail's special correspondent at Shanghai, which appeared in the issue of July 27, under the heading which we have also quoted, is a most striking, although unwitting confirmation of the charges that have been made as to the relation of some professed Christian missionaries to the troubles in China:

Upon the outbreak of trouble at Mukden the bishop there armed about 200 converts to defend the cathedral, and repelled the attack of the Boxers for some time, killing three of them.

A body of troops were sent to protect the Christians, but the soldiers were in league with the Boxers, and while the Christians were holding service, believing themselves safe under the protection of the troops, a signal was given and soldiers and rebels surrounded the church, set fire to it, and put the escaping inmates to the sword.

The only ground on which the action of the Chinese in this instance can be called "base treachery," is that it is unfair for an enemy to retaliate in war. But that is the very essence of war. It is true that the "Christians" were holding service at the time they were attacked, but it must be remembered that they had converted the cathedral into a fort, which they were defending with arms; and who ever heard that it was called treachery in war for an armed force to attack an enemy's fort at any time, even though the occupants chanced to be at prayer? the fact that the bishop had armed his followers, gave the Chinese the right to consider them as always prepared to resist attack. Everybody must deplore the loss of life that occurs in all these affairs, but pity for the fallen and sympathy for their friends must not becloud our judgment as to the facts.

It will be observed that the worshippers in the cathedral believed themselves to be safe under the protection of the troops, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." If they had been trusting in the Lord, the result would assuredly have been different. But this trust is a far-reaching thing; it is not something for special occasions. It is not a matter of mere words, but it is the manifestation of that which is within, the result of personal acquaintance with the Lord. Those who are accustomed to trust the Lord all the time, will trust Him in times of war. We do not say that armed men are never permitted to slaughter people who put their whole trust in God; but we do say that they cannot do it unless God permits them to do it, and it will be for His glory and the salvation of some souls, and in that case there cannot be any talk about avenging their death. Christ said that they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. There is so much confusion in the minds of men, that there needs to be a clear and plain statement as to the difference between the course of the true Christian and that of the worldling in any given case.

"Pagan Britain" The Present Truth 16, 32.

E. J. Waggoner

Pagan Britain .-In a recent work, the Rev. S. Baring-Gould points out that there is more of pre-Christian Paganism surviving among the British people, and of usages condemned by the Catholic, Church, than of any practices recommended by it. He instances in particular the Midsummer bonfires, the November soul-cakes, the Yule-log, the "sin-eating" at funerals, and other provincial folkcustoms, which are purely and absolutely heathen survivals. He says: "The only prayers used by tens of thousands-only now very slowly being driven out by the Lord's Prayer, or being abandoned because all prayer is given up-are not a Catholic reminiscence at all, but an heretical one condemned by the Papal Church."

August 16, 1900

"The Good Shepherd. John x. 1-16" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

The central thought in this lesson is that it contained in verse 11, the Golden Text, "I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." But the shepherd cannot be considered apart from the flock, and therefore we will first pay a little attention to the sheep that are the objects of the good Shepherd's care.

When the Apostle Paul had assembled the elders of the church at Ephesus, and was giving them his last charge, he said, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which He hath purchased with His own blood." Acts xx. 28. Here we see that the church of God is the flock. In harmony with this, the Apostle Peter says: "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Peter v. 1-4.

Christ, the good Shepherd, stands and calls to His flock. His voice sounds through all the world, and He calls "whosoever will," to come. He says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John x. 27. The whole human family are rightly the flock of God. "Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Ps. c. 3. "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart." Ps. xcv. 6, 7. But we are lost sheep, for "all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Isa. liii. 6. Therefore it is that the Lord stands and calls to all the world. "The lost sheep of the house of Israel" are all who wandering

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in sin. Jesus showed this, when He said, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and immediately afterwards granted the request of the poor, heathen woman. "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke xix. 10), and He came to save the world. John. iii. 17. The whole world therefore composes the rightful flock of the Lord; but whether they will continue to be really His sheep or not depends on whether or not they will hear His voice, and follow Him. "I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. And as for you, O My flock, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats."

The word "church" in the New Testament is from a compound Greek word which means called out. It is not a translation of that word, but is the word by which the translators concealed the force of the text. We have read that the church and the flock of God are identical. We have also read that the good Shepherd stands and calls, and that those who hear His voice, and come to Him, constitute His real flock. They are "the called out." They are the congregation of the Lord, and this is the word that should be read instead of the word "church." All who heed the voice of the good Shepherd, come to Him; but as they all come to Him, they must necessarily flock together. So here we have the Shepherd and His flock.

And now as to the character of the good Shepherd. "The good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." It is not necessary to quote the remainder of this familiar psalm. But contrast with this description of the good Shepherd the course of the unfaithful shepherds, the under shepherds whom the Chief Shepherd has placed as watchers for the welfare of the flock: "Woe be to the shepherds of Israel, that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flock? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and cruelty have ye ruled them." Eze. xxxiv. 2-4. The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep, but the unfaithful shepherd, the hireling, not only runs away and leaves the flock, when he sees the wolf coming, but he himself eats up the flock. God does not devour His sheep, but feeds them with His own body.

The characteristic of a true shepherd is gentleness and unselfish devotion. David, the type of Christ, said: "Thy servant kept his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth." 1 Samuel xvii. 34, 35. But if the shepherd protected the sheep from the beast of prey, only that he might have them to eat for himself, where is the unselfishness? Wherein is he then better than the beast of prey? Taking the matter in its most literal sense, we see that God has placed all the lower creation under the rower of man, not that he should live from them, but that he should care for them, and protect the weak. The course of the Model Shepherd with His flock shows us that all that are placed within our power, whether it be man or beast, are to be protected and benefited by us, and not to be subjected to our selfish desires. In placing man at this head of creation, and placing everything in subjection to him,-"all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field,"-God has taken man into partnership with Himself, and given him the opportunity of developing Divine characteristics. To care for the feeble, to protect the weak, is the work of God, and just to the extent that man becomes Godlike will he do the same to every living creature.

This is not at all apart from the subject of the lesson; for although we are the sheep of the Lord's pasture, we are also in our turn to be shepherds. Christ, the Chief Shepherd, is the Lamb of God, that beareth the sin of the world. Therefore it is not at all incongruous that the members of the flock should also be under shepherds. Indeed, He chooses out of the flock some to be under shepherds of the remainder of the flock; for the elders or bishops of the congregation are members of the congregation. Now the quality of mercy is not strained. The kind and tender shepherd if not partial in the exercise of his goodness. "The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works." Ps. cxlv. 9. "The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed." Ps. ciii. 6. "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matt. v. 45. "He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil." Luke vi. 35. "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep; O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast." Ps. xxxvi. 6. Here we see that the saving mercy of the Lord to man is coupled with His mercy to the beasts. His care for the dumb animals, and for the birds, is given as proof of His solicitude for us. In like manner, therefore, the people who have that real mercy in their hearts, which will lead them to be benefactors of their fellow-men, will be kind to every creature that God has made. It is this characteristic that shows our union with the Divine. "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves." "For even Christ pleased not Himself." Rom. xv. 1, 3. The goodness of a man is not shown by his attitude towards the strong and agreeable, but towards the weak and disagreeable. He who is fitted to be one of the Lord's under shepherds, will therefore be gentle to all, even to the most insignificant creature.

Christ is the good Shepherd, and He is an example to the flock, just as the under shepherds are exhorted to be. He gave Himself for the flock; therefore all His flock are to give themselves for others. "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John iv. 16. But it is not alone for those who are recognised as our brethren, that we are to give our service. Just as God chooses some out of His flock, to be shepherds over the rest, so He has set the whole flock,-all who have heard His voice, and have come out,-to act in the capacity of those who have not yet heard and obeyed. He has still other sheep that are not yet of this flock, and them must He bring; and to this end He commissions every one who has received the word of reconciliation. The Gospel is not one-sided. It is not merely for our salvation; but God makes known His love to us, in order that we may in turn make it known to others.

There is power in the love of the Lord. He is great, and He is love, so that His greatness is the measure of His love and

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gentleness. When He comes to deliver His people from the roaring lion that walks about, seeking whom he may devour, it is with such power that the heavens and the earth are shaken, and moved from their place; yet that mighty exhibition of power is but the manifestation of His tender love. "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Isa. xl. 10, 11. But the oldest person on earth is in comparison with the Lord but an infant, and so the Lord says: "Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by Me from the belly, which are carried from the womb; and even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear, even I will carry, and I will deliver." Isa. xlvi. 3, 4. There is hope and comfort for all in Him who has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

"E'en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love:
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples
adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be
borne."

"Self-Control Divine Control" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

Self-Control Divine Control .-Self-control, if it be genuine, is nothing else than control of self by the Spirit of God. "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Man is but dust, with no power in himself. The attempt to take the reins of government into one's own hands always results in confusion, disorder, and shame. God alone has power, and He alone can rightly rule. This is acknowleged by every one who says, "Thine is the kingdom." Do not imagine that this means the giving up of one's manhood. Far from it; it is just the reverse; for the indwelling of God's Spirit is necessary to true manhood. Only in Christ is there a perfect man. The possession of the Divine Spirit, being made partaker of the Divine nature, is that which makes one really a man-that which God can recognise as a man. We are creatures of God, and are made to be instruments of His will, and only as His will is done in us as it is done in heaven do we meet the object of our existence The greatest measure of power is therefore experienced in perfect submission.

"Sinning Wilfully" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

"If we sin wilfully after that we have I received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and of fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Heb. x. 26, 27.

How much trouble many sincere souls have unnecessarily made themselves over these words. By what perverseness of humanity so many are determined to make out the worst case possible for themselves, and not to hope in the Lord until hope is forced upon them, we cannot understand; for it seems as though a perishing soul would always seize eagerly upon even the slightest thing that offered support. It is said that a drowning man will catch at a straw, and therefore it must be that many who mournfully bewail their sins do not have a real sense of sinking into the bottomless pit, or else they would not pass by the abundance of "exceeding great and precious promises," by which they may become partakers of the Divine nature, to dwell upon some text which can he made to sound as though it told that God had wearied of mercy.

The very common idea of this text is that if anybody commits sin, knowing that it is sin, he can have no hope of pardon. If that were true it would cut off all men from salvation; for there is no person in the world, who has come to years of understanding, who has not at some time done that which he knew was not right. How many there are who have long fought with conviction, resisting the movings of the Holy Spirit, until at last they have yielded, and have found peace by believing. It must not be thought that it is a light matter to resist the strivings of the Spirit of God, or that one can go on in sin at pleasure, trusting to some future time to find a more convenient season for repentance; but we must set before every soul the exceeding great goodness and longsuffering of our God, even though some take advantage of it to their ruin. Only the goodness of God can lead men to repentance.

The Bible is full of instances of God's mercy to the very worst offenders. Take the history of the children of Israel. "Their heart was not right with Him, neither were they steadfast in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not; yea, many a time turned He His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath. For He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again." Ps. lxxviii. 37-39. A thousand cases could not make any more plain the fact that God forgives people again and again for the same sin.

Did not Peter know that it was wrong to curse and swear? Moreover, did he not know that it was wrong to lie, and above all to deny his Lord? Yet he found forgiveness.

The third chapter of Jeremiah recounts the repeated transgressions of Israel in the face of God's manifested presence, yet in the same connection we read: "Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not cause Mine anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever." Verse 12.

Read the entire book of Hosea. It is simply one record of apostasy and departure from God. No language is too strong to describe the abominable idolatries of the people who had seen the glory of God in the sanctuary, yet the book closes with the most tender appeals to them to return and be saved. "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord; say unto Him, take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously;" and the promise is, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love freely; for Mine anger is turned away

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from him." What more could the Lord say than that?

On one occasion Peter came to the Lord, and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven." Matt. xviii. 21, 22. Still more: "Take heed to yourselves; if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." Luke xvii. 3, 4. Mind, it does not say if the brother is deeply repentant; with that we have nothing to do; we may not inquire into motives; but if he merely says, "I repent," no matter how lightly the words may be spoken, we must forgive him. And do you think that the Master expects mortals to be better than their Lord? Nay, for it is only by the grace and mercy of the Lord bestowed upon us, that we are able to forgive anybody who trespasses against us. Therefore we know that no matter how often we have sinned against God, He will freely forgive us; and even if we have committed the game sin seven times in a day, we may turn to Him the seventh time, sure of finding His loving arms open to receive us. What a merciful Father is our God! "The longsuffering of our God is salvation."

But what shall we say of the verse with which we started? It stands just the same as before, in spite of all the things that we have read elsewhere. True enough; but it does not contradict what God has said as to His longsuffering, and His forbearance with sinners. The trouble is that those who read Heb. x. 26, 27 do not read farther. Read the verses first quoted, and then continue: "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace?" Heb. x. 28, 29. Here we have an explanation of what is meant by sinning wilfully. It is not the commission of an ordinary sin,-it is, indeed, not the commission of any particular act of sin,-but it is the deliberate and wilful rejection of the means of salvation from sin. It is this act by one who knows what he is doing. It is the turning away from God, by one who has been sanctified through the truth, and who has therefore known it thoroughly; it is the deliberate rejection of the Saviour by one who has had communion with Him, and who has tasted the blessedness of the fellowship of the Spirit. After all this, he turns from it all, tramples the Son of God under foot, counts the precious blood of Christ an unholy thing, and denies its power to save, and boldly chooses sin instead of righteousness. How can there be for him any more sacrifice for sin? God has no other Son to offer for sinners, for He has given His only begotten Son, and in Him has given Himself. All heaven was emptied in that gift, and he who deliberately and with set purpose rejects it, especially after having known all about it, has nothing to look forward to but everlasting destruction. It is a fearful thing to contemplate.

It is not for any mortal to say when that fatal step has been taken. We are never justified in saying that any person has committed the unpardonable sin. We can never say that a person has had all the light that God is willing to give him. We may have presented the truth to him as faithfully as we knew how, and yet we may not be the instruments through whom the clear knowledge of the truth can come to that one. Our words may have been to him empty sounds, and may have fallen upon dazed ears; afterwards some other person may come with a very simple tale, and the light may flash upon him. Or it may be that the words that we have spoken may come to him later on with force that they did not have when we uttered them. Therefore we are never to despair of anybody nor to give them up as hopelessly lost. If we had lived in the days of Saul of Tarsus we should doubtless have said that he was incorrigible, since he had heard Stephen's dying testimony when full of the Spirit; but God had not given Saul up, although he was fighting against Him.

But there is more for us in the text we are studying. There is infinite comfort in it. What does it teach us?-Simply this: that there is no sin that cannot be pardoned if we are willing to be pardoned. "Whosoever shall call ripen the name of the Lord shall be saved." Rom. x. 13. There is no exception. No matter what sin one has committed, nor how often it has been repeated, if he will but call upon the name of the Lord, salvation is his. The only condition of forgiveness is to accept it; what more could anybody ask; forgiveness is impossible only for him who deliberately refuses it. What more could God say to sinners of every class and degree than He has said?

We are not afraid that this teaching will lead men to continue in their sins. Its natural effect is exactly the opposite. When one sees Christ crucified for him, and knows that the gracious sacrifice was for him alone, the deeps of his sinful nature are broken up, and he can but love the One who has so loved him, and, loving Him, he will henceforth dread above all things to grieve Him. If he falls into sin, he knows that "He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself," and the everlasting love of the Redeemer draws him back. Only in deliberately turning away, and refusing to be drawn back to Him who is lifted up, is there no more sacrifice for sin. That is, there is no more sacrifice only when the one sacrifice is despised and rejected.

"Though I forget Him, and wander away,
Still He doth love me wherever I stray;
Back to His dear, loving arms would I flee,
When I remember that Jesus loves me."

"I am so glad that Jesus loves me, even me!" are not you?

"How to Gain a Knowledge of the Bible" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

Again and again the writer is met with the request, "Tell me how to study the Bible." Unfortunately this request too often really means, "Tell me how to get a knowledge of the Bible without study," and as the thing cannot be done, the enquirers make no advancement.

The first and most essential requisite to acquiring a knowledge of the Bible is an intense, burning desire to know what it contains, and to understand it. With this, anybody can get a knowledge of the Bible, without being told how; for the Lord has said: "If thou criest after knowledge, and Iiftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." But "wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?"

It is absolutely impossible for anybody to become a Bible student, unless he feels that he must understand it. If one has lighted on a portion of Scripture which baffles him, and yet which he is sure contains a treasure of great value to him, and his desire to understand it will give him

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no rest, the problem is half solved. Let him hold that portion continually in his mind. Look at it from all sides. Get perfectly familiar with every event that is even remotely referred to in it and with every other portion of Scripture which is suggested by it, so that the mind's eye can take in all at a glance. Dwell upon every word, examining it minutely to see why it was written, and how it is related to every other word. Study the verses in their order until they are as indelibly impressed upon your mind as is the way to your place of business. You will know them so well that you could say them without thinking; but since you have got that familiarity with them only by thinking and not by parrot-like repetition, you will not be able to repeat them without being made to think. Think of them the last thing at night and the first thing in the morning, and as you walk or ride by the way.

If you read any other language than the English, by all means use that as well. Read the text in every language that you possibly can, and make use of every reliable translation, so that you get and combine in one view all the possible shades of meaning of each word. Do this with earnest, humble prayer to Him who gives wisdom to those who lack, and the result will exceed your highest expectations. Not all at once will the knowledge come; but at intervals as long as you live, light will flash forth from the text which once seemed so dull and uninteresting, and you will never wonder whether it was worth all the trouble.

"Contending for the Faith" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

An editorial writer in the English Churchman says:-

I give it as my own opinion that if we are to defeat the Romanising conspiracy of this time, Protestant Churchmen must make a "bigger row" than ever they have done before. Our religion is "first pure, then peaceable," and he who thinks we are going to win without a "big row" is labouring under a grave delusion. We are going forward to times of war, not of peace. The dread of "a row" has hitherto been one of the greatest curses or the Evangelical party, and the sooner we get rid of that dread the better it will be. We must contend earnestly for the faith, no matter what disturbances may arise. The way to lasting peace is often through wars.

There are too many who have this mistaken idea of what it means to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," thinking that it means quarrel over dogmas. But "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" does not consist of dogmas, but is the life of Jesus, by which the world is overcome and the only contention that we can possibly have in order to maintain it is against the devil. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in heavenly places." The idea that "the faith" can be preserved by any warlike proceedings whatever, is purely Papal. Nobody can preserve anybody else's faith, and he cannot preserve his own by fighting, or engaging in controversy. There may often be war before peace, but peace is never the result of war. "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God," but "the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." "There is no peace to the wicked, saith my God," and so where there is no peace there is no righteousness. "The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men."

"A Belated Appointment" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

A Belated Appointment .-The Papal authorities have just issued a decree declaring the Venerable Bede to be a Doctor of the Universal Church. As the Venerable Bede died nearly thirteen hundred years ago, it looks to the onlooker as though the honour comes too late to be of any practical benefit, and might as well have been omitted altogether. And yet the degree will do him just as much good now as it could possibly have done him if bestowed in his lifetime. The granting of degrees, by which one is authorised to write two or more letters after his name, is one of the trifles with which learned men amuse themselves and show that they are but children of a larger growth.

"Read and Write" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

There is something more than sarcasm in the following note which the Oxford Magazine says was recently received by the Vice-Chancellor of the University.

"How much would I have to pay for the education of my son in your University? Let me know if I shall have to pay more in case my son, besides rowing, should wish to learn to read and write."

It is a lamentable fact that the ability to read and write their own language correctly is altogether too rare an accomplishment among college-trained men. There are comparatively few men of that class who could write an article for a paper, that could be printed without considerable editing. The fault is not in the men, but in the system of education.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

-Twenty-five people were killed in an eruption of Mount Adsuma, in Japan, recently.

-The total casualties in the race riots in New Orleans, U.S.A., are thirteen killed and sixty-one wounded.

-The manipulation of infected raw cotton is believed to have caused the outbreak of smallpox at Blackburn.

-The weekly mortality in Paris, which in normal times is 950, rose during the recent hot weather to 1,547.

-A building site at Finsbury Circus, having an area of 18,280 feet, has been leased for eighty years at ?9,500 per annum.

-The North German Lloyd steamer Main, which was severely damaged and sunk in the great fire at Hoboken, has been raised.

-The Central London Railway, which runs from Shepherd's Bush to the Bank, is the most expensive railway in the world, its construction having cost ?10 an inch.

-During the last six months 16,389 tons of tomatoes, valued at ?331,302, have been imported to this country. That is a little less than two-pence farthing a pound.

-During the hot weather, the Metropolitan hospitals have had numerous cases of blood-poisoning caused by the over-heated body absorbing the dye from brightly-coloured stockings.

-A Japanese Christian minister, writing of the divorces in Japan during a recent year, says there were 358,389 marriages and 116,775 divorces. This is roughly one divorce to every three marriages.

-Owing to a signalman's mistake, two trains proceeding in opposite directions ran into each other at Dozule, near Caen, France, July 29, and eight carriages were smashed to pieces. Many passengers were injured, but none were killed.

-The Central London Railway (electric underground) was opened Monday, July 30. The journey from the Bank to Shepherd's Bush is to take twenty-five minutes, at a uniformed fare of 2nd. is charged for all distances. There is but one class for all travellers.

-The China Inland Mission have received a telegram, dated July 27, stating that all their missionaries in Paoting-fu have been murdered.

-All the English railways have now agreed to carry 150lb. second-class, and 100lb. second-class, and 100lb. third-class, instead of 120lb., 100lb. and 80lb. respectively as previously.

-There are 767 Chinese in England, of whom 300 live in London. Only three counties, Hereford, Rutland and Westmoreland were, at the last enumeration, devoid of a single Chinaman. There are 75 Chinese women to every 100 Chinamen.

-At their recent quadrennial conference general, the Methodists of America abolished their long time limit for the clergy, so that in future a Methodist minister instead of being sent elsewhere at the close of a ministry of five years, may if he so chooses and his flock desire it, remain in charge of the same church for life.

-New South Wales, it is calculated, spent last year on strong drink ?4,403,913, or ?3 5s. 5d. per head of the population. This represents an increase of 1s. 3rd. per head on the figures of 1898, and 2s. 10d. on those for 1897. The expenditure on drink is equal to about one-fourth of the total amount spent on food and non-intoxicants.

-In addressing the troops about to depart for China, the Emporer told them to give no quarter and take no prisoners, and so to use their weapons that for the next thousand years no Chinaman would dare beard a German. At the same time it is reported that the Chinese General Li-Ho-Keh has ordered the soldiers under his command to kill all the Christians (Europeans) they find.

-A placard has been posted in Pekin, which professes to be the will of heaven, in which the "Great Yu Ti" (God of the unseen world) in person calls upon the people to "exterminate all foreign devils, and so turn aside the wrath of heaven. This shall be accounted unto you for well-doing; and on the day when it is done the wind and rain shall be according to your desire."

-The number of passengers on the railways in the United Kingdom, exclusive of season-ticket holders, was 1,000,000,000 in 1897; last year the number was 1,106,681,991 in 1897 the receipts from all descriptions of passenger traffic, including the mails, was ?43,734,399; last year the sum produced by all descriptions of railway traffic was ?101,677,065; which is only about ?18,000,000 below the gross public income of the United kingdom.

-The first telegraph cable has just been opened for the transmission of direct messages between Germany and the United States. It is 4,366 knots in length. It was built by a British company, but was taken over by the German Atlantic Telegraph Company on a payment of a sum of nearly two millions sterling. The German Government will subsidise the new undertaking by an annual payment of ?140,000 for forty years on condition that another cable is laid, should the Government consider this advisable. The price per word to New York will be a small fraction over one shilling.

-Following are the closing words of the German Emperor's speech to the soldiers, in which he told them to give no quarter: "The blessing of the Lord be with you. The prayers of the whole people accompany you in all your ways. My best wishes for yourselves, for the success of your arms, will ever follow you. Give proofs of your courage, no matter where. May the blessing of God rest on your banners, and may He vouchsafe to you to find a path for Christianity in that far-off country. For this you have pledged yourself to me with your oath to the colours. I wish you Godspeed. Adieu, comrades." Strange things may now be looked for in the name of Christianity.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

The Christian truly says: "The most successful missionaries have been those who have renounced even their country for Christ's sake, and become one with the people whom they have sought to evangelise."

An effort is being made to induce owners and drivers of horses to cease the foolish said cruel custom of using the bearing rein, but it is stated that women are more often offenders in this respect than men are, as they wish their horse to present a "smart" appearance. To this it is pertinently asked, "When they will torture themselves by tight-lacing, unduly pinching shoes, etc., for appearance, how can you expect them to have a thought for the poor horses?"

This is the counsel of a Roman Catholic priest concerning the Ritualistic movement in the Church of England: "Breathe no word against the movement which is turning the mind of this country towards the faith and rites of the Catholic Church." A Catholic priest is surely a good judge in such a matter; therefore since Ritualism dominates the Church of England, it may be considered that the Church is a vast feeder for the Papacy.

The murder of the King of Italy was another one of the dastardly and meaningless crimes that have made the name of Anarchist abhorred and feared. There is no possible ground for such an act, except that of insane hatred of authority in whatever form. Wrongs there are most surely in every human government, but the rulers are responsible for few if any of them in these days; and even if they were, no wrong is ever righted by the commission of another wrong. Strangely enough, too, the anarchist assassin usually strikes his blow at those rulers and royal personages who are the greatest friends of the people. It cannot be doubted that the way the would-be murderer of the Prince of Wales was defended, and his deed applauded by the Belgian authorities and people, has had some influence upon the murderer of King Humbert. No man living can remember a time of such anxiety and uncertainty as the present, yet few give each succeeding item of terrible news more than a passing thought. The murder of a king and the massacre of missionaries are forgotten in the reports of the results of the last racing, which occupies an equally prominent position in the contents bill of the newspapers.

The Glasgow Evening News has the following:-

Statistics show that Scotland as a nation grows madder year by year, and the Local Government report now bluntly tells us that our unpatriotic desertion of porridge is one of the principal causes. Matters have indeed come to a sad pass when Scotland, whose stalwart sons have advertised by their appearance the virtues of porridge in all parts of the globe, is now stimatised in a Government report as a nation of intemperate tea-drinkers!

This is not a piece of newspaper chaff, but is worthy of serious consideration. While porridge is by no means the best form in which to take any grain, there cannot be the slightest doubt but that any considerable substitution of tea for it must inevitably be followed by national degeneration.

"Profitable Scripture" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

Profitable Scripture .-Beware of a idiocy that is now being circulated even by some Bible teachers that think themselves wholly opposed to the scepticism of the "higher criticism," namely that "all Scripture is profitable, but all Scripture is not equally profitable." That is only another way of saying that all Scripture is inspired, but not all equally inspired; and when one thus presumes to sit in judgment upon the Holy Scriptures it is but a short step to the position that some Scripture is not inspired and is not profitable. Whenever anyone says that one portion of Scripture is not so profitable another, he is talking of what he knows nothing of. He is making his ignorance instead of his knowledge, a standard of judgment, which it a very common failing. The most that anybody can say with truth is that he has not profited so much by one portion of Scripture as by some other; but another person may have found the greatest profit in that slighted portion. So such statements are equivalent to saying that what he has not experienced cannot exist; that what one does not know is not knowledge. The Bible has really no absolute authority with those who hold there that there are degrees of inspiration and profit, because they are always ready to reject as of no weight that which does not suit their ideas. "All 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 unto all good works." Whoever sits in judgment upon the relative value of different portions of Scripture, constitutes himself judge of perfection; because that which makes a man perfect must itself be perfect. Such an one in reality claims that his mind is capable of measuring perfection. This is the Papacy, and is as dangerous and so much to be shunned as any that proceeds from the Vatican.

"Political Priests in China" The Present Truth 16, 33.

E. J. Waggoner

Political Priests in China .-According to the Rev. W. O. Ellerich, of Chefoo, "It is an opinion that wherever Roman Catholics are found in China, there sooner or later, disturbances are sure to arise. The only parts of this province which have been exempt from disturbances as those sections where there are no Roman Catholics." The reason for this is the fact that the Roman Catholic priests have the rank of viceroys, so that they have authority that consuls have not, and they use it to further the interests of their church. "Their business is really to look after lawsuits," and to see that the case of a convert is decided in his favour, and to set forth the political advantages, of becoming members of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholic Times refers to these charges, and does not deny them, but says to the Protestants, "You would do the same if you had the chance." We are sure that this is not unqualifiedly true, and we would gladly believe that there are some sincere Christians among Roman Catholic missionaries; but the facts show the evils of political Christianity, if it is allowable to use such a term. True Christianity knows nothing of politics, and whenever there is an attempt to combine it with politics, the result is and always has been the wickedest, cruelest, and most corrupt thing on earth. "If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" It is not at all to be wondered at that the Chinese hate this so-called Christianity. It is a sad thing that many innocent have to suffer, but the saddest of all is the false impression of Christianity that is made upon the heathen mind.

August 23, 1900

"The Beauty of the Olive Tree" The Present Truth 16, 34.

E. J. Waggoner

Here is one of the beautiful promises of the Lord to His people: "I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree." Hosea xiv. 5, 6.

Men are but plants of another species than those that grow in the fields, for "all flesh is grass." All people are either good or bad seed, to bring forth either good or bad fruit. In the beginning God planted them "a noble vine, wholly a right seed," but many have "turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine." Jer. ii. 21. All have turned away from the Lord, but Christ has come to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, preaching righteousness unto the meek, "that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."

One of the promises, which we recently considered, is that "the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." Ps. xcii. 12-15. In the text at the beginning of this article we have God's people as a tree very unlike the palm tree, and yet the promise is essentially the same.

Let those who have preserved the PRESENT TRUTH of August 2 compare the picture of the palm trees on the first page with that of the olive grove on this page. What a difference there is in the appearance! The palm tree is tall and symmetrical, while the olive tree is short and scraggly. But the two trees have this in common, that they yield their products most abundantly.

One peculiarity of the olive tree is that it grows best in a hard, dry soil. It flourishes with special luxuriance "on the limestone slopes and crags that often form the shores of the Greek peninsula and adjacent islands." "The plant is more liable to disease on rich soils, and the oil is inferior to the produce of the poor and more rocky ground the species naturally effects." Moreover, the tree is most unsightly in shape. Some idea of it can be gained from the cut before us. At a distance one would take an olive orchard for a grove of dying willows. The trees are short, gnarled, knotty, and twisted, and have great holes through them, and in their sides, so that they are anything but beautiful to look at. But even the ugliest of them will be covered with berries, which, when ripe, contain from sixty to seventy per cent. of oil.

Who can think of these things without almost involuntarily repeating, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground; He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him." Isa. liii. 1, 2. One not acquainted with the olive tree would certainly not be attracted by it, and would not expect any good from it; but the tree has won a most prominent place for itself by virtue of the richness of its produce.

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The Hebrew word for the olive tree is derived from a root having the idea of brightness, ornament, splendour, to adorn, to cause to shine. Yet the tree in addition to being most unsymmetrical, is not at all bright in appearance. Its leaves are a dull, pale green, and are very sombre looking. In fact nothing about the tree would attract the attention of the passer-by, except its unsightliness. What then is the fitness of the origin of its Hebrew name?-This, that it yields abundance of oil, which gives brightness, not only when burned in a lamp, but also to the bodies of men.

Here we have the secret of Christian beauty. It is not in outward appearance, but in the strength which it yields for others, that the beauty of the olive tree consists; and such is the beauty of God's true people. They are like the palm tree, as well as like the olive tree, showing that they are both unattractive in appearance, and at the same time most graceful and symmetrical. Moreover, they both flourish in poor soil, teaching us not to be discouraged because we are placed in most incongenial and unfavourable surroundings, since it is just there that God most makes His grace abound in us. When everything seems most against us, is the time that God is working to develop the richest fruit in us. Therefore instead of complaining because of any hardship whatever, and thus depriving ourselves of the blessing of being made a blessing, let us rather "take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake," knowing that when we are weak then are we strong.

"Labourers for the Harvest. Luke x. 1-11, 17-20" The Present Truth 16, 34.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke x. 1-11, 17-20.)¹³1

THE SEVENTY SENT FORTH

The Lord had sent out the twelve, with power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every sickness and every weakness, giving them this command: "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give." Now He chooses seventy more, and sends them out on the same instruction, in almost the same language, a portion of which is our study for the day.

ALL BELIEVERS ARE AMBASSADORS

It is well enough to enquire in the first place why we should study this event. Of what use is it to us to know what the Lord said to those whom He was sending forth as preachers of the Gospel, since the most of us have no expectation of ever leaving home to preach, or of ever standing up before a congregation to speak the Word? If we study them merely as a matter of curiosity, and if the event is a mere historical circumstance to us, then it is of no value to us at all. Unless all that Jesus said to the seventy applies to us, and is of practical use to us, than it is of no use to study it; but since "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable" (2 Tim iii. 16), we may be sure that in the words addressed to the seventy, Jesus is speaking as directly to us as to them. This we may also know from the fact that to every one who has been reconciled to God by the Lord Jesus Christ, is a new creature in Christ, and has had put into him the Word of reconciliation, so that as an ambassador for Christ he should in Christ's stead appeal: sinners to be reconciled to God. 2 Cor. v. 17-22. To every man the Lord has given his work, and we need to study the commission given to the seventy, in order that we may know our duties and privileges as ambassadors for Christ, even though our mission field be no greater than our own immediate circle of acquaintances, and our work be done entirely in a private capacity.

"LET HIM THAT HEARETH SAY, COME!"

"Therefore He said unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest." Here we have additional proof that the instruction addressed to the seventy, and the power given to them, was not designed for them alone, but for all others whom the Lord should send out into the harvest. If it is asked, Whom will the Lord send out? the answer is found in Isa. vi. 5-9. The young Isaiah saw a vision of God, and said, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Then one of the seraphim flew to him with a live coal from off the altar of God, with which he touched his lips, saying, "Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." Then Isaiah continues the narrative: "Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And He said, Go." From this we learn that every soul that has been cleansed from his sins, and who responds, to the call of the Lord, is sent forth with the Lord's message. He who has loved us, and has washed us from our sins in His own blood, has thereby made us kings and priests unto God. Rev. i. 5, 6.

WHO ARE TO PRAY FOR LABOURERS?

Jesus sent the seventy forth into every place whither He would come, and therefore He told them to pray for labourers to be sent out into the harvest of the Lord. There is a thing here that is almost universally overlooked. It is this, that the Lord has not told anybody to pray for labourers, except those who are themselves labourers in the harvest. Whoever goes out at His bidding is told to pray that other labourers may be sent out; but no one is told to fold his hands in idleness, and pray that somebody else may be sent out in his place. The prayer for labourers, by one who is not serving the Lord himself, is but a mockery. He who has not interest enough in the Lord's work to give himself to it body and soul, has not sufficient sense of the importance of the work to pray with the Spirit and with the understanding. Only faithful workers can offer effectual prayers; but this does not by any means cut off those whose duties confine them to their own house, or even to a single room. Those who are but the lowest servants, but who do their work as unto the Lord, are servants of the Lord Christ.

LAMBS' PROTECTION AGAINST WOLVES

"Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves." Shall the lambs therefore take every measure to protect themselves? Certainly; but what can a lamb do to protect itself against a wolf? Manifestly nothing except to keep close to the side at the shepherd. Its sole means of defence is to trust in its keeper. Therefore those who are sent out into the harvest field are instructed to make no provision for themselves, but to trust to the Lord of the harvest. This is nothing else than the instruction given in the Sermon on the Mount: "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek); for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But

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seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. vi. 31-33.

THE HIRE OF THE LABOURER

"The labourer is worthy of his hire." But too often the labourer forgets who it is that has hired him, and looks to men for his pay; and when he does this, he is sure to get into trouble. God is the One who sends forth the labourers into the harvest, and whoever has not been sent by Him has no business to go forth. The case is very clear: If God sends a person out into the field, then that person is not to look to man for his pay, and if he knows that God has sent him forth, he will not be looking to man; and by the same rule, whoever looks to men for his support, thereby gives evidence that he has no knowledge of having been called and sent forth by the Lord, and should not expect to be considered one of the Lord's labourers.

Is it then wrong for those who work for the Lord to receive anything from men? Most certainly not; for the Lord has His stewards on earth, whose business it is to see to the distribution of temporal things, and such are all those to whom He has entrusted means. But it should be remembered that those who have the Lord's money in their hands are not the hirers of the labourers, and that the labourers are not working for them, but only for the Lord. If the stewards are faithful, they will receive their reward, and if they are not conscientious and faithful in the distribution of that which God has placed in their hands, they themselves will be the sufferers, and He will provide for His labourers in some other way, if they will but look to Him for their support.

MONEY NOT AN EQUIVALENT FOR LABOUR

There is altogether a false idea prevalent among men as to the value of labour of any kind whatever. Most people think that work can be paid for in money, and they speak of "receiving an equivalent" for the strength that they put forth. This is the origin of the common expression, "earning one's living." But that is a thing that no person can do, for life is too precious to. be compared with silver and gold. He who thinks that whatever money he receives, even though it be thousands a year, is pay for his labour, has a very low estimate of the value of his life and strength.

Let us consider the matter for a moment. Men place a money value on a bushel of wheat, but this value is not constant, but changes from day to day. This in itself shows that the estimate pus upon it is wholly arbitrary and fictitious. When wheat is scarce, it is dear, arid when it is plentiful, it is cheap. If there were but one bushel of wheat to be distributed among a thousand persons, and there was no other food, its price would be enormous. But there is a vast difference between the price of a bushel of wheat and its value. The value of wheat can be clearly seen when there is but a little of it for a company of men cast away on a desert island, with no other food. It is then seen to be their life, and it is worth just as much as a human life. Who can estimate that? It is beyond computation in money. But a bushel of wheat has just as much life-giving power in times of plenty as in famine. Its value is infinite, even as life is precious beyond all calculation. Life is a gift of God, being the gift of Himself, and it is therefore evident that no one earns his living. We all receive our life before we have the power to do any labour whatever, and what we do is, or should be, a simple act of gratitude to God. We give ourselves wholly to Him, as the least that we can do for Him who has given Himself for us.

Take now the man who is instrumental in saving a soul. What can he receive as an equivalent? The whole world is not worth as much as a single soul. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matt. xvi. 26. Thus it is evident that no amount of money can pay the person for his work. But he needs money to buy food, upon which the world has placed a money value, and this the Lord provides for him, by inclining somebody who has it to devote a portion to his use. Thus he works for the Lord, and receives his pay from the Lord, and a part of that pay comes through human agency, but the far greater portion comes direct from the Lord, through the agency of the Holy Spirit alone. It is evident that the one who holds this view of labour and its value, will never be found striking for higher wages, or complaining because he is not treated as he ought to be. He will place his case in the hands of the Lord; whom he serves, and whose he is.

RECEIVING AND BESTOWING FOR NOTHING

In giving instruction to the twelve, when they were sent out, the Lord said, "Freely ye have received, freely give." The idea is not merely that of abundance, but of a gift. It might well be rendered, "That which you have, you have received for nothing, therefore give it for nothing." This is the spirit in which all Gospel work should be done. Indeed, if everything that man does with his hands were done in the same spirit, it would infinitely exalt labour, and would be an effectual preventive of all labour difficulties. Moreover the labourers would fare far better that they do now. Trusting in God they would receive from Him all that they need, and they would give Him thanks for everything. In this saying, that we have received life for nothing, and that we are to give it just as freely, we see again that whatever we receive for our temporal support, is not to be considered as pay for what we do. Whoever considers it in that light will be sure to lower the standard of his work to correspond to that which he receives. No one can do good work, as long as he regards himself as merely the servant of Lord, and as dependent on men for his support. But whoever holds himself as the servant of tire Lord, and as a debtor to all men, on account of the infinite and eternal gift that God has bestowed on him, will devote all his powers of body and soul to the perfection of the work that is given him. To render the best possible service will be the only thing that will occupy his attention. Such labourers, and, only such, will hear from the Master, "Well done!"

POWER OVER SATAN, SIN, AND DEATH

"And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over alI the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice, not that the spirits are subjected unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."

There is wondrous power given to those who are wholly devoted to God, and wondrous protection is accorded them. The power is the power of God unto salvation and that salvation is complete. The power given to every child of God is over all the power of the enemy,-power over all devils. This is evident

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from the fact that Christ saves us from sin. If there were any devil of which we were not master, any Satanic power beyond our strength in the Lord, then we should be still unsaved from our sin; but in that we are perfectly saved from sin, we have power greater than that of all devils combined. This is true of the least child of God as well as the one occupying the position of greatest responsibility. And the possession of this power, which is simply the possession of the Lord Jesus, and which cannot be held apart from His presence, is protection. The dragon is "that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan." Rev. xii. 9. But for him there would be no venomous beasts and serpents on earth. Before he took possession of the serpent to accomplish the fall of man, there was nothing on earth that was poisonous or deadly. Only the spirit of Satan, who is the destroyer, in any beast, makes it dangerous to man. Therefore it is evident that whoever has complete mastery over the devil, so that the evil spirit cannot instil the slightest poison of sin into him, cannot be hurt by serpents and scorpions. In Acts xxviii. 3-5 we have an instance of this.

REJOICING IN GOD

It is not in the possession of this power, however, that we are to rejoice or boast. He who has his mind set on this outward manifestation of the power of God, will be very apt to lose sight of that of which it is the manifestation, and will trust in the outward form instead of the inward reality. It is this that leads men to seek to make gain out of the gift of God. The cause of our rejoicing is always to be only in this, that our names are written in heaven, and that we are sons of God. This is cause enough for rejoicing.

Jesus said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." "And there was war in heaven; Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any wore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the bood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." Rev. xii. 7-11. Satan is cast down to the earth as the result of Christ's victory over him. He spends his time going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it (Job. i, 7), "seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter v. 8. But in this very thing we have cause for rejoicing, because in that he is cast down to the earth we have the evidence that salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of God, and the power of His Christ are come to us. The knowledge of the danger brings to us the knowledge of victory. What if we do read, "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath because be knoweth that he hath but a short time"? Since we have been made alive with Christ, and have been raised up, and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion," (Eph. i. 20, 21; ii. 1-6) we are altogether out of Satan's reach as long as we abide in Christ. "He that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not." 1 John v. 18. This is our joy and rejoicing.

"Peace" The Present Truth 16, 34.

E. J. Waggoner

Peace cannot be purchased at any price; neither can it be obtained by fighting for it. The most that one can gain by any arrangements that are entered into for the sake of peace, is a cessation of hostilities; but it is not peace. Peace must come from the heart as naturally as the perfume comes from the flower, as the result of the life of the Lord within. When the peace of God rules in the heart, it must necessarily be manifest in the life. And, like the perfume of the flower, this true peace will be experienced and manifested regardless of the surroundings. The mind and heart kept by the peace of God through Christ Jesus, cannot be affected by the captiousness or strife of others. The flower gives forth its fragrance on the dungheap in the city just as much as in the bed of moss in the quiet forest.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 34.

E. J. Waggoner

-During the month that ended August 2, there were ten cases of plague in Mauritius, all of which were fatal.

-The amount of tea sent to Great Britain last year from India and Ceylon was 219,156,185 pounds, and from China 16,677,835 pounds.

-For posting Scripture texts on a fence belonging to Teignmouth District Council, the wife of a local farmer has been fined ?5 and 10s. costs.

-A proclamation by the Queen dated Osborne Castle, August 7, prohibits the exportation to China of arms, ammunition, or military and naval stores.

-It is estimated that the Constitutional amendment, practically disfranchising negroes in North Carolina, will be carried by a majority of 40,000.

-The aggregate number of deaths from railway accidents in the United Kingdom during the year 1899 was 1,240; and of the injuries which did not end fatally, seven thousand.

-A "clumsily-planned" Boer plot to murder all the British officers in Pretoria, and to capture Lord Roberts and hold him as a hostage, was discovered, and the conspirators have been arrested.

-Placards were posted in the "Via Nationale," bearing the following: "Victor Emanuel III will not escape the fate of his father, even if he comes to Rome surrounded by a regiment of artillery."

-The New York Herald says that within the past few months twenty-seven Anarchists have left America with the avowed purpose of laying low every crowned head in Europe. They are nearly all Italians.

-A reward of ?100 has been offered at Kima, British East Africa, to anyone who kills the two man-eating lands which have been terrorising the district for some time past. No married men are allowed to try for the record.

-The Italian Minister of Justice has said: "The Government will show no half-heartedness in prosecuting the campaign against the Anarchists. No truce will be granted to these criminals. I hope that within two months there will be no more Anarchists in Italy."

-It is said that the mortality in Paris last year from typhoid fever was greater than for years. Altogether 4,329 cases were notified. During the first two weeks of this year 891 cases came under the notice of the authorities. The disease may easily be prevented by filtering and boiling all the water that is used.

-Exactly 144,823,124 pieces of money, medals etc., were coined at the Mint during 1899, a greater number than ever before, and an increase of 46,723,907 on the previous year. Sixty-seven tons of gold, 180 tons of silver and 323 tons of bronze were thus transformed. The unavoidable waste amounts to some ?454 on each ?1,000,000 produced.

-It is becoming more and more apparent that the United States is becoming tired of posing as the asylum of refuge for the oppressed of all nations. The Government is now about to adopt vigorous measures to restrict immigration into the United States by way of Canada. There are few countries in the world in which it is more difficult to enter than the United States.

-The death of a Worcester farm labourer last week was accounted for to a coroner's jury by the statement that he ate part of a diseased calf's heart, which was "as black as a hat." The calf itself had died of anthrax. We ourselves have seen many hearts and livers exposed for sale, that were "as black as a hat." There are very many deaths that are the result of eating decomposed meat, which do not come before a coroner's jury.

-The Paris courts have decided that a foreign diplomat in France cannot be compelled to pay his debts. The representative of the Republic of Ecuador, who has been scarcely a year in Paris, was sued by a tradesman for a debt of ?2,400, but the court declared that the immunity enjoyed by foreign representatives made it impossible to proceed against the diplomat. But no country with any sense of honour can allow such a representative to disgrace it in a foreign country.

-A process for preventing decay in wood, new to this country, is the Hasselmann system, which is being introduced by the Xylosote Company. The sap is drawn out of the timber by an air-pump and the wood is steeped in a solution of metallic and mineral salts. Soft wood is thus made hard, and green wood, after treatment, neither shrinks nor warps; thus the expense of seasoning is saved. The Swedish Government is having 600,000 railway sleepers "preserved" by the process, and the Bavarian Government has ordered that all its railway sleepers and telegraph poles be so treated during the next five years.

-The Daily Mail says: "While Englishmen are paying over thirty shillings a ton for soft bituminous coal, Ireland is waiting for a customer for over 100 million tons of anthracite coal at less than twelve shillings a ton." The Irish coal field, which covers an area of forty square miles, is in County Kilkenny. In 1871 the late Professor Huxley testified before the Royal Commission that 77,000,000 tons of workable anthracite coal were within easy reach at these mines, and again in 1885 Professor Hull, director of the Geological Survey of Ireland, declared before another Royal Commission that the deposit was at least 118,000,000 tons. Lack of railway communication is the reason why they have not been developed.

-Last year over two millions of rabbits were imported from Australia and New Zealand, and sold in the London markets at a valuation of ?60,000. Frequently 20,000 are daily received at the freezing stores during the non-breeding season. The chief medical officer of health to the city of London declares that this constitutes a most alarming danger to the public health, as in some consignments dealt with the proportion of bad or doubtful rabbits examined has been 20 per cent., and the present examining staff at Smithfield is not sufficient to do the inspection efficiently. But those who, even though they eat flesh, do so according to the rules laid down in the Bible, are safe from all danger in this matter, for rabbits come in the class of unclean beast, not fit to be eaten even in their best state.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 34.

E. J. Waggoner

He who can come boldly to the throne of grace, can go with boldness anywhere in the universe.

The one who has seen God face to face, and who is not consumed, need never fear the face of any creature, nor can he have any fear if he keeps the divine vision continually before him.

"You don't make a sinner into a saint by being rude to him," is a bit of sound religion, as well as philosophy, that we find in a corner of one of the dailies, and we are glad to pass it on.

In the Queen's Speech at the closing of Parliament was this paragraph: "Believing that the continued political independence of the two republics would be a constant danger to the Peace of South Africa, I have authorised the annexation of the Orange Free State to my Empire."

Two Austrian officers have just been peremptorily dismissed from the army, by virtue of a verdict given by the highest military court in Austria, which has been confirmed by the Emperor, because one of them refused to fight a duel when challenged, and the other approved his course. The ground of refusal was that his religious principles forbade it.

The Zionist Congress has ended, and all concerned seem quite gratified with its success. The verdict is that this fourth session proves that it is an institution that has "come to stay." That seems to be the case also with the originators of the movement; for we do not hear that any of those who are advocating Palestine as the place of refuge for all the Jews are taking any steps towards settling there themselves. All are doubtless familiar with the story told of one of the Rothschilds, who, when asked what office he would choose under the Jewish Government, if it were established in Palestine, replied, "That of Ambassador to the Court of St. James." It may be accepted as a fact that the only real return of the Jews will be when those who are Israelites indeed come to Zion-the heavenly Jerusalem-with songs and everlasting joy, when sin and sorrow and sighing and all traces of the curse shall have been forever removed.

The Catholic Times says that a project now being discussed in Naples is "the erection of a statue of the Saviour, of such colossal dimensions that it may be distinctly visible from every part of the Bay." It would be much more striking if the living image of Christ were formed in the Neapolitans themselves. That would be distinctly visible from every part of the world, even as was the faith of the Romans of old. See Rom. i. 8.

Right on the heels of the race-riot in New Orleans, came another in New York. A negro shot a policeman, and a mob of thousands of white men proceeded to try to kill every black man they saw, and the police were foremost in the fray. Such insane outbreaks show that the hearts of the people are on fire with fierce passion, and are precursors of the "perilous times" that will immediately precede Christ's coming.

There has been some talk to the effect that King Humbert's assassination might have the effect to soften Papal vindictiveness, and tend to the reconciliation of the Pope and the Kingdom of Italy; but Das Vaterland (Vienna), a Catholic organ, officially proclaims that the Pope did not have a Mass said for the late King Humbert, nor would he authorise anyone to offer the Royal family his condolences, nor are the relations of the excommunicated Savoy family and the Vatican in any way altered.

"We, having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken, we also believe, and therefore speak." That is what got Paul into so much trouble with the men of his time. A man may preach theories of truth as much as he pleases, and as long as they are only theories to him, he will not come into serious conflict with anybody; but the world does not like to be troubled with a man who believes with all his heart and soul that which he speaks. "These that have turned the world upside down, have come hither also." Well, why should they not? what objection have you to them? "Why, they believe what they speak, and they actually expect us to believe also; and they say that faith works, and so they practise what they preach, and they ask us to act according to faith." No; if you wish to be accounted a good fellow in the world, do not believe very much, and do not be too particular about always acting consistently with what you profess to believe; but if you would have peace with God, even the very peace of God, then believe with all your heart, for "being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Then comes hope which "maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Faith, hope, and love abide for ever, and he who holds to them shall also abide.

In prayer and song we often hear expressions of longing for the time "when faith shall be lost in sight." This is the expression of the common idea that in the kingdom of glory faith will be unknown, having ceased to exist, and that the saints in glory will live by sight only instead of by faith only, as in this present, evil world.

That this idea is altogether erroneous, is taught in the words that tell the place of faith in the Gospel, "The just shall live by faith." Note that this is absolute and unqualified. It does not say that some of the just shall live by faith, nor that the just shall have by faith for a little while, but simply that "the just shall live by faith," that is, that all the just shall live only by faith, and that they live by faith as long as they are just. But in the kingdom of glory there will be none but just ones, therefore there will be there no life but that of faith. Men are made righteous by faith, and to all eternity they will hold that righteousness only by faith.

"And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." Faith and hope abide as long as love does. All three abide. Love is the greatest of the three, but it does not outlast the other two. It is greater in that it contains them, for love "believeth all things, hopeth all things." Man will not cease to believe God when they get to heaven; no, but faith will then be perfect, and it will be perfect because followers of God will in the present world have perfectly learned the lesson of faith.

August 30, 1900

"Front Page" The Present Truth 16, 35.

E. J. Waggoner

In these days the number of people who are troubled with short sight, and who have to wear glasses to remedy the defect, is wonderfully increased, yet it is a long way short of the number who have short spiritual and mental vision. The great trouble with most readers of the Bible is that they fail to take the long view, and thus they think that God's promises have failed.

Many will read the text in the centre of this page, and will think that it warrants them in expecting a good crop every year, and if there be a poor harvest, or if famine devastates any portion of the earth, as in India, they conclude that God is slack concerning His promises. What a pity that people are so ready to believe the worst possible things about God!

Nowhere in the Bible are we given any reason to expect that in "this present evil world" the earth will give its full strength to the husbandman. It is true that God said to Noah after the flood that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Gen. viii. 22); but long before He had said to Cain, and so to every tiller of the soil, "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength." Gen. iv. 12. This may seem to some a direct contradiction of the statement that "our land shall yield her increase"; but it is not.

Only an inexperienced, untaught chiId would expect the earth to furnish a crop as soon as the seed is sown. Every man knows that he must not expect to reap the increase of that which he has sown, until the harvest. "Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it." Our land shall yet yield her increase in all its fulness; but when? When the harvest comes, of course.

And when is the harvest? "The harvest is the end of the world." Just as "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived," so the earth

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shall "wax old like a garment," until the time of restoration, at the second coming of Christ. Now the earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, but even yet it yields some fruit, a proof of the power of the cross to produce blessing in spite of the curse; but the fulness of increase will not be seen until all things are made new by the power of the arose of Christ. When every candidate for heavenly glory has been made a new creature in Christ, then will the earth also be made new, that they may have a suitable place to live in.

Read the verse before us in its connection: "Surely His salvation is nigh them that fear Him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set no in the way of His steps." Ps. lxxxv. 9-13. When truth fills the earth, the earth will yield increase beyond all calculation.

What is it that makes people so shortsighted that they cannot see the end of God's dealings with this earth and its inhabitants? It is sin. He who has faith that develops into virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly-kindness, and love, is "neither barren nor unfruitful;" and when there are enough of such people to fill the earth; it will no longer be unfruitful in any part, nor to any degree. "But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." 2 Peter i. 5-9. Not so with him that "walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, that shutteth his eyes from seeing evil." Such ones "shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off." Isa. xxxiii. 15-17.

Then let no one charge God foolishly because "times are hard." "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh," and then every good thing that God has ever promised will be seen fulfilled. Our faith in God should grasp all these good things, and should give us the joy of them even now. "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cutoff from the fold, and there shall be no hard in the stalls; yet will I rejoice in the Lord, and I will joy in the God of my salvation."

"The Secret of Neighbourliness. Luke x. 25-37" The Present Truth 16, 35.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke x. 25-37.)

THE GOOD SAMARITAN

The story is a familiar one, but the need for it is as urgent as when it was first told, therefore we make no apologies for reprinting the whole of it, and here it is:-

"And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he, answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live. But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? Jesus made answer, and said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jerioho; and he fell among robbers, which both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half-dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion, and came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay thee. Which of them three, thinkest thou, proved neighbour unto him that fell among the robbers? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."

The good Samaritan is often referred to as the model of unselfish neighbourliness, but the benefit of the reference is usually lost because the connection is forgotten. It is utterly useless to tell a man to love his neighbour as himself, unless he loves God with all his heart. If he does this, love to his neighbour will come spontaneously and naturally, as was the case with the Samaritan.

THE SOURCE OF LOVE

"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God." 1 John iv. 7. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." Verse 8. "We love, because He first loved us." Verse 19.

Here we have the source of love. It is God. There is no real love except that which comes from God, and this love is shed abroad in the heart "by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Rom. v. 5. Whoever receives and welcomes the Holy Spirit, has the power to love His neighbour as himself, and will manifest love without an effort, for it will be his life, even as love is the whole of life, for God is love, and He is the life of all. One first begins to live when love springs up in the heart; for "we know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren." 1 John iii. 14. "Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God" (1 John iv. 7), and to know God is eternal life. John xvii. 3.

LOVING MEANS GIVING

We have now before as the source of love, but in what did it realty consist?-How does love manifest itself? What is its essential characteristic, its nature? This is made just as plain in the Bible as is the other. Let us set a few texts before ourselves, and extract the sum of their testimony.

"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii. 16.

"Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John iv. 10.

"Hereby know we love, because He laid down His life for us." 1 John iii. 16.

"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. v. 8.

"The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. ii. 20.

"Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us." Eph. v. 2.

"Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it." Eph. v. 25.

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Can any one fail to see the one prominent thing in all these scriptures? In what does love consist?-Manifestly in giving. Everywhere we are told that the love of God is shown in that He gave Himself for us. Love is of God; but the only way we know love is in that He laid down His life for us.

Selfishness is not love. "Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own." 1 Cor. xiii. 4, 5. It needs no argument, but only the statement of the fact, to cause all to know that the most of that which is called love in this world is to a greater or lose extent a desire to receive some benefit or pleasure for self. The one who loves, or thinks that he loves, another, is fully as much taken up with the thought of pleasure that he is to derive, as he is with the thought of giving pleasure to the other. The love that gives everything, and asks for nothing for itself, except the privilege of loving, is rare. It is found among men only to the extent that the love of God is shed abroad in the heart. Nevertheless that is what real love is. To love in deed and in truth in to give self for and to the object of affection. Therefore when we read that the law of God demands that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind, it means nothing less than that every faculty and fibre of our being is to be given up to the Lord: He gave Himself to us, without any reserve; and that was simply a manifestation of love; therefore when we love Him, we shall do the same thing. Our soul, body, and spirit will be yielded to Him, for Him to use absolutely as He will. His Spirit will then be given entire possession of our bodies, so that we shall have no mind but the mind of God. If anybody thinks that this is a great thing, it can only be replied that we are talking about "the great commandment."

GIVING IN ORDER TO BE FILLEDóCONSECRATION

In this connection it comes very natural to talk about consecration. A great deal is said about consecration to God, yet very few seem to know just what consecration means. Many say that they wish to consecrate themselves to God, but seem to think that it is a very difficult operation. Now the fact is, it is nothing else than giving ourselves up to Him. To be wholly consecrated to God a to be wholly given to Him, and that means to love Him according to that which is written in the law.

All one has to do to consecrate himself to God, is to let go of himself, and let God take possession.

Here comes in another interesting fact, which is very pertinent to the subject before us. It is that in every case in the Old Testament where we read about the consecration of priests, the Hebrew expression is that their hands were filled. A reference to the marginal reading of the Revised Version will how this in the following texts:-

Ex. xxix. 9: "Thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and his sons."

Ex. xxxii. 29: "Moses said, Fill your hands to-day to the Lord."

Num. iii. 3: "These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whose hand He filled to minister in the priest's office."

1 Chron. xxix. 3, 5: "Moreover also, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, seeing that I have treasure of mine own of gold and silver, I give it unto the house of my God." "Who then is willing to his hand this day unto the Lord."

2 Chron. xxix. 31: "Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have filled your hands unto the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord."

From all these texts we see that when one was consecrated to be priest, his hand was filled so that he could bring an offering to the Lord: and the consecration of all the people consisted in their hands being filled, so that they could bring an acceptable offering. But all God's people are called to be priests, "to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. ii. 6, 9), and the sacrifices with which God is well pleased are "to do good and to communicate." Heb. xiii. 16. Therefore it is plain that when one loves the Lord with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind, that is, when one's whole being is given to God, he is then filled by the Lord, so that he can serve his fellow-men, and thus he can fulil the second commandment of the law, which is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

And now we come to the question which the lawyer raised, namely, "Who is my neighbour?" The word itself means "one who dwells near." It will be noticed that the Lord did not directly answer this question of the lawyer. He related a story, and than instead of asking who was the Samaritan's neighbour, so that it might be known whom he was to love (as the lawyer was told to do likewise), He asked who proved himself to be neighbor to the one in need. Doubtless this seeming evasion of the question, or reversal of it, has troubled many; but the teaching must be clear upon a little thought. It is as though Christ would say to the lawyer, and through him to us, "Don't worry about who your neighbour is, but show yourself neighbourly to every one whom you come near; you do not have to be in doubt as to whom you are to love as yourself, but to lot the love of God in your heart overflow to everybody near you; it is your own attitude that makes them neighbours." God gave Himself unreservedly to all, without regard to who they ware; all were alike sinners in need, and all were "hateful, and hating one another;" therefore we are to give up our lives for others, regardless of who they are. The fact that anyone is near us, and in need, constitutes him our neighbour, and we are to love him as ourselves.

Who of us have stopped to think what it means to love our neighbour, everybody, as ourselves? We do not need to enlarge upon the subject, but we are sure that if we begin in earnest to follow out this commandment of the law we shall find that it will work a revolution in our lives.

But it is "a hard saying," and who can hear it? Nobody can do it unless the love of God-the same love that God manifested in giving Himself for us and all mankind-is in our hearts; and that is the case only when we are fully yielded to Him, loving Him with all our being. We love, only because He first loved us; that is, it is His love bestowed upon us that makes us able to love Him with all our life and mind and strength, and to love our fellowmen.

And what means this love as related to God? It means that we shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. It means that when God speaks we shall make no objections or excuses. It means that every one of the ten commandments, which grow out of these two great commandments (Matt. xxii. 25-40), will be obeyed by us without question or attempt at evasion. Is it difficult to know our duty to God and to men? "What is written in the law? how readest thou?"

"Loving actions, loving ways, and loving words, bring more sunshine into life than all the riches of a world can supply. He who spends life in blessing others is himself most blessed."

"Comfort from Hard Sayings" The Present Truth 16, 35.

E. J. Waggoner

"I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for He will speak peace unto His people."

This is a universal truth, and worthy of all acceptation. God never speaks a word that is not laden with peace for all who will listen to it. In "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" there is life. Therefore "blessed is the people that know the joyful sound."

If we would but take this truth to our hearts, and keep it always in mind, it would smooth many a difficult passage. Instead of feeling that we have been rebuffed by some dark saying, we should consider it diligently to see what new phase of comfort it has for us.

When the Lord said to Jacob, "Let Me go, for the day breaketh," what a loss the patriarch would have sustained if he had said disconsolately, "It is no use; I can't get any satisfaction," and had let go. When the Lord said, "Let go," he held on the more firmly, and received more than he had asked for, or thought of getting.

But how could Jacob have the face or the heart to continue his hold on the Lord

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after such a peremptory, almost curt, command to let go?-Because he was quick enough to perceive in it the promise of all that he desired. Consider the case for a moment. Jacob had wrestled all night with one whom he supposed was an enemy. As the day began to break, his antagonist touched his thigh, and it was immediately out of joint. By that Jacob knew that he had not been wrestling with a man, but with God in human form. He could not for a moment longer suppose that human power could avail anything, even if he had been able to stand so as to exert it any longer. He could do nothing but cling to the Lord for support. But he knew that, the One who with a touch of His finger could dislocate his thigh could sever his armclasp if He chose. But He did not choose. God cannot deny Himself, and He is all love and compassion; therefore He cannot turn away from anyone who trusts Him. So Jacob saw in the words of the mighty God, "Let Me go," the assurance that as long as he held on the Lord could not turn away from him. Jacob had the matter all in his own hands, and he improved the opportunity.

When Moses was pleading for Israel, after their great sin at Sinai, God said, "Let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them." Ex. xxxii. 10. But Moses was far from being discouraged by this seemingly stern command. He saw in the words the proof that God could not be angry with the sinful people as long as one pleaded in their behalf, even though they themselves were not seeking His favour; so the petition was premed with boldness, and the people were spared.

Think of Abraham pleading with God for Sodom. Not a request but was granted. At first Abraham asked only that the city might be saved if fifty righteous persons were found in it. To this the Lord readily agreed. Than, waxing bolder, Abraham reduced the number to forty-five, then to forty, to thirty, to twenty, and at last to ten, and at each successive step the Lord agreed to save the city if so many righteous persons were found in it. Then, having come down to ten, Abraham left off interceding. He doubtless had in view the size of Lot's family, his married daughters and their husbands, and supposed that his last request would suffice to save the city. From all that is given, there is no reason to suppose that God would have refused if Abraham had asked that the city be saved if five righteous persons were found in it, or if he had asked for the sake of Lot alone. But the point is that the mercy of God endures for ever, and that He never has the heart to refuse any petition that is made in the boldness of faith.

If when God says, "Let Me alone," there is such strong consolation, and such assurance that we shall receive all our heart's desire, what confidence may we not have when He calls us to come to Him, and tells us to put Him in remembrance, and "give Him no rest"! Then "wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 35.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Indian Famine Fund already amounts ?356,900.

-The Pope will agree to no reconciliation with Italy without the restoration of the Temporal Power.

-The bubonic plague in Sydney is reported to be now dying out. The total number of cases is 303, of which 100 to have proved fatal.

-The Society for the Study of Inebriety has appointed a committee of medical men to inquire into the relation of heredity to the production of inebriety.

-Formal announcement of the engagement of Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, and the Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin will shortly be made.

-A Manchester telegram states that fifty cases of illness, following on the eating of ice cream, have occurred in Salford, it has been found on investigation that the stuff contained millions of micro-organisms.

-King Victor Emmanuel III. has resolved to relinquish to the State all the palaces, villas, castles, and parks which are not absolutely indispensable to the Royal Family. He will thus effect a saving of seven or eight million francs a year to the State.

-By his late discovery of a means of transmitting electricity long distances without any losses, Mr. Nikola Tesla has shown that it is possible for Niagara Falls to light the streets of London, to work the tramways of the metropolis, and to cook the dinners of its six million inhabitants.

-It is said that should the Welsh railway strike continue many days, 40,000 colliers would be idle, as the Rhondda valleys are exclusively served by the Taff Vale Railway. The bulk of its traffic is coal, and if some thousands of tons are locked up for want of transit, a further rise in the price of fuel is probable.

-Reports of the terrible ravages of yellow fever in Senegal have arrived in this country. St. Louis, Dakar, and other towns of the sea coast are practically deserted, business is abandoned, factories shut, and communication with the interior prohibited. The malady has spread to the Casamance and Sakel districts, and to British Gambia, but not further south than that. Hundreds of Europeans have died in Senegal, and all public works and the colony have been suspended.

-The population of Greater New York shown by the census returns to be 8,437,202.

-The collapsion of another bridge at the Paris Exposition has been the cause of four deaths, and thirty-five persons injured.

-King Oscar of Sweden and Norway has accepted the post of arbitrator on the question of compensation for losses sustained by British, German, and American subjects and the troubles in Samoa.

-It is said to have been discovered by the malarial expedition of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine that the parasite which causes elephantiasis is conveyed, like that which causes malaria, by the mosquito.

-An American professor who has been superintending excavations in Assyria and Babylon, reports having discovered the great temple library, dating back 228 years B.C. It consists of 16,000 volumes written on stones.

-Penny postage will be established within and without New Zealand, in January next. That colony will be the first in Australasia to have universal penny postage. The concession will probably result in a loss of ?80,000 per annum.

-The Japanese Vice-Consul at Song Ching, near Gensan, reports that 1,000 Korean rebels have attacked the former place, wrecking and burning houses and official buildings. The Japanese and Korean officials withdrew to Gensan.

-A Swede, named Johansen, called from Gibraltar the 25th inst., in an open boat, twenty-nine feet long, with the intention of crossing the Atlantic to America by way of Madeira and Montserrat. His only companion is his son, aged twelve years.

-In a letter to the Cardinal Vicar, the Pope emphatically points out the danger of the free propagation of Protestantism in Italy, and laments his inability to stop it, observing that it is permitted by law. He exhorts Catholics to make a united effort against it.

-The court-martial for the trial of Lieutenant Hans Cordua, late of the Free State Artillery, on charges of breaking his parole, and conspiring to kidnap Lord Roberts, resulted a verdict of guilty. Sentence was deferred until the confirmation of the finding by Lord Roberts.

-The New York World says that Chairman Harriman, of the Union Pacific Railway, has issued an order forbidding cigarette-smoking by the employÈs of the road, and has emphasised the meaning of the rule by extending it to the directors while attending the meetings.

-Two prominent engineers have proposed one large central, underground station for all the railways running into London, and have made plans for such an undertaking. The connection would be by electric railways. The scheme is declared to be perfectly feasible, and the cost is estimated at ?30,000,000.

-A man who recently enlisted in the American Army to escape starvation was a few years ago worth millions. He lost enormous sums in his endeavours to form corners in wheat. "He made a pit, and did it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made." It often happens that the one who attempts to corner others, himself gets cornered.

-In view of the increased price of coal, many substitutes for it are being sought. The latest fuels are now made of Thames mud, street-sweepings, and sewage. At Barking a company is about to lay down a plant to turn out a great quantity of mud briquettes daily. Sewage, chemically treated, is said to resemble coal, and the fuel, which burns well and gives as much heat as the cheaper coals, can be made at 7s. 6d. per ton.

-France and Germany are negotiating for a supply of Canadian coal. A Cabinet Minister has been called to London to consult with the Home authorities.

-Mr. Conger, the United States Minister to China, says that the attack on the Legations was a purely governmental affair, the Boxers being only a pretence, as they had no guns. A leader of the Imperial troops was present, and in eleven days 2,000 shells were fired into the Legations.

-The amount of gold at present in the Bank of France amounts to 2,250,000,000 francs. According to the "Matin," this is the highest reserve in the world, the next being that of Russia, which amounts to 2,073,000,000 francs. The large amount of gold present in the Bank of France surpasses all previous records, and during the last four months a reserve was added to by 626,000,000 francs.

-Members of the Cigar-makers' unions say that tens of thousands of hands will be thrown out of work before long owing to the application of electricity to the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, and cut tobacco. One machine, which is soon to be introduced, it was said, produces 180,000 cigarettes and 5,000 pounds of cut tobacco a minute. This gives some idea of the great amount of tobacco consumed.

-Lord Roberts, in his new proclamation, states that in future all persons who have taken the oath of neutrality and broken it, will be punished by death, imprisonment, or fine; and all burghers in the districts occupied by British forces, except those who have sworn the oath, will be transported as prisoners of war, the buildings, structures, and farms where the enemy's scouts are harboured, being liable to be razed to the ground.

-A service of motor cars has just been started between London and Leeds; and during the holidays, a car is expected to leave Leeds every Monday morning, returning on the Thursday. The coaches are driven by petroleum, and the fare for a single journey between the two places is a couple of guineas. If the experiment succeeds, it is intended to establish similar services between London and Margate, and London and Brighton.

-On the assassination of the King of Italy, someone has undertaken to prove that it is those European nations which are renowned as animal lovers, that are least inclined towards the crime of murder. Thus, in England and Ireland there are six murderers for a million of inhabitants, in Germany 11, in Belgium 14, in France 16, in Austria 23, in Hungary 67, in Spain 83, and in Italy 95. It appears that in no country in the world is cruelty to animals so rampant as in Italy.

-The biggest gold rush that has been seen in Victoria for many years is described in the latest Melbourne papers. Mount William, in the northwest of the colony, is the newest El Dorado. It is a wild, scrubby, difficult country; nevertheless upwards of five thousand adventurers had reached the spot in three days after the first discovery, and hundreds were on the way from all points of the compass. The gold is widely distributed at a depth of only 8 ft. in a black, sandy loam.

-It is reported that the farmers in the States are forming a trust, one of the objects of which is to be the manipulation of the grain market. The plan of the originators is for the farmers to buy a vast quantity of grain for future delivery, and then withhold the real grain from the market, thus forcing the speculative price up. When it reaches a point where a good profit is assured the farmers will sell, and in this way they will get what will be a good price for their grain and still retain it. It seems that "the honest farmer" is soon to be a tradition of the past.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 35.

E. J. Waggoner

All reports from the Philippine Islands show that the "insurrection" as it is called, has been gaining ground in the past few months. A Washington dispatch shows that the war has already cost the United States ?40,000,000, and there is no prospect of any end to it.

"A wave of unrest is agitating the labour world," says the Daily Mail; and the same thing may truly be said of the political world. In fact, the whole world of mankind is about as far from a state of quietness as possible. All this is but a premonition of the soon-coming time when the very earth itself will be "turned upside down," and its inhabitants scattered abroad."

Those who know the Lord have a common language, even though they are of different races. It is said that a Maori and a Burmese once met-both entirely ignorant of the other's language. But they were both Christians. "Hallelujah," said the Burmese; "Amen," said the Maori; and they were content. In breaking down the barrier that separates men from God, Christ has broken down the barrier that separates men from one another.

The same power and glory that are revealed in the sun, are also to be seen in the sunflower; it has taken as much power, even the very same power, to make the daisy as to create the whole solar system. In everything that is made, whether great or small, the everlasting power and Divinity of God are clearly seen. Well, what of it? Simply this, that God can do as much with the most insignificant thing when it is passive in His hands, as with the greatest thing that He has created.

Rules have to be applied, but principles apply themselves. The man who lives by rule must always be burdened with anxiety as to when his rule may or may not apply, and whether or not he is warranted in setting it aside on any particular occasion. But he who lives by principle, has only to hold fast to that principle, without troubling himself at all as to consequences. Thus it is really far easier to live by principle than by rules. In the latter case, the man works in order to live; in the former the man works by virtue of the life principle in him.

The Church Times says:

"When anti-papal bigots have said their all, the fact remains that the Roman Pontiff is the leading Bishop of the Church of Christ. He has an interest for us all." "His impossible, unendurable claims prevent us from rendering him that honour which ought to be his. He will not accept his rights, but demands what we may not give. But still he remains a potential force for good. We do not know what may be in store for us from a purified and chastened Papacy."

This, from a paper which represents by far the largest portion of the Church of England clergy, shows what progress is being made Romewards. Now, more than ever, is there need of the strong cry, "Come out of her, My people."

"There are exceptions to all rules," is a saying that is often repeated, and it is true; but another thing that is seldom thought of, but which is absolutely true, is that there are no exceptions to principles. The reason is, that rules pertain to men, while principles emanate from God, and are, the revelation of His life. Whatever rule is laid down, it cannot apply equally and at all times; therefore the exception to any rule is of equal authority with the rule; but every right principle is always and everywhere absolutely applicable, and if there could be pointed out an exception to it, that would overthrow the principle. Its existence depends upon its constant and perpetual application.

In addressing the grand jury at Manchester Mr. Justice Channell recently, said:-

Many of these cases arose from drink-the one preventible cause of crime which exists at present to a serious extent. Anything that would assist in making people sober would largely diminish the work of the judges and juries at assizes.

Upon this the Christian truly remarks:-

It is not too much to say that in a sober England the occupation of many magistrates, judges, and lawyers would be gone. Drink is an enemy that not only steals away men's brains, but their morals as well, by inflaming the passions and paralysing their will. All the crimes wrought by drink are in the strictest sense preventible.

But this is not the last word, for the drink habit is to a large extent preventible. Something can be done by law, to check its ravages, but no real reform can ever be effected apart from the will of those to be reformed. Whenever there is a will to overcome the habit that is responsible for so much crime, the way is plain and simple.

One of the participants in the discussion that is being carried on in the newspapers concerning the poor, underpaid clergy, speaks of the "curate who has joined the clerical ranks with a view to earning an honest livelihood." That is a bold way of putting the matter, yet it doubtless exactly describes very many ministers, not only of the church of England, but of nonconformist churches se wall. It is an awful thing to think that thousands who make themselves believe that they are working for the Lord have really no higher motive than to "make a living" for themselves. No man though he be the most eloquent preacher, who has that thought in his mind, is a worker for the Lord. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." The minister who works from that motive is no more than the navvy, while the house-servant who works "heartily as unto the Lord," whether she receive little or much, is truly one of God's ministers.

"The Pope Hampered by Law" The Present Truth 16, 35.

E. J. Waggoner

The Pope Hampered by Law .-Reports from Rome state that the Pope has addressed a letter to the Cardinal Vicar, in which he emphatically points out the danger of the free propagation of Protestantism in Italy, particularly in Rome, and dwells on the awkward position in which he is placed because this propagation is permitted by law. He says that he is not in a position to oppose the movement, and exhorts Catholics to make a united effort that the danger caused by the sectarian propaganda may be miminised.

Nothing could more plainly show that the old, persecuting spirit of the Papacy is not dead. Catholics areas free in Italy as they could possibly be in any country on the earth, to warn all classes against what they regard as heresy. They are as free to teach Catholicism as Protestant are to teach Protestantism in England; but with this the Pope is not content. He laments that the law allows Protestantism to be taught in Italy, and that his hands are tied in consequence. One does not even need to be a student of history, to be able to tell what would be the fate of Protestants in Rome if the Pope had temporal power.

September 6, 1900

"Front Page" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

"God is love."

Christ is the revelation of God to man. John i. 18.

The law of God is in the heart of Christ (Ps. xi. 8); and out of the heart are the issues of life. Prov. iv. 23. Thus we learn that the law of God is the very life of Christ.

Christ and the Father are one, so that they have but one life. The only-begotten Son "is in the bosom of the Father." Therefore the law of God is His own life.

This truth is stated in the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before it begins thus: "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; shined forth from mount Paran, and came with ten thousands of His saints; from His right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand; and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words." Deut. xxxiii. 1-3.

The great manifestation of the love of God for man is seen in the cross of Christ. "Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins." 1 John iv. 10. On the cross the life of God was given for the world, and by receiving that life in faith we are saved. But the law is love,-the life of God,-and therefore it must be that the most perfect declaration of the law as found in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

From Horeb, where the law was proclaimed

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in the hearing of all Israel, by Christ the Mediator, a living stream of water flowed. See Ex. xvii. 5, 6, and Mal. iv. 4. From the heart of Christ where the law is enshrined, there flowed, as he hung on the cross, a stream of blood and water-His life. From the throne of God in heaven there flows "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal," and in the midst of this throne is the slain Lamb. Rev. v. 6. In each place we find the same law of love, showing that the law in the heart of the crucified Christ, and in the temple in heaven, is identical with that proclaimed from Sinai. How easy, then, to understand that "it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Without the change of a word or a letter, it stands throughout eternity.

By the deeds of the law there can no flesh be justified in the sight of God; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Rom. iii. 20 . "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John v. 4), and "all unrighteousness is sin." Verse 17. In the world to come there will be no sin-no, transgression of the law. So although nobody can find salvation through doing the law, nobody can be saved unless he is a keeper of the commandments. "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. xxii. 14. How then can any be saved?-Not by works of our own, but by "the righteousness of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe." Rom. iii. 22. "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flash, but after the Spirit." Rom. viii. 3, 4.

Just as the law is the life of Christ, und He is our life,-"the way, and the truth, and the life,"-all the life there is, it follows that the law must be the life of all who are His. "He that saith he abideth in Him ought Himself also so to walk even as He walked." 1 John ii. 6. As we receive Christ understandingly into the heart, the fulness of the law appears in our lives, for He will live it there. There will be no omission, no change. Read the law carefully, and see if it is so in your case. Now is it about the fourth commandment? It says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;" "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Are you doing this? or have you substituted the first day for the seventh? Christ did not do so. Will you not allow Him to live in you just as He did in Judea and Galilee? just as He does now in heaven? He calls you to Him to find rest; give yourself to Him without reserve, and allow Him to give you the rest that will cause you to delight yourself in the Lord. Isa. lviii. 13, 14.

"Two Independent Kingdoms. Luke xii. 13-23" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xii. 13-23)

THE RICH FOOL

In the text of the lesson, which follows, we insert in parentheses the parallel readings in the margin of the Revised Version. To the thoughtful student this alone will furnish food for an entire lesson:-

"And one out of the multitude said unto Him, Master (Teacher), bid my brother divide the inheritance with me. But He said unto him, Man, who made Me a judge or a divider over you? And He said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully; and he reasoned with himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow My fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my corn and my goods. And I will say to my soul (life), Soul (life), thou hast much goods laid up for many years; Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul (life) required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

"And He said unto His disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your life (soul), what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. For the life (soul) is more than fond, and the body than raiment."

"NOT OF THIS WORLD"

When Jesus was before Pilate, He declared Himself to be a King, but took care to guard against any misconception, by saying, "My kingdom is not of this world," John xviii. 36. If His kingdom had been of this world, or if He had been willing to accept authority in things pertaining solely to this world, He would not have been put to death; for the very same persons who clamoured for His crucifixion had but a very short time before sought to make Him a temporal ruler over them. But He would not accept the position. This refusal of Jesus Christ to take to Himself any degree of authority in political or business life is one of the most prominent features of His life history; yet to this day very few of those who profess to "walk even as He walked," have learned it.

"The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent than He that sent him." If the Master of all, the One by whom the worlds were made, refused to exercise any authority in this world, while He was in it, what excuse have any of His followers for so doing? If He would not be a judge or a divider of property, why should His disciples? If it be said that no one should be so well qualified as Christians to decide correctly in all affairs, it must be admitted; for the saints are to judge the world, and even angels (1 Cor. vi. 2, 3), and must therefore be able to judge rightly things of this world that are of so much less moment; but then it must be remembered that whatever is true of the saints is true in a far greater measure of Christ. He had the qualities that fitted Him for a judge or a ruler, far more than any other person who ever lived on this earth, yet He would not act that part. His kingdom was not of this world, and therefore it would have been as much out of place for Him to exercise authority in worldly affairs as it would be for the Czar of Russia or the German Emperor to presume to sit as judge on the bench in England, or to dictate in the conduct of the Government. If we do not recognise this principle, we fail to understand Christ and the power of His work; but when we grasp it, and hold to it, we shall find that it will help us through many difficult places.

God the Father "hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Col. i. 13. Christ said of His disciples, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." John xvii. 14. And again, speaking directly to them, He said, "Ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." John. xv. 19. This makes it plain that Christ's followers have no business to interfere with the affairs of this world. Judgment over this

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world has not yet been given to the saints of the Most High, for Christ Himself has not yet taken to Himself the kingdoms of this world. We are rulers in a kingdom entirely different from any on this earth.

The power of Christ is the power of the cross, which is so different from that which is common among men that it gems to most people utterly foolish and impracticable. "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." And those who are saved are not authorised to use any other power. Indeed, why should they wish to? There is no power greater than the power of God, since all power comes from Him; and when one knows the "all power," how can he wish for or be content with anything less? But this power is a power that must be exerted by its possessor, namely God; men cannot manipulate it to suit their own pleasure or convenience, and that is why it is not popular. It does not work according to human methods. It has most influence under conditions that from a merely human point of view would seem most unfavourable.

CHRISTIANITY IN THE FIRST CENTURIES

A proof of this, and an answer to the oft-repeated statement that Christians, being the best people in the world, ought to have charge of the affairs of Government, is found in the history of the first three centuries after Christ. There was one Government for the whole world, and it all centered in the person of one man,-the Emperor of Rome. The State was Pagan, and the laws were opposed to Christians and Christianity. In many instances they were framed with the express purpose of uprooting them, and the execution of them was entrusted to men who were more law-machines. Surely no more unfavourable conditions could be imagined. In such a case one would naturally think, "If we could only get our leading men in the church into positions of influence in the Government, and get these oppressive laws changed, Christianity might make some progress, and justice would be done all classes." But what are the facts in the case?-Just these: Never in the history of the world has Christianity made such process as in that time when everything was most unfavourable. By the simple power of the preaching of the cross by men who were outlawed, a revolution in Government was effected, and laws favourable to Christianity were enacted; and then, contrary to all human expectation, when Christianity was freed from all its bonds, and its leaders had the first places and unrestricted power in the State as well as in the church, its real power ceased. Men lost sight of the power by which the change in public sentiment had been effected, and it was demonstrated that Christianity has absolutely no power for good in the world, except the silent, mysterious power of the cross of Christ. For most people, however, the lesson of history has been written in vain. The saints often get impatient, and cannot wait for the Lord to come, before beginning the control of affairs; they long to get things more into their own hands, so as to set them right; but they invariably fail. By the preaching of the Gospel in its simplicity and power, and by godly living, Christians can exercise a power in the world, that is incalculable, and in no other way can they accomplish anything of importance.

WHAT WOULD BECOME OF THE WORLD?

It will be asked, "Would not the world go to ruin, if Christians devoted all their energies to labouring for humanity in a private capacity, as did Jesus?" The answer is, Yea; most certainly; but none would be involved in the ruin except the reprobate, who will go to destruction in spite of all efforts to save them. The Scriptures set before us no other end of this present evil world than destruction. "The world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." The Gospel is for no other purpose than to gather out of this world all who are willing to be subjects of the Lord Jesus, and sharers of His everlasting kingdom; and the sooner this is effected, the better. The one great thing which hinders this consummation and the restoration of all things as in the beginning, is the unwillingness of professed followers of the Lord to let go of the world, and be solely the Lord's. There are many men in the world, who are not professed Christians, yet who are unconsciously influenced by the Spirit of Christ to a great degree; and these, as long as they remain in the world, keep the evil elements in check, so that Government is not wholly corrupt. These do not need to resign any position of trust that they may have, when they accept the Gospel, as every honest one among them certainly will when he sees the power of it; they have simply to let the perfect life of Christ manifest itself in them, and it will not be long before their services will not be wanted, and they will be thrust out of their positions of worldly honour; and when all of these honest souls in the world have accepted Christ as their King, and have come out from the world, it will be the time for the end, for the world will than be wholly corrupt, with no leaven of good in it, and good for nothing except to be burned as rubbish.

A NEW PLANE OF LIFE

Nothing is plainer in the Bible, than that when a man is really converted he becomes "another man," "a new creature." He has the same flesh as before, and the same general outward appearance, nevertheless he is "not in the flesh, but in the Spirit." Rom. viii. 9. The life of Christ is thenceforth to be manifested in his mortal flesh, so that it is no longer he that lives, but Christ living in him. Christ takes possession of his body, and there is the incarnation as truly as when Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. The mystery is enacted, of a man in the flesh living a wholly spiritual life. This he does, not by any power residing in the flesh, not by any power known to the world, but by the power of the Spirit of Christ. His life is a life of faith.

"Now the just shall live by faith." The whole life is to be one continued series of acts of faith. The principle by which he is saved from sin, while still in sinful flesh, is to dominate all big relations with this world. He is a new creature, and experiences day by day the power that created the worlds. So just as by faith he understands that "the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear," he knows that his life does not come from the things that his natural eyes see, and his hands handle, but from the Word of God. That is the truth which this lesson teaches.

"A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of that which he poesesseth." Another translation makes it more emphatic, rendering it, "Even if one has a superabundance, he does not have his life of that which he possesses." It is true that God's life is in the food that the earth brings forth, and those things are a means of conveying the life to us; but the life was first, and does not depend on them. The life originates them, and not, they the life. If they are taken away, God can continue His life so us just as well, and if we have barns full stored up for future

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use, we have no more life than there is in us moment by moment. The possession of storehouses full of food is no ground for trust; and the absence of all food is no ground for despair. God is always the same, and He is our life.

OUR RIGHTFUL SHARE

"Take heed, and beware of covetousness." The Greek word rendered "covetousness" signifies to have or to claim more than one's share; to claim more than another. What is one's share?-Just what he can use to-day, and no more. He may have more in his possession, and have it honestly; but he is to have it simply as a good steward of the manifold grace of God. "Give us this day our daily bread," is a prayer that ought to be prayed by every person, and prayed not as a form. He who does not from the heart make that petition, is trusting in another God than the living God. "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." 1 Tim. vi. 17. "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."

He who lives by this rule will be "rich toward God," even though he have no possessions of lands. He will "do good," like the Master, and "be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate." Such ones lay up in store for themselves "a good foundation against the time to come," and that foundation is the only one that can be laid, namely, Christ Jesus. Thus they lay hold on eternal life, and hold it fast.

The principle of worldly kingdoms is, "Get all you can." The principle of the kingdom of Christ is. "Give all you can." This world says, "Make my brother divide with me;" the world in which Christ rules says, "Let me divide with my brother." And the reason why Christians can thus differ from the rest of mankind is that they have an inheritance-Christ-which multiplies the more it is divided. He is their life.

The children of Israel in the wilderness ate of the spiritual meat which came down from heaven. It was spiritual meat, the very life of the Lord, and like all of God's blessings, it was "new every morning." God wishes us to have a fresh supply every day, and not to eat stale food. So "he that gathered much had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no lack." There was the equality which is often talked about by socialists and communists, but never realised in this world. Only in following Christ can it be found. Each one in the family of Christ looks after the welfare of the others, instead of his own, and thus each one is cared for by all the rest. And in this world as well as in the world to come, they all share equally in that which is the whole of life,-the righteousness of God in Christ.

"The Editor's Private Corner. Forgiveness and Healing" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

[Under this heading the editor will answer such questions by readers of the paper, as in his judgment will be of interest to all. No names will be given, so that while all may read, the editor and his distant friend may talk together with all the freedom of a quiet chat or a confidential correspondence. We shall be pleased to receive any questions that are asked because the questioner feels the need of personal help, and is seeking for light. The needs of all are very much the same, and therefore this correspondence, in which only one person knows who is directly addressed, may be of benefit to thousands. May the Lord make it so. ED. PRESENT TRUTH.]

FORGIVENESS AND HEALING

"I want to ask one question. In his letter-- said that the healing power always comes with the forgiveness of sins. Now don't you think that any person who to not healed of disease has his sins forgiven?"

We take it for granted that you do not specially care to know what somebody thinks about the matter, but wish to know the truth. Let us therefore turn to the Word of truth, and read a few texts as a basis for our study. In the following texts it will be seen that forgiveness and healing are inseparably connected:-

Ps. ciii. 2-5: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Isa. xxxiii. 24: "And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall he forgiven their iniquity."

Isa. xxxviii. 17: "Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back."

James v. 14-16: "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed."

Ex. xxiii. 25: "Ye shall serve the Lord your God; and He Shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from thee."

FORGIVENESS MEANS A NEW LIFE GIVEN

The chief cause of the difficulty over this subject is the failure to grasp the meaning of forgiveness of sins. The idea is quite firmly rooted in the minds of most people, that it is a mere matter of words. They regard it rather as a change on the part of God toward us, than as a change in our relation to Him. Now God forgives our sins by putting His righteousness into and upon us. Read Rom. iii. 22-25. We are "saved by His life." The righteousness of God is revealed only in the life of Jesus Christ, and our sins are forgiven-remitted, sent away-when we consciously and gladly receive that life, so that it is henceforth not we who live, but Christ who lives in us. Thus you see that forgiveness of sins makes a radical change in the individual.

You say that there are many persons who have confessed their sins, and who have believed that God forgave them, but whose lives have not been transformed; they struggle to do right, but fail fully as often as they succeed. Very well; we need not doubt the genuineness of their conversion. The trouble is that they have not fully realised that the just shall live by faith, and have not allowed faith to add to them all the Christian graces. Read the list in 2 Peter i. 4-8. "But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and bath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." This shows incidentally, also, that forgiveness of sins means purging from the sin. If people grasped the fact that forgiveness of sins is effected by the power of a new and endless life, there would be fewer failures in the Christian life.

Do you now see what an "unspeakable gift" the forgiveness of sins is? Here is a little statement of the case that will help to fix it in your mind: When a person has sinned against you, you naturally feel offended; there is more or less bitterness in your heart. The person asks forgiveness, and his penitence moves you to pity, and you grant the request. Your feelings change. But your forgiveness makes no change in the person who has done the wrong. Having confessed his sin, he is free, even though you refuse to forgive him; but your forgiveness means a change in your attitude toward him. But it is not so with God's forgiveness. He has no bitterness, no feeling of offended dignity, in His heart. He loves us in our sins. We are moved by His love to ask forgiveness for our sins, and He grants it, but that does not involve any change in Him; the change is wholly in us who are forgiven. It is a real thing, for He imparts to us His own real life. He gives to us that which enables us to resist sin in our flesh, to which we have always before been subject. Do you not see that the forgiveness of our sins by the Lord means the reception of something real, and that it is designed to effect a change that is manifest in our own bodies?

FORGIVENESS OF SIN IS THE ASSURANCE OF THE RESURRECTION AT CHRIST'S COMING

Well now, let us for a moment leave the present, and look forward to the future, to the coming of the Lord Jesus the second time. We know what will take place then: The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living will be changed to immortality. 1 Cor. xv. 51-53; 1 Thess. iv. 16-18. He will "change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." Phil. iii. 21. That is to say, The power by which the Lord at His coming changes this body from corruptible to incorruptible, is the same by which He casts down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and brings into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. It is by "the righteousness which comes through the faith of Christ,"

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that we "attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Phil. iii. 9-11. We know therefore, and everybody knows, that the forgiveness of sins does indeed involve the healing of all disease at some time, and the abolishing of death. You see this clearly, do you not? Very well, let us go a step farther, or rather, let us come a step nearer.

Conversion is

A PASSING FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but is passed out of death into life." John v. 24. Even now the hour is come "when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." Verse 25. This is not to be marvelled at, since "the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." Verses 28, 29. At the sounding of the last trumpet, and the call of the Lord the dead will come forth from their graves by the very same power by which men now live righteous lives. Yes; even now Christ "hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel." 2 Tim. i. 10. The mystery of the resurrection is made manifest in every soul that gains the victory over sin. Righteousness is gained only by "the power of His resurrection," and in the resurrection of Christ is contained the resurrection of all who are His. He is the resurrection and the life, and when we are in Him we have Him as the resurrection and the life to us day by day.

THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US

You will readily admit that it is no more difficult for the Lord to make a person "every whit whole" now than at the resurrection. Indeed, He has often done this very thing. But that which we have already seen is that the vary same power that will work at the resurrection of all the dead is now at work in all who believe in Christ, and that it is by that power that we receive forgiveness. The power by which we receive righteousness is the power by which we live and breathe. God is able to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Eph. iii. 20. The mystery of the Gospel is the mystery of life; and the mystery of the new birth is simply that of the first birth. In this period of probation God is giving us a sample of eternal life, that we may decide whether or not we care enough for it to keep it.

Everybody who has known what it is to gain the victory over any sin, has realised a definite power working in his own body. He knows that there is in him something that controls his flesh as he himself never could do before. In fact, the only way that we can know the reality of forgiveness is by experiencing this change in us. Now that power is the life of Christ by the Holy Spirit. Christ is not divided; He has only the one life, Himself, for He is life itself. Why then should we not take that life for physical healing so well as for spiritual life, since that is the one and only agent by which everything in the purpose of God is accomplished?

THE SUM OF THE MATTER

But I have not directly answered your question yet. I reply that there cannot possibly be any doubt that there are and always have been thousands of persons whose sins were forgiven, who suffered from disease. Beloved saints of God are going into their graves every day; but it is a costly thing for the Lord, and causes Him pain. "Precious (costly) in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." We cannot presume to unravel all the causes of everything that takes place; but we may be certain of this, that thousands of good people die, who do not need to, and who would not die if they grasped all the possibilities in the forgiveness of their sins. God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." The life of the Lord is altogether too unreal to most people. If all received Him as a present Saviour, and got fully acquainted with Him, they would learn that "He is the Saviour of the body." Why should it be that there are so many who cannot read Ps. ciii. 1-5? That scripture is in an unknown language to those who do not have the experience.

GET ACQUAINTED WITH THE LIFE

What then should we do?-We should study the life of Christ in all its manifestations. We should learn to recognise Him in His sanctuary, that is, our own bodies, which are the temples of the Holy Ghost. We should study to know how our bodies as well as our souls are to be sanctified and kept blameless till the coming of the Lord. We should seek to know the way of life, that we may be led in the way everlasting. We should give diligence to know how to fight the good fight, of faith, and to lay hold on eternal life. We should learn to recognise the life of Christ in all the agencies, as food, drink, air, etc., by which it la conveyed to us, as well as to know the Holy Spirit. This study involves details too many to be taken up here; all that we can do now is to open up the glorious possibilities before every believer in Christ.

FOOD AND HEALING

One thing more: please read again two texts at the beginning of this article, namely Ps. ciii. 2-5 and Ex. xxiii. 25. God "satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." "He shall bless thy bread and thy water," and "will take sickness away from thee." Do you not see that this indicates a, close connection between our food and our health? Healing does not come arbitrarily, but as the result of coming into complete harmony with "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." Why should we expect it to be otherwise? Our life depends largely upon what we eat; why then, if we eat only that which is good, receiving it direct from the hand of the Lord, should not our life be redeemed from destruction, and our youth renewed? Every Christian ought to be a thorough student of physiology, which means a student of the law of Christ's life as manifested in us and in everything that pertains to us. This is not so difficult as might be supposed. When one recognises and receives the life of the Lord by faith, he has "the key of knowledge," and has free access to "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seer with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us); that, which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full."

When the most insignificant man tells us we are in error, we should listen, and examine ourselves, and see if it is so. To believe it possible we may be in error, is the first step toward getting out of it.

"Reputation" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

Many persons are more careful of their reputations than of their characters. Reputation is only wehat people think of you; but character is what you are in yourself. If we take care of our characters, God will, in the end, vindicate our reputations; but it we are careless of our characters, God Himself cannot finally save our reputations.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

-Two deaths from bubonic plague have been reported from Glasgow.

-It is said that Germany has achieved a victory over all the nations exhibiting at the Paris Exposition, with the exception of France.

-It is stated that there are 6,000,000 more total abstainers to-day than fifty years ago, and yet there are 20 per cent. more drinkers.

-Negotiations are on foot to combine the interests of the Ayshire and Nottingham least manufacturers. A capital of ?3,000,000 is spoken of.

-Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, for many years a missionary in Constantinople, died August 8, at his home in Portland, Maine, U.S.A., in his eighty-ninth year.

-Barwell, near Liecester, a parish having the oldest sexton in England, has for thirteen consecutive weeks had no death out of its population of 3,000.

-The official statistics of lynchings in the United States in 1899, show that 103 negroes were lynched in the South, and eighty-four negroes and twenty-three whites in the North.

-The Cape House of Assembly has passed the second reading of the Harbour Loan Bill authorising a loan of ?1,291,000 to improve Table Bay, Port Elizabeth, East London, and Mossel Bay.

-A syndicate of millionaires identified with the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railways, is said to be planning a gigantic organisation to take advantage of England's extremity in the matter of coal production, to attempt to wrest the European market from her permanently.

-Marconi's system of wireless telegraphy has been adopted by the British Navy, after severe tests, and the installation has been ordered in thirty-two warships. Each apparatus has to be tried between Portsmouth and Portland, a distance of eighty-six miles with an intervening headland. The inventors expect soon to be able to double this distance.

-Floods in Japan have resulted in the death of 200 persons.

-The Mansion House War Fund is now considerably more than one million pounds.

-It is stated that up to the present the cost of the German expedition to China is ?5,000,000.

-General Olivier, one of the leading Boer officers, has been captured, together with his three sons.

-Rain is continuing in India, and the crop prospects are reported to be excellent in nearly all the affected districts.

-Bresci, the murderer of King Humbert, has been sentenced to imprisonment for life, the extreme penalty permitted by Italian law.

-It is estimated that in Chicago, New York, and other big cities in the States, more than ten thousand horses have been killed by the heat this summer.

-A French millionaire has started a hospital for sick plants in Paris. Gardeners take care of the ailing plants in immense greenhouses, where they are kept free of charge until they recover.

-Lieutenant Cordua, who were shot by order of a court martial for plotting to abduct Lord Roberts after having taken the oath of neutrality, wrote a letter to his mother admitting the justice of his execution.

-The German Emperor, having decided that we are now in a new century, has ordered the issue of a new postage stamp. It represents Germania fully armed, gripping in her mailed fist a formidable sword.

-The Matin states that within the past seven weeks there have been about 800 cases of typhoid, including 160 deaths, in Paris, and for this state of affairs it asserts the municipality is responsible, in not providing a pure supply of water.

-What is claimed to be the largest schooner ever built has just been launched at Camden, Maine, U.S.A. The vessel is 302 feet long on the keel, and 345 on top, and has six masts, each 119 feet long, and will spread 12,000 yards of canvas.

-One of the Shah's Ministers is negotiating with some Belgian capitalists for the construction of a railway in Persia, and the establishment of several industries. A Russian syndicate of textile manufacturers is also planning great operations in Persia.

-News from China is not very reliable yet, but the principal quarters of Pekin are said to be heaps of ruins. "The destruction of property has been of the most wanton description. Buildings which had not been burned were pulled down apparently for the pure pleasure of destroying." The Legations are of course wrecked.

-The present epidemic of cholera in India is reported as far worse than the plague. The natives are said to be dying at the rate of 30,000 a week. The Governor of Bombay makes the following report for the week ended August 18: Famine-stricken districts, 4,206 cases of cholera, of which 3,025 were fatal. Native States, cases of cholera, 5,800; deaths from cholera, 3,873.

-The prayer composed by Queen Margherita, in memory of the murdered king, has become very popular in Italy, in spite of its prohibition by the Pope on the ground of heresy. It is recited daily in the churches by the mass of the population, and is said to have become almost a political utterance. Every day there are reports of conflicts between the clergy and Liberal Catholics who persist in saying it. At Turin, Naples, and Palermo, and other towns, deadly fights have taken place in the vicinity of churches, in which several persons have been killed and wounded.

-Already 195,000 copies of Moody's biography have been sold.

-There is a general spirit of unrest among railway men throughout the kingdom, and there are strong indications of a strike that will tie up all the roads.

-Fierce storms are reported from nearly every department of France, and fires and floods have, together with the storms, caused much loss of life and property.

-Great uneasiness is felt over the reports from Morocco. The tribes are restless and discontented, and "holy men" are rousing the people throughout the country.

-It is said by higher authority that a strike has been agreed upon by the coal miners in America, which will tie up the whole of the anthracite region in Pennsylvania.

-Portions of the old London wall have been discovered in Cripplegate and Newgate-street. It is nine feet thick and nine feet high, and is in a good state of preservation.

-The Army post office in South Africa consists of officers and 392 men. The weekly mails have sometimes contained over 300,000 letters, in addition to 150,000 newspapers.

-The French Minister of Marine has ordered that at the end of the present year all torpedo boats with the Channel and Mediterranean squadrons are to be replaced by destroyers.

-It has been discovered that serviceable bricks can be made from the spent sand and glass resulting from the operation of grinding plate-glass. One firm alone at St. Helens has accumulations of this matter estimated at 1,500,000 tons, and the manufacture of bricks from it will soon begin.

-It has been decided that the English Chambers of Commerce shall this year hold their autumn Congress in Paris. Seventy-seven Chambers of Commerce will be represented by 500 delegates. It is hoped that this will stimulate better relations between the French and English peoples.

-A correspondent of The Times attributes the spread of enteric fever in South Africa in a great measure to what he calls an "artificial thirst." Men drink, he says, when they are not really, or ought not to be, thirsty, simply because they have made a habit of drinking on the slightest provocation.

-An Australian journalist, Mr. Donald Murray, is said to have invented an electrical device by which it is possible to type-write at a distance of hundreds of miles, and at the rate of over 100 words per minute. The Postal Telegraph Company of the United States has purchased the rights from the inventor.

-A young girl has just received ?1 from the Chief Commissioner of Police for bravery in coming to the rescue of a constable who was in danger of being severely beaten by Deptford roughs. She pushed her way through the crowd, and seizing the policeman's whistle blew it, thus bringing him assistance.

-Dr. Cornfield, medical officer of health for St. George's Vestry, Hannover-square, has issued a warning, stating that some of the low-priced brands of condensed milk now on sale in London are deficient in nutritive power, and that infants fed on such milk alone are as certainly starved to death as if they had no food at all.

-The annual report of the Postmaster-General shows that last year 2,246,800,000 letters and 4,300,000 postcards were posted. This is an increase of 2.7 per cent. in the number of letters, and 7.7 per cent. in the number of post cards, over the year before. The number of newspaper sent was 163,400,000, an increase of 18 per cent.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

It is officially stated that the United States is preparing to maintain a force of 5,000 troops in China during the winter, as a precaution against the failure of the proposed peace negotiations.

When we read that the allied troops, on entering Pekin, thought that the members of the Legations were having a garden party, so faultlessly were they attired, and that the rescuers were in far worse plight than the rescued, we cannot help thinking of the fable of the wolf and the lamb. It would seem that the Powers are determined to find some evil thing to report about China, in order to give them the semblance of an excuse to devour her.

The vicar of the Church of St. Sebastian, at Rome, has been sentenced to eight month's imprisonment without hard labour, for expressing the opinion that regicide is occasionally justifiable. That has always been the teaching of "that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth." As long as the spirit of the Papacy is in the earth, anarchy and violence must prevail; and the spirit of the Papacy is wherever the Spirit of Christ is not.

In saying that the reports from China, as to the outrages perpetrated by the Chinese, are largely exaggerated, and that the Powers seem determined to find an excuse that will seem to justify them in partitioning that Empire, we do not mean to apologise for any acts of violence by the Chinese. What we mean to say is, that the heathen Chinese have all along acted with much more forbearance than the professed Christian peoples would have done under similar provocation. That they have massacred missionaries, does not mean what it seems to mean to people in Europe or America. The Chinese have no hatred to missionaries, as such, any more than to other people; but they see in them the representatives of the people who are interfering, often by force, with their customs. If there was no attempt to make missionary effort a wedge to open the way for so-called "civilisation," there would be few murdered missionaries. As for mere "civilisation," it is an open question whether the Western product is superior to the Eastern.

The mystery of the Parr's Bank robbery has been cleared up by the confession of the thief. It is the old story of a man worried over pressing debts, a sudden temptation yielded to, and then a plunge into stock gambling in hopes of making up the amount spent, so that all might be repaid. Very few people mean to commit all the evil that follows the yielding to the first temptation. Eve did not mean to bring misery and death upon the whole world, when she listened to the serpent. The only way to escape great sins is to keep free from the small ones.

The official announcement that the bubonic plague exists in Glasgow cannot but have a damaging effect upon the shipping of that port for some time to come, even though the plague should not spread, and should be speedily stamped out. No ships can now obtain a clean bill of health, and all vessels arriving at foreign ports from Glasgow will be quarantined. It is now stated that the disease existed in Glasgow as long ago as August 3, and on the 31st there were twelve cases known. All the hospital officials, and others who come in contact with plague-stricken patients or suspected cases, are to be inoculated with anti-plague serum, and the same is to be done for any inhabitants who are bold enough to risk the experiment.

Instead of being willing, and counting it a joy, to study the Scriptures-the deep things and dark sayings of God-in order to understand them, too many of those who profess an interest in the Bible wish to have it all explained to them, and made easy in order that they may read it with interest. A portion of Scripture that requires thought, is voted by them "dry." Such ones should remember that out of the dry rock the Lord caused rivers of living water to flow, and that it will always be the same with the Scriptures of truth, if we but smite them in faith. In studying a difficult passage, that is, in fixing the mind upon it, and turning it over and over, meditating upon every word and its relation to every other word, one gets double value. First is the joy of discovery of seeing the growing light of the dawn; and then there is the certainty of knowledge, which is always lacking when one receives "the meaning of a text" from another.

Have you peace, the peace "that passeth all understanding," which so marvellously rules even in the midst of the greatest trial and conflict, that you yourself are astonished at your own calmness and joy? If you have it not, why not? What have you done with it?

"What have I done with it? Why, I have never had it; I am sure I would keep it fast enough, if I once had it."

Well, if you haven't had it the loss is due to your own neglect; for Christ said, "Peace, I leave with you; My peace I give unto you." By the cords of everlasting love He has bound over every soul to "keep the peace." Your case has not, yet been called in court; it is not too late to recover the lost treasure.

"Preparation for Service" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

Preparation for Service .-If God has called you to a work, be sure that He has also called you to a preparation for it. The most burning desire to preach the Gospel to perishing souls will not take the place of earnest and continuous study of the Word. If you feel that God has called you to speak or write, then know that He has called you to study to know how to express in proper form the thoughts that He gives you, so that they will be effective, and at the same time not offend the ears of the cultured. And remember that the time spent in preparation for a God-given work is just as much spent in His service as is the work that follows.

"God's Gifts an Incentive to Work" The Present Truth 16, 36.

E. J. Waggoner

God's Gifts an Incentive to Work .-While the old adage, that "God helps those who help themselves," is heathen, in that it places the primary power in man, and makes God only secondary, it is a truth that He specially helps those who have a disposition to use every faculty given to them. God helps those who cannot help themselves; "for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." He gives us every faculty we possess; but He increases the gift only to those who develop and put to the best use the talents entrusted to them. The gifts of the Spirit are not far the purpose of encouraging laziness. For instance, no one need think that God will ever impart, to him the gift of tongues, if he has not enough interest and energy to use the ability that God has already given him in that direction. God gives wisdom, but not so as to discourage study. If we do not make use of the little that we already have, how can we expect God to give us more?

September 13, 1900

"Front Page" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

This is the season of the ripened fruit, when the trees fulfil the promise of spring, and both eye and palate delight in the richness of autumn. Those who are privileged to spend the season in the country have a treat that is beyond all comparison; and even the dwellers in the city can share in the harvest rejoicing. How sad it is that so few are simple enough in their lives to enjoy these bounties of nature to the full.

Why does the Lord let the earth bring forth fruit in abundance? The answer will at once be returned: "For people to eat," although unfortunately, many regard it as a luxury which one can well do without, rather than a staple article of diet; but the answer does not tell the whole of the truth; for God has other besides merely keeping people alive on this earth.

In the school of Christ all sciences are summed up in one, namely salvation. There is only one thing for men to learn in this world, and that is, how to use it so as to gain the world to come. He who has not learned this, is utterly ignorant and destitute, even though he be called, "Teacher," and have millions of money; for "what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" He who has salvation in Christ, has "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," and "unsearchable riches" that can never be diminished.

Since salvation is the one thing needful, it is evident that the fruit-bearing trees are for the purpose of helping to teach us that science, and to enable us to gain its riches. Men are plants, trees, the tillage of the Lord. God has planted us in this world, to be "trees of righteousness," in order that we may be "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Just as the fruit trees bring forth their beautiful and desirable fruit, so are men to bring forth righteous deeds.

The tree does not exert itself to bear fruit; it simply and naturally is in it. Being a good tree, planted in good soil, and having good care, sunshine, water, etc., it must of

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necessity yield good fruit. "A good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."

Can we then live wholly at our ease, and be wholly irresponsible, leaving things to work themselves out? Not by any means. Our part is to yield ourselves to God, and to keep ourselves passive in His hands every moment. Here is an opportunity for the exertion of all the power of God has given as. Do you not know that when a man who cannot swim, is in deep water, it is far more difficult for him to hold himself perfectly still, than it is for the swimmer to bear him to the shore? That will illustrate our part in submitting ourselves to God, to be used by Him to His glory.

One thing should fill us with joy and courage, and that is that a good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit. "But I am not good," is the complaint. True; no one is good, except God; but He has give unto us "exceeding great and precious promises," that by them we might be made partakers of His nature. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." While we constantly remember our sinfulness and weakness, and confess it to God, He takes it away, and fills us with the fruits of righteousness. Which would you rather do: try to make yourself and others believe that you are without fault, and be corrupt, or acknowledge that you are sinful, with no power to do good, and have God work His perfection in you?

"The Glory of Watchfulness. Luke xii. 35-46" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xii. 35-46.)¹⁴1

In the list of lessons for the quarter this lesson is styled "The Duty of Watchfulness;" but we have substituted "glory" for "duty," and we think that the student will agree, as he studies the lesson, that the change is justified. Here is the lesson text:-

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if He shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that it the good man of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through, Be ye therefore ready also; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Then Peter said unto Him, Lord, speakest Thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make ruler over His household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when He cometh, shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that He will make him ruler over all that He hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and be drunken; the Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for Him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will out him in sunder and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers."

THE GIRDLE

The exhortation is, "Let your loins be girded about." The first question that must necessarily occur to the one who desires to obey the command is, With what shall the loins be girded? What is the girdle? This question is answered in Eph. vi. 14, in the place where we find the description of the armour which will enable us to stand ready when the Lord comes. "Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth." And what is truth? This is the question asked by Pilate, but the Lord had given the answer before Pilate thought of asking it; "Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth." John xvii. 17. "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth." Ps. cxix. 142. The law of God, set forth in the ten commandments, is the girdle with which we are to be bound about. It is righteousness, and its possession shows our oneness with the Lord Jesus Himself, of whom it is said, "Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins." Isa. xi. 5.

Of what use is the girdle? With our present mode of dress we do not appreciate it as much as we would were we accustomed to wear the flowing garments of ancient times, and still used to a great extent in the East. It will readily be seen that while the loose, flowing robes were very comfortable while not engaged in any active exercise, they would be very inconvenient if one were trying to run, or wrestle, or were working. They would get in his way, impeding his movements, and frequently causing him to stumble. Therefore whenever a man wished to work or run, he girded himself-bound up his garments so that he could work or run without stumbling. The Christian life is a race, and a battle, and therefore all are exhorted to have their loins girt about. Activity must characterise all the people of God. They are servants, and they must be at work, or at least ready to run in His service at a moment's notice.

Now read Ps. cxix. 165: "Great peace have they which love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them," or "cause them to stumble." The law of God is love, and he in whose heart the love of God is shed abroad by the Holy Spirit, cannot be made to stumble by anything that anybody may do. If others are perverse, he is patient; if others are disobedient, he cannot be induced to make that an excuse for him to depart from the right way. He will literally not be offended, for love is not provoked. 1 Cor. xiii. 5. The Holy Spirit of promise, "the Spirit of adoption," puts God's law into the mind (Heb. viii. 10), and thus the loins of the mind are girt up, according to the injunction in 1 Peter i. 13. Is it not easy to see that this steadiness of purpose, this steadfastness of mind, this quietness and confidence, trusting in the Lord, is what is meant by having the loins girt? that it means the possession of the mind and character of the Lamb of God. This fact becomes plain when we read ahead in the lesson, to verse 45. We may learn the condition of the servant whose loins are not girt with truth: he begins to smite his fellow servant, and to live a life of carnal pleasure. The law of love received into the heart, would prevent all that.

SHINING LIGHTS

The lights are to be burning, as well as the loins to be girded. What are the lights? The answer is ready to hand: "Ye are the light of the world." "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt. v. 14, 16. And what is it that makes the followers of Jesus the light of the world?-It is the possession of the truth,-the being

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girt about with it-having the mind transformed by it. Thus: "Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the Word of life." Phil. ii. 14-16. Here we see that the possession of truth in the heart, having the law written in the heart, is the only preventive of murmurings and disputings,-the smiting of the fellow-servants, which characterises those who are unbelieving, and the possession of the law of love makes one a light; for "the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light." Prov. vi. 23.

"God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." His light is His life, and He clothes Himself with light (Ps. civ. 9), for His clothing is His own life of righteousness. He covers all who believe in Him with His own robe of righteousness, so that they themselves are light. Christ is the Iight of the world, because He is the shining of the Father's glory; and John "was a burning and a shining light." John v. 35. Yet neither Christ nor John the Baptist went about with a halo round their heads, as depicted by the "old masters;" nor was there anything about their appearance to dazzle anybody. Their light was their life. The light is the Word dwelling in the heart, and controlling the life.

Christ, the true Light, "lighteth every man that cometh into the world," so that each one may, if he will, also be a light. The light abideth in the darkness, and the darkness does not shut it in, so as to put it out. A light that will not shine in the dark, is of no use. That is to say, a Christian who cannot live a Christian life in the midst of the temptations of the world, is not a Christian. Darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the people, and this darkness will be deeper and deeper the nearer we come to the end; but the Lord is to rise upon His people, and His glory is to he seen upon them, so that they will be changed from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. The deeper the darkness, the brighter will their light shine.

"NO ONE LIVETH FOR HIMSELF"

But what has all this to do with watchfulness?-Just this, that the one who is watching for the coming of the Lord will be shining. It cannot be otherwise. It is by beholding that we become changed into glory, and whoever is looking for the return of the Lord Jesus in the clouds of heaven, is looking at Him now by faith, looking into His face; "for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. iv. 6. It is not merely that God has shined in our hearts to give to us the light of the knowledge of His glory, but that He shined into our hearts, in order that we may give to others the light of the knowledge of that glory; and this we do by walking in the light as He is in the light, and allowing the light from the face of Jesus to shine upon and through us. "They looked unto Him, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed." While we are watching, we are shining, although as unconscious of the light that shines from us as Moses was. This follows from the fact that we shine only while we are looking at the Lord; and when we are looking at Him, it is evident that we cannot be self-conscious. It is impossible, however, for anyone to be in a proper condition without being a light to others. So it is not merely a duty to be watching for the return of the Lord, but it is a glory. Just in proportion as the glory of the coming dawn increases, will the glory of those who are watching for it increase. But no one who is engaged in strife or controversy, in murmuring, in fault-finding or complaining, can be said to be looking for the coming of the Lord, no matter how much he may talk about it. What is the inspired exhortation? "Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned; behold, the Judge standeth at the door." James v. 9. Many are so ignorant of this truth, that they even engage in controversy over the coming of the Lord! What incredible blindness! How strange that men should quarrel over the Gospel of peace, and thereby lose possession of it! Therefore "let us watch, and be sober;" for "we are not of the night, nor of darkness."

"The Heavenly Way" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

"As for God, His way is perfect." Ps. xviii. 30. God's way is perfect, no matter in what it is revealed. Because of the curse it is not seen in the earth as it should be; yet in spite of the curse, where God in some measure has His way, we can see His perfection. Look at the flowers of the field. There we see, the glory of God's life. Solomon in all his greatness was not arrayed like a lily of the field.

God's way for us all is a perfect way. It is the best way; and when we accept it, and submit to it, that is the best way for us. Sin came into the world, and marred the perfect work of God. The Gospel is designed to bring back to every one who will receive it the perfection of God's way for man. To accept it in reality, to make it a living experience in our lives, bridges over the gulf between us and God, sets up a living connection between earth and heaven, and makes it possible for the heavenly way for man to be brought into our earthly life in so large a measure that through us it can be revealed to others.

Jesus prayed, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." That should be the prayer of every follower of Christ. The way God's will is done in heaven is revealed in Ps. ciii. 20: "Bless the Lord ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto His word." If the Lord's word had always been harkened to, there would never have been any departure from the right. It is because another word was hearkened to instead of the Lord's, that all the imperfection has come into the world. Much of the burden and of the suffering we have to bear, might be avoided if we would but accept the heavenly way of living.

Christ upon earth was the embodiment, the incarnation, of the heavenly way. He came to make it possible that that way could be revealed in us in our treatment of our fellow-men, no matter who they might be, nor what their condition. He had compassion on those who were in distress, and it was this that led Him to die for the world. The same spirit in anyone will reveal itself in the same way-he will be touched with the woes of others, and like the Master will go about doing good.

But it is said, "Oh this is all well enough for Christ-He was the Son of God." Yes, but hear Him: "I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." John. xiv. 10. We can take courage in this, that what Jesus did, was in just such flesh as ours; and as God through Him wrought great things, so we can say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." We are to take God's word as the guide and the power of life, regardless of fashion or what anyone may say or think. When God's way is revealed to us, it is our duty

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to accept it no matter what it involves. We are to obey, let the consequences be what they may.

But you say This is an old-fashioned Gospel, and is not in vogue much to-day. True; but it is just what God is calling upon every one to accept. This does not mean that God is a hard waster, insisting that we give up that which is for our good. No; but rather He asks us to abstain from the things that are to us death, and accept what will be to us life. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard, not God's way. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." The way that God would have us take, we can find in His word. When it is found, by the grace of God follow it, for it will bring heaven to earth, and make life a success.

"Coming as a Thief" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

In the Sunday-school lesson that appears this week, we are told that the Lord will come in a day when the unfaithful servant is not looking for Him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder. Luke xii. 46.

Similar language is used by Christ, as recorded in Luke xxi. 34, 35: "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts he overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the earth."

Once again we read: "The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. v. 2, 8. Is there in any of these texts any colour whatever for the notion that the second coming of the Lord is to be silent and secret, under the cover of darkness, so that nobody except the few who are saved will know anything about it until it is past?-The reply is, None whatever; for such an idea does violence to the whole of the teaching of the Scriptures, concerning the coming of Christ. The "secret rapture," of which some talk, is all a myth, a product of the imagination.

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How do we know this?-By reading the Word. In the very same talk in which Christ said that His coming would take the unbelieving world by surprise, He said: "There shall be signs in sun and moon and stars: and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; men expiring for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see, the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory." Luke xxi. 35-37, R.V., margin. Nothing like stealth here.

The next verse to that which says that "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night," says, "Of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you," and immediately after this we read: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." It comes as a thief only on those who are not looking for it; and it comes as a thief only in that it comes unexpectedly; and it comes unexpectedly only to those whose senses are stupefied by excess in eating and drinking, and who are absorbed in the cares of this life.

"Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him." Rev. i. 7. All the tribes of the earth shall mourn, "and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. xxiv. 30, 31. How can they help seeing Him, when "as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." This may not be set aside by the assertion that these texts refers to another coming, and that previously to this the Lord snatches His chosen ones away. Remember that He sends His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, to gather together His elect. "The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." "The angels shall come forth, and shall sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire." And "then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Matt. xiii. 41-43, 49.

There is but one more coming of the Lord, to which we are directed to look. The Scriptures speak only of two comings: One which is already in the past, and the second coming of Christ. "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Heb. ix. 26. The promise is, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, a here ye may be also." John xiv. 3. "Again," means "once more," and that will complete the sum of His comings to this earth, aside from His continual presence by His Spirit.

Cnrist will not come as one who is ashamed, and none who look for Him need be ashamed of their faith. None who look for Him, and who continue looking until the and, in spite of the taunts of an unbelieving world and the smitings of unfaithful professors, will have any occasion to be ashamed; for "hope maketh not ashamed." Let us therefore keep the faith, so that we may continually rejoice in hope of the glory of God, which so powerfully sends its rays in advance that it enables us to "glory in tribulation also."

"The Editor's Private Corner. Who Has Seen and Known God?" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

"In 1 John iii. 6, we read: 'Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him.' How can that be? Are we to conclude that everybody who commits a sin has never known anything about the Lord? Peter had certainly seen the Lord many times, and knew Him, yet he sinned in denying Him."

There you go, after the usual manner of men, reading a verse of Scripture, and straightway beginning to argue against it, trying to prove that it is not true, and then wondering why you cannot understand it. Why not rather accept it as true, and then begin to study it? It is by faith, not by doubt, that we understand. You think that you believe it, I know, but faith does not interpose doubt.

The statement is plain and unqualified: "Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him," yet we must of course consider the connection. Read the verse before: "Ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin." Now the question is, "Is He able to do that for which He was manifested? or did He die in vain? Which do you say? Does He bear the sin of the world? Is He able to cleanse from all unrighteousness? You dare not say, "No;" very well, say "Yes," and don't follow it with a "but." Stop with the plain "yes," and then we shall make progress.

The Scriptures assure us that "no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Cor. xii. 3. Now we know very well that in the day of Pentecost Peter received the Holy Spirit in a way that he had never dreamed of when Jesus was yet with the disciples, not even when he had said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." We must remember that the Scripture never calls a half the whole, and that an occasional glimpse of the truth is not the knowledge of the truth. The student does not know his subject, simply because it has now and then opened up before him with wonderful brilliancy while the professor was lecturing on it. When he knows it, he knows it all the time, and so well that he cannot forget it. Even so we do not know God until we can recognise Him everywhere He is revealed, and until we know Him every moment, without occasional lapses of memory.

This is in harmony with the teaching of the text, that "whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not." Is not that easy enough to believe? Can you conceive of such a thing as one sinning while dwelling in God? No. Very well, then if he abides in God, he will not sin at all, will he? You see the apostle is speaking of things absolute,-of full and complete knowledge, and not half knowledge. He is speaking of an experience altogether beyond that of the majority of professed Christians; but we must not say that it is impossible, simply because we have not had it.

Now as to seeing God. Who see Him?-"Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." None others can see Him. But purity of the heart must be a constant thing. The pure heart is not the one that is occasionally clean, but one that stays clean by the constant flowing through it of the cleansing stream, the pure river of water of life. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." The only begotten Son, then, is the only One who has seen God, and He sees Him, because He is in the bosom of the Father. But He gives to us the power to become sons of God, and then we too shall abide in Him, and see Him.

The great difficulty in understanding such texts as this, lies not in the texts themselves, but in our sin-loving hearts. We do not like to have the Scriptures mean that it is possible for us to live absolutely without sin in the world, for that would mean that we ought to live without sinning, and we do not wish to have it so. We do not wish to have the gate shut entirely. We wish a little gap left, so that we can hold to some few little, long cherished sins, without being made to feel uncomfortable. But that will not do "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked," and "in Him is no sin."

When we let go, and surrender everything, we shall find that there are possibilities in the Christian life, so vast that it will actually seem to us that we have never before known anything of the Lord. And we shall not be puffed up by the sight and the knowledge, and will not think of boasting about our own righteousness. Far from it. In fact, we shall then, more than ever before, know the sinfulness of human flesh. Job was a man who feared God, and eschewed evil; He had served God conscientiously for many years; yet, when he had the full revelation of Divine power and goodness, ha said, "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee; wherefore I abhor myself." It is while we confess our sins, that He cleanses us from all unrighteousness; so a continual confession of weakness will be accompanied by constant cleansing. "Sin shall not have dominion over you." Instead of being discouraged at the thought of our own weakness and sinfulness, we shall rejoice, we cannot help rejoicing, at the knowledge of the fact that we are in touch with the mighty power that can work righteousness even in such sinful flesh as ours.

"Hypnotism" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

"What do you think of Hypnotism? What is it and what is its source? Is it good or evil? I see it stated that great cures have been effected by it, end that it has great possibilities as a means of healing disease; must it not therefore be good?"

These questions, like all others, can be satisfactorily answered only by bringing them to the test of certain ground principles, which are so simple that they can be seen by everybody, and which will enable each one to judge for himself whether or not these answers are correct. It I should answer your questions by "yes," or "no," you would have only my opinion. You would really be no wiser than before, for it is of very little consequence what I or any ocher man in the world thinks about anything. Even though a man's views be correct, and his judgment just, we must know his reasons, else we have learned nothing about the thing we ask about. Fortunately the subject before us depends upon principles so clear and plain that every one may know for himself just what is right. Moreover, it

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is of great importance that everyone have a knowledge of this matter, for it will soon be a live question, in some form or other, with every person.

It all depends upon what constitutes a complete man. When God made man, He made him a king. Man, under God, or rather, in God, was to be absolute ruler over the whole earth, and every living creature. He was "the Son of God" (Luke iii. 38), and therefore as son and ruler, he was designed to be an associate of God. He was made as free as God Himself; and only when a man can come into the presence of God without cringing, and with no feeling of fear, is he a complete man. This we learn from the fact, that only in Christ can we become "a perfect man." Through Him we have access to God, so that we can come with boldness to the throne of grace. Every man should be able to come into the presence of the Creator of all things as freely and with as little restraint as the Lord Jesus Himself.

The history of all God's dealing with men shows that He has no love for slavery. The true seed are born of a free woman, and not of a bondwoman. Not Eliezer, the chief steward, nor the son of the Egyptian handmaid, could be the seed of Abraham. "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." For a time the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt, but God visited them to deliver them, as it is written, "Out of Egypt have I called My Son." Egypt stands for every sort of bondage, but out of Zion, the free city, comes the Deliverer. Christ took the nature of fallen man, that He might "deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Those who are truly His disciples are "free indeed."

Now there is no slavery more gross and cruel than that of the mind in bondage. The Apostle Paul, bound with chains, was free, while Felix, bound with the fetters of superstition and selfishness, was a slave. It follows therefore that for one man voluntarily to put himself, his mind, under the power of another person's mind, is voluntarily to resign his kingship, and to become a slave. But to cease to be a king, reigning in life with Christ Jesus, is to cease to be a son of God through the Spirit; for every child of God is a king, and there are no real rulers except those who are children of God.

We are exhorted to have the mind of Christ in us. The perfect mind is that of the Spirit, and "where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty." So it is not correct to say that God controls the minds of His children. He does not, because He gives them His own free mind.

From this it follows that only Satan attempts to get possession and control of the minds of men. It is Satan's first object to enslave minds, for just to the extent that he can do this, are men under his power, to do his will. The difference between the work of God upon man's mind, and the work of Satan, is this: God works, by His Spirit, to strengthen the will, and to set the mind free; Satan works to diminish the power of the will, so that the individual depends upon another's mind. God would have every person on earth independent of every other person, rooted and grounded in Him; Satan works to destroy individuality.

Whoever accepts the principles of Gospel freedom, and understands God's design for man, and that man's proper position is that of king, has an answer to everything that can be asked as to the nature of hypnotism. The word itself is from the Greek word hypnos, meaning sleep. The word, "hypnotic" is very common in medicine, meaning a drug that will stupefy the senses, and put one to sleep. "Hypnotism," therefore, means the stupefying of one's senses; and it should not require long to enable one to see that it cannot be of God. The very fact that God has given us minds, shows that He expects us to use them for ourselves, and not to allow them to be under the control of anybody else, much less to allow them to be deadened and lost.

But how about the cures that have been effected through hypnotism? It is very likely that people have been, seemingly, at least, cured of certain ills by hypnotism. It may even be allowed that some have had the desire for alcoholic liquor taken away from them, by being brought under the control of another mind, and made to think that alcohol was disagreeable. But in the first place, anybody can see that this is no victory over an evil habit. Instead of becoming free, the person is more a slave than ever. He has now less will power than he had before. He knows nothing of the glow and inspiration of the conqueror over sin. He may abstain from liquor, but only because he cannot help himself. And in the second place it must be remembered that, having subjected his mind and will to another, he has less power to resist than before, and some other hypnotist can control him, to make him an instrument of any sort of evil. His seeming gain is a great lose. Because drunkenness is of the devil, and no drunkard can enter heaven, we must not jump to the conclusion that hypnotising a man into soberness cannot be of the devil. Remember that the devil has a great deal of work that can be done only by men who are not under the influence of liquor. The successful gambler, the man who makes his living at it, must keep his mind as free from the fumes of alcohol as the merchant. It is poor service to a man, to untie his bonds, only to place him in stronger fetters; to free him, seemingly, from one sin, to make him more susceptible to every other sin.

In saying all this, I do not by any means intend to intimate that everyone who practises hypnotism is consciously serving the devil. It is doubtful if any of them realise whence the power comes. But every man ought to know that, since God has given each person a mind, and has made all men free, nobody has any right to assume absolute control over the mind of any other person. It is the same kind of sin, for me to seek to get control of another person's mind, that it would be for me to seek to get control of his money; and it is far more wicked, even as the mind is of more value than money. No man has a right to allow another to control his mind, and no man has any right to seek such control. These principles seem so selfevident, that argument is hardly necessary to support them. But they need to be repeated and emphasised.

You may say that good men often have very great influence over those with whom they associate, and that preachers of the Gospel must necessarily have influence over men whom they would help to a better life. This is true, but it is far different from controlling the mind. The true minister of Christ will use whatever influence God has given him with men, to lead them to freedom, to loose the bands that Satan has placed upon their will, and to bring them to their rightful dominion. Just to the extent that religious teachers use their influence over men, to lead them to follow them, and to accept their ideas without question, do we have the Papacy.

The sum of the whole matter is this: Submit your will to God, that He may give it back to you absolutely free,-free with the freedom of His Spirit,-and then stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ makes you free. "The night is far spent, the day is at hand," and "now it is high time to wake out of sleep." "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch, and be sober."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Mansion House War Fund now stands at ?1,004,900; the Famine Fund ?364,352.

-According to reports from Nankin, China, the rice crop is an absolute failure on account of drought.

-A little girl died in St. Bartholomew's Hospital, last week, from blood poisoning caused by a fly bite in the face.

-Lord Roberts has issued a proclamation announcing that the Transvaal will henceforth form a part of Her Majesty's dominions.

-It is now believed that the progress of the bubonic plague in Glasgow has been permanently stayed, as no new cases have developed.

-The Board of Agriculture estimates that there are 51,308 acres of hops to be picked in Great Britain, of which 31,514 acres are in Kent.

-Terrific thunderstorms and floods are reported from Jamaica, which have done great damage to fruit plantations and Government property.

-Excise returns show that the total production of beer in the United Kingdom during the first half of the present year was 17,596,928 barrels.

-The result of the naval experiments at Plymouth, extending over a week, is the conclusion that the port is impregnable against torpedo attacks.

-The harvest in Italy is reported as almost an entire failure, and the prospects for the poor this winter are most unfavourable. The pinch of hunger has already led to outbreaks of disorder in Sicily.

-The strike among the men employed at the oil factories at Marseilles is becoming general, and 2,000 workmen are now idle. Fifteen manufacturers have been compelled to close their establishments.

-The reports from the famine districts in India are very encouraging. Excellent rain has fallen, and the winter sowings are said to be assured. The number of persons now receiving relief is under 4,000,000.

-For the first time for many years French officers have been invited to be present at the German autumn manoeuvres, and German officers have received similar invitations to the French man?uvres.

-It is expected that scores of cotton mills in Lancashire will be closed for several weeks, owing to the decision of cotton trade employers to buy no more cotton during September. It is said that cotton has not been so scarce before since the American civil war.

-Vancouver, B.C., has passed an Emigrant Restrictions Act similar to that in force in Natal, which will chiefly affect the Japanese. As a general election is coming on, it is thought that the Dominion Government will not dare to veto this bold action of the province, for fear of the labour vote.

-The Great Northern Railway Company is preparing to run trains from King's-cross to Leeds and York without intermediate stops. The new services will begin as soon as the mid-rail water. troughs are finished. Later on, through trains to Scotland are to be run with two stops only between London and Edinburgh-namely, York and Newcastle.

-The enormous increase in the supply of feed sent into Paris owing to the exhibition is shown by the octroi statistics just published. The increase in these taxes during August amounted to ?68,000, while the total increase since the beginning of the year is upwards of ?320,000.

-The Etna (New York) Real Estate Company announces that it will erect on the corner of Broadway and Thirty-Third Street the tallest building used for business purposes in the world. It will be thirty stories high, and will cover a site of 100 by 100 feet, and will cost, with the ground, ?500,000.

-The following is the translation of part of a letter written by a Chinese official at Pekin to his family: "The Government had first the intention of suppressing the Boxer movement, but Princes and Ministers in the Imperial Council, having unbounded confidence in them, favoured the Boxers in every possible way."

-According to the return issued by the Local Government Board, there was within the Metropolitan area on the last day of the third week in August a total of 96,739 paupers, who were in the receipt of relief. Of this total 61,858 were classed as indoor paupers, and 84,881 as outdoor. In the corresponding weeks of the three previous years the number of paupers is returned at 98,377, and 99,071 and 97,901.

-The deaths registered during the first week of September in thirty-two great towns in England and Wales corresponded to an annual rate of 21.7 per 1,000 of their aggregate population. This was a little higher than in the three preceding weeks. It is interesting to note that the death-rate in London was below this average, being only 20.2. Sheffield and Preston head the list, with a rate 33.6 and 33.3 respectively, and are followed by Birmingham and Hull, which have a respective rate of 30 6 and 27.9.

-The Holland submarine boat was subjected to a test at Newport (U.S.A.) a few days ago, which resulted in showing that it will he a most powerful agent in destructive warfare. Two warships in the harbour, against which it was sent, swept the harbour with their search lights, and while torpedo boats were easily detected, the submarine boat came within 150 feet of them, and retired unseen. Both warships were at the mercy of the Holland's torpedoes, and had the test been an incident of real war both would have been destroyed.

-A new West Indian service is to be started immediately after next Christmas, by Elder, Demstar, and Company. The new service is to carry mails, merchandise, and passengers. The principal interest centres in the fact that every steamer must, according to contract, bring 500 tons of bananas. To encourage this enterprise, the Government is to pay a subsidy of 240,000 a year. The landing plane in England will be Bristol, at which port great preparations in the way of wharves, fruit stores, etc. are being made.

Reports from Greece say that almost the entire crop of currants has been destroyed by blight. It is expected that the price will advance as high as 1s. 6d. per pound, and the people are beginning to speculate as to the effect upon their Christmas puddings. These currants, by the way, are not currants at all, but small grapes that are peculiar to the Isthums of Corinth, or the shores of the Bay of Corinth, and hence called "Corinths," which has been transformed into "currants."

Last week Russia sprung a surprise on the Powers, by proposing a withdrawal from China, taking in exchange a Chinese promise to restore order. This proposal has met with a refusal by all the Powers without exception. It is not so much their lack of confidence in Chinese promises as in the good faith of Russia, that causes them to determine to hold to what they have. Russian "slimness" is proverbial; that country undoubtedly takes the lead in diplomacy, and it already has so large a hold on Chinese territory that it could "withdraw" and still be practically in possession. In China we have the exhibition of all the nations in alliance; and so "at peace" with one another, and yet not one of them having the slightest confidence in any other.

A practical example of devotion to principle has been given by Messrs. Cadbury, who have refused to fill an order from the War Office, for thirty tons of cocoa. In an interview, Mr. George Cadbury stated that their action was dictated purely by religious motives; they being members of the Society of friends, and conscientiously opposed to all war, did not feel that they could supply anything which assisted in carrying it on. They took the Queen's order for the chocolate which she sent to the soldiers, simply because it came from Her Majesty, and as loyal subjects they felt themselves bound to respect it; but they insisted that their name should not appear on the boxes. Such consistent devotion to principle is none too common in these days.

Italy now stands at the head in Arctic exploration. The Duke of the Abruzzi, a cousin of the present King of Italy, has returned from a fifteen months' voyage on the Stella Polare, having gone as far as 86 deg. 33 min. north latitude before he was compelled to turn back. This is twenty-two miles further north than Nansen reached. It is worth noting, however, that the ship was manned by Norwegian sailors. The party who left the ship for the sledge journey north, were compelled to subsist the most of the winter on the flesh of their dogs, of which only fourteen out of 123 were left alive. There evidently was no old Frenchwoman in that region to ask, "Pourquoi?" as we understand that the Duke contemplates going back to try to get a few miles still further north.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

The question asked and answered last week has special significance because the sender, to our personal knowledge, has been a sufferer for many years. Those in this week's "Private Corner" are from persons who sincerely desire help. We never take any pleasure in answering questions of mere curiosity; but it is always a joy to us to sit down by the side of one who is in soul trouble, and help him to find the light of life. We hope to be permitted to have many such precious seasons in our quiet corner.

"A Royal Waiter" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

A Royal Waiter .-What a sensation would be created if a member of any of the royal families of Europe should provide a dinner for a multitude of people, and should himself stand behind the guests, with a servant's cap and apron on, serving them with food. Yet in our lesson this week we read these words of Christ: "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." The King of kings serving His servants! What greater honour could He bestow upon them? Could anything more perfectly show the dignity of service? It is shown first in the fact that the Lord Himself does not consider it beneath His dignity to be a servant, and second, in the honourable position given to the servants. And yet there are professed Christians who feel themselves above common labour, and who feel that those who serve are of a lower class than they are. Can there be any question as to how such ones really regard the Lord?

"Deceptive and Dangerous Drugs" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

Deceptive and Dangerous Drugs .-A writer in the British Weekly gives facts to show that the habit of drug-taking by women is greatly on the increase. The drugs referred to are such as chloral and opium, taken for the purpose of deadening pain, and producing sleep. One paper says that the only safe rule in such things is to "decline to touch them except under competent medical advice." But that is not safe at all; for the most of those whose lives are ruined by these drugs began to take them "under competent medical advice," and having acquired the taste and the habit, they continued it. The only safe rule is to leave them alone utterly. They are evil, and only evil. They are in a class with hypnotism, which is discussed on another page of this issue. The difference between natural sleep and that produced by drugs is this: from natural sleep one awakes refreshed, but nobody ever felt fresh and buoyant after a sleep produced by drugs. Exhilaration at first, and depression afterwards, is the rule with everything unnatural. God's healing grace gives strength ever constant and ever increasing.

"The Fountain of Eternal Youth" The Present Truth 16, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

Who is there that is not suffering in his body for some sin against the laws of life and health, that is, against God's life, committed no doubt in the ignorance of youth? or from some inherited weakness that has been magnified by continued yielding to it? The sin was committed in ignorance, but we suffer nevertheless, even after we have learned the right way. Is there then no hope for us, that we may be freed from the infirmity? or must we suffer for our past ignorance as long as we live?

There need to be no uncertainty about this matter, for the Scriptures speak plainly. Let us read one blessed promise: "Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will He teach sinners in the way." Ps. xxv. 7, 8. This is a prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is sent to help our infirmities, and to teach us to pray as we ought; and "He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Rom. viii. 27. Therefore we know this prayer is one that God is pleased to answer, and that He will forget the sins of our youth, because He will destroy them swallow them up in His life.

Our sins were committed in ignorance, and the Lord who has compassion on the ignorant, and "on them that are out of the way" (Heb. v. 2), gives us His own wisdom. He does this, teaching us the right way, because He is "good and upright;" but in that God is good and upright, or "faithful and just," He forgives our sins and "cleanses us from all unrighteousness." 1 John i. 9. It is "by His knowledge" that the righteous Servant of God makes many righteous; "for He shall bear their iniquities." Isa. Iiii. 11. "All things that pertain unto life and godliness" are given to us "through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue." 2 Peter i. 3.

But in giving us wisdom (and He gives it freely to all who lack it, and ask for it), God does not merely give us the knowledge which enables us to recognise our failure, and leaves us to mourn over it. The Gospel does not leave us to hopeless regrets, but begets us unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, making us "partakers of the Divine nature." Being born again, born from above, we have the privilege of beginning life anew. Is it not a glorious prospect? How often we have said, "If I could live my life over again;"-; but if we could, we should without doubt do the same things again, that we have done. God provides something far better than that, in giving to us an entirely new life, so that we may begin again under entirely new and better conditions.

In forgiving all our iniquities, God provides healing for all our diseases. Read the exhortation to bless Him "who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Ps. ciii. 4, 5. In renewing our youth, God redeems our life from destruction; and the provision for this wondrous redemption is placed within our reach, in all the good gifts of God, and is even placed within us, since the Word is nigh us, in our mouth and in our heart, and God's everlasting power and Divinity are manifested in every thing that He has made. In Christ we find the fountain of eternal youth. Therefore "bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O, my soul; and forget not all His benefits."

September 20, 1900

"'Accepted in the Beloved'" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

Are you accepted by the Lord?

"I don't know; I wish I did."

Why do you not know?

"Oh, I am so unworthy, so insignificant, so sinful, that I can't believe that He really accepts me, although I try to think that He does."

Well, now, do not try to make yourself think anything of the kind. That which cannot be believed without an effort, is not worth believing. You cannot manufacture faith; it comes by hearing the Word of God; and that word is so straightforward, so true, that when we really hear it we cannot help believing.

"Tell me, then, how I may believe and know."

That's right, to begin with. I'm glad to hear you say, "believe and know," for faith must always precede knowledge, or, rather, faith is itself the perfection of knowledge. Now "read, and you'll know." God has already "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Eph. i. 3-6. Isn't that plain enough?

"Yes; it seems all right, but what have I done, that I should receive such favour?"

Nothing whatever. "We also were aforetime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and His love toward man appeared, not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour." Titus iii. 3-6. "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." Eph. ii. 8-10. Do you need any better assurance than that?

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"I really don't see what more could be said."

And yet the Bible is full of just such assurances. In fact, it was written for no other purpose than to show us the love of God to fallen humanity, and how freely He accepts us and our service.

"What! do you mean to say that God will accept work that I do, as well as myself?"

Most certainly. Do you not see that one includes the other? "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Rom. vi. 14. The Lord has bought you and your service, and has paid the price in full. Therefore as soon as you say, "O Lord, truly I am Thy servant; I am Thy servant, and the son of Thine handmaid; Thou hast loosed my bonds" (Ps. cxvi. 16), you are indeed the Lord's servant; and since the Lord accepts you as His servant, it follows as a matter of course that He accepts your service.

Let us have a little more testimony on this case. Here is one of the most encouraging things in God's Word: "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works." Eccl. ix. 7, R.V. It might with perfect literalness be rendered, "God hath already graciously accepted thy works," or, "God hath already taken pleasure in thy works" Wonderful, isn't it? Is does indeed seem almost too good to be true; but nothing can be too good for God.

What did the voice from heaven say to Christ?-This is My beloved Son, in "whom I am well pleased." Now we are made "accepted in the Beloved," and so, although we yield ourselves to Him with no higher thought than possibly to be accepted as a servant, "thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son then an heir of God through Christ." We are not bondservants, but freeborn sons, who serve as sons in their own house. So, having accepted us in the beloved Son, the Father of all is pleased with us, even as with Him. "It doesn't seem possible!"

All things are possible with God, even love that passeth knowledge. I dare say you have often seen illustrations on a small scale of what we are talking about. You have seen a little child a awkward and clumsy attempts to do some work that it has seen the father or mother do. It wanted to "do something for mamma." And you have seen the fond parents exhibit that botched work with the utmost joy and pride; nothing could have pleased them more. Why? Because it was so well done? No, but because it was a labour of love. Even so the heart of God, who is love itself, delights in even the thought of service which His children devote to Him, and He accepts it in advance.

Christ is the Living Stone, "chosen of God and precious," and coming to Him we also are made living atones, and "are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." Let us then rejoice, not in the contemplation of what we have done, but of what God hath wrought for us and put into us His dearly beloved children.

"A Story of True Love" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

It begins with the time when the foundations of the earth were laid, when God spake, and it was, when "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good;" and "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." That was the wedding song, celebrating the union of God and His creation; for since the world to come will be only the restoration of the world that was, it could be said as truly then as ever that "Thy Maker is thine husband;" "the God of the whole earth shall He be called." As the woman was taken from the man, to be his wife, it was but the continuation of God's order, that His spouse should be the entire new creation which proceeded from Him.

The earth and its inhabitants were joined to the Lord. Read 2 Cor. xi. 2, 3: "I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." This shows us plainly that Eve was created the bride of the Lord. But it was not Eve alone, but all men in her; for when God made man, He made him male and female, and called their name man. Gen. v. 1, 2. In Adam all the generations of mankind were created.

The creation is the manifestation of the love of God. In it He gave His life; for it is His offspring; and His life is love. "The Lord appeared of old unto me, saying, I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Jer. xxxi. 3. In everything that He has made, His everlasting power and Divinity-His own Being-are clearly seen. Man in Eden, with the delight of God in him, and his land married, formed the perfect picture of the bliss of true love.

THE MARRIAGE COVENANT BROKEN

But into this Eden the tempter came. By his subtilty he seduced man from his allegiance to his Lord. He did this by instilling doubts into their mind. Doubt is the death of love, and as soon as the first pair began to doubt God's love, the bond of union was broken. By his artful wiles, the tempter succeeded in beguiling them away from their Maker and rightful Husband, and inducing them to yield themselves wholly to him. Here was the first adultery, which has bred a host of evils. It

"brought death into our world, and all our woe,
with loss of Eden."

"Ye adulteresses! know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God." "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death." James i. 14, 15.

That in the first sin man committed adultery, is evident from this: It was the attraction of the world that led them astray, for in the yielding to the temptation that was presented, we see the power of "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," which constitute the world. 1 John ii. 16. The pride of life was appealed to in the words, "Ye shall be like God;" "and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." Gen. iii. 6. Thus they became wholly joined to the world, which is adultery.

The former perfect union between God and his Maker, wherein they were "one flesh,"-for the Word was made flesh in the beginning when man was created,-was completely broken, and a new union with Satan and sin was entered into. Then men began to walk "according to the course this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Eph. ii. 2.

GOD'S FAITHFUL LOVE

Then began the long career of marital infidelity. But God did not break His covenant, which is everlasting, nor did He cast off the unfaithful bride. "If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself." 2 Tim. ii. 13. The faithful one had left His house; but instead of saying, "Let her go; she went of her own free will, and can come back when she gets ready," or, worse still, "she has rejected Me, and I will have nothing more to do with her," He came to seek the erring one, and to beg her to come back.

There is nothing more humiliating than for a man to beg for reconciliation with one who has wilfully turned away from him, despising his love, and publicly putting him to shame; yet that is just what the Lord did. Read the third chapter of Jeremiah, and the whole of the book of Hosea. He says: "Return thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause Mine anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed My voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you; and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion."Jer. iii: 12-14.

DYING BROKEN-HEARTED FOR LOVE

But the love of God is not merely in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. He gave the utmost proof of His everlasting love that could possibly be given: "He gave Himself for us." Life for Him was not worth living without the loved one, and so in His effort to reclaim her He humbled Himself to death, even the death of the cross. "He came unto His own, and they that were His own received Him not." They would not believe in His protestation of love, and they laughed Him to scorn. He was made the sport of the drunkards, and they that sat in the gate mocked Him. The very worst indignity was heaped upon Him, and spitting in the face was added to blows. Even this did not shake "the love of Christ which passeth knowledge," but it broke His heart, and He died literally broken-hearted, for love of those who were all unworthy of love. In those blows and in that spitting we all had a part, for all we like sheep have gone astray. When He was despised and rejected of men, and hid not His face from shame and spitting, we denied Him, and "hid as it were our faces from Him." And it was for us, for love of us, that He endured the cross.

DRAWN BY POWER OF LOVE

And He is not dead in vain. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all unto Me." "I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." That exhibition of love has broken down the enmity, the middle wall of partition that we had built between us and Him, and as we gaze upon His cross, we say,

"Love so amazing, so Divine
Shall have my life, my soul, my all,"

and we give ourselves to Him, even as He gave Himself to us.

THE MARRIAGE FORBIDDEN

But behold! There is an obstacle in the way. Just as, ravished by His love, we say, "Lord, I am Thine," forth steps the old man," "the body of sin" and says, "I forbid the bans; this marriage cannot take place."

And why not, pray?

"For the reason that this woman is my wife; I am married to her, and I can bring the law to witness to the fact. 'Know ye not that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth.' 'So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another she shall be called an adulteress.'" Rom vii. 1-3.

What a complicated case! The woman (we ourselves) is already an adulteress, because she is living in unlawful union with the lust of the flesh; and she cannot go back to her lawful husband as long as the old man of sin lives; because the law will not allow any such double union. What shall be done?

DEATH THE ONLY WAY OF ESCAPE

There is only one way out of the difficulty, and that method is so drastic that it looks like the end of everything. It is nothing else than death. The woman is a criminal, and worthy of death; for death is still the punishment of adultery. If we could only get rid of this seducer, whose presence is now hateful, since he is seen to be nothing but a death's head, we could be married to Him whom our soul loveth.

Ah, but that is not so easy a matter. Marriage means the union of two, so that they become "one flesh," and just that intimate relation we sustain to the body of sin. Every fibre of our being is linked to sin, and sin is our own lord and master. Our wound is incurable; the disease is in the blood. So close and vital is the union between us and the body of death that it cannot be broken except by death. We are inseparably joined together until death us do part. When the body of sin dies,-the unlawful husband,-we must die too.

Well, why not? We must die anyhow, for we are but united to a body of death. Its embraces have infected us with the poison of death, and the fruit of the union is death. The question is, shall we wait until we are forced to die, against our will? or shall we, like our rightful Lord, lay down our life voluntarily, that we may take it again? We choose the latter. Since we are united to death, and our life is nothing else but a living death, why not die at once? Let the separation from sin be effected, even though it wrench every nerve and fibre of our being, and drain our heart's blood. We choose rather to die with Him whose love is life, than to live with him whose love is hatred, sin, and death.

UNITED IN DEATH

"Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death?" Rom. vi. 3. But death in Christ does not end all; for He laid down His life only to take it again. "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. vi. 4-6. "If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."

THIS SEDUCER DESTROYED

But what about the old man of sin? Ah, Christ is not the minister of sin. He loves us well enough to die for us, and since His love is life, it delivers us from death, and raises us up, that we may live with Him; but do not for a moment think that He who does this to win us back to our rightful union with Him, will do the same for our seducer, who must necessarily

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die when we do, since He is bound up with our flesh. No; we were crucified with Christ, and buried with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed. It will never again have a resurrection without our consent-never as long as we abide in Christ; "for he that is dead is freed from sin." Rom. vi. 7.

"DEAD TO THE LAW"

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him that is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." Rom. vii. 4. Mind, it does not say that the law is dead; far from it; it is the law that has put us to death as criminals. "I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." Gal. ii. 19. A dead law could not put anybody to death. It was the law that gave me the knowledge of my sinful condition; "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." By I knew that I was living in adultery, and therefore doomed to death. I consented unto the law, that it is good, and delivered myself up, to receive the death penalty. But I died with Christ, and not alone, so that I have a resurrection in Him. "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I; but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. ii. 20. The person who committed the sin is dead, and another has taken his place, and therefore I am "delivered from the law," inasmuch as I am dead to that wherein I was held, namely, sin. The same law which before condemned me as an adulteress, now witnesses to my lawful union with Christ. It reckons me, the sinner, a dead man; and as long as I reckon myself likewise to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God, and yield myself unto God, as one that is alive from the dead, it will not condemn me, for "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. viii. 1, 2.

"ALIVE UNTO GOD"

Being now married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, we "bring forth fruit unto God." The fruit is unto holiness, and "the end everlasting life." Now we are in harmony with God, and so in harmony with all His perfect creation. His law-His life-fills us, and directs our movements. We are one with Him, and He is the head of the body. The love that drew us holds us. The cords of love drew us to Him, and we are bound to Him by the ties that bound Him to the cross. His goodness brought us to repentance, and the contemplation of it keeps us faithful.

Yea, we are kept by His faith. "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Think of it! "If we believe not, He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself." He was faithful in all our wandering from Him. "In Him is no sin." Now being one with Him, we live not by anything that pertains to ourselves, but by Him. "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new; and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us unto Himself by Jesus Christ." So we live by His faith, and therefore as long as we abide in Him, we are as secure from sin as He Himself.

THE NEW CREATION

The new creation has begun, even while we are in this tabernacle, for the life of Jesus is made manifest in our mortal flesh. "They that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." Since "all things are become new," we experience the joy, the blessedness, and the power of the world to come. The Spirit is the first-fruits of our inheritance. We are thenceforth to live (not merely is it our duty so to live, but the grace and strength thereto are given to us) as we shall continue to live in the new earth. The only difference between the condition now and in the future world is this: Then we shall live perfect lives, free from sin, having no temptations, no sinful flesh, nothing to contend with; whereas now we live the selfsame life in spite of all these difficulties. We live in the flesh as though the flesh were dead and buried, and we had already received the resurrection body. This glorious freedom is possible only by our death with Him who is the resurrection and the life; but it is possible: He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himsef also so to walk even as He walked.

Do you say that this is a hard saying? Oh say not so; it is a glorious saying. It is the good and joyful news of salvation. It is the proclamation of emancipation from the bondage of corruption, and the deliverance into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. How can it be hard to live that life of righteousness, when it is no more l, but Christ, that liveth in me?

What marvellous love, and what a transforming power it has! It changes us into the Divine image. And it is "stronger than death," since it has conquered death. Our union with Christ was effected in death. It was at the worst state that sin and Satan can reduce men to, that we were united to Him in love; therefore "I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Have you this persuasion?

"The Editor's Private Corner. The Mission of the Jews" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

"One thing in PRESENT TRUTH this week I cannot quite grasp, about the millennium. The writer says that the righteous will be caught up to meet the Lord, and that all the rest will perish, and that the earth will not be inhabited for a thousand years. If this be so, when will the mission of the Jews to the world begin? When will they believe, and become evangelists? Are they never to become so?"

For a full and comprehensive treatment of this subject, I would recommend to my friend, and to all who have similar thoughts, the reading of the book recently published by the International Tract Society, entitled, "The Everlasting Covenant;" in our small space here I can give but the barest references.

GOD'S OWN PURPOSE

Let us take a hasty glance over the entire history of God's people, and His purpose for and with them. Once the earth was perfect, and man was upright and its rightful ruler. Then came the fall, and the loss of dominion. Since that time, God has had but one purpose, to which He has been constantly working, namely, the restoration of man and the earth to the original condition, to make an entirely new creation. To this end the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes, is preached. There is but one Gospel of good news "to all people," and this is to-day the same that it was from the beginning; for with God is no variableness, neither shadow that is cast by turning. Paul declared that whoever should presume to preach any other Gospel than that which he preached, must be accursed (Gal. i. 8, 9), and he affirmed that he had said "none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come." Acts xxvi. 32. The Gospel which the apostles preached with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, was the very same that was proclaimed by the prophets of old (1 Peter i. 10-12); and there will never be another. In the preaching of this Gospel, as well as in the receiving of it, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all are one in Christ Jesus. See Rom. iii. 22-24; iv. 8-13; x. 12, 33; Gal. iii. 7, 8, 27, 28; Col. iii. 9-11.

GOD'S CHOICE OF THE JEWS

From the beginning God has been searching throughout the world, to find people who would be His agents in proclaiming the Gospel to mankind; and in every age He has found a few. In the course of time Abraham was found, and chosen. His mission was to leave his father's house and his native land, and travel to and fro, proclaiming the name of Jehovah. He was the first foreign missionary whose lifework is recorded. Because of his wonderful faith he became the father of a great people, whose mission it was likewise to preach the Gospel to the world, for the promise was that they should be a kingdom of priests. Read the history of that people, and you will see that God was continually sending messages by them to the heathen round them. Jeremiah was ordained before his birth, to be a prophet to the heathen (Jer. i. 5), even as Paul later on was ordained to be the special apostle to the Gentiles.

THEIR UNFAITHFULNESS

But the Jews were not faithful as was Abraham. "They could not enter in because of unbelief." They refused the high office of kings and priests, as ambassadors of God to be the head of the earth, and they chose instead to be a nation of servants, having a king over them, like the other nations.

For many hundred years God laboured with the Jewish people, sending messages to them by the prophets, not merely that they might be saved, and live for themselves apart from the rest of mankind, but that they might accept the position which naturally falls to all children of Abraham, that of being light-bearers to the world. But they forgot that their only advantage over other people lay in the fact that to them were committed the oracles of God (Rom. iii. 1, 2), to give to the rest, and their light went out. Then God sent them into captivity, and thus made even their apostasy serve as a means of enlightening the heathen; for through Daniel and a few other faithful men the truth of God was accepted by great kings, and was proclaimed to the ends of the earth.

A FIXED TIME ALLOTTED

Still God did not become impatient with the nation which had been the recipients of His most wonderful favours, and even in their captivity He continued His offer to let them have the leading people in announcing the Gospel of the kingdom. A vision was given to Daniel, in which was made known a period of time reaching down to the very last work of the Gospel on earth, before the coming of the Lord. See Dan. viii. That period of time was to date from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem (Dan. ix. 23-27); and from the whole period of twenty-three hundred prophetic days, or literal years, seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, were out off or appropriated to the Jewish people. That length of time was to be terminated by the events in immediate connection with the baptism, crucifixion, and ascension of Jesus. So long a time was allotted to the Jewish people, to see if they would accept the high destiny offered them, that of being the chief bearers of the message of the mercy of God to the world.

THE HONOUR REJECTED

We know the result. They would not take the place. Jesus came to His own, and they that were His own received Him not. Their King came, but because He was not tike earthly kings, they crucified Him. Just before that climax, when the measure of their impiety was filled, Jesus wept over their city, saying, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is loft unto you desolate!" Matt. xxiii. 37, 38. All this was because they knew not the time of their visitation. Since that time the Jews as a nation have ceased to have any prominence in the Gospel message. They have no mission whatever to the world, and the highest honour that can come to them is that some of them may accept the Gospel, on the same terms that the Gentiles

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do, and be saved, thus becoming a put of the true Israel of God.

GOD'S PURPOSE UNCHANGED

It must not be supposed that while waiting for the Jewish people to take the place offered to them, God left Himself without witness among the heathen. In every age the Gospel was being preached by every one who would let the Lord use him, and by the inanimate creation as well. Nor did God ever confine His attention to that one People. The Jewish nation was a people called out from among the Gentiles, for Abraham was originally an idolater; and the true people of God were in old time, even as now, those who worshipped God in the spirit, and rejoiced in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. Phil. iii. 3. Israelites are those in whom is no guile. God's purpose has not changed, although the Jewish nation has shown itself unwilling to be God's peculiar people; for God is able of the very stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

THE JEWISH MISSION STILL CARRIED ON

And yet the mission of the Jews to the world has not ceased, "for salvation is of the Jews." John iv. 22. Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was a Jew, and He is to rule over the house of Jacob for ever. Whoever preaches "the unsearchable riches of Christ" is performing the work that God gave to the Jews. "Whosoever will" is commissioned to echo the Gospel invitation, until this Gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world, for a witness to all people; "and then shall the end come." And when that end comes, and the Saviour appears, many, out of "all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God."

"Pure, Poisonous Alcohol" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

"Articles are often appearing in PRESENT TRUTH, on the evil effects of alcohol in intoxicating drinks, which I do not question; but my question is this: Are these bad properties in the pure alcohol, or rectified spirits of wine, as it is called? If it is, l am at a loss to understand how such good results as I have experienced and seen, are brought about with tinctures made from roots, barks, end herbs, with this spirit. Could you tell me if the bad properties of the spirit are neutralised by these roots, barks, and herbs? If they are not, could you kindly tell if there is anything else that may be used in place of the alcohol? Will you kindly answer through PRESENT TRUTH, and oblige," etc.

Alcohol is a poison, and only a poison. When taken pure it is a narcotic poison, very quickly causing death. It is not food, and never has any other than a destructive effect upon the human system, which has no use for it, and which exerts itself to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Adulteration may make it less harmful, unless the adulterant be another deadly poison, like alcohol itself. Those are facts, well known to all chemists, and may be demonstrated by experiment; but of course the statement of the facts is all that is possible in the columns of a paper.

Alcohol is used in the preparation of tinctures, because it is such a powerful solvent, and also because of its preserving qualities. You are of course aware that alcohol is used in preserving specimens of diseased flesh, etc, because it hardens the tissue. From this its effect on the stomach and other organs of a living person may be understood. Absolutely pure alcohol, it may be stated, is a very rare thing, as it has such an affinity for water, absorbing it from the atmosphere. The simple truth is, that if any good is ever done by tinctures of roots, barks, and herbs, it is in spite of the alcohol in which they are held in solution; and the doubtful good that they do is more than effect by the poisonous effects of the alcohol.

Now a word as to the supposed good effects of tinctures and decoctions of roots, herbs, etc. It should be understood that nothing that is taken into the stomach can have any good effect on the system unless it is absorbed as food, being assimilated, so that it builds up the body, making blood, bone, muscle, nerve tissue, etc. Whatever cannot be used in this way is a poison, more or less injurious, according to its strength. A thing that is not food may be neutral in its action, that is, not tending to destroy tissue. In that case its evil effect consists only in that it puts extra work upon the organs, to get rid of it. To coin a term, we might say that it is a passive poison. Suppose now that the bark, herbs, roots, etc., from which tinctures are made, were food, which in most cages they are not, do you not see that the amount received into the system in a dose of the tincture is so infinitesimal that it could not possibly have any effect upon it to build it up? If the article were food, one would need to take several gallons of the tincture in order to get a mouthful of nourishment. If the herbs are harmless, then one gets only the illeffects of the alcohol; if they are poisonous, as they frequently are, then one is affected just so much more for the worse.

"But I have experienced good effects from taking these tinctures, and have seen them in others."

My dear friend, there are thousands of men who have experienced just those same "good effects" from taking the alcohol alone (diluted, of course, since no man could take pure alcohol and live); and they will tell you of others whom they know have been benefited by regular doses of alcohol in gin, brandy, whisky, stout, porter, or other liquor. "Wine is a mocker," and "whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." It deceives by benumbing the nerves, so that they are not conscious of the diseased condition. There is at the same time, at first, a sense of exhilaration, a stimulation, because the blood is quickened in its circulation, to try to eject the intruder. This is absolutely all the "good effect" that alcohol, whether alone or in combination as a tincture, ever has. No real cure was ever effected by it, nor ever can be. People who take these tinctures, or drug medicines of any kind, usually need to keep taking them, just as the toper needs to take his dram every morning, in order to "fit him for work."

But you reply that you know instances where people have been cured of their disease after taking these tinctures or other drugs, so that they did not need to continue their use, but left them off. Let me tell you that I have known a great many people who have been cured of their diseases, who have taken no drugs at all; and such ones stand by far the best chance. The others, of whom you speak, got well in spite of that which they took. They had strong constitutions, or were subject to some other conditions which were good, and so they got well, and their cure was attributed to the medicine, which had no other effect than to retard the cure. This is not random talk, but the language of truth and soberness.

The sum of the whole matter is this: Life cannot come from anything but life. It is not only senseless, but wicked, to put death into the system, expecting to got life from it. By good food, fresh air, pure water, proper clothing, regular, judicious exercise, and cleanliness, and with all and above all, intelligent faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, God conveys His life to us. By these means we live. By rejecting them, or abusing them, or substituting poisonous drugs for any of them, we take death to ourselves. Do you love life? then take it in its fulness and freshness, and shun the way of death.

"Children's Corner. A Story for Boys" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

Boys sometimes think they cannot afford to be manly and faithful to the little things. A story is told of a boy of the right stamp, and what came of his faithfulness.

A few years ago a large drug firm in New York City advertised for a boy. Next day the store was thronged with applicants, among them a queer looking little fellow, accompanied by a woman who proved to be his aunt, in lieu of faithless parents, by whom he had been abandoned. Looking at this waif, the advertiser said, "Can't take him; places all full. Besides, he is too small."

"I know he is small," said the woman, "but he is willing and faithful."

There was a twinkling in the boy's eyes, which made the merchant think again. A partner in the firm volunteered the remark, that he "did not see what they wanted with such a boy; he wasn't bigger than a pint of eider." But, after consideration, the boy was set to work.

A few days later, a call was made on the boys for some one to stay all night. The prompt response of the little fellow contrasted with the reluctance of the others. In the middle of the night the merchant looked in to see if all was right in the store, and presently discovered this youthful protÈgÈ busy scissoring labels.

"What are you doing?" he said. "I did not tell you to work nights."

"I know you did not tell me so, but I thought I might as well be doing something." In the morning the cashier got orders to "double that boy's wages, for he is willing."

Only a few weeks elapsed before a show of wild beasts passed through the streets; and very naturally all hands in the store rushed to witness the spectacle. A thief saw his opportunity, and entered the rear door to seize something, but in a twinkling found himself firmly clutched by the diminutive clerk aforesaid, and after a struggle was captured. Not only was a robbery prevented, but valuables taken from other stores were recovered. When asked why He stayed behind to watch when all others quit their work, he replied, "You told me never to leave the store when others were absent; I thought I'd stay."

Orders were immediately given once more, "Double that boy's wages; he is willing and faithful."

To-day that boy is a member of the firm.

The child Samuel listened when the Lord spoke, and he learned some wonderful secrets. Keep your eyes open to hear what the Lord says, and He will speak to you every morning.

"Creeds" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

The Government has a summary way of settling matters in the Navy. Only four denominations are allowed-Church of England, Wesleyan, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic. Whichever creed a man professes when he joins he has to stick to for the rest of his career. Should his creed on joining happen to be some other than one of these four, he is put down for whichever seems nearest.

"A Proposed Catholic News Agency" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

According to the Rome correspondent of the Times, the existing news agencies are to be supplanted in favour of an international telegraphic agency, which is to be controlled by the Vatican, and supplied free of cost by the Roman Catholic clergy throughout the world.

The promoter of the scheme to Cardinal Rampolla, who, it is said, is at present "considering together with a group of financiers and French political men of the first rank, with a view to killing off all the existing establishments.

The general idea of this scheme is that, as the news would be furnished without remuneration by the clergy throughout the world, the Vatican agency would be in a position to strangle all competitors, by underselling them in the news market. Thus, it is hoped, the clerical version of every important event would be first in the field, and so would attain the widest circulation and the most liberal custom.

In that way the Catholic journals, instead of being the customers of "lay or Jewish" agencies, would compel the Jewish organs to take the Catholic version of everything.

The scheme is certainly practicable, since the agents of the Vatican are in every part of the world, and the machinery is all ready to hand. If it is carried out, it will give the Catholic Church the most powerful grip on the politics of the world that it has ever had, as it would have almost a monopoly of news distribution.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

-The plague is said to be again increasing in India.

-Lord Roberts has followed up the annexation of the Transvaal by proclaiming the whole country under martial law.

-The weekly expenditure for the war in South Africa is estimated by War Office experts to be something over ?2,000,000.

-An enterprising firm has begun to import Chinese to do laundry work in London, and intend to have 1,200 employed by Christmas. The prices will continue the same as now, but the work will be done much more neatly and expeditiously. People in a hurry will be able to receive their linen back the same day they give it, instead of the next week.

-The report last week of a destructive storm in Jamaica has been found to be a mistake.

-The cause of the typhoid fever that has been prevalent in Ipswich has been traced to the eating of oysters.

-The Seine barges, stokers, and sailors have declared a strike, the effect of which will be to stop all navigation on the river.

-A valuable diamond field has been discovered in Russia, near the Kamenka, a small stream flowing from the Ural Mountains.

-By Imperial decree women have been definitely admitted to practice as doctors and chemists in Austria, on the same conditions as men.

-The Governor of Alaska, in an official letter, says that the natives are dying by hundreds from pneumonia, influenza, and kindred ailments. In several villages fully one-quarter of the population have perished.

-The Silver Works Company, at Antwerp, has just completed a chimney 410 feet high, said to be the highest in the world. The top of this lofty structure is surmounted by a lightning conductor nearly fifty feet high.

-According to the figures of the Fishmongers' Company, a total of 17,945 tons of fish were delivered at and near Billingsgate Market during the month of August. Of this quantity a total of 79 tons, 12 cwt., 2 qrs. was condemned by the Company's officials.

-The Berwickshire News states that Lord Wemyes has invented an implement that can be used either as a spade, a pickaxe, or a saw, and in cases of necessity as a shield for protection from bullets. The paper also states that the apparatus will be adopted throughout the Army.

-Mr. Sheldon, of Topeka, U.S.A., author of "In His Steps," is seeking appointment as chief of police of that town, in order to conduct a fight for the enforcement of the prohibitory law against liquor-selling. Mr. Sheldon seems to have given up falling in His steps (see Luke xii. 13, 14), for a shorter cut.

-Two men recently arrested in Paris, are charged with belonging to a gang who make a practice of throwing people into the water for the sake of claiming the reward of francs, which is given to persons to save anyone from drowning. These two men have just practised the scheme upon an Arab.

-The new report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, issued this week, testifies to the enormous increase in the demand for the Scriptures, both at home and abroad. The total issues for the year amounted to 5,047,792, as against 4,479,439 in the previous twelve months. The total issues by the society for the years since its foundation in 1804 amount to 165,057,185 copies.

-The Deutschland, the new steamer of the Hamburg-American Company has beaten the record for quick sailing across the Atlantic. Its last trip was made in 5 days, 7 hours, and 38 minutes, an average speed of 23.36 knots an hour having been maintained. There has been a rush for places on her, and the bookings for first-class passage alone on her present trip amount to over 40,000.

-The Pope has the privilege of granting patents of nobility, for the last two or three years some bishops connected with the Vatican have been forging these patents and selling them for large sums of money, which went into their own pockets. Some American millionaires are said, for instance, to have bought the title of Marquis for ?6,000. The bishops who have thus forged the Pope's signature are to be excommunicated.

-By the proclamation of Lord Roberts, annexing the Transvaal territory, 119,139 square miles of land have been added to the British Empire.

-It is said that, owing to the closing of Lincolnshire cotton mills, a million and a half of operatives will be out of employment within a few days.

-Gruesome reports of massacres of missionaries by Chinese continue to come in, but the probability is that the most of them are manufactured by interested parties, in order to keep up the war spirit, and to goad the "Christian" Powers on to the partition of China.

-There has been discovered at Home Sound, a small place thirty miles from Vancouver, a mountain, five per cent. of the entire bulk of which is stated to be copper ore. In one place there is a regular cliff of or 428 ft. high and 1,500 ft. thick. It is computed that there are nine million tons of copper ore in sight.

-A two-version edition of the Bible is about to be published by Mr. Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. It gives the text of the so-called Authorised Version, with all the differences of the Revised Version placed in the side margins, comparison being made easy by a simple method of reference and explanation.

-Mr. Kruger, a former President of the Transvaal, having succeeded in effectually ruining the country, and causing the death of thousands of men, both Dutch and British, has fled from the territory, taking a large supply of booty with him. The poor people whom he duped into a costly and bloody war must remain to bear the results of his misrule.

-A wonderful increase in the number of visitors to the Paris Exhibition is reported. The attendance on Sunday, the 9th, was over 600,000. Naturally the influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors means an enormous increase in the food supplies of Paris. In one day there arrived at the abattoir of La Villette 3,844 more bullocks and 9,455 more sheep than at the corresponding date of last year.

-After the completion of the federation of the Australian colonies, they will not be known as "colonies" anymore, but as States. The abbreviation "U.S.A.," may then mean either United States of America or United States of Australia. The abbreviation will not, however, need to be used for the latter country, since the federation includes the whole of Australia, and not merely a portion, as in America.

-New possibilities in wireless telegraphy have been developed by a London inventor, a Mr. Rosenburg, while at lunch in a restaurant two hundred yards from his office, he keeps in constant communication with his clerks. At an exhibition in the Crystal Palace, before a company of journalists, messages were sent from one room to another forty yards away, through closed doors and with many people standing in the track of the electric current. Mr. Rosenburg claims that he can intercept other wireless messages.

-A most appalling disaster has overtaken the city of Galveston, Texas, U.S.A., which is situated on a low island in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the main land. A tidal wave has deluged the city leaving it in ruins, and the total loss of life is placed, "according to a moderate estimate," at 8,000. A thousand bodies have been cremated, in order to avoid pestilence. As usual in times of calamity, the worst element asserted itself, and many of the lower class began plundering the dead, cutting off fingers and ears, to obtain jewellry. Fifty persons caught in the act were promptly shot. Relief for the suffering survivors has been sent in from all parts of the United States, and from England.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

Have you noticed that when you have been overtaken in a fault, or have been indulging in some sinful pleasure, that you feel less like praying than at any other time? It doesn't seem to you then as though you dared to pray; you feel ashamed to come into the presence of the Lord. Well, fix it in your minds that when you feel least like praying is when you most need to pray. Do not let Satan keep you back from it, by any feeling of shame or unworthiness. You are in the presence of God anyhow, because you cannot possibly go from the presence of His Spirit. You cannot hide from Him; why not then freely confess the sin, and receive forgiveness; that you may stand clean before Him, and not with the shamefulness of sin? Our need is our recommendation to mercy. "For Thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." Ps. xxv. ii. "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will He teach sinners in the way." "I am poor and sorrowful; let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high." Ps. lxix. 29.

There is a complaint that "the presentation of the Gospel is often in such hackneyed terms as to be uninteresting, unattractive, and powerless." But that is not the presentation of the Gospel, for the Gospel is the power of God. It is utterly useless to tell anybody that he ought to present the Gospel with more force and life, for each person will present the Gospel just as he has it. If he has the truth, the reality of the Gospel, he will present it as a living force, and it cannot fail to be attractive, because it will be continually as fresh as the water of life; but if it is not a power in a man's own life, he cannot be expected to present it in a live, interesting manner. And yet something depends on the listener, for the Gospel is always foolishness to them that harden their hearts against it.

"Sudden Impulses to Sin" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

Sudden Impulses to Sin .-Seven years imprisonment with hard Iabour seems like a severe punishment for a "sudden impulse;" but that is what the man received who was moved by a sudden impulse to take ?50,000 in bank notes that lay exposed to view in a room in Parr's bank. His advocate made this plea in his behalf, together with the fact that he had returned the most of the notes; but the judge did not regard it. The truth is that a man who has always lived an upright life is never moved by a sudden impulse to steal. These sadden uncontrollable impulses to sin, to which we have all been more or less subject in some form or other, come from the sin that is working within, and which is our master. Outward sets of sin do not come spontaneously from a previously good person. "Lust, when if hath conceived, bringeth forth sin." "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil." What everybody needs to learn, and what children should specially be trained in, is to be controlled by principle, and not by blind impulse. Whoever is submitted to the Spirit of God, will have sudden impulses to do a good act when an emergency calls for prompt action, but no sudden temptation will cause such an one to swerve from the right.

"God's Reviving Kiss of Love" The Present Truth 16, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

"And you never use any stimulants of any kind?"

None whatever.

"Do you not drink tea or coffee?"

No; I never use them any more than I would any other poison.

"But you drink cocoa and chocolate?"

No; I have no use for them; for while they contain a little food, they contain more that is injurious.

"What, then, do you take for a 'pick me-up'?"

I don't take anything, for I don't need it. I have something that is far better, namely, a "hold-me-up."

"What is that?"

The continual presence of the fulness of the life of the Lord. "When I said, My foot slippeth, Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up." And the mercies of the Lord are "new every morning." It is far better to take something that will keep you always fresh and buoyant, than to take something that picks you up only to throw you down again, as all narcotic stimulants do. Now I have something that I take that is better than wine.

"What is that, pray? I should like it myself; I thought you must have something to enliven you, though I can't imagine what it can be, if you do not take anything containing alcohol, nor tea, coffee, cocoa, or chocolate."

You can have it as well as I, and have it all the time, for it costs nothing. Here is the secret: "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His lips; for Thy love is better than wine." Songs i. 2. God is love, and His love is His life. By abiding in His love, welcoming His life, you will find your youth continually renewed. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength." "They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;" "they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint."

"Do you think that that is meant to be taken literally?"

Most certainly I do; I know it. If the promise to heal all our diseases and to renew our youth be not literal, what assurance have we that He forgives our sins? But there is no room for doubt. Whoever will taste, will prove for himself that the Lord is good, and that His life is sufficient for all His creatures.

Consider this one thing for a moment, and you will see how real God's presence is. The air that we breathe is the breath of God. This we know, because God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Gen. ii. 2. Read also Ex. xiv. 21; xv. 7, 10, and other scriptures, to see that the air is God's breath. We know that it is life, for we, could not live without it. It is God's life, and therefore it is the manifestation of His love to us, for He is love. Therefore when we feel the fresh breezes playing on our cheeks, we may know that we are receiving God's loving kiss.

Is it not a delightful thought, that God actually soothes no to sleep and wakens us in the morning with a kiss of love? And the grand thing is, it is true. It is no more fancy than is God's existence. What freshness and life there is in that kiss! Better than wine? There is no wine manufactured by man that can be compared to it. Whoever knows how to use and enjoy God's fresh air, living day and night in a constant current of it, will never need any stimulant, but will awaken in the morning me fresh as a child.

This is only a single instance. There are other ways, equally important, in which God reveals His presence to uphold us physically as well as spiritually; but this can serve to introduce us to Him.

"Oh, the rapturous height of His love!
The measureless depth of His grace!
My soul all His fulness would prove,
And live in His loving embrace."

September 27, 1900

"The Power of Truth" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

It was the last week of Christ's earthly ministry, and in a few days He was to be offered as a sacrifice for the world; yet none on earth except Himself knew it he was on His way to Jerusalem, to which place thousands knew that the true Passover was to be offered at that time, and that He was the offering. Previous to this time, when He had wrought mighty miracles He had refused the applause of the people, and had sought obscurity; but now that He was going to His humiliation, He deliberately placed Himself in a position to attract the attention of the multitudes.

At His bidding two of His disciples went into a village near Jerusalem, and brought to Him a young ass, and having placed their garments on it, and seated Jesus, they led Him in triumph into Jerusalem. A very great multitude spread their garments in the way, and others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way; "and the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest;" and many that were already in the city, when they heard that He was coming, "took branches of palm trees, and went forth so meet Him, and cried, Hosanna; Blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord;" "Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." It was a right royal greeting, and He who hitherto had refused to be called King, and had hid Himself from the people, now accepted the homage of the throngs as His right.

But there were some envious ones in the crowd. Some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Jesus, "Master, rebuke Thy disciples." Jesus replied, "I tell you that, if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out." Why would this be? Because all that was the truth, although the most of those who cried were doubtless as unconscious of the full meaning of the words that they uttered as the stones would have been if they had been forced to cry out. This shows the power of the truth. It is not possible that God, who is the truth, should leave Himself without witness. He is, and that which is, must make itself manifest. Everything that God has made contains His everlasting power and Divinity, and therefore reveals it; but man was made for God in a special manner, because man is the highest creature, made to be lord of the earth, and capable of greater attainments than any other creature; and God

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is glorified in proportion as the creature is exalted. Now "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," and the most of mankind refuse to give God the glory; that is, they choose to live far below the high position that God has created them for. Nevertheless God must receive the glory that can be given only by man, His masterwork; and therefore John the Baptist, in reproving the Pharisees for their sinful pride and arrogance, said, "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." The children of Abraham are they who glorify God by keeping His commandments; and rather than acknowledge the unbelieving Jews as children, God would make now men out of stones. Even so on the occasion before us. The time had come for a truth to be proclaimed; God had spoken years before of this very time, and His Word could not be broken; therefore if the people did not fulfil the Word, the stones would perform the duty which they had neglected.

There is in this incident and statement a great deal more than a mere historical fact. There is a personal lesson for each one of us. Like all the truths of God, it is comforting and encouraging. The seed sown in the earth must germinate; the fire kindled in secret will burn its way out of sight. God's Word is like a fire, and it is the good seed. If therefore we receive this Word into our hearts, it cannot but manifest itself in our lives, and find expression by our tongues. "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God;" and such an one will say, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." If we will simply refrain from using against God the free will that He has given us, if we will cease holding Christ down, the truth of God will find, its perfect expression in us. And do you not see how we are anticipated in our oft-repeated objection, "I am so weak"? The stones would give expression to God's truth, although they are lifeless; surely He who can cause the stones to speak, can speak through man. Nothing is impossible with God, not even the salvation of the weakest soul.

Here is something more for us to think about. Christ was going up to Jerusalem to be crucified. Just before He suffered His greatest humiliation, He received the highest homage that He ever received on this earth. And there was nothing incongruous in this, for Christ's-humiliation the cross-is His highest glory. He was hailed as the King of Israel, the Saviour in the highest, and such He was. When Christ hung on the cross He was as much a King as He will be when He comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The power of His coming is the power of the cross. The word "Hosanna" means, "save now;" and the royal entry of Christ into Jerusalem was for the purpose of accomplishing the salvation of men. Even so when He comes the second time, amid shouts of victory, He will come for the salvation of His people; but the power by which He will then save them, changing their bodies from mortality to immortality, will be none other than that by which He now saves all who come unto God by Him. How easy it is to experience salvation, when we know that the offering of praise prepares the way for God to show us His salvation, and that He can make stones, and even the wrath of man, to praise Him.

"Sabbath Healing. Luke xiv. 1-14" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xiv. 1-14.)

The story is so interesting that it will bear frequent repetition, and no better words can be found with which to express it than those provided for us by the Holy Spirit, and here we have them:-

"And it came to pass, when He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat broad, that they were watching Him. And, behold, there was before Him a certain man which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spoke unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not? But they held their peace. And He took him, and healed him, and let him go. And He said unto them, Which of you shall have an see or an ox fallen into a well, and will not straightway draw him up or, a Sabbath day? And they could not answer again unto these things.

"And He spake a parable unto those which were bidden, when He marked bow they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat, lest haply a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him, and he that bade thee and him shall come and say unto thee, Give this man place; and then thou shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, Friend, go up higher; then shalt thou have glory in the presence of all that sit at meat with thee. For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

"And He said to him also that had bidden Him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbours; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and, thou shalt be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just."

There are not less than three distinct lessons in this one, and we must take a brief glance at them each.

WHY JESUS HEALED ON THE SABBATH

In the first place we have the fact that Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day. Some of the most striking miracles that Jesus performed were done on the Sabbath; and one of the striking features of the ease is that in every instance the person healed was not in imminent danger of death. It was not absolutely necessary, in order to save the person's life, that he should be healed at that instant. The next day would have done quite as well, as far as the diseased person was concerned. Jesus knew the prejudice of the Pharisees against this kind of work on the Sabbath day, yet He healed on the Sabbath. Why was it? That there is in the fact that Jesus performed cures on the Sabbath day some lesson for us to learn, other than what we are to learn from miracles in general, is evident from the attention that is drawn to is. If anybody thinks that it is to show us that the feelings of people are to be ignored, he greatly mistakes the character of Christ. Courtesy is as much a Christian grace as mercy; and He who summed up all the law and the prophets in the sentence, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," would certainly never go out of His way to give

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needless offence to any person. Let no one ever think that it is any part of true Christianity to disregard the sentiments, or even the prejudices, of others. Although God has said, "Six days shalt thou labour," giving us full freedom to labour on any and all of "the six working days," He would never have any Sabbath-keeper labour on Sunday for the annoyance of any neighbour who regards that day as the Sabbath, and who wishes to rest on it. Teach him the truth from the Word of God, and not by trampling upon his uninstructed idea of it.

THE NATURE AND OBJECT OF THE SABBATH

But here, in addition to healing a man, there was a great truth to be taught concerning the nature and object of the Sabbath. It is suggested by the question, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?" A thing is "lawful," not when it can merely be done by sufferance, as it were, but when it is that which the law requires. From the action of Jesus on this occasion, as well as on many others, we learn that the law of the Sabbath includes healing. To heal men on the Sabbath day is to fulfil the obligation of the Sabbath.

The work of Jesus was and is "to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." The announcement of this mission was made in a synagogue on the Sabbath day, and many of the miracles of Jesus were directed to the object of showing that the Sabbath, when rightly understood, marks the accomplishment of this work. It brings the liberty of the Gospel, and all its blessings.

It would never do to allow the people to remain under the false impression that the Pharisees had given of the Sabbath. They had perverted the law of God, and Christ's mission was to "magnify the law, and make it honourable." What is the Sabbath? and what is it for? The answer may be given in brief. The Sabbath is God's rest; for when God had created the heavens and the earth in six days, and everything, that He had made was "very good," He rested on the seventh day. "Wherefore God blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." He says, "Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that pe may know that I am the Lord your God." Ex. xx. 20. The Sabbath is for the purpose of making us know God as the One who sanctifies. See verse 12. It marks God's completed work; and since "if any man be in Christ there is a new creation," it marks the completion of a new creature in Christ. We are saved by the works of God, and not by our own. Our salvation is accomplished by the same power that created the world; for the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, and that power is seen in everything that is made. So just as God's resting on the seventh day marked the completion of a perfect, new creation, so the keeping of God's Sabbath, God's rest, not in form merely, but in Spirit and in truth, is the seal of a perfect, new creature in Christ. By it the intelligent believer indicates that he no longer trusts his own or any human work for salvation, but only the perfect, finished work of God in Christ.

THE SABBATH THE FULNESS OF SALVATION

God is the Creator of all things. That fact constitutes His right to rule. "Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and we are His." Ps. c. 3. "The Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God." Ps. xcv. 3-7. The last proclamation of the everlasting Gospel which is to be preached just before the end, "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people" as a witness to all nations, the announcement the fulness of which is to make ready a people prepared for the coming of Christ, is this: "Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev. xiv. 7. But this knowledge is just that which the Sabbath is designed to keep in our mind. "He hath made a memorial for His wonderful works." Through His work we have salvation; in the works of His hands we triumph; therefore the Sabbath, which makes known to us the wonderful, finished works of the Lord, is that which reveals to us to the full the sanctifying power of God. Thus it is the seal of God, which the Holy Spirit will put upon all true believers who live till the coming of the Lord. And as the forgiveness of sins, when fully appreciated, brings with it the healing of all diseases, and the healing of the body is the outward, visible sign of Christ's power to cleanse from sin, it was most fitting that some of the most wonderful works of healing should take place on the Sabbath day. It was to show that the Sabbath brings God's perfect root to both soul and body.

SABBATH-KEEPING IS FREEDOM FROM SIN

The Bible leaves no room for any controversy as to which day is the Sabbath. The seventh day is the Sabbath, the last day of the week, after the first six days of labour. So it was in the beginning, so it was proclaimed in the law from Sinai, and in harmony with this truth Christ lived, He who is the revelation of God's living law. The Scriptures nowhere indicate that there ever was or ever could be any question of this truth. Of course the Bible tells us of people who deny the Lord Himself; but we are speaking of those who know Him. There is no more ground for question as to which day of the week is the Sabbath of the Lord than there is as to who is God. Whoever knows God perfectly must know the Sabbath, since He gave the Sabbath for the express purpose of revealing Himself. Having stated the truth that the seventh day is the Sabbath, the memorial of God's perfect creation, Inspiration devotes itself to showing the depth and breadth of the holy law of which the Sabbath is the seal, and how we should keep it. The exhortation is, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as Cod for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Eph. iv. 30-32. If we do not in any respect grieve the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed, we shall of course receive the seal, that which marks God's perfect work, namely, the Sabbath; and this text shows as what true Sabbath-keeping is. It is the perfection of the life of Christ in us. It is freedom from all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and malice, and evil-speaking, and the manifestation of the kindness and love of God. It consists not merely in outward service, but in the full surrender of spirit, soul, and body to Him who has called us, and who is faithful to His promise to sanctify us by the power by which He made all things.

THE SABBATH BLESSING

Whatever God blesses He makes a means of blessing. "God blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." He sent it forth on its mission of carrying blessing to mankind. It is a truth that God has poured out His blessings freely on all men; the very possession of life is the blessing of the Creator; but it is the Sabbath that makes known to mankind the fulness of God's blessing. It brings with it to all who accept it for just what it is, the knowledge of such a blessing as they never before dreamed of, no matter how long they have had experience as Christians. It was given in Eden, and pertains to Eden, and brings the joy of Eden with it. It is, in fact, a remnant of Eden left in this sin-cursed world, to win us to Eden restored. In it we find the power of the world to come. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath," says the Lord, "from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father [and that heritage is Christ]; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. lviii. 13, 14. Oh then, "taste, and see that the Lord is good." Accept His perfect rest,-His Sabbath,-and keep it, and know now the joy of the Lord.

"BEFORE HONOUR IS HUMILITY"

These are the words of the one to whom God gave wisdom, and they are repeated, to show that they are sure. Let us not make the mistake of supposing that humility will win honour, and that when the honour has come, we can dispense with it. Humility is not cringing. It has nothing in common with the spirit of fawning upon a superior, in order to gain a favour. Humility is the character of God, for He is meek and lowly in heart; and in His humility we find rest. So we see that the lesson concerning humility goes naturally with the Sabbath. The word rendered "before" does not indicate preceding, but in the presence of. That is, humility always stands in the presence of real honour; humility accompanies honour. We must not think that the instruction to take the lowest place a obeyed if we take it as a mere form, thinking all the time in our hearts that we are really entitled to the highest place, and only waiting until so body shall put us there, so that we can enjoy the applause or the envy of others. We all know by nature more or less of this false humility. True humility does not take the low place, with the inward feeling that the higher place is deserved, and feel hurt if the honour of the higher place is not given. The Spirit of Christ teaches us to take the lowest place with contentment and joy, as all that rightly belongs to us, and when we are invited to the higher place to occupy it with the same meekness that we did the lower. "Before honour is humility." That is, where humility is not, there is never any real honour. This lesson can be practically learned only from Christ, who occupied the very lowest place, and did the most menial service, with all the dignity of a King, and who fills the highest place with all the humility of a servant.

RECOMPENSE AT THE RESURRECTION

The instruction given in verses 12-14 would if followed change the whole face of what is called society. It utterly excludes the idea of "our set." We maybe sure that Christ, who was kind to all, does not mean that we should shut brethren and kindred and friends away from our society; far from it. The teaching is that we should not be exclusive; should not shut ourselves up to any one class, but should count the weakest and lowest and most needy as most deserving of our hospitality and care.

The resurrection of the just, at the second coming of Christ, is the time of reward. Nowhere are we given the idea that at death we enter upon our reward. That thought is entirely foreign to the Bible. We may rejoice in spite of death, because the love of God is stronger than death; but there is nothing in death itself to cause joy. It is an enemy; hateful and cruel. The corruption that the body undergoes in death is an indication of its horrid character. But the coming of the Lord and the resurrection, at the end of the world, brings the reward of entering into the presence of the Lord, and sitting at meat with Him. Then we shall see the full illustration of the teaching of Christ. There and then we shall see that Jesus has bidden to His feast the poor, the maimed, and the blind,-all the outcasts,-and that He makes them sit with Him as His equals, and serves them as though they were His superiors. What marvellous exaltation and dignity, what honour, there is in the humility of Christ! "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

"The Editor's Private Corner. Growing in Absolute Knowledge" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

"Can there be an absolute, and yet a growing, knowledge of God?"

There is always the danger of misunderstanding one another's use of words, and so we must see in what sense you use the word "absolute." If you mean by it, "exhaustive," then of course the answer must be, No. But I take it that you do not have this thought in mind, for in that case there would be no chance for a question, since it is self-evident that if one knows all there is to be known about anything he cannot learn more. But taking the word in the ordinary sense, I must answer unhesitatingly, Yes; and will try to make it clear to you.

There is nothing that will more perfectly illustrate the case than the relation of father and son, since God is our Father. Now the child knows its father absolutely, without any shadow of doubt. Yet he does not know as much as the father does, nor can he understand all his ways. You have doubtless heard the story of the little boy who, when a man asked him who his father was, replied in a tone of incredulity, "You, big man as you are, don't know my father! Why, I know him just as easy as can be." Here we have absolute knowledge, in the fullest sense of the word. It is not knowledge that comes by study, and that can be increased by more study, but knowledge that to above and beyond all reason or explanation. The child cannot tell how he knows his father, or how he came to know him; he simply knows him; and all the arguments of all the learned men in the world could not for a moment shake his belief (which we clearly see in this case is positive knowledge) that the man spoken of is his father, nor could any learned disquisition make his knowledge more perfect. Yet as years go by, if he continues a faithful son, he will appreciate his father more than he possibly can now. Even so it is with us and our Father in heaven.

Perfection does not preclude growth. At every stage of its existence a plant may be perfect. Indeed, without perfection there cannot be perfect growth. We are "complete in Him," yet we are to grow in grace. We are to be "filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding," and yet are to be "fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Col. i. 9, 10. Jesus in the temple at the age of twelve knew God as His Father. His knowledge was as absolutely sure as it ever was; yet He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men." Real growth in knowledge of God can take piece only when there is absolute knowledge of Him; otherwise our growth would be crooked. So we, knowing whom we have believed, may "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

"The Editor's Private Corner. Looking Forward, Not Backward" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

"Is it not wrong for a child of God to dwell on his sins?"

A child of God, who knows what his inheritance is, will have something else to do, instead of dwelling upon his sins. "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." 1 John iii. 9. This text is considered in the answer to another question in this "corner," and so we will here only note that it teaches that a child of God cannot have sins to dwell on. He has a far better dwelling place. The psalmist prayed; "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity," and that means out own vain thoughts and actions as well as those of others. We all know the power of evil associations. We know that it is dangerous and demoralising for anybody continually to hear bad language, and to see wicked deeds. Long familiarity with sin tends insensibly to cause us to lose the sense of its wickedness. Now just as a wise parent endeavours to shield his children from evil associations and influences and to keep them from bad companions, so God wishes us to part company with our sins, and with all thought of them. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts." We may be contaminated by dwelling upon evil deeds that we ourselves have committed, just as surely as by reading or listening to tales of bloody deeds.

I suppose that what you specially refer to is the sins that have been committed in former days. Now the Bible does not tell us to look backward, but always forward. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before no, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith." We are to look at Jesus, not once at ourselves; and "in Him is no sin." He has taken all our sins upon Himself, and has hidden them in the crimson stream of His life, so that they cannot be seen; therefore as long as we abide in Him our sine are not in eight for us to look at. Moreover, we are to forget them. "This one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. iii. 13, 14. When God Himself casts our sins behind His back, and remembers them no more, we have no right to set them before our face, and think of them continually. We need something far better.

It is all right and necessary for us to remember that we are sinful creatures saved by grace, and that we stand only by faith; but what you mean in your question is the common practice of living in a state of self-condemnation, feeling that such unworthy people as we are have no right to be glad. Now let us hear what the Bible has to say about this. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Rom. viii. 33, 34. This means that when we condemn one that God has justified, we condemn God. It is a fearful thing to lay anything to the charge of God's elect. We must not call a man guilty, when God declares him innocent. Who dare reverse the judgment of God? But remember that this applies to ourselves as well as to other

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persons. I have no more right to condemn myself after God has justified me, than I have to condemn my neighbour. In either case, by condemning the justified sinner, I am declaring that the work of Christ is of no avail. I am denying the atonement. This is most surely inconsistent with a Christian life.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us oar sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Therefore as soon as with contrite hearts we have confessed our sin to the Lord, we are to have done with it, leaving it all with Him. From thenceforth the righteousness of the Lord is to be our song and our rejoicing.

"The Editor's Private Corner. Living Without Sin" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

"How can one live without sin?"

Your question reminds me, by contrast, with that of the Apostle Paul, in Rom. vi . 2: "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" In that question we have the answer to your question. It is possible to live free from sin, only by being dead; "for he that is dead is freed from sin." Rom. vi. 7. Read the article in last week's PRESENT TRUTH, entitled, "A Story of True Love," and there you will learn something about death to sin.

But let us read further about living without sin. 1 John iii. 9: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Here we see that the remaining of the seed in the one born of God is that which makes it impossible for him to sin. What is that seed? In 1 Peter i. 23, we have the answer: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." The good seed is the Word of God, and it is incorruptible and everlasting. Whoever is born of that Word must be of the same nature as the Word, namely, incorruptible and eternal. So we read that by the promises of God we are made partakers of the Divine nature, and that "he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

The new birth is not a thing of a single moment. It is not, like the birth from the flesh, an event to be looked back on and commemorated at regularly recurring intervals; but it is a continuous thing. It is something always present. The seed by which we are generated abides in us, if we are indeed born of God, and the mystery of the incarnation is continually being enacted. The life of Jesus, the inward man, is made manifest in our mortal flesh, and is renewed day by day. 2 Cor. iv. 11, 16. If we grasp the fact that God does not beget us, and than give us an independent existence, as do earthly parents, but that He is our dwelling place, and that, like Christ, we are to abide "in the bosom of the Father," we shall see the possibility of living without sin, No one who believes at all in the birth from above could for a moment harbour the thought that one could sin in the moment of birth. But when we see that the new birth is a continuous process, we can see how impossible it is for such an one to sin at all.

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery, darts of the wicked." Eph. vi. 16. Here we have the same thing. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Rom. x. 17. The Word of God hidden in the heart and forming the life, is a shield which guards one against, not a few, but all of the assaults of the adversary. The whole armour of God makes one able to stand against the wiles of the devil. "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is born of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." 1 John v. 18. The shield of faith keeps the child of God, so that the devil cannot touch him. Thus it was that Jesus overcame in the wilderness of temptation. Every temptation was met and destroyed by the Word of God. So of the people of God in their contest with the same enemy we read, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony." Rev. iii. 11. The whole matter is summed up in this: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. ii. 20.

But boasting is entirely excluded by this process. "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." The man who lives a sinless life in Christ can no more boast of his sinlessness than he can sin; for boasting is sin. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John i. 8. This naturally leads to the next verse: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Confessing our sins, we are freed from sin; and continual confession means continual-freedom. It is not continual sinning and continual cleansing, but continual confession and continual cleansing. A knowledge of our sinful nature, of the sin that continually lurks in our mortal flesh, waiting to spring upon us, and devour us, leads to constant trust in God, whose righteousness is our salvation.

Then if one asks you, "If it possible for a man to live without sin?" you may answer, "Is it quite impossible for a man, but an easy matter for God in man." If one says, "Do you live without sin?" the reply should be, "Not I, but Christ," and Christ is my life. There is continual, glorious victory over sin and Satan, for every one who lives by faith in God. No matter in what form the temptation comes, "in all these things we are more than conquerors though Him that loved us." "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

"About Protection" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

About Protection .-A very prominent American clergyman is reported as saying: "We hear of protection for tin, wool, coal, etc., but where is the protection for Christianity?" Similar thoughts are in the minds of many people. To all such it is only necessary to say that if Christianity were a dead article of merchandise, as tin, wool, coal, etc., it would be in place to talk about protecting it, by those who believe in protection; but the fact is, Christianity is a living thing, is life itself, and does not need protection. When Captain Johnson, in his tour round the world in his fourteen-foot boat fell in with the warship Oregon, in the China Sea, he signalled, "Let us keep together for mutual protection," to which joke the captain of the monster war vessel did not deign a reply. But it was not a hundred-millionth part as absurd for the one man in his little cockleshell to talk about protecting the iron-clad with its hundreds of armed men, as it is for all the Governments on earth to talk about protecting Christianity. Christianity is the truth of God, and that is the shield, and buckler, the protection, for all who abide in it. Those who do not accept it just as it is, and for just what it is, will be left destitute of protection, no matter how loftily they talk.

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

The meetings in connection with the reopening of the Metropolitan (Spurgeon's) tabernacle, which are now in progress, are to continue to October 18. Two and a half years ago it was burned down, but has been rebuilt accost of about 45,000, and is reopened entirely free from debt.

We are told that British coal is dearer, not because the supply is diminished, but because the demand is heavy. The output of coal in Great Britain last year was the largest on record. This shows that the demand for coal has of late increased entirely out of proportion to the increase in population, and the growth of manufacture and commerce, and can be explained only on the ground that the nations are storing up vast quantities of it, in order to be prepared for a future war. Thus the people are made to suffer by war long before it begins, as well as during and after it.

One of the leading corset fitters states in the Daily Mail that the record waist for smallness is fourteen inches, but admits that the wearers have pinched faces and look unhealthy. She has, however, the presumption to say that a 17 inch waist is "smart and wholesome," and that a reduction is possible with a due regard to health, which nobody knows anything about the human frame will believe. How any professed Christian woman can pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, while laced in a corset, is beyond comprehension. Such a prayer would certainly be in vain.

But what shall be said of this?

"The trade in corsets for gentleman is ever increasing, a 24in. to 27in. waist being quite the most popular size. The popular idea that only shallow, vain men wear corsets is utterly absurd. Men of all temperaments wear them, because they give not only elegance but support to the figure."

A man who cannot support his own figure without the aid of a corset ought certainly to go to bed and stay there. It is wonderful how many useless specimens of humanity there are moving about. Yet such is the grace of God, that there is hope that even a man who wears a corset may be saved.

The assistant professor of Physiology in one of the American universities some time ago made a series of experiments to determine the affect of alcohol on dogs, and found that, after taking alcohol steadily, the dog became dull, timid, and incapable of half the exertion of non-alcoholic animals. Assuming that the effect on man is the same as on dogs, the conclusion was gravely drawn, that "alcohol diminishes a man's working capacity, and vital energy. It weakens him physically and mentally, and deprives him of courage and ambition." Any non-scientific person, who has ever seen drunken men, could have told him that without any experiments on dogs. It was certainly an unnecessary act of cruelty to subject dogs to experiments, to find out what thousands of human cases have put beyond all question. From the human subjects, one could easily have foretold the effect of alcohol on dogs.

-The quantity of available cotton in Lincolnshire has now sunk to less than one-tenth of the normal supply at this time of the year.

-Germany has issued a note to the Powers requesting them to ask their Pekin representatives to indicate for punishment the chief leaders of the Boxer movement.

-According to a consular report, a brisk trade in fox skins is springing up between France and Italy. The latter country last year exported 4,000, mostly from round Rome, foxes are plentiful in Italy.

-The Queen has given her consent to the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York to Australia early next year, to open the First Session of the Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth in her name.

-Of the 130,000 persons employed in the cotton trade, principally in Lincolnshire, it is computed that about 90,000 are concerned in making American cotton, and will be affected by the temporary boycott of that article by the English mill-owners.

-The Monthly Review publishes a fragment of a forthcoming autobiography of the Ameer of Afghanistan. Concerning the state of his country he uses this striking language: "I dream of nothing but the backward condition of my country, and how to defend it, seeing that this poor goat Afghanistan is a victim at which a lion from one side and a terrible bear from the other side are staring, and ready to swallow at the first opportunity offered them."

-There is still a very heavy passenger traffic from England to America, and accordingly the third-class rate for passengers between Liverpool and Southampton and America has been raised.

-Dr. Chapman, minister of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, New York, has erected at his own cost a summer home for ministers of all denominations at Winona, as a memorial of D. L. Moody.

-The Governor of Texas, in an official statement regarding the effects of the hurricane, says that the total of the fatalities in Galveston and other points on the coast cannot be less than 12,000.

-It is reported by the Press Association that the Chinese Minister in London, Sir Chilhohen Lo Feng, has been informed by telegram from China that an Imperial edict has been issued to exterminate the Boxers.

-On the 22nd instant there were twenty-four cases of plague in Glasgow, in the hospital, several new cases having developed, and eighty-eight were under observation. That the disease is not stayed, is shown by the fact that some cases have occurred outside the "infected area."

-Some mothers are now providing their children with sandals instead of boots, to prevent the feet being cramped and perhaps deformed. Several well-dressed children have been seen about London wearing sandals. If the practice should become general, among the old as well as the young, it would be a blessing, for anything more unhygienic than the ordinary foot covering it would be hard to devise.

-Major Gibbons has just returned from conducting an expedition in Africa, which occupied over two years. The party tramped 13,000 miles. They discovered a tribe of bushmen, with almost white skin, whose food mainly consisted of snakes. Another noteworthy thing about this expedition is that it did not cause the death of a single human being, a thing that cannot be said of any other party of explorers in Africa.

-Out of the population of over 38,000,000 in France, only about 650,000, considerably less than 2 per cent., are Protestants, and these are found chiefly in certain limited districts, so that there are wide tracts in which Protestantism is unknown. The worst of it is, however, as stated by one well acquainted with the facts, that "a large proportion of these Protestants are as much devoid of real religion as the great mass of Catholics."

-The Governor of Lower Austria, Count Kielmansegg, has instructed the police authorities to assist the Workingmen's Society in the distribution of a million pamphlets, entitled "Away with Alcohol." Every policeman will personally supervise the distribution of the booklet on his beat. It declares that every sixteenth man that dies in Austria dies from what is popularly known in the hospitals as "beer-heart" (fatty degeneration of the heart), and points out that, according to official statistics, 92 per cent. of the inhabitants of the Austrian insane asylums recruit themselves from drinking people.

-The Sunday-school Union has just issued its annual report, and it gives the official returns of the various denominations, in the matter of Sunday-school attendance. In each case the figures are the denominations own, so that they may be relied on. According to these reports the Established Church shows a decrease of 7,000 scholars; the Wesleyan Methodist Church shows a decrease of 5,400; the Baptist churches show a decrease of 7,000; the Calvinistic Methodist Church of 4,200; the Presbyterian Church of 1,400; the United Methodist Free Churches of 3,000; the Free Church of Scotland of 4,300; the Irish Presbyterian Church and other bodies also show a decrease.

"The Cause of Consumption for the Cure" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

The Cause of Consumption for the Cure .-A statement has just been issued by a Belgian Professor regarding the cure of tuberculosis by the juice of raw meat, which he says has proved infallible in his experiments on dogs. Notwithstanding the fact that his "discovery" has not been tried on human beings (fortunately for them), the Professor calls on the Institute of Belgium to "give practical effect" to it. It is to be hoped that this will not be done, for since the day of Israel in the wilderness there sas been no more potent cause of consumption than the use of the flesh of animals.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

There is scarcely a nation on earth that does not condemn war when any other nation is waging it.

The first sermon in the new metropolitan Tabernacle was preached by Rev. John Thomas, of Liverpool, from Dan. xii. 3: "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." With reference to the plea so commonly made, that it is the duty of the Church to devote its energies to the direct creation of better social conditions for the people, he said that it is not an earthly paradise that the church is commissioned to offer, but the kingdom of heaven, and that the church that deflects from that high purpose is convicted of folly. We are told, he said, that the preaching of the Gospel is a failure, and that the plan of saving people one by one is out of date; but his answer was that the Gospel does not need changing, and that if preaching does not convert men the fault is in the minister, and not in the Gospel. It is as true now as when the Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians, that whoever presumes to preach another Gospel is accursed.

From the newspaper stories of the massacre of missionaries in China, and the recent rise of the Boxers, many people get the idea that the Chinese are a bloodthirsty, savage people. This is far from the truth. In the first place it must be remembered that many of these stories are manufactured, and that others are exaggerated, a single assault being made to serve for many different reports; and in the second place, that this outbreak is the result of a peaceable people goaded to desperation by ill-treatment. As a people, they consider war degrading. Here is the statement of a mandarin:-

A soldier is the least and lowest of man. First in dignity is the farmer, next the literary man, third the merchant, and last and meanest of the four classes into which society is divided, is the soldier. No man will-enlist until he to starving. No my will become an officer if he can get a civil appointment. And if he has to be an officer or nothing, he takes the place, and 'squeezes' with both hands to make up for the disappointment he suffers."

In their rating of classes they are nearer to God's plan than any other people, for He made man to be a tiller of the soil.

"Able, or Feeble?" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

Able, or Feeble? -In noting the fact that during the past year there has been an unusual number of ministers who have broken down in health, the Christian makes the following very pertinent remarks:-

"It is, of course, clear that if a soldier is to be commended for incurring disease and the dangers of battle for the asks of his country, there should be still higher commendation to the man who sacrifices his health on the altar of necessary duty In the service of the Kingdom of God. But there is legitimate room for doubt whether this is always so. Attendance at multifarious meetings of an unimportant kind, and a tendency to neglect the simple laws of health and exercise, account for a good many cases of breakdown in ministerial circles. Both these causes are removable.

And if these causes were removed, there would be an end of the breaking down in health. Ministers of the Gospel of life ought to be the healthiest men on earth. God makes able, not feeble, ministers of the new covenant.

"Trouble and Comfort" The Present Truth 16, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

"In the world, ye shall have tribulation."

This is just as distinct a promise of Christ as is any other in the Bible. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." In this world trouble should be expected as a matter of course.

It is indeed necessary for us to have trouble, and we should know that "we are appointed thereunto." 1 Thess. iii. 3. "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Phil. i. 29.

Since it is given to us to have tribulation, it must be a good thing, for God "giveth us richly all things to enjoy." You say that it is absurd to enjoy tribulation? Don't say that, lest you be found casting discredit on God's Word. Listen: "Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings." 1 Peter ii. 13. So tribulation is given to us to enjoy, just as much as anything else. The Apostle Paul said of himself; "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake." Col. i. 24. Again: "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor. xii. 10. The Revised Version reads: "I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries," etc.

You say that this is a new view to take of trouble. It is a very old view, and if it is new to you, you have been depriving yourself of a great deal of comfort and blessing; for surely everybody has trouble, and trouble is designed by the Lord to be a great blessing to us.

Let me ask you who are in trouble: Are you comforted in the midst of it? If not, why not? Here is the truth: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." 2 Cor. i. 3, 4. Now if you have not found comfort, what have you done with it? It is certain that you have had comfort, because no trouble comes without it. Since God comforts us in all our trouble, we ought always to be comforted. Perhaps we have been throwing away the kernel of the nut, and swallowing the shell.

"In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world;" says Christ. Remember that we cannot have any trouble of any kind whatsoever, or for any cause, that is not also the suffering of Christ. We share it with Him, even though we know it not. But He does not fail, nor become discouraged. He has conquered trouble, and His peace abounds in the midst of it; therefore if we know that we suffer with Him, we shall experience all the joy of His victory in it. Moses deliberately chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; and after he had had long experience in both, he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. If the reproach of Christ is so full of joy, what must the unveiled glory be?

October 4, 1900

"The Crown of the Year" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

"Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness; and Thy paths drop fatness." Ps. lxv. 11.

This is the season of the year when this verse specially applies; for it is the glorious harvest that is the crown of the year. "The little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn." Travel through the country in the autumn months, when the ripened grain yet stands in the fields, and the trees are loaded with beautiful and luscious fruit, and you will surely see that here is a glorious crown for the year.

But glorious as is this crown of the year, bringing life to mankind, it is but the dust from the feet of the all-glorious Lord. Even the glory of the firmament is but a little glimpse of the glory of His face. "The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet." Nahum i. 3. The showers of spring and summer-the overflow of the river of water of life (see Ps. lxv. 9, 10)-prepare this rich crown for the year; they are the dust which shows where the Lord is walking, and in them is contained all the fatness that is needed for every living creature on earth.

Most people become fearful in times of drought, and think that they are sure to starve. They forget that He who has clouds of water for dust, can of the dust of the parched earth make streams of water. With Him dry sand is just as good for irrigating the soil as is a lake or a river. He "turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters." Yes, He even makes His own people sources of living water, so that they need never fear a bad harvest. "If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not." Truly "there is no want to them that fear Him."

Note the words, "Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness." Then this fruit that we delight in is nothing less than the visible and tangible goodness of the Lord. If men would only open their eyes to see the goodness of the Lord, which He is making to pass before them so richly, they would all repent. The harvest of the year ought to be the time of the greatest ingathering of souls.

God not only makes His goodness pass before us, but He surrounds us with it. We are all familiar with the words, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." This word "follow" is from the Hebrew word that means to pursue. God's goodness is not lagging behind us, but it runs after us; and since "His word runneth very swiftly," we may know that it is ever present, even though we cannot always see it as plainly as we can this autumn.

But God does more. "The king shall

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joy in Thy strength, O Lord; and in Thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. For Thou preventest [goest before] him with the blessings of goodness; Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head." Ps. xxi. 1-3. God's goodness goes before us, and it also follows after. We are surrounded by it. We breathe the atmosphere of God's grace and goodness. If we believe, we cannot fail to be made partakers of His goodness, and to be transformed by it.

Then do not forget to thank the Lord for the things which He has so richly given us to enjoy. Do not treat Him worse than you would a passing stranger who does you a favour. Let everybody give thanks to Him, and give thanks at every remembrance of His goodness. Thus will you glorify God, and prepare the way for Him to show you His salvation.

"The Great Supper, and the General Invitation" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xiv. 15-24.)¹⁵1

Jesus was dining at the house of a Pharisee, and the struggles of the aristocratic guests to get into places of prominence had led to some remarks on how to occasions, and also to about whom to invite to behave on such some instruction a feast.

"And when one of them that eat at meat with Him heard these things, he said unto Him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. Then said He unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many; and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it; I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet shore is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper."

THE LORD'S MARRIAGE FEAST

There cannot be the slightest doubt that the "certain man" here spoken of represents God, for the parable was suggested by the words of the man who said, "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." We know that the second coming of Christ to earth will be for the purpose of bringing His people into the marriage feast, to which they have already been invited, at which time "He shall gird Himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." Luke xii. 37. Of the wedding itself we read in Isa. xlix. 13-23; liv. 1-17; lxii. 1-5; Rev. xix. 5-9. It has been long since the invitation was first issued, and it is now supper time, "for the coming of the Lord is at hand;" therefore this lesson is most timely, and has the deepest interest for us. Of the many important things taught by it, we shall merely suggest a few.

SOME MUST ATTEND

One most comforting thought is that "some must enter therein." Think what a disgrace it would be for any person in "society," to make a feast, and then find that no person cared enough for him to answer his invitation. Now God cannot suffer any such thing to happen to Him. He has provided a feast liberal enough for all, and He cannot, for His own sake, enjoy it alone. He must have some to share it with Him; but since so many refuse the invitation, it is the more evident that "whosoever will" may come. No matter who they are, nor what their condition, all may come; nay, some must come. Let us therefore never say nor think, "I am so poor, so insignificant, so weak and sinful, that the Lord will not receive me." It is such ones that the Lord compels to come to His feast.

GOD'S COMMANDS ARE INVITATIONS

And here we get a clear view of the nature of the commandments of God. Most people regard them as hard requirements, as a cutting off of their privileges. No; they are nothing of the kind; they are invitations to a feast. When Her Majesty "commands" people to dine and lodge at Windsor, nobody complains of hard bondage. The Queen's invitations are always commands, which cannot be slighted without the grossest disrespect, but nobody wishes to refuse, since all are delighted to be thug honoured. So the commandments of God are but the gracious invitations to come to His supper. In sending out His invitations He shows His liberality, for the invitation takes the shape of a wedding garment. He sends to each one the robe of His righteousness, in which to appear at the feast. No more delicate, and at the same time more urgent, invitation could be issued. His commandments set forth His righteousness, and therefore they "are not grievous."

ALL THINGS IN CHRIST

The lesson teaches us that everything must be forsaken, in order to comply with the invitation of the Lord. Is that hard? Listen: "Every one that both forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Matt. xix. 29. We are called upon to give up a little that we could at best enjoy but for a few days, for the everlasting enjoyment of all things, And it is not all in the future, that the promises take effect. Here and now God gives us eternal life, and "all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that both called us to glory and virtue." "No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." God does not wish to deprive us of any of the good things of life,-houses, lands, friends, but He wishes us to receive them all at His hands. When we desire nothing beside Christ, then we shall find that we have all things in Him. Whatever cannot be held without letting Christ go, is not worth having, but is injurious.

Does the parable seem to close in a hard, abrupt manner? It makes the host say, "I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper." Well, whose fault is it? They were invited, but would not came. How can they expect to stay away from the feast, and at the same time eat it? The fact that they were bidden, shows that they are free to come; and since even the outcasts are compelled to come, in order that there may be a company, how sure anybody that is bidden may be of a welcome. Therefore "Come; for all things are now ready." "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

"The Editor's Private Corner. How to Be a Witness" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

"For a long while I have had a great desire to find out how to build up an address, and every attempt at the study of God's word forces me to see my ignorance of what I have become a little more acquainted with.

"The week before last a friend of mine who has been managing a Gospel Mission church at wrote to me, asking if I would take the services on Sunday. I prayed to the Lord, promising to do my best with His help, and I am glad to say that a lady come to me after the evening service, and thanked me for the word, . . . but in myself I could not think that justice had been done according to the opportunity. . . .

"Now I do not expect to become a preacher, but I want to become a witness for Christ. The reason I have stated my experience to because I want you to advise me what books I should get to read, to help me in my desire to become an affective witness. I have Ellicott's Commentary, Gray's 'Biblical Museum,' Young's and Cruden's Concordances, Barnes's 'Notes on the Gospels,' Baxter's 'Saints' Rest,' and Finney's Lectures to Professing Christians.' I do not expect to find any royal road, but something to guide me, and enable me to think myself when I read the Word."

Your desire is a most laudable one, for God desires nothing more than that all His people shall be faithful witnesses for Him; and therefore I shall gladly do whatever I can to help you. I take the greater pleasure in this, because I am sure that there are many others who are in very much the same situation that you are,-longing to witness, but not knowing how. If our consideration of the question shall lead to further study of the grand theme, I shall be all the more glad.

THE FIRST AND GREATEST REQUISITE

One of the first things that comes to my mind when you speak of witnessing, is the promise of the Lord: "Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts i. 8. This really covers the whole ground, because the Holy Ghost is the great Teacher of the Truth (John xiv. 26; xvi. 13), and the One who teaches us how to tell it.

Another text which came to my mind as I read your letter was this:-

"Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee." Ps. li. 9-13.

This text amounts to the same thing as the other, because it shows our dependence on the Spirit of God, by whom comes conviction of sin and righteousness. "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come." This is all; go and tell the things that you have seen and heard with God. That is all that a true witness can possibly do. True preaching of the Gospel is not a profession; it is simply one soul talking to another, and telling from personal experience the goodness and power of God; telling what one sees and knows.

JESUS CHRIST THE LEADING WITNESS

Jesus Christ "is the faithful and true Witness." Rev. iii. 14. We are to be joined with Him in witnessing for God, for we read these words: "Ye are My witnesses saith the Lord, and My Servant whom I have chosen." Isa. xliii.10. The Servant whom God has chosen as His chief witness is the Lord Jesus. See Isa. xlii. 1-4. If we learn how He testifies, we shall know what kind of testimony is expected of us. Hear what He says:-

"He that sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him." John viii. 26. "The word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me." John xiv. 24. "For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." John xii 49.

TAUGHT OF GOD

It is clear, therefore, that our witness is to consist only of the words which God teaches us. The Apostle Paul writes: "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." 1 Cor. ii. 13, 13. It is written in the prophets, "And they shall be all taught of God."

AMBASSADORS IN CHRIST'S STEAD

Every soul that is reconciled to God has had put into him the word and ministry of reconciliation, so that we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, to pray in His stead that men will be reconciled unto God, and to do this by the presence of God in us even as it was in Him. 2 Cor. v. 18-20. Christ says, "As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you." John xx. 21. Christ received His words direct from the Father, and we are to do the same. No one would dare accuse Him of ignorance, or of any lack of tact or courtesy, and He was a most perfect Teacher; yet He studied only one book, the Book of God. The theological schools of the Jews had nothing to do with training His mind or forming His style; yet all the people were charmed with His manner, and were astonished at His teaching. But He Himself tells us that He spoke only the words that He had learned with the Father.

THE ETERNAL WORD PUT INTO THE MOUTH

Jesus was the Prophet like unto Moses, speaking only the things which God gave Him. When Moses received the commission from God, he was afraid to go, because he did not think that he could speak. Then the Lord said to him: "Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." Ex. iv. 11, 12. The very same word of encouragement God speaks to every timid, trembling soul. Reassuring us by reminding us of what He did in delivering Israel from Egypt, He says: "I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people." Isa. li. 16. He says to us,

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referring to Himself as the deliverer from the Egypt of sin, "Open thy mouth wide, and I will tell it." Ps. lxxxi. 10. Now read this most blessed assurance: "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the Lord: My Spirit which is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever." Isa. Ix. 20, 21. There need be no lack of testifying power with the one who Iearned from the great Teacher. There is nothing that God wishes to have done, that cannot be done by the one whose soul is cleansed from sin by the abiding presence of the Spirit.

"IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT BEARETH WITNESS"

Even if it has not struck you that we are here in Christ's place, to carry on the work which He begun, and that therefore we may confidently expect that the Father will give us the same equipment that He gave to Him, we must know that we are sent by God. Surely it is a most presumptuous thing for any person to undertake to present the message of God without having been sent. But "he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for God giveth not the Spirit by measure." John iii. 34. "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets; she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the opening of the gates; in the city she uttereth her words, saying, . . . Turn you at My reproof; behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you." Prov. i. 20-23. This is like Ps. li. 9-13. First hearken to the voice of the Spirit convicting of sin, not in a half-way manner, but submitting to every word of God, and then the Spirit will be poured out in a way to make you a witness. You will then be but the mouthpiece of the Spirit, for "it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." 1 John v. 6.

THE EXPERIENCE OF ISAIAH

This was the experience of the prophet Isaiah. When he saw God sitting on His high throne, he cried, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me, and He said, Go." Isa, vi. 5-9.

THE GREAT SECRET OF WITNESSING

The great secret of witnessing is to become acquainted with the Lord, and to know His sin-cleansing and His keeping power. He who knows this for himself, because he has the Spirit's own testimony, so that he has no need of any human assurance of the fact, can speak with an authority that is impossible to the greatest scholar in the world, who has not that witness. The whole secret of the power of the apostles was that "they had been with Jesus."

Not only will one who has been with Jesus, and who walks with Him, be able to witness for Him, but he will not be able to keep from testifying. The rulers threatened the apostles with the severest punishment if they persisted in witnessing for Christ, but they said, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard," Acts iv. 20. Jeremiah had a similar experience. He was derided and reproached and threatened, and he says: "Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." Jer. xx. 9. Remember that these men were ordinary men, such as we are. The apostles were fishermen whom the Lord called; and Jeremiah was a timid child until God put His words in his mouth. Jer. i. 4-9.

"BUILDING UP AN ADDRESS"

Now a word about "building up an address." Let me beg of you as a friend never to attempt such a thing. Think what your message is, and the condition of those to whom you are sent. You are sent to save men who are on the brink of destruction. Would you "build up an address" to men who were drowning? It makes me wince when I hear people talk about "giving an address" at some Gospel meeting. Preparation is needed, and abundance of it, but when the Word has been incorporated into the heart and life, then your work is simply to give it forth. The Word must be made flesh in you, and then you can speak as Christ did. You are not to take something in your hand or in your head, and pass it on to the people, but you are to give them yourself,-your transformed self,-your life.

I know the danger of looseness and of rambling talk; but the one who testifies "with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven" is saved from it. Stephen, Paul, and Peter, of whose sermons we have some outlines, did not "build up an address" when they moved the multitudes, but they were not illogical nor rambling in their talk. The reason is that they preached Christ, not about Christ, and He is the Logos, the beginning and the end of logic.

I know that this is contrary to all the canons of theological teaching; but one can learn more in five minutes from the Holy Spirit, about preaching, than in five years at any theological seminary without the Holy Spirit.

AVOID RELIGIOUS QUACKERY

Do you know that there is such a thing as religious quackery, just the same as there is medical quackery? A quack in medicine is one who has a few prescriptions, which may have proved useful in some cases, and who applies them to every case. He will tell you just what sort of remedy to give for every disease, regardless of the differences in different patients. But the real physician is the one who studies the principles of health and of disease, and who endeavours to bring the healing life to each person just according to his need. Even so with the religious teacher. You can find books that will tell you just how to deal with every sort of sinner, and just what texts are applicable to each state, and you may read them all through and be no better fitted to deal with souls than before. Fill yourself with the Word of God, and then let the Holy Spirit bring to your remembrance on each occasion just the things that are needed by the person or persons before you.

THE BOOKS THAT ARE NEEDED

Now what books are necessary? Here I can give you exact and definite information. You need a fairly large library, not less than sixty-six books; but they are not very expensive, and I doubt not that you have them already. They are the books of the Old and the New Testament. It is absolutely impossible for you to learn to

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witness for Christ from any other books than these. I will not disparage commentaries, any more than the good men who have written them; but remember this one thing: You are called to be a witness, and a witness must tell what he knows, and must not repeat what somebody else has already said. You do not want to be a phonograph. Some other man may have given a good testimony, but that testimony is his, not yours. If he has written it down, then everybody can read it for himself, and he can continue to witness after he is dead. It is his own voice. But if you or I repeat that testimony, we are not witnessing, but are merely echoing. God wants fresh testimony from every individual, and not the repetition of what somebody else has said better than we can. If he could speak better than me, then it is folly for us to ape him. God sends us to tell what we have seen, even though it be but little. If we do not know much, then we cannot testify much; but the little that we know, if we do indeed know it, is just as effective as the same amount spoken by the most learned man in the world; and if we speak that which we do not absolutely know for ourselves as the direct revelation from God, then our talk is worse than useless. In such a case we cannot know but that we are leading the people astray.

A ROYAL SEED

You say that you do not expect to find any royal road, but I am happy to be able to point one out to you. Here it is, described by the king who trod it to a greater extent than any other person in the world except Christ:-

"My son, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of His saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path." Prov. ii. 1-9. When you have this preparation, you will not need to "build up an address" to sinners seeking the way of salvation, any more than you would to point out the road with which you are familiar, to a traveller who asks you the way. It you are but the instrument of the Spirit, He will speak to each one through you, saying, "This is the way; walk ye in it;" and there will be no wavering in the testimony.

SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Will you let me give you a little personal experience in this matter of studying the Bible and using commentaries? It may help you. When I was a good deal younger than I am now, and was desirous as you are of knowing God's Word, so that I could carry the message of salvation to others, I set myself to study a certain book in the Bible, which attracted me wonderfully. I determined to know it thoroughly, so I took my commentary and began to study systematically. I began to read the Introduction, in which the author tells all about the circumstances under which the book was written, the condition of the people to whom it was addressed, and other general matter, all drawn from the book itself. In this Introduction there were frequent references to the Scripture text, and as I wished to know everything for myself, I had to look up these references. But this was slow work, and interrupted the continuity of the thought. I saw that if I wished to get the most profit from my commentator, and to follow him easily, I must have in my mind the whole of the text of the book on which he was commenting, so that whenever he made any reference to it I would know, without turning to it, just what he said. In short, I saw that in order to be able to understand what the Scripture writer meant, I must know just what he said. So I laid aside my commentary for a time, until I could get the words of the Scripture in my mind. I laboured indeed as one who seeks a fortune, for I was in earnest. Verse by verse, sentence by sentence, I went through the whole of the book under consideration. By day and by night I meditated upon the relation of one particular sentence to that which preceded and followed it. Night after night as I lay in bed I repeated the words until I fell asleep. I must remind you, by the way, that I, like you, did not expect to become a preacher; I simply wished to understand God's Word for myself. Nor was I merely a student, without any other occupation. All the time I was studying I was working with my hands and head during the day. But as I walked to my work in the morning and at noon, and as I returned home, I had my little Bible in my pocket, and was studying my precious book, getting ready to study and understand the commentary upon it. At last frequent reference to the text, and a most diligent questioning of it, fixed it so firmly in my mind that if any sentence in it was quoted I could instantly tell all the context. If a verse were referred to by number, the words of it at once flashed through my mind. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times I repeated the entire book slowly and thoughtfully, until I could take in the whole of it at a glance. Then I took up my long-neglected commentary, but lo, it had lost all its interest for me. It had nothing to tell me, that I did not already know; and I discovered that no man can possibly know anything more about the Bible than what he learns from the Bible itself. If any man knows any truth of God's Word, he must have learned it from that Word, and the Word stands open for every other man to learn the same thing for himself. God is no respecter of persons, but gives wisdom to all who ask. Even people of little learning may be wise in the things of God, for He has hid His deep things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes. Inspiration says, "Consider what I say; for the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things." "If any man willeth to do His will, He shall know of the teaching."

I have written you much more than I thought to write, but the subject is inexhaustible, and one that lies very close to my heart. May the Lord bless you, and make you able to be a minister of life.

"For Little Ones. Carried in His Bosom" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

What a safe, warm, happy shelter the dear little lamb in our picture has found, has it not? Gathered close to the heart of the good, kind shepherd, carried tenderly in his loving arms, what can it want or fear?

So long as it is in his bosom, nothing can harm it. If the storm should beat, it is safely sheltered; if the wolf should come, it is hidden where he cannot get it, and the shepherd is strong to protect it; and it will not hunger or thirst, for food and drink are sure to be provided for it. All it has to do is to rest, and be happy, and love the good shepherd, who cares for it so tenderly.

Look well at the picture, and then we will see what the Lord Jesus wants us to learn from it. For He uses the way in which the shepherd cares for his sheep, and carries the lambs in his bosom, to show how He cam for His own "little flock."

He calls Himself, "The Good Shepherd," and He is called also the "Chief Shepherd," and the "Great Shepherd of the sheep." But who are His flock? We will let His own Word answer this question for us: "We are . . . the sheep of His pasture." And again: "Ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord of hosts."

So that He says about His flock-His sheep-is for us, and this is what His Word says: "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with Him arm, and carry them in His bosom."

Did you know that you are being carried in the Lord's bosom? Think what a difference it would make to the little lamb in the shepherd's arms if it did not know where it was. Suppose it should think that it was in the clutches of the hungry, cruel wolf, or about to be devoured by the roaring lion! How frightened it would be, and how it would straggle to get free. The good shepherd's arms would be no resting-place to it then.

Or suppose it should know that the shepherd was holding it, and yet should not know the shepherd,-his kind, loving heart, how gently he would ewe for it himself, and give his own life rather than let anyone else hart it. Even then it might be anxious and troubled, and wonder what was going to happen to it. It would not lie down peacefully, and rest in his bosom.

Even so, although it is true that you-God's little ones, the Good Shepherd's lambs-are carried in His bosom, because His own Word says so, if you do not know it, and know Him, you are missing the sweet rest and joy that He wants you to have.

You cannot get away out of His bosom, for He "fills heaven and earth," and "in Him we live, and move, and have our being." So the only way that we can get out of His bosom is by getting out of existence, by ceasing to be.

His arm is much too strong to let you go, for He upholds the heavens and the earth and all that are in them, and because "He is great in might and strong in power, not one escapeth." Nothing can escape, or get away, out of His strong arm that gathers the lambs, and carries them in His bosom.

Neither can anyone snatch you away from Him, for He says that no one shall pluck His sheep out of His hand, because His Father, who gave them to Him, is greater than all, and has given Him "all power in heaven and in earth."

And this will make you so happy as you learn more and more to know the Good Shepherd, and all that He has done and is doing for His sheep. He says: "I am come that they might have life. . . . The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. . . . I lay down My life for the sheep."

Do you not already love your tender Shepherd, and will you not rest in His arms, and nestle close to His loving heart, and trust Him always for all things? Are you not glad that you are so close to Him that you can find Him every time you feel after Him?

He is your dwelling place, all round about you wherever you are. His breath is breathed every moment into your nostrils, so that you "may have life." His gentle voice is speaking in your ear, sweet words of love and instruction and comfort, through all the things that He has made. All the food that nourishes and gives you life comes from His own being, for He is "the fountain of life."

Learn all you can of the Good Shepherd, for the better you know Him,-His power, His love, His tenderness, His watchfulness;-the more sweetly you will rest "in His bosom."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

The following bit of advice, published in the official organ of the Salvation Army may well be adopted by all Christians, whose only business in this world is to save souls:-

Whether the prosperity of the country is affected to any appreciable extent or not by either Conservative or Liberal Government, is a moot question. In the politics of to-day, both amongst Liberals and Conservatives, there is too much of the party, and too little of the State, for the good of the people. Our readers will, therefore, be well advised to let the elections alone, and go on with their soul-saving work, and thus save much time and temper.

The increase in the price of coal, which continues at such a rate that other industries are being crippled, is bringing in golden returns to the coal companies, one of which recently declared a dividend of 50 per cent. This led to the appearance of these lines in Punch:-

"Fifty per cent. for the rich,
Hunger and cold for the poor."

If some of these men would read James v. 1-6, it might save them a greet deal more than is represented by 50 per cent. on any amount of money invested in business.

-At sunset, the evening of the 23rd ult., the Jewish New Year 5661 began.

-The British National debt now stands at ?639,165,265, an increase of ?4,124,000.

-A dispatch from Melbourne states that the Fiji Islands desire to confederate with New Zealand.

-Complaint has been made to the Home Secretary of the prevalence of garroting and highway robbery in Southwark.

-In consequence of the non-payment of his salary, the Turkish Minister at Madrid has tendered his resignation.

-In three cases which came before the East London coroner on one day last week, drink was shown to have led to death.

-Mr. Goschen, First Lord of the Admiralty, has retired from Parliament, after thirty-seven years of almost continuous service.

-The elections for members of the special Diet for Gotha have resulted in the Socialists gaining nine out of the nineteen seats.

-The Italian Government has decided to ask the Parliament to sanction a loan of ?10,000,000 for the construction of new warships.

-The Germans are sending a number of their police officials to London, with the object of studying the English system of regulating street traffic.

-A South-American, M. Santos-Dumont, has been giving some exhibitions in Paris, of a balloon in which he can sail against the wind, provided the weather is fine.

-On Monday, the 26th ult., the Queen had reigned sixty-three years and ninety-six days, just four years longer than George III. the longest former occupant of the Throne.

-The high price of coal has so increased the cost of paper, that the printers and editors of Prussia assembled in Congress have resolved to raise the price of their newspapers.

-For the first time, United States coal has been ordered by the Admiralty for use on the North American station, 2,500 tons of coal from Virginia having been delivered at Halifax, N.S.

-It is announced that direct telephonic communication will be established between London and Brussels at the beginning of next year, at a charge of 10f. for three minutes' conversation.

-According to the fifty-fourth report of the Commissioners in Lunacy, which has been issued as a Blue-book, the total number of lunatics in England and Wales, enumerated on Jan. 1, 1900, was 106,611.

-According to a recent count there are in the United States 1,008 religious journals, with a total weekly issue of two million copies. Three-fifths of this total circulation, however, is confined to 118 of the papers.

-The North German Lloyd Company is having two ocean steamers built, which are to exceed the record-breaker Deutchland in size and speed. One is to be called Kaiser Wilhelm II., and the other Kromprins Wilhem.

-The Secret Defence Committee of the New Zealand Houses of Parliament has issued its report in favour of strengthening the defences of the chief towns, purchasing arms, and fostering cadet-corps and an Imperial reserve.

-For the weekend September 21, the deaths registered in England and Wales corresponded to an annual rate of 18.1 per 1,000 of their aggregate population. The rate in London was considerably below the average, being 16.5.

-Lloyd's agent in Icelandic sends word that on September 20, several people were killed and injured in a hurricane in Ofiord, the wind blowing 120 miles an hour. Nearly all the fishing smacks were driven on shore from their moorings, and some houses were blown down.

-Sipido, who shot at the Prince of Wales, failed in his appeal against the judgment which empowered the Government to detain him until he was of age. He was taken up his residence in Paris, where he remains unmolested. He will be able to return to Brussels on attaining his majority.

-On the 23rd ult. 3,000 Boers on the Portuguese frontier destroyed their artillery, and then crossed the border and surrendered with their arms, ammunition, and horses to the Portuguese, who sent the whole force of 3,000 men, including General Plenaar and his staff, under escort to Delagoa Bay, where they were all lodged at the barracks.

-The Russian Government has followed up the introduction of the spirit monopoly by an attempt to repress public drunkenness. All persons found intoxicated in the streets and public places will be sentenced to terms of imprisonment varying from three days to a fortnight. A repetition of the offence is punishable with three months' imprisonment.

-One of the Vatican organs suggests that the Pope should migrate from Rome to Jerusalem, and out of the millions in the Papal treasury should buy from the Sultan of Turkey such a large extent of territory as would ensure the recognition of the Papacy as a temporal power. But it will not be done, for the Pope will not buy what he claims as his by right.

-A syndicate of American capitalists, with Mr. Charles T. Yerkes, the Chicago railway magnate, at the head, has acquired control of the Charing-cross, Euston, and Hampstead Railway Company. This new railway, which by the terms of the Act under which it was incorporated, is to be completed by 1902, will run from Charing-cross to Hampstead, which branches at Euston and Kentish Town. It is to be a double-tube underground electric, equipped according to the latest American pattern.

-An unprecedented rainfall has occurred in Calcutta. A portion of the city was flooded to a depth of three feet, and the country for miles around was under water. Twenty natives perished, and thousands were rendered homeless. Thirty-five inches of rain fell. The Viceroy, in his weekly message, says more rain is urgently needed throughout Bombay. Elsewhere fine weather is wanted for ripening the crops. Prices are slowly falling. Persons in receipt of relief now number 3,537,000.

-Something new in photography is reported from Geneva, New York, U.S.A., where Professor William K. Brooks, director of the big astronomical Observatory, has succeeded in producing a remarkably clear picture of his assistant, by means of the rays of Venus alone. He selected the darkest hour of the night after the planet had risen, and carefully excluded all light except that which came from this single star through the open shutter of the observatory dome. This gives an idea of the amount of light we get from the planets and stars.

"Poison Instead of Food" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

It would be well if all would heed an item in the Daily Mail last week, entitled "Valueless Meat Extracts." Probably, however, that interested most people the least of anything. It stated that "Dr. Andrew Wilson, who has been giving a series of lectures in London, says that ordinary meat extracts are valueless to the consumer;" and that "experiments have proved that life cannot be maintained on meat extract." This is a fact that has long since been demonstrated. One might better throw his money into the sea than to spend it in meat extracts, since not only do they contain no food, except the little water that is in them, but they do contain poisonous matter. At the best, the waste, poisonous matter that was in the animal's system when it was killed, is what is extracted; but at the worst, the extract contains the poisons that are the result of decay after death; for many meat extracts are made from putrid flesh. It is this that gives them their pungent taste and their stimulating effect. No one ought to be so foolish as to suppose that he can buy "an ox in a teacup." It cannot be done. If people will eat the flesh of their fellow-creatures, they ought at least to take it in such shape that they can have some knowledge of what they are getting.

"Health Notes. Alcohol and Cold" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

In 1786, Prince Potemkin, Prime Minister of Russia under the Empress Catherine, gave a State dinner to over twenty-two thousand persons, in vast halls in St. Petersburg. Brandy, the favourite intoxicant at that time, flowed as freely as water, and when the half-drunken guests departed, the intense cold night air did not sober them, but locked the senses in a stupidity that ushered in the sleep of death. More than sixteen thousand of the guests perished by the cold that night. Those who survived were the ones who had not drunk so deeply, and were thus able to resist the benumbing effects of the extreme cold. The official reports of the death rates in Russia show that a majority of fatal cases in winter are of those who are intoxicated.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

The Archbishop of Baltimore, Cardinal Gibbons, has been asked to arbitrate between the American mine owners and the strikers, and it is said that he has accepted. This is another instance of how the Roman Catholic Church is fastening its hold on the people.

When people talk about being too old to be of any service at seventy, it is refreshing to read that Thomas Sidney Cooper, B.A., who, last week entered his ninety-eighth year, finished, without the use of glasses of any sort, a catte-piece equal to any of his former work.

The Methodist Times, in a leading editorial on, "Do, Methodist Preachers Still Preach Methodist Doctrine?" gives the following item as illustrating the decline of the pulpit: "An earnest Anglican clergyman said to a Methodist friend the other day, 'What has happened to your ministers? It has been my life-long custom when I was depressed and needed inspiration to go to a Methodist chapel and hear a Methodist preacher. I have given up doing so. The old ring is gone; the old distinctive Methodist preaching has disappeared.'" And the saddest of all is that this is not peculiar to Methodism. Perhaps the Saviour's words, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold," afford an explanation of the absence of the fire.

In these days, when the elections are the one great theme, and each political party is charging all the troubles of the land upon the other party, and promising the people good times if it is returned to power, it is well to recall the truth stated by Goldsmith:-

"How small, of all that human hearts endure,
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure;
Still to ourselves in every place consigned,
Our own felicity we make or find."

Fires, floods, famines, pestilence, etc., come without any regard to the party or persons in authority; and whoever trusts in the Lord, and does good, has the promise of dwelling in the land, and being fed.

"The same spirit of faith that teaches us to pray earnestly, teaches us to wait patiently; for as it assures us that the blessing is in the Lord's hand, so it assures us it will be given forth in the Lord's time."

"The Valley and the Mountain" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

The Valley and the Mountain .-It is very true that one cannot always dwell on the mount of transfiguration. Peter found it a good place to be, and desired to make a permanent residence there; but he had to come down. There are occasions, as in secret prayer or a gathering of believers, when "the heavenly vision" is so vivid that we seem to see Jesus transfigured before our natural eyes; but these are for our encouragement, and cannot continue all the time. The mistake, however, which many make, is in supposing that their connection with the Lord must necessarily be less close in the intervals of these revelations. Remember that when the disciples came down from the mount of transfiguration Jesus came with them, and one of the greatest manifestations of His power took place at its foot. These special occasions are given us in order to make us realise how near the Lord is to us all the time. He is just as near us in the Valley of Humiliation or of the Shadow of Death, as on the top of the Delectable Mountains.

"Rivers of Living Water" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

One whose work in the Lord's cause required a constant outlay of thought in writing and speaking, wrote to a friend, expressing his fear that he might run out, and the quality of his work be deteriorated; to whom the friend replied, in words that all would do well to remember:-

"What you say about 'running out] reminds me of 'a spring of water whose waters fail not.'

"'Dig channels for the streams of love,
Where they may broadly ran,
And love has overflowing streams.
So fill them every one.'"

I am glad that all we have to do is to let the water from this unfailing spring run through, and then we cannot run out until He does, so long as our connection with Him is unbroken. If otherwise, the sooner we run out the better. I am fond of connecting Prov. xvi, 22 with xviii. 4, and these with the texts in John, which show that the well of water springing up in us unto everlasting life sends out streams of life as a flowing brook or a river of living water to others."

"Suffering and Rejoicing with Christ" The Present Truth 16, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

How many are there, of those who sing with fervour,

"My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign,"

who do not have in their minds, to a greater or less degree, the idea of a sacrifice for the sake of Jesus? Thus, for example, a poor woman who had been converted from Catholicism, and was subjected to petty persecutions by the Romanists, said: "No matter what they do, I'll never give up Jesus; and it is not much to bear for Him, who bore so much for me." Now that is good as far as it goes, but it indicates a failure to grasp what Christ really is to us; and that is the condition of very many. It is well to be moved by gratitude to Christ, for all that He has done for us; but we must not get the idea that by suffering any amount of physical or mental pain we in any degree pay Him for His suffering. He does not take pleasure in our pain; neither can we enrich Him by anything we do. It is impossible for us to make any sacrifice what ever for Him. He Himself is the one only Sacrifice. He gives, we receive.

No; the true idea in the talk about resigning everything for Christ, is that of exchanging a bad thing for a good; that which is of no value for that which is above price. We were pleased with sin; but now, having seen Christ, sin pleases us no more. He draws us to Himself so irresistibly that we gladly drop everything else, and ran to Him. We glory in suffering, not because we think that it pleases Him to see us suffer in our turn, nor as an expression of appreciation of His sufferings for us, but because we suffer with Him, and thus realise the joy of His presence. In His presence is such surpassing joy that even if we have to suffer in order to be near Him, the joy more than obliterates the pain. Even in this world of disappointment and sorrow and suffering, the joy of the Lord's presence is so exceeding great that we are perfectly contented and happy; what then must be the state in the world to come, where there will be no suffering, no disappointment, no lack? What language can ever tell it? what mind can ever comprehend it? Go we say, "Lord Jesus, come quickly;" not to put an end to our sufferings, but to let us revel in the superabounding joy.

October 11, 1900

"A Royal Visitor" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

"Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will with Me."

Who says this? Is it some beggar seeking shelter and food and rest? Ah, no; it is the King of kings, who has "unsearchable riches;" it is the One who is the Bread of life, and whose birthplace is the house of bread; the one who is "our dwelling place in all generations;" who is "a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat," and who gives rest to the weary and heavy laden. It is not as a suppliant, asking favours for himself, but as the dispenser of priceless gifts, that He seeks admission.

And to whom does He appeal for admission? Is it to the noble, the wealthy, the esteemed? No; it is to the "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Rev. iii. 17. To the wretched He comes offering ease; to the miserable, joy and gladness; to the poor, everlasting inheritance; to the blind; the light of heaven and clear vision; and to the naked, the pure, white robe of righteousness and the garment of salvation. He comes to every need according to His riches in glory. He comes to satisfy every longing of the human heart, and to fill the hungry soul with goodness. In Him all fulness dwells, and He freely gives it to all who will receive.

"But how can I let Him in? How can I get the door open? I am helpless and ignorant; I do not know what to do." Who has not had that feeling of helpless despondency? Let us see if we cannot remove it, and make the way clear. The answer is at hand: "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John i. 12. Unbelief is the only thing that shuts Him out; whoever believes Him.

You are doubtless of what well-meaning friends have told you, that you must get the pile of rubbish away from the door of your heart, in order that it may open to the royal visitor; and your heart sinks, because you have tried to remove it, but in spite of all your efforts it still remains. You say that there is not possibly room for Him and the sin both together, and that you cannot get rid of the sin, so you cannot do what you would, namely, welcome Jesus as an abiding presence. Well, others have had the same difficulty, until they found out that this door swings outward, so that no amount of rubbish of sin piled up inside can keep it from opening. They let go the latch of unbelief that held it, and, lo, it swung wide, open, and there was nothing to hinder the Saviour from entering.

Christ is the light of the world, and when the true Light shineth the darkness must flee away. So as soon as the veil of unbelief falls from the windows of the soul, the bright shining of the Sun of righteousness must necessarily dispel all the darkness of sin. You do not have to drive it out; it goes because the light

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scatters it. In that light of life the blindest cannot help seeing.

But you say that you are bound, and cannot move hand or foot. Your iniquities have taken you, and you are held with the cords of your sins, so that you cannot rise to open the door and let the Saviour in. This difficulty is provided for also. Suppose you were ill in bed, unable to rise, and your attendant was away, and a visitor should call on you; you hear his knock, but you cannot go to the door. What can you do? You can say, "Come in," and your friend will walk in. Even so with Christ. Nothing but unbelief can bar the door of the heart; believe that He means what He says, when He knocks for admission, and say, "Come in, Lord; the door is unlocked; there is nothing to hinder your entrance; come, and welcome." Do not fear that he will not hear your invitation, no matter how feeble your voice, He who bends down from the highest heaven "to hear the groaning of the prisoner," and who hears the groaning of the speechless, inanimate creation, will certainly hear your cry, when He stands at the door. He understands your thought afar off, even before you do, and He responds to it.

Once more you ask, "How may I know that He is knocking at the door of My heart?" Have you never felt your heart beat? Have you never felt the thrill of life in your body? Do you not know that He is the life, and that in Him we live, and move, and have our being? Your life-blood, and the life-breath that purifies it and keeps it coursing through your arteries and veins, is the revelation of His presence. Every second since you were born He has been knocking, knocking, knocking, knocking, while you, perhaps, have been denying His existence. Oh, what infinite patience and longsuffering! What blessed assurance there is in this! Even though it be the last hour, so long as He continues knocking there is the certainty that He will come in if given permission. Do not fear that after He has so long and patiently sought for admission He will turn away when at last your dull ear is roused to hear His voice. "While there's life there's hope," because the life that we have is His, and He is the hope of His people.

Yes; our existence is the proof of the presence of the Lord; and since He "giveth to all life, and breath, and all things," that is the proof of His right to have complete possession and full control. That is what He is knocking for. Every pulse beat, every heaving of the chest, is a knock, reminding you of His right to rule in your heart and life. He is the Prince of peace, yes, the King of righteousness and peace, and your sole duty is to "let the peace of God rule in your hearts." If you receive Him with thanksgiving, "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Christ is the rightful King of the universe. Our part, therefore, is to say to Him, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." We are to say, "Lord, I belong to Thee; I recognise Thy right to reign in me, and I give Thee full liberty to have Thine own way, to live Thy perfect life in me; live this earthly temple just as Thou dost in Thy sanctuary in the heavens." The prayer given by Him is not a vain one; He can live as sinless a life in sinful flesh as in the paradise of God.

"In what am I to yield to Him? How shall I know?"

"By the law is the knowledge of sin;" and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, uses it to send conviction, that we may know in what places we are still harbouring rebellion in the realm of our lives. "Hear, and your soul shall live."

He says: "Thou shalt not have any others gods before Me," and, hearing it, we respond, "Lord, I thank Thee for the commandment and the promise; take away everything that usurps Thy place."

He says: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain," and we say, "Lord, I confess that I have profaned Thy name; and I thank Thee that Thou wilt write it upon me, so that it will be my life."

Again He says: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;" and we reply, "Let Thy presence, dear Lord, abide with me, that I may have rest indeed from all sin, and as I triumph in the works of Thy hands I will ever delight in Thy holy memorial."

When He says: "Thou shalt not kill," and "whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer," we can only say, "Lord, let Thy love be shed abroad in my heart continually by Thy Spirit, so that all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, may be put away from me, with all malice, and that I may be kind and tender-hearted, forgiving all even as Thou hast forgiven me."

He says: "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and again we respond, "Dear Lord, my Master, live in me Thine own pure life, that I may be faithful to Thee in every thought; let me ever be joined to Thee, a member of Thy body, of Thy flesh, and of Thy bones; let us be no more twain, but one new man." If we are perfectly joined to Christ, we cannot be unlawfully joined to anybody else.

And so we might go through the list. Whenever we become convicted of a sin, we simply say, "Lord, it belongs to Thee; do with it according to Thy will." When a hitherto unknown duty is presented to us, we say, "Lord, I have taken Thee, not for worse, but for better, even for all that Thou art, and I pray Thee live this new phase of Thy life also in me."

If we thus heartily receive the Lord, no longer holding Him in the inner sanctuary, living face to face with Him, we shall find day by day that even though supping with Him involves drinking deeply of the cup of suffering, nevertheless in His presence in fulness of joy. When He abides in us, we abide in Him, and we can say: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

"'This Man Receiveth Sinners'" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xv. 1-10)¹⁶1

Whoever keeps in mind the instruction recorded in the fourteenth chapter of Luke, cannot fail to see that the fifteenth chapter is the natural sequence of it. Jesus had told the Pharisees that when they made a feast they should invite "the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind," and had, under the form of a parable, shown that it is just such ones whom God compels to come to the great marriage supper which He prepares. It was inevitable, therefore, that Christ, as the true Teacher, should receive and eat with the outcast people.

Jud?a was under the power of Rome, and was compelled to pay tribute. But

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the Jews, remembering their past glory and independence, were never reconciled to the idea of paying tribute; and the men who would stoop so low as to accept the post of collecting money from their own nation, to give to the hated ruling power, were looked upon as the basest betrayers of their country. No "respectable" person would have anything to do with them. It is quite evident that a calling not be adopted by anybody who cared much for the opinion of others. Those who engaed in it would be for the most part men who esteemed money as of more value than a good reputation; and being ostracised to a great extent by society, they naturally degenerated. Moreover, the plan on which the tax business was conducted was calculated to make the publicans hard and grasping, and unscrupulous in their methods. The collecting of taxes was entrusted by the Romans to men who could pay out of their own pockets a fixed sum, covering all that was required from the district that was allotted to them, and they in their turn undertook to collect the sum from the people, together with as much additional as they could possibly wring from them. This of course made them hated the more. For Jesus to associate with such people was to show a deliberate disregard for the usages of "society."

But "the common people heard Him gladly." Nothing sets forth in clearer lines the essential kindness and gentleness of Jesus than the fact that all the publicans and sinners voluntarily drew near to hear Him. Men of that class do not go where they are "preached at," and talked to condescendingly. Nobody, in fact, voluntarily goes into any society where he cannot be received as an equal, unless he has some selfish end in view; and this could not be the case with any who came to Jesus, since He had no money nor worldly gain of any kind to give them. They came to Him because He did rendered "receive." Among the illustrations of its use we have the following expressions: "to let some to oneself;" "to receive favourably;" "to receive Hospitably;" in Homer it is used always in the sense of to wait for, to expect a thing. It shows that Jesus did not merely tolerate the presence of these despised, often degraded, creatures, but that He longed for them, expected them, waited for them, and welcomed them gladly when they came. They could associate with Him as freely and with as little restraint as with their own class.

Yet these sinful people did not misunderstand Jesus. They did not think that he was such an one as they were. They knew that He was as different from them as light is from darkness, and that was just why they came to Him. They wanted that which He had, and which He wished to impart to them. While they could meet Him without any restraint, we may be sure that there was never in their intercourse with Him anything of the coarseness or looseness that would characterise their association with one another. They would not feel that they must hold themselves in check while talking with Him, but they would instinctively and involuntarily drop their own rough ways, and fall in with His gentle and refined ways. This is the power of Divine goodness. Thus it is that association with Jesus changes the sinner into His image. Whoever lives consciously in the presence of the Lord, will inevitably be lifted out of himself, and will be made into the likeness of Christ.

LOVE THE LEVELLER

The Lord loves us, and has given Himself for us. His love is real and perfect; it is His life. He gives His life for us and to us, that we may be one with Him, equal sharers of His life. This love, when it is seen and appreciated, does away with all talk or thought about inequality. We know that He is infinitely greater and wiser than we are, but that does not hinder us from coming into His presence wihtout fear, and associating with him on terms of equality, for "perfect love casteth out fear." When there is true love between two persons, no thought of difference of rank or station ever enters the mind of either. If one looks upon the other as in any degree inferior, that indicates lack of perfect love; and if one thinks that the other regards him as inferior, that shows the same, and also unbeliev in the reality of the love of the other. Love equalises, always lifting the inferior to the level of the superior. True love levels, but always by bringing up and not by casting down. Thus God, "for His great love wherewith He loved us, . . . quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

RECEIVING HIS OWN

Why should not Christ receive sinners? Will a man not receive that which belongs to him, whenever he can get it? Indeed, there is really no question as to receiving; that is shut out by the fact that he will seek for his own. Even so Christ showed how natural it was that He should receive the sinners who flocked to hear Him. He was God's Representative. "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." "The Lord He is God; it is He that made us, and His we are; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Ps. c. 3. Christ is "that great Shepherd of the sheep;" "the good Shepherd." "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to His own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." How then could it be otherwise than that He should come to seek the wandering sheep? No man having an hundred sheep would say, if one wandered away, "No matter, it is only one," and so make no effort to recover it. If he did so with one, then he would do the same with another one, and still another one, until he would not have one left. Indifference with regard to one, shows indifference for all. It is by looking after and guarding the single ones, that he keeps the whole. Therefore by the natural action of a man with his sheep, or of a woman with that which is her dowry, Jesus justified His course in welcoming sinners to Himself.

THE SAFETY OF ONE THE SAFETY OF ALL

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See how this for ever disposes of the timid sinner's objection, "The Lord does not trouble Himself about so insignificant and worthless a being as I am." Do you not see that, even if He had no personal love for you, His own interest demands that He seek for you until He find you? If He cannot keep the least of His flock, by what can He assure the rest that he can protect them? He has made us for His own praise; but "surely there will be no praise to Him if He loses us all, and does not care. We may at once and for ever dismiss from our minds all thought of our own insignificance in this connection. In the one that is lost, the Lord sees the whole. A thing is worth what it costs, or at least a wise purchaser will make it worth what it costs him. So God will make every man whom He finds, worth what He gave for him. "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isa. xiii. 12. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The gift was great enough to purchase the world, yet the price of the world was given for each individual. Christ "loved me, and gave Himself for me." "Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. iv. 7. When the Lord rises upon a man, and His glory is seen upon him, no price can be set upon his value. If men will pay a fabulous price for any old article that has been handled by some famous man, what must be the worth of one who has received the touch of the Lord Almighty? We may think of ourselves in this way as worth an infinite sum, and not be made conceited by the thought, since all the value that we have or ever can have will be only the marks of the Lord's hands upon us. It is all of Him, and not of us.

In the cases referred to by the Lord, the persons had lost a part of that which represented their living. That explains their solicitude for it, and their joy on recovering it. Now just such honest, simple-hearted joy as these persons felt and manifested upon receiving their own, the Lord feels when He finds any of His own lost ones, only in as much greater degree as He is greater than any man. He is glad, and He does not attempt to conceal His joy. Verse 10 of this chapter is too often misread. This is indicated by the words of the song so often sung:-

"Over a sinner returning,
Now let the angels rejoice."

People read it as though it said that there is rejoicing among the angels of God when a sinner repents. That is no doubt true; for if "all the sons of God shouted for joy" when the world was first created, we may be sure that they have no less joy when a new creation appears; but what the text says is that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. That indicates that it is God Himself who manifests and leads in the joy. He is as genuinely glad at heart as are the man and the woman who recover the lost sheep and the lost coin.

INCREASING THE JOY OF HEAVEN

What a glorious thought that even here and now we can add to the joy of heaven, and that, even if we cannot sing a note, we may increase the music of heaven! Every saved sinner adds to the harmonies of heaven a note that no angel could ever produce. Thus it is that "the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" is made known through the church unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Eph. iii. 10, 11. Who would forego the pleasure of making the heart of God glad, and of hearing Him sing for joy?

This joy of the Lord is our strength. Neh. viii. 10. "The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing." Zeph. iii. 17. This is the joy of His salvation. His joy is the joy of a mighty One in His own strength, the joyful contemplation of His own work, just as when on the seventh day He rested from all His work, and delighted Himself with the sight of the perfection of the work which His hands had made. He rests in His love, and in it we may also rest, and rejoice and be glad for ever in that which He creates.

"Learn Obedience" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

In a letter to a school boy at Eastbourne, who undoubtedly wishes to be a soldier, Major-General Baden-Powell gave the following useful instruction, which will apply in other callings besides that of war:-

"One thing you must learn before you can be a good soldier, and that is to be very obedient to your superior officers-that is, while you are a boy to be obedient to your father and to your school-master, and to the captain of your cricket or football team; and when you become a real soldier you will know how to obey your officers in every little thing. It is no use being a big or strong soldier unless you are an obedient one."

One who has never learned obedience is in reality of little use anywhere; and the easiest time of all to learn it is in early childhood. Those parents who train their earliest children in habits of obedience from their earliest infancy, are doing them and society a lasting benefit. And the habit can and should be well fixed before the child is six years old. The most of the difficulties among members of the church grow out of the fact that they have not been taught to obey in their childhood. The child who is taught obedience will always be easy to get along with. It is no kindness to any child to allow it to have its own way. Christ was the only begotten Son of God, and was loved by the Father as God only can love; but "though He were a Son yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered."

"City Coroner" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

The City Coroner, who after more than fifty years of service is thinking of retiring from his office, in an interview with a Chronicle representative, "lamented the growing increase of suicides," which he attributed to the great pressure of modern life. He said that "people are more reckless of their lives nowadays, and seem to think nothing of drowning or poisoning themselves." And just as people become more reckless of their own lives, so will they have less regard for the lives of others; for it is contempt for life itself and for the Author of it, that leads to murder and suicide.

"The Editor's Private Corner. The First Sunday Law" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

"Can you oblige me by giving me the exact date and wording of Constantine's Sunday edict? If you can give me also the years of Constantine's birth, accession to the throne, and death, I shall be glad."

Constantine, surnamed Magnus, "the Great," was born at Nissa, in Asia Minor, in February, 274, A.D. After serving with distinction in the army, under Diocletian and Maximian, he was allowed to join his father in Britain, after the appointment of the latter to the dignity of C?sar. Upon the death of his father (25th July, 306) he assumed the purple as Augustus, and as soon as prudence and circumstances would permit he proceeded to Italy to make good his claim by force of arms. After aseries of successes, his position was assured by the decisive victory over Maxentius at the Milvian bridge, near Rome, 28th October, 312. The year following this he issued the famous Edict of Milan (March, 313) restoring all forfeited civil and religious rights to the Christians, and recognising Christianity as on a level with Paganism in the Empire. He died at Nicomedia, 22nd May, 837, A.D.

His famous Sunday Edict was issued in 821, 321, A.D., and reads thus:-

"Let all the judges and townspeople, and all artisans, rest on the venerable day of the sun. But let those who are situated in the country freely and at fall liberty attend to the cultivation of their fields; because it often happens that no other day to so fit for towing earn or planting vines; lent, by neglecting the proper occasion, they should lose the benefits granted by Divine bounty."

This covers the whole of your question, but it may be well in this connection to note a few points on which there is quite general misunderstanding. For one thing is should be known that Constantine did not issue this edict as a Christian. Whether Constantine was ever in his life moved by the slightest Christian principle, or was ever guided by anything else than State policy and selfish ambition, is very doubtful; but it is quite certain that in A.D. 321 he made no pretence of being a Christian. In the year following he issued another decree, regulating pagan soothsaying. It was not till just before his death that he went through the form of baptism, and up to that time he had played his part with such consummate skill that the adherents of the Church and the pagan priests both claimed him as one of them.

Schaff, the learned Church historian, says that he "enjoined the observance of Sunday, though not as Dies Domini [the Lord's day], but as Dies Solis [the day of the sun], in conformity to his worship of Apollo."

Although, as "Chambers' Encyclopaedia" (Article Sunday) says,

"Unquestionably the first law, either ecclesiastical or civil, by which the Sabbatical observance of that day (Sunday] to known to have been ordained, to the edict of Constantine, 321, A.D.,"

it must not be supposed that this was the origin of Sunday observance. Constantine, as the most skilful politician the world has ever seen, saw how things were drifting, and issued his edict accordingly. The Church was being paganised, and already the worship of Apollo, as the rising sun, had been adopted by professed Christians, who made it identical with "the Sun of righteousness." Thus Constantine's edict pleased both pagans and professed Christians, and at the same time served to further the union between the two, which later on culminated in the Papacy,

It will be noted that Constantine's edict called only for judges and artisans to cease from labour on Sunday, but granted farmers fall liberty to continue their agricultural operations, which shows that up to that time, at least, nobody had considered Sunday as a rest day; but it also shows that Constantine did not change the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first. That is something that cannot be charged to any person. (Of course when we speak of changing the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first, we mean only changing the practice, since the Sabbath itself can no more be changed than God's throne can.) Constantine was but one factor in a long chain of events, all manipulated by the establisher and head of the Papacy, namely, Satan. The substitution of Sunday observance for Sabbath observance, like the introduction of images of Christ, instead of Christ in the heart, was part of that great apostasy which resulted from substituting human philosophy and tradition for the simple Word of God. The reformation, which will enshrine Christ in the heart, and restore the Sabbath to its original and rightful position, will be effected only by accepting the Word of God in its fulness, and living by every portion of it, without omission or substitution.

"The Editor's Private Corner. Why Does God Permit Temptation?" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

"Why does God allow things to happen and people to act in such a way as to irritate me, and cause me to be impatient and ill-natured, when I should otherwise be quiet and peaceful?"

That is a question that troubles very many, and is simply another form of the old question, "Why does God permit evil?" It is a great problem, but a very few minutes' consideration may suffice to set our minds at rest concerning it.

In the first place we should bear in mind that temptation does not make sin. Tantalising words or actions do not make us impatient, but simply reveal the impatience that is in us. For example, here is a glass of water, which looks very clear; I take a glass rod, and stir it up, and behold, it is muddy; but nobody will suppose that the glass rod put the mud into the water. You would say at once that the impurity was there all the time, and that the agitation only served to make it apparent. Even so it is with temptation and sin.

Here are the words of the Scripture: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man; but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." James i. 13, 14. And again: "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect, and entire, wanting nothing." Verses 2-4.

From this we see that temptations never make a man worse than he was before. The opportunity to sin does not make the sin. There are thousands of seemingly virtuous people, very complacent in their self-righteousness, who might be libertines if circumstances were different. It is not

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that circumstances determine one's character, but that they reveal it. Man looks only on the outward act, but God looks at the heart; and in His eyes the man whose heart is impure is equally guilty with the one who commits the open sin.

Moreover the temptation to sin, even though it result in a person's fall into it, may be a blessing, in that it shows him just what be is, and where he needs to be on his guard. Self-confidence must be broken, in order that we way trust in God.

Nobody can account for the origin of evil. It is a strange thing, a monstrosity, having no reason for its existence. It first appeared in the heart of Lucifer, while he was yet in heaven, in the immediate presence of God, and occupying the highest position of authority and trust possible to any created being. What temptation could there have been for him to sin? Every circumstance was as favourable to righteousness as it could possibly be, or as it ever will be for the redeemed saints. No; the temptation sprang up in his own heart. He was led away of his own lust, and enticed, and God had no responsibility in the matter.

You ask what assurance there is then that the redeemed saints in heaven may not at some time fall again, even as Satan did. We have this positive assurance, that they will have been so thoroughly tested on every point; and proved true, that nothing can shake them. The trial that is now taking place, and the Judgment day, which is to follow, will so set forth the absolute justice and the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable love of God, that there can never again be room for any doubt. But bear in mind that all the saved will be those who have overcome every temptation, and who have trusted God implicitly before they could see that which the Judgment will reveal.

Do not imagine that it is by taking His people beyond the reach of temptation, that God will keep them sinless throughout eternity. He has something far better for us than that. He arms us so thoroughly that He can trust us in the midst of temptation, and we shall be safe. God will never arbitrarily remove temptation from mankind. Christ said, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me." John xiv. 30. That will be the reason why when the righteous have been taken to dwell with God there will never again throughout eternity be any sin: they will have been so completely cleansed that nothing can ever stir up evil in their hearts. But, believe me, so long as there is anything in our hearts that can respond to temptation, and we can be led into sin by any person or thing, we should not be free from sin even if we were in heaven itself. If we are stirred up to evil deeds here, we should in time find that something even in heaven would irritate us.

Let us, then, when temptations reveal to us what is in our hearts, not lose courage, and settle down in despair, but rejoice in the thought that in being tempted we are being made partakers of Christ's suffering, and that the temptation itself brings the way of escape, that we may be able to bear it. God's grace is sufficient for us, for His strength is made perfect in weakness. We are to be "more than conquerors through Him that loved us;" but we should not be conquerors at all, if we were saved from sin merely by the removal of temptation. God provides us with power to live even in sinful flesh as free from sin as He Himself, and then when He takes us to Himself, giving us spiritual bodies, in keeping with our nature, our joy will be beyond all expression.

"A Well-ordered Life" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

"The calm beauty of a well-ordered life" means health, strength, power and happiness to the individual, and it also means that he radiates an atmosphere like unto himself to all with whom he comes in contact, and thus does much to lessen the sum of human misery.

"For Little Ones. God's Storehouse" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

Now many of you have been, like the little maid in our pictures, nutting in the woods this beautiful autumn season? Did you know that the ripe brown nuts you have gathered and eaten were little cradles in which baby trees were ugly wrapped up?

The infant plant is very small, and the most of what is in the shell is food stored up by the parent tree for the use of its offspring when it shall be waked to life by the spring sunshine, and begin to stretch and grow.

The leaves which are now fast falling from the trees and making a rustling carpet for the ground, have been busy all the summer, gathering from sun and air food for the growth and nourishment of the tree. And besides providing for itself, each plant, each shrubs each tree sets apart something precious, gives out of its own life something for the good of others and for blessing to the world. That which is thus set apart each year, and given up by the plants when the summer's work is over and the leaves begin to tall, we call seed.

The flowering plants in your gardens that have ceased to bloom, have made provision for next year's blossoms, whose sweetness is wrapped up in the little seeds you have perhaps gathered from them, to plant in the spring season. Thus God

"Ere one flower season fades and dies
Designs the blooming wonders of the next."

In the seed we call corn or wheat, that has been gathered in from the fields, there is provision not for our food for a time only, but for all future harvests while the world shall stand.

And in the nuts, the seed of the tree, sleep the young trees that shall refresh the earth and sweeten the sir with their green leaves, and give us food in coming years.

"Lo, on each seed within its slender rind,
Life's golden threads in endless circles wind;
Grain within grain successive harvest swell,
And boundless forests clumber in a shell."

For the beginning of all that we see in the earth to-day, we must go back to the very first plants that God planted in Paradise, to the seed from which they all came, the Word of God. For it was this that produced all things, as you know: "He spoke, and it was."

And this Word of power, this wonderful storehouse from which all good things come to us, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the same Word that was "made flesh and dwelt among us." He who came forth out of Bethlehem, which means "the House of Bread," is the One who from His own fulness is giving us this day our daily bread.

In the yearly harvest yielded by all nature, God wants us to see His Word working, to see the Lord Jesus Christ doing just what He did in the beginning, when He commanded the earth to bring forth trees and plants bearing fruits and seeds.

Everything that God made He commanded to "be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth." So from the first man, Adam, whom He placed perfectly formed in the first garden that He planted, has come a great multitude that no man can number, scattered in every part of the world.

And from the first trees and plants that He put perfect into the new earth, the whole world has been made to bud and bring forth fruit, and has been filled with gardens for the children of Adam to inhabit and with food to sustain their lives. All this has been but the unfolding of the seed, the working of the Word that was is "in the beginning."

God made this world for man, and all that He put into it was for his use and pleasure. "Pleasant to the sight and good for food" were all the trees in the garden of Eden.

"Nothing we see but means our good,
As our delight or as our treasure,
The whole is either our cupboard of food,
Or cabinet of pleasure."
(George Herbert.)

See in what pleasant ways our Heavenly Father feeds us: He makes the food that He provides pleasant to the sight, fragrant to the smell, and sweet to the taste. He puts delicate and beautiful flavours into it in such variety that we need never become tired of the same taste.

When we take only what God has provided for us, in just the way He gives it to us, we get the pleasure and the most strength; for He who made us knows just what we need, and we may be sure that He has provided it in the very best way.

So remember, dear children, when you take the beautiful fruits, grains and nuts that God is handing to you through nature, you are coming to Lord's table, to the House of Bread, to Jesus the Storehouse "in whom all fullness dwells." Remember that you are feeding from Him who came that you might have life, and who is giving out His own life to you in all the food that He provides for your daily deeds.

"All good gifts around us,
Are sent from Heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord,
For all His love."

"The tempter whispers in our ear, 'You have no
time to pray;'
But he never tells the gambler that he has not
time to play;
He never tells the drunkard that he has no time
to drink
The poison that benumbs his soul, and kills his
power to think."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

-Field-Marshal Lord Roberts has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Army, to succeed Viscount Wolseley, resigned.

-The Governor of Bombay telegrams that there were 1,074 cases of cholera during the week ending September 22, of which 738 were fatal.

-According to reports from Eclectic, Alabama, U.S.A., a negro, who is alleged to have assaulted a white woman, has been burnt at the stake there.

-The Viceroy of India reports heavy and beneficial rains in many parts of the peninsula. The number of persons on relief has fallen to 3,163,000.

-Ninety-nine million pounds of tobacco were consumed by smokers in the United Kingdom last year. This is equal to 2lb. per head of the population.

-On the ground that it gives the clergy undue influence over certain sections of society, the Mayor of Bicetre, near Paris, has forbidden the wearing of ecclesiastical costume in public.

-A project is on foot among the leaders of the Japanese Christians to start a daily newspaper in Japan, conducted on Christian principles. If they really do this, its chief news will be the news of salvation.

-By the new tramway tariff in Berlin no fare is to exceed ten pfennigs (a little more than a penny), no matter how great a distance travelled. In some cases the distance for which the ten pfennigs will pay, exceeds ten miles.

-The official return of British casualties in South Africa shows that 10,000 officers and men have lost their lives from various causes since the beginning of the war. The total number of casualties is returned at 42,505, but the actual deduction from the Army is only 11,949.

-A vessel has reached London with a cargo of over 6,000 tons of gas-making oil from Borneo, a distance of 9,000 miles. It is the first consignment from the region, and a large trade is expected to develop, this oil being 25 per cent. cheaper than supplies from Russia and America.

-A strong safe in the Pope's apartments at the Vatican was recently forced open by robbers, and money and securities to the value of ?14,000 were carried off. The Pope ought to read what the One whom he professes to represent says about laying up treasures where thieves do not break through and steal.

-Mrs. Lake, the Vice-President of an American temperance society, says that American women are becoming alarmingly addicted to alcohol drinking. The mania is such, she says, that "a lady, when engaged in her toilet, will suddenly seize a bottle of eau-de-Cologne and swallow its contents. Peppermint is taken in the same way, and tea is only a perfume added to rum which is poured into it.

-According to the semi-official Kronstadiski Vestnik, the Russian naval estimates for 1901 amount to 97,097,666 roubles, of which sixty millions fall under the head of ordinary expenditure. Sixteen millions are to be devoted to strengthening the fleet, while three millions are set aside for harbour works at Libau, and two millions and three million respectively, for harbour works at Vladivostok and Port Arthur. The naval estimates for 1901 exceed the Budget of the current year by 10,469,651 roubles.

-Of seventy telegraph operators employed in Galveston, Texas, only three escaped death in the flood.

-Sir Charles Dilke says that the untouched mining rights in the Transvaal, which now come into the possession of the British Government, are worth ?40,000,000 sterling.

-An official message states that the recent rainfall of 38? inches at Calcutta caused a flood of over four feet in some parts of the city, loss of life, and much damage and distress.

-In accordance with a recent law, all shops throughout Prussia are to be closed at nine o'clock in the evening. In all towns with over 20,000 inhabitants there is to be a period of eleven hours between the time of evening closing and morning opening, and in smaller towns ten hours.

-One of the Berlin reviews publishes a calculation on the number of letters distributed annually throughout the world. It gives the total as twelve thousand millions. Of these, it says, 8,000 millions are in English, 1,200 millions in German, 1,000 millions in French, 220 millions in an Italian, 120 millions in Spanish, 100 millions in Dutch, 80 millions in Russian and 24 millions in Portuguese.

-A correspondent of the Daily Mail, thinks that the great increase in the consumption of cigarettes in the last few years is to a large degree due to women smokers. He says that besides the women who spoke publicly, there are many more who do so privately, "a large proportion of comparatively young girls being included in this class." The different kinds of "ladies' cigarettes" sold, indicate that this is quite an item.

-Lord Roberts has published a notice declaring that burghers who surrendered voluntarily will not be deported from the country, but this is not to apply to prominent military and political personages, nor to those who break their oath of submission, nor to foreigners. Burghers are to be informed that as soon as all leaders submit and every cannon is surrendered, peace will be declared, and prisoners of war will be returned to their homes.

-H. M. S. Mildura left Auckland on Sept. 30, carrying the Earl of Ranfurly, the Governor of New Zealand, to annex Cook or Hurvey Island's, Savage Island, and the Penrhyn Group. The two Houses of Parliament at Wellington have both passed enthusiastic motions in favour of annexation, and it is reported that the Government of New Zealand is willing to give the islanders two Parliamentary representatives, one in each House.

-Field-Marshal Wolseley has issued an appeal to the people of Great Britain, begging them not to tempt the returning soldiers by offering them intoxicating liquor. He says in closing: "I trust that our greeting to the brave soldiers returning from this war may be something better than simply an incitement to excessive drinking, and that all will remember that whoever encourages them in this, far from being their friend, is really their worst enemy."

-The Emperor of China having sent a message to the German Emperor, expressing his regret for the death of the German minister, and saying that he had ordered a sacrifice to be offered for him, and had instructed his Chief Secretary to pour libations on the altar, Kaiser Wilhelm has replied that he cannot regard the deed as expiated by libations, and says: "The councillors of your Majesty's throne, the officials on whose heads the bloodguiltiness rests for a crime which has filled all Christian nations with horror, these must atone for their infamous actions, and if your Majesty delivers them to their deserved punishment I shall consider this an expiation which will satisfy the Christian nations."

-It is stated that Signor Paciotti, the well-known Italian electrician, has discovered a means of utilising electricity for discharging projectiles which is said to give better results than when powder is employed.

-Mr. Poultney Bigelow writing to the New York Independent, gives the word of a gentleman who "stands at the top of the mercantile community in the far East," concerning the difference between the Spanish-American rule in Manila thus: "I asked him if he thought the American officials were worse than the Spanish ones. He said: 'The Spaniards were content with smaller bribes. . . . The present state of things eclipses anything we suffered from the Spaniards, whom we were accustomed to look upon as first-class obstructionists.'" America did not pay out its $20,000,000 for nothing.

-In some experiments with wireless telegraphy, between St. Catherines and Poole, Marconi sent two messages simultaneously, one in English and one in French, both of which were received at the same time on a single receiver, and recorded without error. Professor J. A. Fleming, of University College, who reports the experiments, says: "When it is realised that these visible dots and dashes are the results of trains of intermingled electric waves rushing with the speed of light across the intervening thirty miles, caught on one and the same short aerial wire and disentangled and sorted out automatically by the two machines into intelligible messages in different languages, the wonder of it all cannot but strike the mind."

"Losing an Acquired Taste" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

The use of flesh as food is wholly an acquired taste, as man in the beginning never ate it. What the conditions were which induced men first to begin so unnatural a practice as to eat a fellow-creature, we cannot imagine; but the following statement by Dr. Paton, the veteran missionary to the New Hebrides, shows that it must have taken a struggle to overcome the natural repugnance to it.

"It was more than ten years after our arrival in the islands before we tasted beef; and when we killed our first ox, the mission families from the adjacent islands met at our house to enjoy the treat; but, to our mortification, we had so entirely lost the relish that none of us could bear either the smell or the taste of it. The wife of one of the missionaries burst into tears, and lamented bitterly that she should become so barbarous as to have lost her relish for English beef."

It would be impossible for people in ordinary health, as these were, ever to lose their appetite for natural food.

"Tobacco and Scholarship" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

Tobacco and Scholarship .-Out of the highest scholarship men in Yale, only five per cent. use tobacco. Of those who get no appointments, sixty per cent. use it. Evidently the effect of the weed on students is to paralyse their aspirations to high attainments, and make them content without striving for that which is the noblest and best. The inference drawn by Dr. Seaver, director of the physical laboratory of Yale, is that it is those with a lower grade of intellect in general who use tobacco.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

In a letter to young men, on betting, Charles Kingsley made the following classification of mankind. There may be more types than he gives, but these are certainly accurately drawn:-

"The human race may, for practical purposes, be divided into three-parts-(1) Honest men, who mean to do right, and do it; (2) Knaves, who mean to do wrong, and do it; (3) Fools, who mean to do whichever of the two is pleasanter. And these last may be divided, again into-

"Black fools, who would rather do wrong, but dare not, unless it is the fashion.

"White fools, who would rather do right, but dare not, unless it is the fashion."

"Should Clergymen Smoke?" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

This question has lately occupied a prominent place in one of the daily journals, and many paragraphs have been written for and against the habit. It is not, however, the proper form in which to put the question. It ought to be, "Should anybody smoke?" for a minister of the Gospel may do anything that anybody else may rightly do. There are not two laws-one for the priest, and one for the people. It is altogether a false idea, that a minister must conform to a standard of right, which other men may lawfully ignore. It is true that a minister ought to be much better than most men are; but he cannot, at his best state, be anything different from what other men ought to be. He is simply to be an ensample to the flock.

Ought anybody to smoke? This is a question to be answered regardless of profession or creed. Every man ought to be just like Jesus Christ, the model Man. It is safe to say that even the most violent infidels would feel shocked if they should see a picture purporting to be that of Jesus, showing Him with a pipe or cigar in His mouth. The very fact that even some who smoke have their fling at "smoking parsons," shows that they feel that the habit is incompatible with the highest manhood. Nobody on earth can harmonise it with the exhortation: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God;" nor to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." While it is as lawful for one man to smoke as it is for another, the minister or the professed Christian who smokes has this against him in addition, that he is denying his profession-that of being a representative of the pure and holy Jesus of Nazareth.

"A Truly Christian Utterance" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

What was indeed a most remarkable address was delivered at Hamburg to the General Protestant Missionary Association, by Professor Adolf Harnack, of Berlin. Deprecating the idea of crusades in China, and protesting against the invoking of secular assistance by missionaries, he said:-

"Protection should neither be asked by missionaries nor given to them in certain lands. It must be recognised that missionaries give up their rights as subjects of their own countries. The missionary ought not to go to regions where he feels he cannot remain during times of persecution. It the course of political events makes the prosecution of missionary work impossible, the missionaries must withdraw, even it they lose all they had gained. State Churches as such should never engage in missionary enterprise. This should be a private undertaking. Missions should leave no doubt in the mind of the Chinese that they are a purely spiritual power. They should never be recognised as identified with worldly power. They should make it clear that they do not represent the interests of Europeans or Americans, but the interests of the natives."

Sad to say, Professor Harnack stood alone in this view. The Association passed a resolution in favour of the full protection of missionaries by the secular arm, and sent a telegram to the Kaiser asking his assistance. Thus the members deliberately classed themselves as emissaries of the State, and not messengers of God.

"Drinks that Increase Thirst" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

One of the daily journals contains the following:-

The daily consumption of beer in London is said to be 419,000 gallons. In addition to this over 12,000 gallons of spirits, and nearly 28,000 bottles of wine are, asserts the Temperance Record, drunk per day. But even all this does not quench London's thirst, for it is estimated that something like 34,000 gallons of coffee and 187,000 gallons of aerated waters are disposed of in a day.

Of course "even all this does not quench London's thirst." It is not meant to, and the marvel is that anybody in his senses should expect it to. To drink beer or spirits for the purpose of quenching thirst is like going into a furnace to get cool. The more one drinks of any alcoholic liquor, the more one's thirst increases. The characteristic of alcohol is its readiness to absorb water. This is why it is used to preserve specimens. When it is put into the human system it takes the water away from the tissues, and hardens them. There is nothing on earth that can quench thirst except water, either as it flows from the earth or in the form of the juices of fresh fruits. If one drinks tea or coffee, or any artificial drink whatever, it is only the water that can possibly quench the thirst, while that which is added tends to increase the thirst, and often to do more positive injury. God knows what is best for us, and we shall find ourselves best off in every way, when we take directly from His hand the things that He has provided.

"The Children's Bread Fed to Dogs" The Present Truth 16, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

One would not think, to read the following, that there could be in New York any poor people living in hovels and cellars and even under door steps:-

Mr. Richard H. Hunt, son of the Iate Richard M. Hunt, the famous architect, has filed plans for a one-story brick-iron kennel, or rather, "dog house," in the rear of his fine residence, just off Fifth-avenue.

He will heat the kennel by steam, and have a corps of servants and dog trainers constantly in attendance. One room is to be used as a hospital for the animals, and will be in charge of a skilled veterinary surgeon.

Each dog has a room to himself, on the door of which his name will appear engraved on a silver plate. Mr. Hunt has about a dozen dogs, representing as many fancy breeds.

God cares for all creatures, but for men most of all, and they must first of all be cared for. Whoever has in his possession a superabundance of this world's goods, no matter how he came by it, and squanders it upon himself or his pleasures, is a robber of the poor, and will be held as accountable by God as if he had stolen it from their pockets.

Let no one think that the foregoing statement gives any sanction whatever to anarchy. Far from it. Although it is true that God has given the earth to the children of men, and that the increase of it belongs to them all, it is also true that "love seeketh not her own." Therefore although the surplus of the rich rightly belongs to the poor, they are not at liberty to take it for themselves. It is for the rich to recognise their stewardship, and to convey to their poor brethren that which their common Father has given them in trust for them. If the rich fail to discharge their trust, the poor are to be patient unto the coming of the Lord, who will judge the poor with righteousness, "and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth."

October 18, 1900

"A Wasted Life Restored. Luke xv. 11-24" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xv. 11-24.)¹⁷1

Every reader of the Bible is thoroughly familiar with the story of the prodigal son; but we write as well for those who know little or even nothing of the Word, and therefore we repeat the story as it fell from the lips of Christ, in order that every detail may be fresh before us:-

"And He said, A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted call, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."

The context shows clearly that this story is meant to illustrate how God welcomes those who have wandered from Him, when they return. It is in connection with the story of the lost coin and the lost sheep, both of which were told to show the righteousness of Christ's action in receiving sinners, and eating with them. Immediately following the statement that there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth, it is one of the most vivid pictures of the condition of the wanderer from the Father's house, and the joy that awaits him on his return.

LIFE THE PORTION

What is the portion of goods that falls to us, and which the Father has dealt out to us?-It is life, with all that it contains, and all its glorious possibilities. This is plainly stated in the text, where we read that the father "divided unto them his living." Literally rendered, this would read, "he divided to them his life." The Greek word is the ordinary word for life, which in an accommodated sense is used also of the means of life. Note that it was not only to the younger son that he gave the portion, but to both. God "giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." He is our life, and He gives Himself to all. "Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Eph. iv. 7), and "He died for all." "The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works." "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Life is the distinguishing characteristic of the true God, our Father; He is "the living God," and that which we inherit from Him is life. Having have all that we need, yea, ask or think.

HATING LIFE

The glorious inheritance of life has not been appreciated by us. The fact that the young man proceeded immediately to squander his substance with riotous living, shows that he did not care for it; even so the way that we have wasted our lives shows that we have not loved life. Men may protest that they love life, and they way be alarmed at the sight of approaching death; yet if they love ways that end in death they really love the death to which those ways inevitably lead. True wisdom is life, for "this is life eternal, that they

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might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hest sent;" and wisdom says: "All they that hate me love death." Prov. viii. 36. God says: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

How people deliberately throw life away! They trample under foot the commandments of God, yet "His commandment is life everlasting." John xii. 49. They act in almost every particular in opposition to the law of the Spirit of life from God, seeming to study ways of getting out of harmony with it. They shut the life-giving breath of God out of their sleeping and living rooms, and when they are forced to get where it does circulate in freshness and purity, the women carefully shut as much as possible out from their lungs, by tightly lacing themselves, and the man pollute is with their vile tobacco smoke. Their habits of eating and drinking are such as to weaken the body and vitiate the mental powers. The youth are making themselves imbecile by the use of cigarettes and the practice of nameless vices; and as are the youth, so are the adults. Evil habits are only strengthened by age. Everywhere there seems to be a mad rush to get rid of life as rapidly as possible; and when failing strength alarms people, they resort to stimulants and patent medicines to whip up the flagging life in order they may still have a little to spend with riotous living. It is too often the case that even professed Christians try to make God a minister to their profligacy, in that when they pray to Him they ask amiss, in order that they may consume the strength upon their lusts. See James iv. 3.

In all those ways men show that they hate life, and wish to consume it and get rid of it as soon as possible. They do not think that this is so. The young man did not think that he despised the substance which he received from his father. He would have said that he thought a great deal of it, but if he had appreciated it he would not have wasted it. In his thoughtless folly he loved poverty and wretchedness, instead of wealth. This is seen in that he exchanged his wealth for want. People will say that they do not like to be ill; yet when they continually pursue a course that produces all sorts of ills and pains, it plainly appears that they really love the result. They think only of the momentary gratification of appetite; but remember that the taste of a thing is not all experienced in the few moments that it is in the mouth. Actions do not end at the instant of performance. They think that certain things taste good or produce a pleasant sensation; but they ought to be able to see that the sorrow, the regret, the pain, the ills, that follow are just as much a part of the taste as is the first sensation. Sin has death in itself, and therefore whoever loves sin loves death.

The word rendered "riotous" in the text is literally, "without salvation," unwholesome. In the young man's actions there was no saving grace. So in our natural lives there is destruction, and not life. "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known." Rom. iii. 11-17. "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." God has put eternity into the hearts of all men (Eccl. iii. 11, R.V., margin), so that none can be without excuse, and none need be lost; yet they give diligence to squander it as fast as possible.

IN WANT

"And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want." The words "in want" are the same that in Rom. iii. 23 are rendered "come short." "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." God has given us His glory, for when He created man He crowned him with glory and honour; but we have wasted this inheritance, and now we lack it. We have exchanged our glory for that which doth not profit. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine for broad, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." Amos viii. 11. The words of the Lord are true food and drink, and man is to live by every one of them. All the want and wretchedness that is in the world is due solely to failure to appreciate and keep the words of the Lord. There is not a physical, any more than a spiritual, want that is not traceable to this rejection of the word of God.

And there is none to give. Fair weather friends forsake one as soon as the storm comes. There is none to help the one whose life is wrecked, and there is no one who could do it if he were so disposed. The end shows the beginning. The young man becomes a swineherd, the most degrading occupation imaginable, and now he sees what it was that he was doing all the time. He thought once that he was in "high life," but now he can see that since his former practices reduced him to this condition, it is a fact that they were, even in the moments of the greatest exhilaration, nothing else than swine herding. There are thousands of seemingly refined people who would be shocked beyond measure if the veil that hides the future could be removed for an instant, and they could see themselves from the other end of the line. Then they would rise that the things in which they now boast are loathsomeness. Their glory is in their shame, in that they mind earthly things.

The young man had work now, and plenty of it, but it yielded no results. He was still starving. The swine could eat, but nobody would give him even their coarse food. He was working for nothing, and fasting. Well, why not? He had been working for nothing all his previous life, in that he had been working to reduce his patrimony to nothing as fast as possible, and why should he complain when he obtained that for which he had been working? "The wages of sin is death." Those who despise the riches of the goodness and forbearance and longsuffering of God treasure up unto themselves wrath. "For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; they would none of My counsel; they despised all My reproof; therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." Prov. i. 29-32. Yet God is better to us than we are to ourselves, and He will not cast off for ever.

AWAKENING TO CONSCIOUSNESS

At last the young man "came to himself." All this time he had been beside himself. While he thought he had been living, he was dead. Whoever lives in sin is dead while he lives. He carries about with him a body of death. Affliction is not an unmixed evil. "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy word." Ps. cxix. 67. People wonder why it is that the Lord allows them to suffer so much as they do. If they had come to themselves they would understand that what they are suffering is only the

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second stage of their pleasure. Nobody suffers anything for nothing. There is in reality no difference between this present affliction and that former seeming pleasure, and this last is the most blessed part of the whole, in that it brings us to our senses. If the whole of this present life were one of enjoyment then we should never wish to pass from death to life.

ABUNDANCE AT HOME

Is the Father's house there is superabundance. Christ has come that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly. There is no limit to His store of goodness. He divides to us His life, and yet has as much left. And since He has as much left after giving to all, and is always of the same mind, it follows that there is hope for us even after we have wasted our lives with riotous living. Christ fed the hungry multitudes with the five loaves, supplying bread from His own being, and there was more left after all had been supplied than there was at the beginning. So in the case before us, there is no intimate that the father had been impoverished by the division of the property. Even His hired servants had enough and to spare; and when the prodigal son returned he was admitted to his former place in the family and there was no hint of lack. He shared the same as though he had never left home. So God receives us, even after we have wasted our talents of strength and life, and gives to us liberally without upbraiding us for our folly. When we come repenting, and acknowledging our sin, there is no need for Him to keep reminding us of it. He forgets it, and supplies us so abundantly that there is nothing left to remind us of it. "Remember not the sins of my youth," is a prayer that is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and we may be sure that it will be answered. If God does not remember them, we may well forget them in the abundance of righteousness and strength that He bestows. All that we need to remember is that we are weakness and sinfulness in ourselves, and that we live only by the supplies given to us by our Father moment by moment. Let every trembling sinner know that with the Lord there is mercy, and "with Him is plenteous redemption." Ps. cxxx. 7. "If any man be in Christ, he in a now creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." "And the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." "Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." For every ill there is a remedy in Christ. For every disease there is perfect healing. Jesus Christ makes perfectly whole. The wasted energies way be restored; "for they that wail on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shaII mount up with wings of eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isa. xl. 31. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thy iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Ps. ciii. 2-5. He will show us the path of life, in which there is fulness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Whoever returns to the Father's house has the promise "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fulness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain of life." Ps. xxxvi. 8, 9. Coming to Christ and learning of Him, we find out how to live, so as to be able not only to eke out an existence in spite of the errors of the past, but to counteract all those errors. Let every oppressed and afflicted person, who is suffering from the effects of past mistakes and sins committed in blind ignorance and unbelief, know that in God is perfect healing of body and mind. It is not to be found in any quack medicine, but in following the law of life in Christ. Jesus Christ is the great Physician, who never loses a case that He undertakes, and He in no wise casts out anyone who comes to Him. Then come to Him, and find food and clothing and "unsearchable riches."

"Daniel" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

It was a very apt question and remark that was recently made by Mr. McNeill when preaching on Daniel and the test of his faithfulness in prayer. To the supposed question, "Suppose Daniel had died, suppose a miracle had not been worked?" he said:-

"Well, suppose Daniel had been killed, he would have been dead by this time anyhow, and if he had not died by the lions he would have died by the doctors."

When people are afraid that they "cannot live" if they serve the Lord, they seem to think that if they do not serve Him they will never die. In the way of God's commandments is life, for "His commandment is life everlasting." It is hardly fair to Daniel, however, to suppose that he died by the doctors. A man of his habits of life would die in full strength, as Moses did, without artificial aid.

"A People Possessed" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

"But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye way show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light." 1 Peter ii. 9, R.V.

One of the most striking expressions in this verse is this: "a people for God's own possession." In the common version we have, "a peculiar people," with the alternate reading in the margin, "a purchased people." All these different expressions combined show us a wonderful picture of the true people of God.

Let us start with the marginal reading of the common version: "a purchased people." God has purchased all mankind; but here reference is made to those who have ratified the purchase by delivering themselves up to Him. The price paid is His own life. The church of God "He hath purchased with His own blood." Acts ax. 28. "Ye were redeemed not with corruptible things, with silver and gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter i. 18, 19. Here we have the fact of the purchase, and the statement of the price paid.

When one purchases a piece of property, it is in order that he may possess it. One often buys an estate some time before possession is given. If no one is in possession of an estate, the property runs down; and this will also be the case when the one in possession is careless or in. capable. If you see a portion of a vast estate yet unclaimed and running wild, you know that the owner has not yet taken possession of it, so as to bring it under cultivation.

Thus we see that possession always means more than mere ownership. It means occupying. The real possessor of an inheritance occupies it. So God has purchased us in order that He might possess us-dwell in us. "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore

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glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. The temple is God's dwelling-place, and He has purchased our bodies as His temples, in order that He might take possession of them, and live in them; as it is written: "Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said. I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 2 Cor. vi. 16. Just so the extent that God is thus out from our bodies, is He deprived of His possession.

POSSESSION ILLUSTRATED

Sad to say, absolute and complete possession by the Lord is so rare a thing that in order to Illustrate it, so that people may understand how real a thing it ought to be, we must refer to the opposite state, which is far more common, namely, possession of a devil. Everybody knows well what is indicated when one is said to be possession of a devil. The unfortunate person is known to be controlled by a stronger power, so that he is not master of his own movements or will. In the Gospels we have the record of many such cases. For instance, in Mark v. 2-5 we read of "a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains; because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces; neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones."

Again in Mark ix. 17-22 we read of a child possessed by the devil, of which the father said: "Wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away;" "and oftimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him."

In both these cases we see that the evil spirit had complete control of the person whom it possessed; that is, so far as the person himself was concerned, for God had kept the devil, who is the destroyer, from killing them. When Satan, the adversary, possesses one he always seeks to ruin, to kill and destroy. The temple is defiled, and the property always runs down, under his management. But the cases cited show what is meant by a people who are possessed: that they act and think according to the will of the one possessing them.

But God is life and light. He creates and builds up and preserves. Whereas Satan usurps possession, for the purpose of defacing and destroying, God takes possession-but only with the person's free consent-to make him perfect and complete; and His possession is to be just as entire as Satan's, only His control is to be as much greater as His power is greater than that of Satan.

Although in the adult man it is rare to find a case of complete possession by the Lord, we may learn how is ought to be if we take him at his earliest state, in his innocence. The one hundred and thirtyninth Psalm presents a picture of complete possession, and in verse 13 we read: "Thou hast possessed my reins; Thou hast knit me together in my mother's womb." R.V., margin. Then the Psalmist, recognising that it was God that formed him in the womb, continues: "I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Thy works and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." Ps. cxxxix. 14-16.

If one will examine through a microscope the movements and growth of the unorganised cell, which, being but a tiny homogeneous mass, with no organs of any kind, yet carries on all the essential operations of nature are common to the highest animals and even man, some idea may be gained of how God possesses one before birth. We see God at work, as it were; for we know that the tiny bit of protoplasm has no power in itself to work. We cannot deceive ourselves about it, as we do about ourselves. Even so the unborn child has absolutely no power or will; it is formed by be working of God in it; it is completely possessed by God.

Now just what God does for the unborn child, without its knowledge or consent, He should be allowed to do for the fully formed child or man, with his full knowledge and consent. As the unborn child, with its unperfect members, involuntarily yields to the Lord's working, so the man, with his complete members, ought voluntarily to yield: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Rom. vi. 12, 13. Here is complete possession by the Lord.

Is not such a thing reasonable and possible? It is certainly our "reasonable service," and everybody who believes that God is more powerful than Satan, must admit that it is possible. Certainly if Satan can move at his will those who yield themselves to him, God can work and act and think according to His own will in those who are completely yielded to Him.

A people so yielded and so possessed would be indeed "a peculiar people," separated by the presence of God from all the rest of mankind. Thus they would be true witnesses for God, even as Christ was, who was but the instrument of God's mind-the form through which God chose to reveal Himself. So we are purchased and possessed, in order that we may "show forth" the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. Think of being an instrument to reveal the glory and perfection of God! What a glorious state! All have been purchased; who will be possessed?

"The Editor's Private Corner. 'All Things to All Men'" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

"Will you please explain 1 Cor. ix. 20, where Paul says that to the Jews he became as a Jew?"

This text affords a good illustration of the fact that no scripture can be perfectly understood if torn out of its setting. This one has been misunderstood, and perverted, and very seldom has anyone learned from it that which it was designed to teach. While studying it together for a few minutes we may not only get the valuable instruction that it contains for us, but may learn something about how to study the Bible for ourselves so as to profit by it.

In the first place, we must banish from our minds, as wholly out of keeping with the character of the Apostle Paul, the idea that he meant that he was a turncoat, holding his principles and habits subject to the various people with whom he associated. The common saying, "When we are in Rome, we must do as the Romans do," which is often quoted to justify conformity to worldly customs when associating with worldly people, does not find any authority in the writings of Paul.

Here as everywhere else, we must go back the beginning if we would understand a difficult saying. We have not time or space now to go back to the beginning of the Epistle, but we can go back far enough to get hold of the subject. In chapter eight we are taught by the apostle's own example to be careful of offending the consciences of the weak. He is not talking about conforming to customs that others follow, but of abstaining from even lawful things that they may be troubled over. Those who are so fearful of offending people by their religion should make a note of this. It is by self-denial, rather than indulgence, in the things that other people indulge in, that we win them.

Coming into the ninth chapter, we find that although the minister of the Gospel has the right to receive money, and it is ordained that "they which preach the Gospel live of the Gospel," the Apostle Paul did not take anything from the Corinthians, but supported himself while preaching among them. See also Acts xviii. 1-4. He says that "they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar," "but I have used none of those things;" "for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void." He preached the Gospel willingly, yet such necessity was laid on him that he would have been compelled to preach even if he had been unwilling. This is in harmony with his words, "I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also." Rom. i. 14, 15. Paul felt that what he had received from Christ made him a debtor to all men. So he continues:-

"What, then, is my reward? That, when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the Gospel. For though I were free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. And to the Jews I became as a dew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, (not being myself under the law), that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, an without law, not being without law to God but under [in] law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak; I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some." 1 Cor. ix. 19-22, R.V.

Read further, and you will see that Paul is here speaking of self-denial, and not of conforming to other people's evil habits. He says:-

"I do all things for the Gospel's sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run that ye may attain. And every one that striveth in the games is temperate in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage, that by any means after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected."

Read the entire connection carefully, and you cannot fail to see that here we have the illustration of the exhortation, given through the same apostle: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Gal. vi. 9. Paul was free from all men, free with the liberty that Christ gives, yet he would not be a lord over God's heritage, but chose rather to be the servant of all. In this he was following Christ, who was "born under the law, that He might redeem them that were under the law." Gal. iv. 4, 6. Christ puts Himself into every man's place, taking upon Himself the burden of each one's sin, in order that they may be saved. Even so must His ambassadors do. Although delivered and kept from sin, they must, like their Master, be able to meet every sinner just where he stands, or rather, where he lies, and sympathies with him. Having learned the plague of our own heart and been delivered from it, having learned the weakness of humanity, and the power of Divinity, we are to know that the sins of all men reside in our flesh, and than we may make them know the power that saves. Thus we are indeed all things to all men, not in such a way as to make them think that their ways are all right, but in such a way that some, at least, will be able to forsake their ways, and turn to the Lord.

"The Editor's Private Corner. How to Remember the Word" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

"How can I remember all that I hear?"

I take it for granted that you have reference to Bible teaching and sermons, which go from your mind sometimes almost as soon as you have heard them. At any rate, after hearing hundreds of Bible readings and Gospel sermons, you find yourself unable to recall any of them in particular. You will doubtless be surprised when I tell you that I do not think this is to be regretted. A great memory is not an unmixed blessing. If you could remember the whole of any sermon you hear, so as to be able to repeat it to your friends in just the order that it was given, and in almost the same words, it would be a thing to be deplored, rather than to be proud of. I recall a man of my acquaintance who had a wonderful memory for Scripture texts, so that he could quote all that he had heard or read, and could give

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the reference accurately, yet his real knowledge of the Scriptures was very limited. The saving truth of the Word was not written in his heart. He had a wonderful memory for words, but not much hold of the Word. He could talk glibly to others, quoting texts and putting them together in very good order; but what he said did not take a deep hold of his hearers. On the other hand I have known some persons with poor memory, as they would tell you, meager attainments in educational lines, and what some would call limited mental capacity, who had the Word so hidden in their hearts that it was a great blessing to them and to others.

Memory is only a part of the mind, not by any means the whole of it. To have a great memory does not necessarily indicate the possession of a great mind. In saying this I do not depreciate the value of a good memory, but only urge that it be used in the right direction, and not allowed to degenerate into a mere recorder of words. A really good memory is something far different from the tape in a telegraph instrument or the cylinder in a phonograph.

Let me tell you that no true Bible teacher or Gospel minister desires to have his hearers store up his words so that they can give them back to him. No man wishes this, except the one who is giving his own words, fine phrases and sentences built up with great care, and these are usually not worth remembering. But if the minister is a preacher of the Word, one sent from God and therefore speaking the words of God, he desires a far different evidence that his work has been successful, than the hearing of his words repeated in a testimony meeting. What is this evidence?-It is simply the changed life.

The Word of God is good seed. Now no farmer ever wishes to get the same seed back that he sows in the earth. He knows that if it does not die "it abideth alone; but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit." If the earth should hold the seed for months, and then return it to the farmer just as he sowed it, he would say that he had laboured in vain. In like manner we give food to the hungry, not expecting and not declaring ever to see it again. If the food we give to our children be retained by them for a time, and then should appear just as they received it we should be alarmed. We should know that there could be no growth under such conditions. The food that is eaten must never again appear in the same form, but must show itself in increased strength and activity. Then we know that it has been received to profit. Thus must it be with the Word of God upon which we feed.

The hearers of the Word are not to be mere echoes. The Gospel plan is that everybody should be original, an original, independent thinker, in the proper sense of the term. No person is to build upon any other person, but upon the one foundation, Jesus Christ; "for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." The promise is, "They shall be all taught of God." True thinking, right thinking, is the product of the Spirit of God in the soul, the expression in words of the experience of the life. This is all the real originality that is possible. True originality is the working of "that one and the selfsame Spirit, distributing to every man severally an He will." Thus there is no ground for anybody to complain of lack of education, nor any reason for one to ape another, for the Gospel itself provides the highest education for all. There is no teacher like God. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord in sure, making wise the simple." This wisdom is not on the surface, but is in the life and character. "A good understanding have all they that do His commandments."

You may have heard the story of the poor washerwoman whose pastor, not so wise as she, chided her because she could not recall even the text of the sermon he had preached the day before. She was bleaching cloth on the grass, and she pointed to it saying, "You see this cloth? I pour water on it, and the cloth does not hold any of it, yet it keeps getting whiter; so it is with the Word that I hear; I am not able to keep it all in my memory, but it leaves me whiter." The Gospel sermon that has been of more service to me than all others combined, changing the whole course of my life, and furnishing a constant supply of strength and courage, was one that I heard many years ago, and of which I cannot remember a single word. More than that, I could not have told the text or repeated a single sentence five minutes after the talk was finished. Indeed, there has never been any impression in my mind that I heard a word of it; but the influence of it will last through eternity. In it I saw Christ crucified for me, and that so completely absorbed my mind that every human utterance was obliterated. I have never regretted not being able to recall the words of that discourse.

But you may say that you would like to able to recall and use some of the words of the Bible, and it is well that you should; for I do not wish to be understood as meaning that our knowledge of Divine truth is to be hazy and indefinite. It is possible for every person to be able to recall all the Scripture texts that he needs. God's method of instruction is such that all may learn, and He teaches us to profit. "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established." Prov. xvi. 3. It all depends upon what is assimilated and incorporated into the life.

It you would get the most benefit from the food you eat, you must chew it a long time. It is not the great quantity that you eat, that determines the amount of strength you will have, but that which you assimilate. All the food that you can transform into flesh and blood and bone, does you good, and is available for use all the time; that which your system does not appropriate is of no use to you And thorough mastication, chewing the food for a long time, is the surest way to provide for its assimilation. Even so it is with the Word, upon which we are to feed, that we may grow thereby. It is not by reading or hearing a great deal, that we grow spiritually, but by meditating a great deal on a little until we extract something from it that feeds our souls. Read Ps. i. 1-3.

You may never be able to recall at will all the Scripture texts that you have thus assimilated, and it is not necessary that you should. When the proper time comes,-when you need them in your own conflict with Satan, or to help some other struggling soul,-the Spirit of God will bring them to your remembrance, and you will be astonished to find how many you know, and how aptly they come to mind. And you will remember not only the exact words, but often the location of them as well. The experiences that affect one's life are not only remembered, but they carry with them the impress of their surroundings. You have no difficulty in remembering just where certain things occurred in your life. Deaths, marriages, the meeting with or parting from friends, and a thousand other things, not only stand out prominently before you, but you can see every detail of the places where they occurred, although you have never made say effort to do so. So as you feed upon the Word, those portions that mark an era in your life will remain with you, and will carry with them the picture of their place in the Bible. So be of good courage, knowing that God hath chosen the weak and foolish things of this world, and that Christ is made unto us wisdom, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

"For Little Ones. Love Tokens" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

We talked a little last week about the Lord's Storehouse, the Lord Jesus Christ "in whom all fulness dwells." He is the one that "giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." Not only does He give us all things, but He is the One from whom all things came forth, as King David said: "All things come of Thee." He is the Fountain of life, and everything that gives us life flows from this wondrous Fountain, and it is His own life that it carries to us.

If we keep this always in our minds, His gifts will be much more precious to us, and the life that He gives us will have its right value in our eyes as a sacred thing, the life of God Himself, which comes to us in these different ways.

Think also of the words of the Good Shepherd, of whom we lately talked together: "I am come that they might have life." If Jesus had not been willing to give Himself for our sins, to give up Him own life to save us from the cures of death, we should never have had life at all, for the human family would have perished just as soon as they sinned.

The earth which was cursed also through man's sin, and became "subject to vanity" (emptiness), would have vanished and become as nothing, as though it had not been. No beautiful spring seasons would have wakened it from its wintry sleep, nor summer suns filled it with the goodness of the Lord, to be gathered in the autumn harvests, to give food to all His creatures. All would have been lost for ever, and we should not have had life at all, for we should never have been born.

But Jesus, the Creator of all things, gave His own life, took upon Himself the curse of death which sin had brought, and swallowed it up by the power of His endless life. And so, in all His works, wherever there is life, we can see His power over death, the power of His works, through which He has destroyed "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil," and delivered His whole creation ham vanishing away and becoming so though it had not been. "I am come that they might have life," and everything that gives us life comes to us because of His sacrifice, the giving of His own life for us.

So everything upon the earth, in which there is life, has stamped upon it the message of God's love, and of the way in which He has shown it by giving His own life for us. All things bear the marks of the cross of Christ. Every little seed which has the germ of life within it to make the earth still bring forth after its kind, and to ensure future harvests to sustain the world's life; brings to us this message of love: "I am come that they might have life."

If we always hear this message, what a difference it will make to the way in which we receive and enjoy the gifts of our Heavenly Father! Do you not think that Adam and Eve enjoyed the sweet air, the glorious sunshine, the pure water from the river of life, and the fruits of Paradise? Do you not think that each gift of God's love called forth thanksgiving and praise from their glad hearts? Each blessing that they received from His hands came to them as a fresh assurance of His love.

And yet the gifts of God which gave then life could not mean to them all that they do to us: for no curse of sin had stained the fair creation of God, and so the wondrous Story of the Cross of Christ was yet unwritten upon it.

Ah, how much fuller and sweeter a message of God's love each fruit and flower, each breath of air, and ray of light, brings to us from our Heavenly Father! It tells us that "God so Ioved the world that He gave His only begotten Son," that we should not perish, but have everlasting life. It tells of Him who has poured out His own life-blood that we may live.

Surely this should bring to our hearts even more grateful praise and love than moved the hearts of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and should fill us with a deeper gladness.

Will you not, dear children, as you think of these things "praise God from whom all blessings flow," and give thanks to Him

"Whose bounty shines in Autumn unconfined,
And spreads a common feast for all that lives."

"O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."

"The world is so full of such beautiful things,
Don't you think little folks should be happy as
kings?"

"Tea" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

At the time tea was introduced into Europe, there was much opposition to its use, and much was written against it. Mr. Henry Savilo, writing to his uncle, Mr. Coventry, in 1678, called it "a base Indian practice." Another writer about the same date says it is "a filthy custom," and adds, "Men seem to lose their stature and comeliness, and women their beauty."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

-Of the 71,000,000 inhabitants of the province of Bengal, in 1891, only 150,000 were able to speak English.

-The French programme of war-ships now in hand and to be completed before 1905 comprises 111 vessels.

-On Sunday, the 7th, the number of persons who visited the Paris Exposition was 652,000, the largest yet recorded.

-The total number of horses shipped from Buenos Ayres to Cape Town since the beginning of the war is said to exceed 24,000.

-To guard against anarchists, the Italian Government now demands that all travellers into Italy shall be identified at the frontier.

-The Duke of the Abruzzi has already begun his preparations for a second expedition to the North Pole, which will take place in the spring.

-The Orthodox Greek Church, by means of a secret circular issued to all the Russian archbishops, has excommunicated count Leo Tolstoi.

-The condition of the Autumn crops in India is said to be excellent, except in part of Bombay. The number of persons in receipt of relief has fallen to less than two millions and three-quarters.

-Over a thousand "pilgrims" left London for Rome on the 8th. They expect to be received at the Vatican and accorded the Papal blessing. Two other companies are to leave later in the month and in December.

-Paris owes nearly one-half the municipal debt of France, its debt being twice that of London. Its government is the dearest of any capital in the world. Its finances for 1901 show a deficit of nearly half a million sterling.

-The official trade statistics of the United States show that for the eight months ending August 31 the value of the raw materials imported was $200,000,000. For a similar period four years ago the imports of raw materials amounted to $100,000.

-The Comte de Vauix, a noted French aeronaut, recently made a balloon journey alone from Paris to Vlotslavak, in Russian Poland, the distance being more than 800 miles in a direct line. During the entire night which he spent on the journey, his balloon was at a great height above the clouds.

-Two Hungarian scientists have invented a system of telegraphy by which it is possible to send messages in ordinary writing at a speed of one thousand words a minute, or sixty thousand an hour. This is six times faster than the fastest system hitherto in use.

-Under a Government scheme of educational reform, the Bible has been introduced into the public national schools of Argentina. According to the Rev. W. C. Morris, an Anglican clergyman in Buenos Ayres, this is the first occasion on which any South American Republic has adopted such a measure.

-A Chinese bank-note more than 500 years old has just been placed among the specimens of early printing in the British Museum. This is the earliest specimen of a bank note known to exist in any country, having been issued 300 years before the establishment of Stockholm of the first European bank which issued notes.

-At the meeting of the Society for the Study of Inebriety, Dr. Wynn-Westcott said that while there is divergence of opinion as to whether or not the craving for drink may be transmitted, there is no room for doubt that intemperance in the parent tends to lower the vitality of the offspring, and render it more liable to physical, mental, and moral degeneration.

-The Russian Government has decided upon the introduction of specially cheap fares upon the Trans-Siberian Railway, in order to encourage emigration to the country. A ticket from Russia to Tobolsk only costs 4s. 6d., and from Tobolsk to any station whatever in Siberia the fare is only nine shillings. Thus the tripper can cover about 6,000 miles for a matter of thirteen shillings.

-The latest reports state that all the New Brunswick fishermen, who were missing in the recent storm on the coast of Prince Edward Island last month, have surely perished. The death roll now numbers forty-six. It is regarded as the most terrible disaster of the kind on record, as far as the maritime provinces of Canada are concerned. The men were all French Canadians.

-Forty-eight performances of the Passion Play at Oberammergau have been given this year. About 200,000 persons paid to see it, and the receipts amounted to over ?50,000, besides which about ?150,000 was taken in the village for lodgings, refreshments, sale of photographs, relics, etc. With this income the villagers propose to pay the debts of the community, and provide a system of drainage in a new water supply. Those simple peasants are not so unworldly as extravagant admirers of their play would have people believe.

-Sir Rudolf Slatin, the new Inspector General of the Sudan, in an interview with a Vienna paper said that only after the complete subjugation and pacification of the Sudan could missionaries be allowed to go among the heathen races. But real missionaries do not ask the Government to pacify and subjugate native races before they go among them, nor do they ask permission of any civil power to engage in missionary work anywhere in the world. The so-called pacification and subjugation of heathen tribes makes the most unpromising material for missionary effort.

-The Daily Mail's St. Petersburg Correspondent says: "According to the Russkija Vedomosti of Moscow the traffic in human flesh is a daily occurrence in the Yakutak province of eastern Siberia. As a rule children are sold, the price varying from ten to fifty roubles. The illicit unions which exists between the exiles and the native women are chiefly responsible for the state of affairs, and children are born with the special idea of 'raising' them for sale at five years old. The purchasers are usually Russian officials and merchants who trade in labourers, the demand for whom exceeds the supply."

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

The inability to recall the details of all that one sees and hears is not by any means unmitigated evil, for one is thus saved from crying about in his mind a vast amount of evil. But the mind is not and cannot be blank; if we give ourselves to the Lord, being controlled by His life, we shall have the law of righteousness put into our minds and written in our hearts, so that we cannot forget the good, which is ever present with us, and cannot remember the evil, because we have, no knowledge of it.

Whoever looks upon real self-denial, that is, the refusal to recognise self, as a continual hardship, a torture, does not know nor take into account the joy of victory. Self, selfishness, is sin; the denial of self is the denial of ungodliness and worldly lusts. Self-denial, therefore, is victory over "this present evil world," "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." Defeat never brings joy, but brings shame and disgrace; victory brings joy, and only joy. Continual self-denial is therefore continual victory, and that means continual joy. "Now thanks be to God, which always causeth to triumph in Christ." Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

"God's Prompt Response" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

God's Prompt Response .-When the prodigal son "came to himself," recovered his senses after his career of madness, he planned out a speech to make to his father, as soon as he could see him on his return, and this is what he proposed to say: "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." But it will be noticed that he did not repeat all of this speech. He did say, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son," but he got no further. His father gave him no time to make his request to become a hired servant. He had returned and acknowledged his sin, and had confessed his unworthiness to be called a son, and that was enough. At once the father exclaimed, "My son!" So God calls us to return, saying, "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God." Jer. iii. 12, 13. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Yes, and He does not wait for us to go into all the details; He does not require us to recount all the evil deeds that we have done. As soon as we say, "I have sinned," He breaks in with, "Thou art righteous;" when we say, "I am not worthy to be called Thy son," He exclaims, "This My son." Thus He fulfils His word: "While they are yet speaking, I will hear."

"'A Crowning Act of Sacrifice'" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

"A Crowning Act of Sacrifice." -In the report of the Missionary Conference during the meeting of the Baptist Union at Leicester, there are some interesting accounts of the methods by which young people have made contributions to the Missionary Society. At the last we read: "A crowning act of sacrifice was narrated by Mr. Moore. Some of the young men even went without tobacco for a week." Well, it is wonderful; for tobacco makes such slaves of its devotees that it is a strange thing to hear of any sacrifice whatever being made by them. Here, however, we have the case of people abstaining for one week from the worship of their god, in order that other heathen might be permanently estranged from their gods.

"Ministerial and Juvenile Smoking" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

At the recent meeting of the Baptist Union, the Rev. John Bradford offered the following resolution, which was adopted:-

"That the attention of the members of the Baptist Union now assembled having been directed to the injurious effects of smoking on the physical, mental, and moral natures of boys and youths, by eminent medical men, public-school teachers, and others, urge that all pastors, superintendents and teachers of Sunday-schools, managers of Bands of Hope, etc., be hereby requested to warn all under their charge of the evil consequences arising from the early indulgence in this habit, and also to direct the attention of parents and guardians of the young to the same; so that these combined efforts may help to stop and avert what threatens to be a serious denominational and national evil."

Mr. Bradford said that they were not asked to pass an opinion on the question of ministers' smoking, although he himself intended to tell his boys that he would never smoke again. One thing is certain, and that is, that if ministers and adult church members smoke, they will have a hard time to keep the young people from smoking also. How wickedly inconsistent for a body of ministers of the Gospel gravely to warn the young against following their example! How can any man preach the Gospel as "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;" and at the same time say that he can't do without his pipe or cigar? Can he persuade anybody that he believes what he preaches?

"A Religious Question in Court" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

A Religious Question in Court .-A citizen of Connecticut, U.S.A., recently bequeathed ?14,000 to a Publication Society, which is devoted to the washing of the fact that man has no immortality without Christ. In the will the popular theory of man's natural immortality is characterised as "that greatest of all pagan superstitions, upon which are founded the great system of error and superstition in the world." The heirs as contesting the will, on the ground that it is contrary to public policy to countenance bequests in the interest of doctrines which are "inimical to the public welfare." The whole question of immortality will necessarily be discussed in court, and it will be interesting to note the result. If the court should decide against the will, it would be a long step toward the end that none may do business except those who adhere to Papal dogmas.

"Superstition in High Life" The Present Truth 16, 42.

E. J. Waggoner

Superstition in High Life .-Let no one think that the age of superstition is past. A French religious paper tells of a baron who was hastily summoned to his stables because one of his cows was being choked to death by a turnip that had stuck in her throat. He writes:-

"My man could not extract the offending turnip. I secretly promised five francs to Satin Antony. Hardly was the promise made when my man cried, 'She's swallowed it!' and after a sneeze or two the beast was herself again. Let wiseacres laugh as they may, their snears will not decrease my confidence in the good saint, nor my gratitude to him."

When such superstition is possible on the part of a presumably educated man, the cruel persecution which superstition has always visited upon those who do not agree with it is also possible. "These thins," said Christ, "will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me." rank and learning are no surety against the grossest deeds, if the knowledge of God and His Word is absent.

October 25, 1900

"The Harvest Festival" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

Of all the feasts that the ancient Israelites were required to celebrate, the most joyous was the feast of tabernacles. Three times in the year all males, and all others that could, were expected to appear in the temple at Jerusalem. This was not by any means a hardship, nor any part of the "Yoke of bondage" under which the Jews later on suffered; for God never placed a yoke of bondage upon any people, and whoever has attempted it has tempted God. Acts xv. 10. Almost all commentators have dwelt upon the hardships that the Jews were obliged to undergo in attending religions services so often; but in that they have simply shown their ignorance of the service of God. The people lost nothing pecuniarily, because God Himself promised that no one should desire any of their property while they were away; so, freed from all burden as to their own affairs, they had, three times each year, a joyful holiday. The true service of God is always glad and joyous. Everything about God is full of life and joy. In His presence is fulness of joy, and eternal pleasures. "Solemn assemblies" they are called, but the Christian should know that "solemn" does not mean sad or morose. The most solemn things are the most joyous. The words of the psalmist are evidence that no true Israelite thought it a hardship to go up to the temple to celebrate any of the wonderful works of the Lord: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together; whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord." Ps. cxxii. 1-4. Read the description of the feast of tabernacles, and see how joyous a solemn assembly can be:-

"The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles, for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord; it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein." There are few labouring people in these days who would regard it as a hardship to have a holiday in which they were not to do any servile work, while their living was assured to them the same as if they were working; but this is not all that we are told of this solemn feast:-

"In the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord, seven days; on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations; ye

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shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God." Lev. xxiii. 33-36, 39-43.

We see that this solemn feast was a harvest festival. It was also called "the feast of ingathering," because it was held at the close of the gathering of all the fruits of the earth in the autumn. "Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine; and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy eon, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose; because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice." Deut. xvi. 13-16. The Revision has it, "thou shalt be altogether joyful." There was to be no note of sadness in that solemn assembly.

"Well, what is all this to us?" someone will ask. "It is one of the Jewish types and ceremonies that is long since done away, and we have no concern with it." Do not forgot that "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." The feast of tabernacles was indeed a type, as well as a memorial; but since Christ is the body, the substance, the reality, of which everything else is but the shadow, and He is eternal, it follows that so long as we are in Christ we cannot lightly regard the feast of tabernacles. That which the feast of tabernacles was intended to teach should be uppermost in our minds at all times, but especially at this season of the year, when the harvest is being ended.

What is the chief fruit of the earth-that to which everything else is only secondary? It is man. Men are God's planting, that He might be glorified. They are the highest order of plants in the world, and the only fruit of the earth that will be saved in the great final day of destruction. "The field is the world but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." Matt xiii. 38 39. It is of this that every returning harvest is intended to remind us; and if we do not think of it in our joy over the abundant harvest that the Lord has given us, we are worse off than if we had nothing.

The coming of the Lord will be a time of rejoicing for the people of God-all who are born Israelites. At His appearing they will say, "This is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Isa. xxv. 9. Then when all His people are gathered home,-the wheat stored in the garner of the Lord,-will be held the real feast of tabernacles. Then will the people "dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods" (Eze. xxxiv. 25), and as of old goodly trees will be brought to adorn the holy city. Addressing the city, the Lord says: "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto then, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the boa together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious." Isa. lx. 13.

This feast will, like the type, be a memorial, and a memorial of deliverance from bondage. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, the Lord liveth, which brought up, and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land." Jer. xxiii. 5-8. The bondage from which they will then be delivered will be identical with that from which the Lord was seeking to deliver the people when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; it is the bondage of sin, for He brought them out of Egypt that they might keep His commandments. Ps. cv. 43-45. But this deliverance will be complete and final, the harvest of the earth will then have been "fully ripe," and gathered, and the rejoicing will be infinitely greater than any that was ever experienced at any harvest festival on this earth. Yet the knowledge of what the yearly harvest is designed to teach us will even now fill our hearts with the joy of the final ingathering.

Just as every revelation of Christ makes us understand more of the written word, so the understanding of what the feast of tabernacles really is explains a text that is much misunderstood and perverted. It is in the last chapter of Zechariah. In the first part of the chapter we are told of the coming of the Lord, when the holy city, the Now Jerusalem, descends from God out of between, and occupies the place of the present Jerusalem, which is "in bondage with her children." The feet of Jesus, touching the mount of Olives, divide it, and the city occupies the great plain that is thus formed. "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem ; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea; in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one." "And there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." That will be the time when the real feast of tabernacles is celebrated, for "it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles." Zech. xiv. 16-19.

It is evident to every thoughtful reader that this does not teach that from year to year there will be punishment, inflicted upon people who refuse to come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, since after the city is established there will be no more destruction, and all flesh will gladly acknowledge the Lord as universal King. But after, the city comes down the devil will gather all the wicked around it to

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destroy it, and then fire shall come down from God out of heaven and shall consume them. Rev. xx. 1-9. The saints of God will already have been in the city for a thousand years, keeping the feast of tabernacles, when the wicked come up to the city; but since these wicked ones do not come up to keep the feast of tabernacles, having long before definitely and spitefully rejected the Lord, they will be destroyed. In which class shall we be? Now is the time to decide, for "now is the day of salvation."

"Providing for the Future. Luke xvi. 1-13" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xvi. 1-13.)¹⁸1

"And He said also unto His disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and was same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And He called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for than mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely; for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if y a have not been faithful it, that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve. God and mammon."

GOD THE HOUSEHOLDER, MEN THE STEWARDS

That this parable was designed to give instruction concerning heavenly things is self-evident; therefore we may understand that God is represented by the householder, and that we are His stewards. This is corroborated by the following: "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Peter iv. 10. This much being plain on the face of the text, we may ties it as a guide to the rest.

STEWARDS OF LIFE

"Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. iv. 7. The grace of God is given to us in Christ. He is the brightness of the Father's glory (Heb. i. 3), and the grace which God bestows is "according to the riches of His glory." This grace is given, not to a few, but to all, as we just read. "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." Titus ii. 11. But Christ is "our life." Col. iii. 4. He is not the life of a few only, but of all, for He is "the life." John xiv. 6. There is no other life. "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." John i. 4. "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." Acts xvii 25. "The gift by grace" is the gift of life in Christ. Christ, the life, is given to every man, and His life is the manifestation of the manifold grace of God, of which we are appointed stewards. Life, therefore, constitutes the goods which the Householder has committed to our charge.

CALLED TO ACCOUNT FOR SQUANDERING LIFE

The steward was not accused of outright theft, but of wasting his lord's goods, which amounts to the same thing. The expression is identical with that in the fifteenth chapter, where it is said that the prodigal son "wasted his substance." The life of God is that over which we have been made stewards, and we have wasted it. Few regard life as a sacred trust to he cherished. Most feel that their life is their own to do with as they please; but such should know that they will be called upon to give account of their stewardship. People may go on recklessly for a time, but the day of reckoning will surely come. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk it the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into Judgment." Eccl. xi. 9. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Rom. xiii. 12.

A TIMELY WARNING

It is not the province of any parable exactly to fit, in every detail, that which it illustrates. In reality, there is no chance to provide for the future, after we are called to account; but this parable is given as a warning, while yet there is time; go the steward is represented as making provision for himself, after his lord had called upon him to give an account of his affairs. After all, the same chance is given us, for we read the last message of the everlasting Gospel: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His Judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev. xiv. 6, 7. This warning message is even now sounding, giving us an opportunity to get our accounts into such condition that we may without fear present them for examination.

GIVING IN ORDER TO SAVE

The steward's plan for providing for his future is that which is especially recommended to our attention. He called his lord's debtors and began to make distribution to them, for that is what his act amounted to. In taking off fifty measures of wheat and twenty measures of oil from the accounts of the two debtors, the steward actually gave them that much. Now there is no reason to suppose that his lord was any loser by this transaction or that the steward was in any way wronging his employer. So clumsy a device as altering bills and defrauding the proprietor is easily detected, and when the lord discovered the fraud he would have punished the steward, instead of commanding him. It is quite evident that the steward made up the difference himself, for he certainly had something that he could call his own, after his period of service. Some one may ask, "Why need he be troubled about how he should live after being deprived of his stewardship, if he had property of his own?" The answer is simple: He had some means, but not enough to last him long; so instead of foolishly hoarding up that little, he freely gave it away, knowing that it would return to him many times

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increased when he needed it. If he gave something to his lord's debtors, they would gladly receive him into their houses, and he would never lack for a home after the. settlement with his lord. With wise foresight he provided for the future.

TRUE WISDOM AND FOOLISHNESS

"The lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely; for the children of this world in their generation are wiser than the children of light." How is this? It is this way: The children of this world give diligence, as well as they know how to provide for the future as far as they can see. It is true they do not see beyond this present life, but they are wise in their generation. The children of light, however, have eternal life set before them, yet many of them act as though this life were all. In this they are not so wise as the children of this world. They cling to this life and its possessions as though it were all, forgetting that "whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose It; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." Luke xvIi. 33. The man of the world, knowing nothing of anything more than this life, holds fast to it and all that it contains; but the child of light, it he be as wise in his generation as the child of the world, freely gives up this life with all its treasures, that he may possess the eternal life.

"A man there was, though some did count him
mad,
The more he gave away, the more he had."

LAYING UP LIFE TREASURE IN HEAVEN

The Saviour says: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matt. vi. 20, 21. To the young ruler, He said: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." Matt. xix. 21. "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lap hold on eternal life," or, "on the life which is life indeed." 1 Tim. vi. 17-19. All these words correspond to those in our lesson: "Make to yourselves friends by means of Mammon of unrighteousness; that then it shall fall, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles." (R.V.) Are we to conclude from these things that heaven can be purchased? Not by any means. We cannot buy heaven; but by giving up this life, we get the eternal life; and we show that we give up this life, when we give up that which pertains only to this present world. The lesson is summed up in these words: "Set your affections on things above, not on things on this earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Col. iii. 2-7. We have no power over life, to retain it; God alone, the Author of life, can preserve it; so when, instead of trying to hold to this present life, and to the things that pertain to it, we give it over into His keeping, we have it awaiting us at the Judgment, when we give account of our stewardship.

And how do we give our life with its treasures to God? Christ tells us: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." Matt. xxv. 40. "He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." The grace of Christ, of which we are made stewards, is the grace of giving. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." 2 Cor. viii. 9. As He showed His love for us by giving Himself for us, so we show our love for Him by giving ourselves to others. This we may do, even if we have no money. Strength is that by which money is earned, and therefore he who gives his strength for the welfare of others gives more than the one who gives thousands in money, but withholds himself.

THIS PRESENT LIFE A SECTION OF ETERNITY

The way in which we use this life determines whether or not we shall have the life to come. This life is a sample cut off from eternity, that we may show how we appreciate it. If we waste this life, how can we expect God to continue it to us eternally? "If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" If we do not use earthly things wisely, we cannot expect to be entrusted with things of infinitely greater value. Let us then use this life as not abusing it, remembering that we have to provide not merely for a few years, but for eternity, and that the only way to do that is to give all to Him who is eternal.

"The Editor's Private Corner. The Eternal Sabbath" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

"Since the Sabbath is the memorial of the creation of the earth, does not the fourth commandment constitute an exception to the statement that the law is the character of God, and therefore coexistent with Him? Could there have been any Sabbath before the creation of this earth? and if not, can the fourth commandment be considered strictly as of moral obligation, since moral principles can have no beginning except in God?"

This is a question which touches the very heart of Sabbath-keeping, and I am glad of the privilege of talking it over with the readers of PRESENT TRUTH, since the failure to understand it has led many to make shipwreck of faith, and a right knowledge of it brings one into the closest fellowship with God.

In the first place we must remember that it does not necessarily follow that our first introduction to anything is the beginning of its existence. The fact that we did not know a thing before, does not prove that there was no such thing before. God Himself is the Beginning, the source of all things, the universal storehouse of good. A thing that is first made known to the world in this age may have been hidden in Him for eternal ages. He is the sum of all truth and morality, and He reveals Himself to His creatures just as they have need of Him. So even if we consider the Sabbath as first made known in the universe at the creation of this world, that fact would not by any means detract from the morality of the fourth commandment. It all comes from God; therefore "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" God is Spirit; therefore "we know that the law is spiritual." Rom. vii. 12, 14.

This is as far as we really need to consider the subject, since what goes on in other worlds, or what took place before the creation of this world, does not specially concern us; but there is a principle involved in the question, which we may discuss without being irreverent or curious.

Everything that is, except God, had a beginning. He created all things by Jesus Christ. In Christ we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; "for in Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." Col. i. 14-17.

Moreover all things have not been brought into existence at the same time. When the Lord "laid the foundations of the earth," "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job xxxviii. 4-7.

Now the Sabbath was given to man as a reminder of Himself as Creator. It was given in Eden, in order that man in his unfallen state need never fall through forgetting his Maker; and since there is equal reason for all other created beings to remember God as their Creator, that they may give unto Him the glory due to Him, it is evident that the Sabbath is as old as the first created being.

Sabbath means rest. The word is but the untranslated Hebrew word for rest. It is God's rest, and, given to His creatures, teaches them to rest in Him. No angel in heaven created himself, or can maintain his existence or his purity by his own power. All things are of God, and all things continue to exist only in Christ. Rest in God is the universal law of existence. Wherever there is perfect rest in God, there is perfect righteousness and strength; and just to the extent that any creature undertakes to manage himself and his own affairs does he fall below the standard of perfection. Sabbath-keeping, rest in God, is therefore the seal of perfection, not only in this world, but also in every part of God's universe.

It is because the false principle of justification by works is so firmly seated even in the majority of those who decry it, that the Sabbath is so little understood. Men seem to think that they are raising an insuperable objection to the Sabbath when they exclaim, "Oh, but we are not justified by works!" Exactly, and just for that reason must we keep the Sabbath, that is, rest in God, if we would be righteous. Not to keep the Sabbath, not to rest in God, is to seek to establish our own righteousness.

We see therefore that from the very nature of the case the Sabbath of the Lord is as eternal as He Himself. He rested in His own fulness and perfection in the days of eternity, before anything was made, and as soon as the first thing was created, that thing rested in His everlasting power. Instead of this earth being the only place where the Sabbath is kept, it is the only place where it is broken.

It need not take long to answer the question that may arise, concerning the varying length of days in the various planets. The seventh day is the seventh day, whether on the earth or on Jupiter, and the inhabitants of the latter planet cannot have any more difficulty in observing the seventh day than those of this planet. And just as travellers to various parts of this earth may and should observe the Sabbath wherever they are, so in the ages to come, the explorers of God's universe will gladly join with the inhabitants of any planet where they may be, in keeping the Sabbath as it comes to them. And on this earth, which will then be the place of God's throne, the centre of His universal dominion, "it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship" before the Lord.

"For the Children. The Creator" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

That is more beautiful than the rose the queen of flowers. charming the eye with its perfect shape and colouring, its rich yet delicate beauty, and breathing forth sweet odours? Yes, the rose is beautiful, but not with its own beauty. All its loveliness is but a dim reflection, a faint image, of Him who said, "I am the Rose of Sharon."

The rose is beautiful, but He is its beauty for He is seen in all the things that He has made. In Jesus Christ "all fulness dwells," and He "filleth all in all." He who made the rose fills it with His own beauty, but He Himself is more beautiful than the rose. He is "altogether lovely," and "the beauty of a created things is but a gleam from the shining of His glory."

So as we see the fair beauty of His creation, and know that it is but a looking-glass in which His own beauty is reflected, we shall

"Learn to love with zealous, humble duty,
The Eternal Fountain of that heavenly beauty."

"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us."

What is purer than the lily, or the delicate snow crystals, "the pure, white lilies of the sky," as they have been called? The lily is always the emblem of purity-spotless innocence. The whiteness of the snow is used by God to show the perfection of purity. But this exquisite purity and spotlessness are but another revelation of Him who made the lily and who sends the snow. Jesus says, "I am the Lily of the Valleys."

"The roses speak of the Rose of Sharon,
The lilies of Christ of the Vale;
And every sweet flower unfolds His power,
And His love that can never fall."

Only "the pure in heart" can "see God." His perfect purity is such that "evil cannot dwell with Him." Yet He invites us into His presence to abide with Him, and when we draw near, the power of His pure life cleanses away all our sin, and keeps us "unspotted from the world."

"Consider," says Jesus, "how the lilies grow; how, springing from the cold dark earth, or from the mud of the river bed, the plants unfold in loveliness and fragrance. Who would dream of the possibilities of beauty in the rough brown bulb of the lily? But when the life of God, hidden therein unfolds at His call in the rain and the sunshine, man marvel at the vision of grace and loveliness. Even so will the life of God unfold in every soul that will yield itself to the ministry of His grace, which, free as the rain and the sunshine, comes with its benediction to all. It is the Word of God that creates the flowers, and the same Word will produce in you the graces of His Spirit. He has surrounded you with beauty to teach you that you are to make life joyous and beautifuI with the love of Christ,-like the flowers, to gladden other lives by the ministry of love."

"What is stronger than a lion," the king of beasts? Solomon says that the lion "is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any." "The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion," are so terrible that the other beasts of the field are terror-stricken at the sound, and flee to bide themselves.

But there is One stronger than the lion,-He who created it, and whose "eternal power" is seen in all the things that are made. "Strength" as well as "beauty," is "in His sanctuary." "Power belongeth unto God," and "there is no power but of God." So wherever there is strength we me the power of God's life working. The lion is strong, but God its Creator is the source of all strength. "In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

Jesus is called "The Lion of the tribe of Judah," and among the living creatures that uphold His throne is the likeness of a lion, the symbol of strength. And "the Lord will give strength unto the people," so we can say "The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" For "the wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are hold as a lion," which, as Solomon says, "turneth not away for any."

What is more glorious than the sun shining in its strength? It is "as a bridegroom coming forth out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race, His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

But the sun shineth not by itts own brightness. The heavens declare the glory of God." It reflects His rays who "dwelleth in light that no man can approach unto." "He covereth Himself with light as with a garment." He hides Himself, not in darkness, but in light too glorious for us to see and live.

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Jesus is the true Light of the world, the One from whom the sun borrows all its brightness. Think how much the sunshine means to this earth. All the life, all the beauty, all the strength are the result of it. It is the channel of life, strength, and beauty and fulness to this world, and thus it "declares the glory of God," the Eternal Fountain of all these things.

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." It is streaming forth in the glorious sunshine, painting the rose, decking the lily, filling the earth wit h food and gladness, and giving strength to all that live upon it. The sun is but a servant at His gates, through whom He distributes His blessings, but He Himself is for more glorious than the sun.

A missionary was one day talking with a heathen man. This man said to him,

"I go to the place where you worship, but I see nothing of your God. If you come to my temple, I will show you there the god that I worship; but I never see your God. Why don't you show Him to me?"

"Come here," said the missionary, stepping out of the house, into the open air. It was noonday, and the sun was shining with great power. The missionary pointed up to it and said to the heathen, "look at yonder sun." He tried to look at it for a moment. But he instantly turned away his face, and covered his eyes with his hands.

"I can't look at that," said he; "it blinds me."

"Well," said the missionary, "that sun in only one of the servants of my God. If you can't bear to look at one of His servants, how can you expect to see the Master of that servant, the great God who made him? No sinful man can see God and live."

So in all these wonderful works of the great Creator, we see the beauty, the purity, the strength, and the glory, of our God and Father. Now remember that He made man in His own image, that he might be like Him in all these things. In His works He shows us what He is, so that we may know what He wants us to be, and what He is able to make us.

The beauty of the rose, the purity of the lily, the strength of the lion, and the glory of the sun-all these are to be seen even more fully in the children of God. If He so clothes the grass of the field with beauty, shall He not much more clothe you? If He gives such strength to the lion, shall He not much more be the strength of His people? He who lights up the sun with His glory has promised that His children shall "shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father."

"Give unto the Lord, O ye sons of the mighty,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name,
Worship the Lord to the beauty of holiness."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

-In spite of all the precautions taken by the authorities, the plague has broken out in Madagascar.

-Since 1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society has translated portions of the Bible into no fewer than 372 languages.

-Prince Hohenlohe has resigned the German Imperial Chancellorship, and Count Von Bulow has been appointed his successor.

-Thousands of bushels of damson are said to be rotting on the trees in Kent and Berkshire, and the ground is covered with the fallen fruit.

-A Mexican has secured from the Nicaraguan Government the sole right of manufacturing cotton goods in the State with English machinery.

-King Oscar of Sweden and Norway has been so ill that the crown prince, Adolphus, has been appointed regent. The King is said to be recovering.

-The Sultan of Turkey has leased to Germany for thirty years the island of Uroan, in the Red Sea, forty miles north of Kamaran, for a coaling station.

-Heavy storms resulting in the washing away of railway lines and the destruction of shipping, are reported from the maritime provinces of Canada.

-Owing to the high price of coal, the French Minister of Finance has found it necessary to add 3,500,000 francs to his estimate for the Military Budget.

-A despatch from Port Linon, Costa Rica, states that the business portion of that place has been burned, and that the damage is estimated at ?400,000.

-It is announced from Rome that the Italian Government has established telephone wires along the Italian Alps, with the object of connecting Rome with Paris.

-Despatches from Havana state that yellow fever is increasing in that city, and it is said that there is scarcely a block of buildings which has not contributed one or more cases.

-According to advices received by the official Russian Medical Department from Afghanistan, cholera broke out in that country in June, and spread rapidly to many towns, Kabul among others, where great mortality is stated to have occurred.

-Paris is said to be overrun with masked bands of ruffians, who make the city dangerous to pedestrians at night. Assaults are a daily occurrence, and murders are frequent. London is also suffering at present from an outbreak of "Hooliganism" so that some quarters are quite unsafe at night.

-Last year the total quantity of foreign wheat imported into England was 21,780,000 quarters, and of this vast quantity no less than three-quarters came from America. This year (season 1900-1901) about 22,000,000 quarters of wheat are expected in England, but not more than half of this will come from America.

-Mr. Douglas Story, who was a war correspondent with the Boers, states with great positiveness and minuteness of detail, that three American officials, who are actively engaged in the present political campaign, received among them upwards of ?300,000 from the Transvaal Government, to raise a pro-Boer agitation in the United States.

-The responsible manager and the assistant editor of a paper in Belgrade have been sentenced to five and ten years' imprisonment respectively for l?se majestÈ, on account of an article that had appeared in the paper.

-It has been decided by the highest court in Germany, that the Salvation Army is among the "religious societies recognised as such by the State," for which special protection against disturbances provided by a new law.

-The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Lord Alverstone, Master of the Rolls, to be Lord Chief Justice of England, in the room of the late Lord Russell of Killowen; and of Lord Justice A. L. Smith to be Master of the Rolls.

-The Tribuna (Rome) publishes a letter from Asmara, Abyssinia, giving details of the massacre by natives at Lake Assal of a column of 200 men despatched to collect the salt duty. It is thought that the victims may have been French, as the lake is in French territory. A second expedition sent to aid the first is also said to have been massacred.

-On the morning of the 19th, at five o'clock, Mr. Kruger was secretly conveyed on board the Dutch warship Gelderland, which is to bear him to Holland. The reason of his unseasonable embarkation was that he feared an assault by the Boers at Lourenco Marques, who have a very bitter feeling against the ex-President, because of his forsaking the country.

-A Swiss military physician on active service states that out of the 200,000 men who have passed under his care within the last four years, 24,000 men were suffering from the effects of absinthe-in a greater or lesser degree. Official statistics, he adds, also show that 12 per cent. of the male population (over twenty-one years of age) of the fifteen largest towns in Switzerland are every year the victims of absinthe, and the vice is spreading to an alarming extent.

-At a congress of anthropologist, held at Halle, a German professor declared that the Darwinian theory of the descent of man from the ape could no longer be maintained. Neither could it ever be maintained in the face of the Scriptures; yet there were scores of professed ministers of the Gospel, who, as soon as the theory was announced, made haste to throw the first chapter of Genesis overboard, lest they should be suspected of not being "abreast with science." And now "science" has left them in the lurch. They are to be pitied.

-The German Government has at last hit upon a method of dealing with the families of young men who emigrate to America to escape military service, which is hoped will indirectly result in stopping the exodus. A young German in Kansas has received from the German military authorities a cablegram ordering him to report at home for duty, and notifying him that unless he returns and serves his time his father will be find a sum equivalent to ?200. It is supposed that this plan will induce fathers to make every effort to keep their sons at home.

-Speaking in the Viceregal Council, at Simia, a few days ago, on the subject of the famine, which, he said, had engrossed the whole attention of the officials, Lord Curzon said: "The famine has affected a quarter of the entire population of India, and the estimated loss to the crops is fifty million sterling, in addition to the loss of some millions of cattle. The disaster has affected many who had never before known the calamity, the native States, the hill people, the wandering tribes, while cholera, dysentery and fever followed in its train." Two millions of people are even now receiving relief, but Lord Curzon said that he hoped that these would be able to return to their homes in the course of the next month.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

In the address presented to the Pope by Lord Denbigh, on behalf of the English pilgrims in Rome, the Pope was "assured of the sympathy felt for him generally in England, and of the veneration in which he was held by Protestants equally with Catholics." We know that we express the mind of many Protestants when we say that we wish to be excepted in any expression of sympathy or veneration for the head of the Papacy, whoever he may be.

The following questions and statements by the Daily Chronicle are worth consideration as signs of the times:-

Is the Bible going out of fashion? The question would seem to be pertinent so tar as the United States is concerned, for according to the most trustworthy accounts, In spite of the great redaction in the price, the demand for the Book has decreased, so that over 400,000 fewer Bibles and Testaments are sent out now by the American Bible Society then were sent out five years ago. Indeed; the money receipts of the society have fallen to nearly one-half, and according to the dictum of a private publisher, "there is no money in Bibles." Moreover the American Bible Society, which has been the great means of distributing the Bible in the United States for three-quarters of a century, is contemplating the sale of its promises, and transferring the business to some country place where property is cheaper. The question has been gravely asked, "In how many families now is the Bible read as a part of daily devotional exercise?" The question would be worth asking even in England.

The Daily Chronicle makes sport at the expense of the urban council in one of the provincial towns, where the following notice was posted at the entrance to a public park: "Pleasure grounds. Notice: These grounds are for pleasure only; no games or play allowed." That council seems to be composed of observant men, who know that the average game is almost wholly a matter of business, and not of pleasure. There is more wisdom displayed in the notice than a hasty reader would give the framers of it credit for, and possibly more than they were aware of.

An actress of some note has made the following statement in reply to a question:-

I think I rather like playing parts which have a dash of wickedness in them. There to more to grip. It has so often been my fate to act the good and gentle heroine, and it la difficult sometimes to give her much individuality. Injured innocence is apt to appear wishy-washy on the stage.

This is a frank confession, and is so strong a case against the theatre as we have ever seen. If vice and crime were not set forth on the stage in a glittering and attractive style, the number of theatre goers would be very small. In real life, however, the strongest characters and the most striking individuality are to be found among the good and gentle. The theatre gives a false presentation of the worst side of life, and its effect cannot be other than demoralising and degrading.

The foregoing finds substantiation in the following remarks in the course of a speech by Sir Henry Irving, on the necessity of the theatre, to supply the craving for the dramatic, which cannot he satisfied by the ordinary incidents of life: "Dangers there are of course, in all exercises of the imagination. But the dramatist cannot always be drawing angels, and the actor cannot always be playing them." Thus it is confessed that the mission of the theatre is to cater to an unhealthy appetite for sensational wickedness.

"What Is a Miracle?" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

What is a Miracle? -Most people think that it is a reversal of natural action-a setting aside or overturning of what are called "the laws of nature." This a great error. The so-called "laws of nature" are nothing else than God's ordinary way of working, so far as we are able to perceive. But God "cannot deny Himself," therefore He cannot at any time act in a manner contrary to what He does at other times. Miracles are always in perfect harmony with law, for they are God's ordinary way of working. Every act of God is a miracle. He cannot act except in a miraculous manner. Sometimes He hastens the ordinary process, or removes the veil so that we can see some of His secret working, or shows us something that we have never seen before, and we call it miracle. If that same thing should be repeated before our eyes ten thousand times, however, we should probably cease to call it a miracle, and yet its nature would by no means be changed. The thing that we are accustomed to we do not call a miracle, even though it requires nothing less than the mighty power of God for its performance; but the miraculous is everywhere, and miracles will never cease as long as God lives, "which doeth great things past finding out; yea and wonders without number."

"Priests and Physicians" The Present Truth 16, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

An eminent physician once said that "a man who treats himself has a fool for a patient," and doctors are fond of repeating his words. But the thing is utterly untrue, unless he treats himself with drugs; and in that case it would be equally true were a regular physician treating him; for whoever allows anybody to pour drugs down his throat is lacking in the judgment God designs that every man should have.

It is a sad fact that most people have not sense enough to treat themselves when ill, and this is due to the fact that they do not know how to keep from getting ill. But nothing is surer than that God designs that every person shall be able to take care of himself (under God, of course), and to be able to do everything for himself that needs to be done. It is no more His will that people should put themselves into the hands of physicians, and blindly follow their directions, than that they should be under the control of priests. The person who does not understand the laws of life sufficiently well to be able to keep himself well, or to check any incipient disease in his own body, has failed to gain the first principles of a proper education. In God's plan, as revealed in the Old Testament, the priests were the physicians; and since every one of His people is a priest, it follows that every one is to be a competent physician, as far at least, as he himself is concerned, and that he is to go to God as directly for the wants of his body, as for the wants of his soul, without any intermediary except Christ.

November 1, 1900

"The Serpent's Bite Cured" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

In everything that is written in the Old Testament, as well as in the New, there is a lesson of comfort and encouragement for us; "for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." Rom. xv. 4. Moses wrote of Christ, and therefore whoever believes the writings of Moses, must believe in Christ; and whoever does not believe what Moses wrote cannot believe Christ. John. v. 46, 47.

One of the most striking lessons in the writings of Moses is in connection with the erection of a brass image of a serpent; it has instruction and comfort far greater than are usually drawn from it. Everybody who has read the Bible at all is familiar with the words, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John iii. 14, 15), but not all find in them what the record of the incident is designed to convey to us. Let us study it for a time together.

The story is found in Num. xxi. 4-9, and should be read as a whole. The children of Israel in their march through the desert, "journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom; and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that He take away the serpents

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from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it carne to pass, that if a serpent bad bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."

NO ARBITRARY PUNISHMENT

One of the first things to learn, and one which should be continually remembered, is that God does nothing arbitrarily. "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." Prov. v. 22. The wicked "treasure up" unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath. Rom. ii. 5. They shall "eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." Prov. i. 31, 32. Every punishment has a natural connection with some sin. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. vi. 23), "but the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law." 1 Cor. xv. 56. "Sin came into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. v. 12. "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished [full grown], bringeth forth death." James i. 15. These statements are universally true. The plagues which God is said to send upon men, are but the outward manifestation of the plague of sin in their own hearts. So we must know that it was sin in the hearts and lives of the Israelites, that gave the fiery serpents power over them. Just as in our daily life the disease germs that are everywhere present have no power over as if we are in normal condition, but are swallowed up, so that they find no opportunity to work destruction except in bodies that are already vitiated, so in the spiritual world. Jesus said, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me." John xiv. 30. Satan, the originator of sin, could find no response in Christ, no congenial soil, and therefore he could not kill Him. Christ voluntarily laid down His life, and in death conquered "him that had the power of death." He swallows up death in eternal life.

That this is strictly applicable to the case of the Israelites, and that, if they had not sinned, the fiery serpents could not have bitten them to death, may be seen first from the case of Paul on the island of Malta. He had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, "and there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand." The people of the island, knowing the venomous nature of the serpent, looked to see Paul fail down dead suddenly, but "he shook the beast off into the fire, and felt no harm." Acts xxviii. 3-6. He was acknowledging and serving God, and the poison of the serpent found no chance of working. The same thing is seen in the account of the fiery serpents in the wilderness. After the people had fulfilled the word of the Lord, they were safe, although the serpents were still all around them; so we may know that if they had been abiding in God from the beginning the serpents in that region would have been harmless to them.

LOSING THE POWER OF RESISTANCE

What was the condition that made it possible for the serpents to destroy the Israelites? The answer is given in 1 Cor. x. 9: "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents." Now the record in Numbers does not tell us that they tempted Christ, so that from that account alone we may not know what constitutes tempting Christ; but in Ex. xvii. 7 we read that "they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?" Their actions, as well as their words, showed that they did not recognise God's presence, and this was tempting Him. Even so it was in the case before us. The people asked, Moses why he had brought them up out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness. But Moses had not brought, them up, for it was the Lord Himself who went in the way before them, to search out a place for them to camp in, and who led them by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. Deut. i. 32, 33. Moreover, He had not brought them out to allow them to die, but to give them life, for He was their life (Deut. xxx. 20), and they had bread, even bread from heaven, the very body of Christ. John vi. 32-48. When the Israelites said that they had no bread and no water, they really said that God was not among them. And their unbelief in the presence of God was really a rejection of Him, so that the effect on them was the same as though He were not present. By believing, we receive Christ, and with Him power; by unbelief we reject Him, and lose the power of His presence.

WHERE THE HEALING VIRTUE LAY

What virtue was there in the brazen serpent, to cure the bites of the living ones? None at all. When Moses lifted it up it was exactly what it was years afterward when the Jews superstitiously worshipped it, and Hezekiah destroyed it, calling it "a piece of brass." 2 Kings xviii. 4. It was never more than a piece of brass, with no power to do anything, or to produce any effect; and that very fact demonstrated the presence of the Lord to heal those who believed in His presence. God told Moses to lift up the serpent, and told what would follow if the stricken ones looked upon it; and the healing that followed, which could not possibly be attributed to the piece of brass on the pole, was evidence of God's saving presence. In the text in John, it is not meant that Christ is of no more virtue than the brazen serpent, but that just as surely as those who looked upon the serpent of brass, according to God's word, received life, so will those who look to Christ receive perfect healing.

ALL HAVE BEEN BITTEN BY THE SERPENT

Every one of us has been bitten by a fiery serpent, and the poison has got into our blood. In the twelfth chapter of Revelation, we read of a fiery red dragon, which is "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan." Verses 3, 9. Sin is of the devil, and "all have sinned." It is the poison that causes death. But a remedy has been provided in Christ, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith. The faith that is by Him is a shield, "wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Eph. vi. 16. Even though the poison has contaminated our whole lives, and every fibre of our beings, a look at Christ, not for a moment only, but continuously, will take all the burning sting from the wound, and give us "perfect soundness." "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

HEALING FOR ALL

This provision has been made for all. Salvation is unlimited. If a serpent had bitten any man, no matter who, when he beheld, he lived. No matter what the condition of the sinner, though sin has made him almost a body of death, if He recognises Christ, he shall receive new life; yea more, for Christ says, "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." John xi. 25.

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"He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." He redeems our life from destruction, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle's. Righteousness is a defence; God's truth is a shield and buckler. The life of Christ, if allowed free course in us, to fill us to overflowing, is calculated to render us impervious to sin and all its results,-to every poisonous thing that is the result of the anise of sin. So since righteousness comes by faith, (for "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness") we have the promise: "These signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they east out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hart them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark xvi. 17, 18. And this: "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under foot. Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high, because he hath known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him." Ps. xci. 13-16. We read that in the new earth, when sin is removed, and there is no more curse, "the sucking child shall play on the hole of an asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Isa. xi. 8, 9. But if any man be in Christ, there is a new creation, and he is redeemed from the curse, so that, although surrounded by the curse, he lives as free from its effects as though he were living in the new earth; and the life of Christ, the perfect Man, is proof of the possibility of this. This freedom from sin and its accompanying curse, is the unspeakable gift of God in Christ. "According to your faith be it unto you."

"Joking Preachers" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

The following from The Christian should be read by both ministers and congregation:-

There is a growing habit of applauding preachers during the delivery of sermons upon "great occasions." In many quarters it is becoming quite the fashion for audiences to cheer the preacher much as they would applaud n lecturer or a politician. It strikes us as both mischievous and irreverent. It places both preacher and congregation in a false position, and it constitutes a terrible temptation to the preacher to utter mere pleasantries. When Lacordaire was once applauded in this manner, he stopped, and said with severity, "Gentlemen, this is indecorous; the word of God is not to be applauded but obeyed." The habit would soon cases if preachers would emulate this noble example.

Sad to say there is an increasing number of preachers, among which can be counted most of the "evangelists," who seem to think that they cannot hold a congregation if they do not treat them to an occasional joke in the course of a sermon. Such things indicate very little confidence in the power of the Gospel, or else very little knowledge of it.

"The Rich Man and Lazarus. Luke xvi. 19-31" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xvi. 19-31.)¹⁹1

The Pharisees had the idea that a man's pecuniary condition in this world was an index of the measure of God's love for him, and of his state in the next world; and this idea, through the teaching of the Pharisees, came to be quite prevalent among the Jews. Indeed it is not very difficult for such a notion to find acceptance, since all men are prone to believe that worldly prosperity is the chief end of human existence. It is easy for the well-to-do to imagine that it is well with them, as regards the world to come; while the poor are always inclined to think that their hard lot is due to the fact that God does not care for them. Men have ever been ready to look upon affliction as a judgment from God, instead of a means of conveying needed instruction and blessing. This was the burden of the three friends of Job. They continually charged him with having been a very bad man, saying that his pitiable condition was proof of it.

It was to counteract this false idea, that as Christ spoke the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. He had shown, by the parable of the unfaithful steward, how necessary it is to lay up treasure in heaven, closing with the words, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon," or riches. "And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things; and they derided Him. And He said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the eight of God." Luke xvi. 13-15. Then He proceeded to speak the well-known parable which illustrates this saying.

That it is a parable, and not a narrative of an actual occurrence, is evident from the text. The language is figurative. It is true that at the beginning we have what might take place anywhere, and, indeed a picture of a very common condition-riches and poverty in close connection and sharp contrast; but soon we read that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into "Abraham's bosom." Verse 22. What a capacious bosom Abraham must have, if all the good are carried to rest in it! "Oh," one says, "that is but a figurative expression for Paradise or heaven." Exactly, and that shows that the whole story is a parable, and that we are not being treated to an actual conversation between a man in heaven and another in hades.

Just as "Abraham's bosom" is figurative, so we have, by a figure of speech, dead men represented as talking, although "the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished, neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. ix. 6, 7. In like manner trees and plants are represented as talking, and going forth to choose a king." Judges ix. 7-15. To one who knows the Scriptures, this parable in Luke would no more convey the idea that the dead are conscious, and interested in the affairs of life, than would Jotham's parable make them believe that trees and vines and brambles walk about the country conversing and transacting business with one another. Read a few statements:-

"Man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth, and drieth up; so man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heaven a be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job xiv. 10-12. When Christ comes, and "the heavens pass away with a great noise" (2 Peter iii. 10), then those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall hear His voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." John v. 28, 29. Then will be fulfilled these words:-

"If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee; thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands." Job xiv. 14, 15.

While waiting for this change, the condition of the dead is one of corruption, as we read:-

"If I wait, the grave is mine house; I have male my bed in the darkness. I

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have said to corruption, Thou art my father; to the worm, Thou art my mother and my sister." Job xvii 13, 14.

And the change, at the call of the Lord, is thus described:-

"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Cor. xv. 51-53.

These texts are quoted, not for the purpose of explaining the parable, but to remove a false idea of it. It is not designed to teach anything whatever as to the state of the dead; but since some have regarded it as doing so, these texts are quoted to show the facts in the ease. With one's mind disabused of this misapprehension, the teaching of the parable is plain enough. It shows that God has chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him (James ii. 5), and that those who, regardless of the Lord's poor, heap up treasures to themselves, will find that those riches will eat their flesh like fire. James v. 1-5. "Men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself" (Ps. xlix. 18), but "that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God."

The parable contains not only a warning to those who "trust in uncertain riches," but comfort to the poor and afflicted. They have not the slightest reason to think that God has forgotten them. We read concerning His people: "In all their affliction, He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old." Isa. xliii. 9.

Life seems a long-drawn-out torture to the afflicted soul who does not see and know the Lord; but he should remember that life is more than a few years long. If we receive evil things, as well as good things, with thanksgiving, as from the hand of our Father, and know that we suffer only with Christ, eternity is ours, and "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." Rom. viii. 18. Think how insignificant the longest life of poverty and affliction will seem, when looked back upon after a hundred thousand million years of fulness of joy in the kingdom of God, which will be but the beginning of eternity. "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, which is but for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18.

Whatever your condition in life, whether you have wealth and ease, or poverty and affliction, never forget to take the long view, and you will be kept from becoming either highminded or downcast.

"The Editor's Private Corner. How We Know the Bible Is Inspired" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

"How can we know that the Bible Is the Word of God? Having accepted it as the Word, how may we know that we have the whole of it?"

This is a question that has vexed very many persons, and one with which the enemies of the Bible have delighted to perplex those whose faith was not well established in it; yet it really offers us difficulty whatever, and may be answered by a little child. Indeed, there is nothing else in the world so plain, and so easy to be known, as that the Bible is the inspired Word of the living God.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE CHILD

If you should ask a little child who, like Timothy of old, has been instructed in the Holy Scriptures, how he knows that the Bible is the true Word of God, he would not be able to give you a categorical answer. Childlike, he might say, "Because it is," and no better answer could be given. To one who, like Timothy, has from his childhood known the Holy Scriptures, it never occurs that there can be any question as to their authenticity. They are their own evidence. To one who knows them, they are self-evidently the Word of God, and it is as impossible to demonstrate the fact to another as it is to demonstrate an axiom in mathematics. There can be no demonstration, except the sight of the eyes, that the whole of a thing is greater than any of its parts; and even so there can be no demonstration of the fact that the Bible is the Word of God, except that of experience. Faith is simply the recognition of things that are. Truth is "that which is," and all we have to do is to get our eyes open to see it.

"FAITH COMETH BY HEARING"

But some one will say, with one writer, that this evidence leaves "no Bible for the impenitent," that is, that if experience gives the knowledge, than those who have not yielded themselves to the Lord have no means by which they may know that what they read is His Word. Do not think so for a moment. God has not left Himself without witness, and although it is he that wills to do the will of God, who knows of the teaching, it is also true that God works in every man to will as well as to do. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." The power of the Word is such that the very first sound of it that is heard carries with it the conviction of its truthfulness. "The entrance of Thy Word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple." Ps. cxix. 130.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

May I take advantage of our private talk to give you a little personal experience? It is not necessary to go into the details of how I, having been in my earliest childhood a reader of the Bible, came, through "the deceitfulness of sin," to doubt every, thing. "So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast" before the Lord. Having been led captive by Satan, I of course had no "mind of my own" (for nobody can have a mind of his own unless he has "the mind of the Lord"-"a man

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can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven"), and therefore I like a simpleton echoed the stale doubts that have been repeated by sceptics for centuries, and fancied that they were original with me. So I went so far in my stupid unbelief as to say that the inspiration of the Bible was the same as that of Shakespeare or any other writer who has had power to hold the attention of the people.

Well, how did I become convinced of the reality of Divine things, and that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, given by His Spirit? Easily enough, and it took not more than a minute. The perfect knowledge which has left no room for a shade of doubt from that day to this was conveyed to me in far less time than it has taken you to read these lines. The method was simple: God Himself spoke to me by His Spirit. He did not enter into any argument to prove to me that He was speaking, or that His Word is true; He simply told me that I was a sinner, and pointed out some of the sins to which I was specially addicted. He showed me myself and all the deformity of my character; and, although if any person had told me the same things five minutes before, I should have contradicted him, and should have entered into an argument to prove that he was altogether mistaken, and that I was no such man as he said, it never occurred to me to make the slightest objection to the Voice that then spoke to me. The very first utterance brought into my soul the conviction that this was the word of the Spirit, whose working I had denied, and that I was a guilty, lost sinner. I knew it as well as though I had always known it. It did not seem as though I had ever doubted it, or that there could ever have been any chance for doubt. It was not fancy, it was not what people ordinarily call belief; it was positive knowledge, so complete that nothing could have made it more sure, and that no amount of argument could have shaken. In order to tell the difference between light and darkness, one has only to have eyes, and to have them open; then there is no possible ground for argument; sight carries its own evidence. Well, my eyes were that moment opened, and I saw. A library of books, and years of reading, could never have done for me what the Lord Himself did for me in an instant of time.

ONE VOICE THROUGHOUT

But the Lord did not leave me with the simple knowledge that I was a sinner. That would have been to sink me into the depths of despair. The Spirit first convicts of sin, and then of righteousness. So He revealed to me the fact that God loved me, and that Christ died for me, for me, of all people in the world. I needed no assurance that this voice was from heaven; the positive, absolute knowledge came with it. From the time that God spoke to me until this minute I have known that the Bible is the Word of God, far it agrees from first to last with what God at that time spoke to my heart. I find the same voice everywhere in it. I know the voice, and have no fear of being led astray. I know that the Bible is the Word of God in just the same way, although a good deal more surely, that you know your father, and that a letter which he writes you is from him. Nobody ever introduced you to your father, or ever told you his name, yet you know him; and in just the same way, only as I have said, a great deal more certainly, may we know the voice of God speaking to us in the Bible. Even though we have wandered in the dark paths of sin, and have lost the simple faith of childhood, the Voice that never ceases speaking will produce the same conviction as though we had never doubted. It is possible for the oldest and most hardened sinner to become as a little child, and to have the simple faith of a child, which leaves no room for doubt or questioning.

GREATER WITNESS THAN THAT OF MAN

Volumes have been written by learned divines to prove the genuineness and authenticity of the Bible. They may have done good, but not one of them ever converted or ever can convert a single soul. Not one ever produced or ever can produce the certainty in anybody that the Bible is the Word of God. Christ, who is the Word, and from whom the written Word comes, said: "I receive not testimony from man." John v. 34. John the Baptist bore faithful witness to Him, but He said: "I have greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me." Verse 36. "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater." 1 John v. 9. And this witness is given to every soul on earth, and whoever accepts it has the witness in himself.

THE COUNCILS AND THE CANON

People will gravely, and with an air of great learning, tell you that it was the Council of Nice that fixed the Sacred Canon as accepted at present, and that we have our Bible only on the authority of the bishops there assembled. It is all the gravest sort of nonsense, and no one needs any surer proof of the falsity of the statement than the records of the early Councils, all of which are accessible to anyone who can read, which contain no evidence whatever that there was any doubt as to what constituted the Bible, or that there was any thought of deciding the matter. Many times since then people have been moved to make a public profession of their faith; many times they have even thought it necessary to pass resolutions declaring their belief; but that settled nothing, and originated nothing. The Scriptures, just as we have them now, were known and accepted by all believers as the Word of God long before the Council of Nice. More than this, unbelievers themselves bore witness to this fact, by attempting to overthrow them, and by bringing against them the very same objections that have been put forth by unbelievers ever since. Since the first century after Christ, when the last of the books of the Bible was written, no new objection to the Bible has ever been invented.

ALL THE SACRED WRITINGS NOT PRESERVED

To the question how we may know that we have the whole of the Word of God, the answer is just as simple. If you mean to ask if we have everything that has been written by inspiration of God, the answer is, No. We have the testimony of the Bible itself that many things which have been spoken by the prophets have not come down to us. John tells us that if everything that Jesus did were written, "I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." John xxi. 25. We have frequent reference to "the book of Jasher," and there is no doubt that Paul wrote three epistles to the Corinthians. But all this does not concern us. We have nothing to do with anything that has not been given to us. The fact that there have been books written which we have never seen does not affect those which we have. If God had thought it necessary that we should have those lost books, He would have preserved them for us. That He could have done so if He had wished

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to, is evident from the fact that He has preserved those which we have, although the rage of devils working through men, even through the professed church of God, has been directed against the Bible, endeavouring to stamp it out of existence. But it remains to this day, a monument to the power and Divinity of God. Moreover, "His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness," so that, although there may have been many books written, which we have not, those which we have are fully sufficient to make us "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus," "that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. iii. 15, 17. God's Word is one; all the various words that the Bible contains are but revelations of the one Word. Full salvation is in every one of them. The fulness of the life of the whole is in each part. Therefore "continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them."

THE EVIDENCE OF PROPHECY

There is another internal evidence of the truthfulness of the Bible-a test which the Bible itself gives us. It is the testimony of prophecy. We read these statements of the Lord: "The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord bath truly sent him." Jer. xxviff. 9. "And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him." Deut. xviii. 21, 22. The Bible is full of predictions of events to take place, and nearly all of them are of things that are now in the past, so that we may see how exactly every prediction has been fulfilled. This is exactly in line with what I have before said, that the Bible is its own witness.

EACH BELIEVER A WITNESS

"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself" (1 John v. 10), and thenceforth he himself becomes a witness to the truthfulness of the Word of God. It is upon evidence of this nature that the Lord rests His case. In the controversy as to who is God, He says:-

"Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf people that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, It is truth. Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord; and My Servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be any after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you; therefore ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God." Isa. xliii. 8-12.

This is the sum of the matter. Sceptics may attempt to unsettle the faith of believers, and may bring learned arguments, and may refer to many books which the believer has never even heard of; but it would be easier to batter down Gibraltar with a pea-shooter than for any of their talk to shake the faith of anyone who has the faith of a child. You may feel very ignorant in the face of all the learned references that infidels will flourish in your face; but such ignorance is truly bliss; and secure in the positiveness of the knowledge which the world calls foolishness you May joyfully sing:-

"I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing men of sin;
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him;
But 'I know whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I've committed
Unto Him against that day.'"

"For Little Ones. The Lord's Prayer" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

How many times you repeat the words of the prayer taught by our Saviour to His disciples. Most likely you say them every day, and perhaps twice a day, at morning and evening. But do you always think of their beautiful meaning, and really pray them in your heart, or are they only to you a "vain repetition"? Do you know that there is a great difference between "saying your prayers," and praying? Perhaps you know the little child's hymn beginning,

"I often say my prayers,
But do I ever pray,"

and this is a good thing for you, dear children, to think about.

A short time ago, I saw some long strips of paper fastened together, covered with prayers which the Hindu people mate to their false gods. These had been taken from a tree in India, where they had been placed by a native who believed that every time the wind stirred these paper leaves, it was the same as though he had repeated all the prayers written on them. There are also "prayer wheel" used by some heathen nations, who believe that every time the wheel is turned, it is counted as though they said a prayer.

You will think this very foolish, for of what use would such prayers be, even it the people who use them could repeat them the hundreds of times they fancy they we counted as doing? You think, perhaps, that you me in no danger of doing anything so foolish.

But when Jesus tells no about these poor heathen who "think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." He adds the warning, "Be not ye like unto them." He says that when we "say prayers," without really praying in our hearts to our Heavenly Father. our words are of no more value than these "vain repetitions" that the heathen make to their gods of wood and stone that can neither we nor hear.

"Your Heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him." Why then does He want us to come to Him in prayer and make our requests known to Him?

It is because He loves us; He wants to talk to us, and to have us talk to Him. He wants His children to learn to know Him. You know that the best, the quickest and easiest, and indeed the only way to get really acquainted with anyone, is to talk with him yourself. In other ways you may learn much about anyone, but to know the person himself you must talk with him.

As you come to talk with God in prayer, it will help you much, and keep you from saying over your prayers as a mere form, without even thinking of the meaning of the words, if you remember that God is really present with you, and listening for every word that you my.

His Word tells us that "the Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth." And again, "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you."

"If earthly parents hear
Their children when they cry;
If they with love sincere
Their children's wants supply;
Much more wilt Thou Thy love display,
And answer when Thy children pray."

So as you come and talk with God, as you thank Him and praise Him for all that He has done and is doing for you, and ask Him for all that you need, He will also talk to you. His Holy Spirit will speak to your heart, and bring His Word to your mind, giving you now thoughts of God, and filling you with love for Him.

When Jesus was on earth He spent much time in prayer. He loved to talk with His Father in Heaven. His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray as He did. So as a model prayer He gave them what we call "the Lord's prayer." He did not mean they were to see only these words that He gave them, but He said: "After this manner therefore pray ye." So we need to study this prayer that He has given us, that we may learn of Him how to pray, not with His words only, but in His Spirit.

For a few weeks we will study together the prayer that Jesus has taught us, and as we do this, let us pray the prayer of the disciples of Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray."

"The Gods of the Heathen" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

In our picture you see some of the dreadful looking idols that the heathen pray to. Not only do they look so ugly, but those who make them and worship them look upon them as hard and cruel and blood-thirsty. So they think they have to be begged and entreated to do any favour for disk worshippers, and sometimes even human sacrifice are made to satisfy them and keep them in good humour.

You will perhaps remember how the prophets of the heathen god Baal cried aloud, and out themselves with knives until the blood ran down, while they leaped about the altar that they bad made, and repeated over and over, "O Baal, hear us! O Baal, hear us!" "But there was no voice, neither any that answered."

But our God, though He is in the heavens, "is not far from every one of us," and every time we feel after Him we are sure to find Him near. He heard the lightest whisper, and even the unspoken thought He reads and understands.

And He is love; we do not have to beg and implore Him for a long while, to give us the things that we need, for it is His great delight to do us good. He says: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." More than this, He is so anxious to do us good that He says, "Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

So if we think that we must use many "vain repetitions" as the heathen do, or that we shall be heard for our "much speaking," or that we must do something ourselves to win the favour of God, we show that we do not really know Him; but in our hearts we think that He is like the false gods that the heathen pray to, which can neither see nor hear. Then we us not worshipping the true God at all, but really one that we hove formed in our own imagination. We have the image in our minds, instead of before our eyes, made out of wood or stone.

Do not your father and mother gladly do for you all shat is in their power to make you happy? Do they not delight to give you pleasure? Yet Jesus says, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask Him."

In giving us His only begotten Son, God has given us His assurance that everything that we need we can have for the asking; for "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

-The French man-of-war Caravane has been sunk in the Inland Sea of Japan, in a collision.

-The Iron and Steel Company of Florence, Alabama, U.S.A., are shipping a thousand tons of pig-iron to Manchester.

-John Sherman, former Senator and Secretary of State in the United States, died on the 22nd ult. He was a brother of the famous General Sherman.

-New York papers are calling attention to the fact that the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour is rapidly falling to pieces, rust, filth, and decay having made the interior unsafe for visitors.

-The working profit of the tramways under the control of the London County Council, for the year that ended March 31, was nearly ?100,000. The number of passengers carried during the year was 117,980,713.

-One of three steamers now being built in Belfast for the White Star Line will have a tonnage of no less than 20,000 tons, or 3,000 more than the Oceanic. She is estimated to cost ?1,500,000, and will ply between Liverpool and London.

-A dispatch from Bombay says: The high price of English coal has practically killed the demand for it east of Suez. During the first six months of last year 237,000 tons were imported here, but during the corresponding period of this year only 40,000 tons were received from England.

-An estimate of the losses of the Boers up to April 16 has been prepared by some of the men who served with the Boer ambulance. The estimate places the Boer losses up to that date at 2,448 killed and 6,622 wounded. This total does not include Boer losses after the British advance from Kronstad.

-After an absence of seventeen months, the expedition sent to Spitsbergen to measure an arc of Meridian has returned to Kronstadt on the ships Bakan and Ledokal. All the members of the expedition are in good health.

-A trading steamer which has arrived at Auckland reports having spoken H.M.S. Mildura, having on board Lord Ranfurly, Governor of New Zealand, who, it ascertained, had already annexed the islands of Mansia, or Mangal, Raratonga, and Aitutaki, of the Cook group, and was then proceeding to Penrhyn to hoist the British flag there also.

-The cashier of the First National Bank, one of the largest banking institutions in New York, has disappeared, after defalcations amounting to $700,000 (about ?140,000). Although the bank's affairs have been subjected to frequent independent examinations, no irregularities had been discovered, the defaulting cashier's operations having been skillfully concealed by manipulation of his balance book.

-It is announced that Messrs. Seebohm and Dieckstahl, of Sheffield, important manufacturers of crucible steel, have secured an option on a site for works near Wheeling, W. Virginia, U.S.A., and intend to erect a modern plant costing upwards of ?600,000, where they will employ 3,500 men. The object is to get into the American market; and the high price of coal in England is also an incentive to the change.

-The Pope, like other unregenerate mortals, is very sensitive over any failure to give him the honour which he thinks is due him. He is now displeased because the English "pilgrims" did not shout "Viva il Papa Re," as those of other nationalities do, as an acknowledgement of his claim to be a temporal sovereign. He was also affronted because some of them visited the Pantheon to do honour to the memory of the late King Humbert.

-Heretofore the messages sent by wireless telegraphy could be picked up and read by anybody within the radius of action of the sending apparatus, which was a decided disadvantage, and one that scientists said could not be overcome; but Marconi has succeeded in finding a way of sending several messages at the same time, none of which can be picked up except by the receiver to which it is specially directed. This discovery will make the system practicable for all purposes.

-The Daily Mail's Stockholm correspondent says that "the extraordinary scarcity of money in Scandinavia, which has been growing more and more acute for months past, is producing serious results in commercial and social circles," and that unless there is speedy improvement a crisis is imminent. The cause of the trouble is the starting of enterprises without sufficient capital, the rush of peasants to the towns, being attracted by reports of business activity, and the great increase in rents.

-A most important agreement has been signed between Great Britain and Germany in favour of keeping the "Open Door" as wide open as possible to the trade of all nations and all the provinces of the Chinese Empire, Manchuria included. Spheres of influence vanish, and all ports, even if held by foreign nations, are to be regarded as free. Rights under known existing treaties will alone be recognised. Both Powers will direct their policy towards maintaining the integrity of China, and in the case of another Power attempting to secure territorial advantages they reserve to themselves the right to come to a preliminary understanding as to the eventual steps to be taken for the protection of their own interests. Other Powers are invited to accept the principles of the agreement, and it is thought that the most of them will comply.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

He who is afraid to do right is brother to him who is not afraid to do wrong, and will eventually find himself unable to choose to do that which is good.

Habits are very easily formed, but not w easily broken off; therefore every one should jealously guard himself against every wrong word or practice, for each one tends to produce or perpetuate some evil habit.

Have you never noticed that if you pronounce a word incorrectly the first time you see it, you ever afterwards have a tendency to mispronounce it? This is usually the case, and therefore wise teachers of language seek to impress upon their pupils to get the correct pronunciation of each word at the very first time, lest they always stumble over it. This principle is a good one to apply in everything; let each word and act be just what you would like the whole to be.

Everybody desires health, but not all desire it from the same motive. Most people regard health as the end, whereas it should be only a means whereby we may glorify God. To desire to recover from any illness, merely in order that we may be relieved from suffering and inconvenience and expense, is base, ignoble, and selfish. No permanent healing may be expected under such circumstances, for the healed person does not consciously and willingIy connect with the only source of life and health.

Most people are willing to suffer a good deal of temporary deprivation, in order to regain lost health, to a degree at least. When convinced that wrong habits of living have brought them into their present diseased state, they will consent to give up the bad habit for a time, until health seems to be restored. But usually it is only for a time. How often one hears, "How long will it be before I can eat everything I wish to, just as used to?" This proves that the person wishes a renewal of strength only in order to be able again to indulge in the gratification of appetite, which wrecked him before. Such ones are described in James iv. 3: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." When one desires only the glory of God, he may ask what he will, and it will be given him.

While it is true that our words express what we are, it is equally true that every word we utter makes its impress on ourselves, as well as on others, so that our characters are to a great extent moulded by our language. This is in harmony with the Hebrew idea that a word is a thing. A cheerful person will talk courage, and his courageous words will tend to strengthen his own heart as well as those of others. Talk unbelief, and you will find that your doubts rapidly increase. Give jesting utterance to that which you do not really believe, and a habit of insincerity will unconsciously be formed. "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;" in that case the law of God will be in his heart, and none of his steps will slide.

It is a dangerous thing to trifle with conviction of duty. David said, "I made haste, and delayed not, to keep Thy commandments," and this is the only way of safety. The longer one delays and hesitates to perform a plain duty, or to accept a truth, the more difficult will it become, and the more does the conviction tend to fade away. To hesitate to obey the truth, is to linger in the embrace of falsehood; and such is the deceitfulness of sin, that one can in time lose all perception of the truth, so that the thing which he once knew to be right, he now believes to be error. If you would always know the truth always act upon all that you see, as soon as you see it. "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching."

"Drunkenness Among Women" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

Drunkenness Among Women .-The annual report of the London City Mission presents a most discouraging picture of London's young womanhood, stating that the number of charges against women, for drunkenness, is increasing enormously at the police-courts. One worker writes:-

"Monday in my district is called 'Saint Monday,' because the laundry-women have a holiday and spend the day in public-houses, and the scenes at night in the streets are revolting."

Another says:-

"I have seen young women between fourteen and twenty years of age dead drunk, some lying in the gutter, while others are led home by their companions, brawling out a popular public-house or music-hall ditty. Thus girls are not of the coster type, as might be expected, but girls of respectable appearance."

"A Holy Man" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

A Holy Man .-A holy-man is a whole man, one who is whole physically as well as mentally and spiritually. And, conversely, a perfectly whole man is a holy man; for no man is whole if he lacks anything that is necessary to the making of a perfect man, according to "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." There have been many feeble saints, it is true; but sickliness and sallowness are no signs of saintliness. Therefore the Apostle prays: "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

"A Whole Man" The Present Truth 16, 44.

E. J. Waggoner

A Whole Man .-A perfect is an indescribably higher being than a perfect animal of any other species. Man alone was made in the image of God, to be an associate with the Godhead, in the government of the rest of creation. This should be borne in mind by every one who seeks healing from any infirmity. A horse that has no blemish in any limb or organ is a perfect horse; but a man may be as sound physically as the horse, and still he far from a perfect man. If all his members are not under Divine control,-if they we used in any way that does not honour God, that is, that would be a disgrace for God Himself to do,-he is most imperfect. If a man listens only to vile talk and foolish gossip, it is useless for him to have a good hearing. So far as any good that his ears do him, he might as well be deaf. If a man's feet are swift to do evil, he might better be lame, or even have no feet. It a man talks only evil, he is in a worse condition than if he could not talk. So no one should ask the Lord for restoration of any of these faculties, unless he expects to devote them wholly to the Lord's service and control. Otherwise, even though physically healed, he is still maimed and diseased. He is not "every whit whole." "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

November 8, 1900

"The Benefit of Thankfulness. The Ten Lepers Cleansed. Luke xvii. 11-19" The Present Truth 16, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

THE TEN LEPERS CLEANSED (Luke xvii. 11-19.)²⁰1

"Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem with His disciples, and was passing through Samaria and Galilee; and as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten man that were lepers, which stood afar off; and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole."

THE OUTCASTS BROUGHT NEAR

Note that the lepers stood "afar off." This was in accordance with the law, recorded in Lev. xiii. 45, 46: "The leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be." Remembering that sin is uncleanness, and that the plague of leprosy is a representation of the plague of sin, let us see what we learn from this incident.

In the first place, we remember that there is a Fountain opened "for sin and for uncleanness." Zech. xiii. 1. The blood of Jesus Christ "cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John i. 7. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Verse 9. That cry, "Unclean!"

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which served to keep the leper separate from the rest of the people, is that which moves the heart of the compassionate Saviour, and brings Him near. In the case recorded in Luke v. 12-19 we read that "Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him." When others draw away for fear of defilement, Jesus comes close.

Moreover, our sin has separated us from God (Isa. lix. 2), so that in our sinful condition, we were "without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." But the promise is "to all that are afar off" (Acts ii. 39) and "now in Christ Jesus we who sometimes ware far off we made nigh by the blood of Christ." Eph. ii. 13. We are "saved by His life." Rom. v. 10. The life power of Christ brought those lepers near, not only to God, but to the commonwealth of Israel. They were no longer outcasts, but, being cleansed, they were restored once more to their rightful place among men. The cleansing of the lepers is recorded as a pledge and illustration to us of the fact that no matter how defiled we may be by sin, if we but acknowledge our lost condition, and call for help, God takes us to His bosom, and places us among the rulers of His people. "He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel." Isa. xi. 12.

JESUS IS MASTER

The lepers recognised the working of Jesus. They addressed Him by a double name, "Jesus, Master." The name "Jesus" means Saviour. The angel said to Joseph, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save no people from their sins." Matt. i. 32. He is able to save, because He has the mastery over sin. Sin never had any dominion over Him. He was "made in the likeness of sinful flesh," yet not the slightest trace of sin could ever be found upon Him; He had absolute dominion over it. And since He had such absolute mastery over sin that He could drive the tempter away, He had also dominion over disease and death, which is the product of sin. The cleansing from sin and the healing of disease are one and the same act. Peter said, "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. . . . Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts iv. 10-12. We call Him Master and Lord, not simply because He has the right to rule over us, but to show that He has the power to deliver us from all evil. It is this that gives Him the right to rule in us. He saves by the power of His life; and since "He ever liveth," "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him."

A TEST OF FAITH

The command of Jesus to the lepers was a test of their faith in Him. He merely said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." They well knew what that meant. Read Lev. xiii, and xiv. The priests were the physicians of Israel, and with them rested the decision as to who had the leprosy, and when a leper was cleansed. Now these men had already been before the priests, and had been pronounced unclean. They well knew that they were lepers. It was therefore wholly unnecessary for them to go to the priests, to know if they if they had the disease; and the words of Christ could mean nothing else than that they were to present themselves to the priests, in order to get from them the official declaration that they were clean, and so fit to mingle in society again. But they were not clean and they might very naturally have raised objections to going on what would seem an unnecessary errand. They might have argued that the priests would drive them away; but they did as they were told, and in going they found cleansing. There is this to be set down to the credit of all the ten lepers, that they all believed the word of Jesus, and started to get the official declaration of healing while they were yet in their leprous condition.

THE TESTIMONY OF FAITH

Why did Jesus send them to the priests? Not alone because that was the just requirement of the law, which He recognised, but for the reason stated in Luke v. 14, "Go, and show thyself to the priests, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them." The priests would be obliged to certify that these lepers were now clean; moreover, they would naturally enquire as to the manner of their healing, and thus they would receive testimony to the power of Jesus to heal disease that, in its worst form, was held to be incurable. This would leave them without excuse.

WHOM GOD CHOOSES AS HIS MINISTERS

But this command to the lepers to go and bear this testimony has more for us. It shows us that "base things of the world and things which are despised, hath God chosen," to bear witness to Him. "Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhoreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose thee. Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, and to cause to inhabit the desolate heritages." Isa. xlix. 7, 8. God claims every man on earth as His lawful witness. "He giveth to all life and breath and all things," even pardon for sin, since Christ died for all and by Himself made reconciliation for sin. Therefore the Lord says to the man who is even now defiled by sin, "Go, tell what great things God hath done for thee." If every one would receive this message, and would start with it, they would find cleansing in the going. The end of the Gospel is not simply our salvation, but to take us from the mire of the pit and send us as saviours of others. Whosoever heareth is commissioned to pass the message on.

THANKSGIVING WINS SALVATION

All the lepers had faith to be healed, but not all were thankful for the healing. One turned back as soon as he felt the healing power in his body, and gave thanks to God. He could not wait to go first to the priest, but turned back at once. He obeyed the command of Jesus, to go to the priest, but he could not delay thanksgiving. And Jesus was not displeased; far from it. It was what He had reason to expect from all the others. Because of his giving thanks, this one received an assurance that was not given to them. To him the Lord said, "Thy faith hath made thee whole."

Some one may ask, "Were not the rest healed as well as he?" They certainly were cleansed, for the Scripture says so; but there was a difference between this one and the other nine. They showed their faith, it is true, by starting off at once to show themselves to the priest; but he showed his faith in a still greater measure, by returning to give thanks; for thanksgiving is the only sign of faith. He who does not give thanks is in the way to

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lose whatever he already has. When men knew God, they lost their knowledge of Him, and thereby the knowledge of everything that is true, simply because "they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful." Rom. i. 21 The Lord says: "Whoso praise glorifieth Me, and prepareth a way that I may show him the salvation of God." Ps. l. 23, R.V.

From those texts it seems quite likely that the other lepers did not retain the blessing of cleansing that they received. One thing is certain, and that is, that unless they developed a greater degree of appreciation of the gifts of God than they had at that time, they did not know His full salvation, and therefore at the last it would be all the same with them if they had never been cleansed. For whoever loses his life at the last, might as well never have had it. There are thousands upon thousands in the world, who receive "life and breath and all things" at the hand of God, yet very few of them give glory for these gifts. Very few are thankful. Many times are they healed of disease, yet no word of thankfulness ever comes from their lips. The fact that they do not give thanks shows that they either are not conscious of having received anything special, or that they do not recognise God as the Giver. In either case it shows that they do not live in conscious connection with Him. They do not allow Him to be the ruling power in their lives, and so do not live righteously. They do not know the salvation of God; they are ignorant of the fullness of redemption that there is in Christ Jesus. So at the last day they will lose their souls; their lives will go out, and they will be the same as though they had never been. Of what benefit, then, was all their healing to them? For all the real benefit that they had had from it they might as well have died before in some illness, because they did not use the life that was continued to them to any purpose. But a constant recognition of God as the Giver of all good things, keeps us in a state of continual appropriation; therefore it is only by thanksgiving that we can keep the blessings of life and all things that God bestows. Therefore "in nothing be anxious but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understand, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus."

"The Editor's Private Corner. Christ's Death and Satan's Destruction" The Present Truth 16, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

In Heb. ii. 14, 15 we read that, since the children are partakers of flesh and blood, Christ "also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them that through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Why was it necessary for Christ to die, in order that Satan might be destroyed? I can understand, I think, why Christ must die to save men, but cannot see why He could not destroy Satan without Himself dying.

Although there are many things in the work of salvation, for which we may not be able to give a reason, since they are beyond human comprehension, and all things will be better understood as the years of eternity roll by, this is a legitimate question, and one that may with reverence be answered; for the understanding of it is really necessary to our intelligently laying hold of the hope set before us. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant." The question on this text brings us to the study of the very heart of the Gospel,-into personal touch with God in His secret place.

SATAN'S DESTRUCTION OUR DELIVERANCE

Read the verse again carefully, and you will see that the deliverance of the children from bondage is coupled with the destruction of the devil. It is by the destruction of the devil that they are delivered. Christ died that He might destroy him that had the power of death, and deliver them who through fear of death were subject to bondage. To understand the one is to understand the other. The deliverance from bondage is a present reality to every one who believes Christ, and so accepts Him; and to such the devil is already practically destroyed, since he has no power at all over those who are in Christ. Christ has "spoiled principalities and powers." "In the faith" we may steadfastly resist the devil, so that he will flee from us. To the true disciple of Jesus, "power and authority" are given "over all devils." And now let us have a short lesson in the science of salvation.

GOD'S MERCY IS HIS JUSTICE

God must be just, at the same time that He is "the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Rom. iii. 23. He is just in all His sayings, and the Judgment will show this. He will be clear when He judges. Ps. li . 4; Rom. iii. 4. Therefore the Judgment must reveal the fact that He has never done anything arbitrary-nothing for which a reason cannot be given which will be understood by every created being, and will be perfectly satisfactory. If a single soul should be punished without the justice of his punishment being seen and acknowledged by him and by every other soul in the universe, there would be an opening for another rebellion similar to that of Satan. Every secret thing would not have been made known, and there would be room for the doubt to spring up in some mind, which the serpent insinuated into the mind of Eve, namely, that God does things merely to please Himself, without any regard to His creatures. But this state of things can never be after the Judgment. The revelation of God in the Gospel will be so complete that there will be no room in any heart for doubt.

SALVATION BY THE UNIVERSAL LIFE

It is by the life of Christ that we are saved. Rom. v. 10. He is the Word that was in the beginning with God, and was God, and that was and is manifested in the flesh. The Word of life was manifested, in order that we might have fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John i. 1-3. The Gospel is simply the revelation of the life of God in Christ, and the formation of the life in us. Compare Luke ii. 10, 11 and Col. i. 27.

Remember now that all things are from God in Christ. He is the life. Without Him there is not one thing in the universe. All things, both animate and inanimate,

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the mountains as well as men, we His offspring, the product of His life. In His hand "is the soul of every living thing, and breath of all mankind." God alone has life in Himself, and it is His life that is manifested in every living creature. Nay, more, it is the power of His life that holds the particles of inanimate matter together, so that all the so-called "forces of nature" are but the varied manifestations of the working of the one life. The highest angel in heaven and the tiniest creature that finds its whole world in a drop of water, are alike dependent on that life for existence. Nothing has any life in itself, nor any life of its own; every act that is performed, every thought, every breath, every heart-beat, is by the power of the life of Him in whom "we live, and move, and have our being."

THE BURDEN OF SIN ON GOD'S LIFE

This is but a simple fact that must be acknowledged by every one who recognises God as "the Former of all things," and the upholder of the universe; yet it furnishes the solution to every question that can arise. Let us apply it to the case in hand. The deliverance of the children from bondage means the destruction of sin, and that means the destruction of the devil, "for the devil sinneth from the beginning." He is the originator of sin, the father of lies. Now we can never know how it was that sin was first conceived in his mind, and we do not wish to (for it was not God's design that we should ever know evil, and the Gospel is for the purpose of getting us as far away from it as possible, and making us lose all knowledge of it); but one thing we do know, and that is that the sin that was first committed, and all that has ever been committed since, has been done with God's life. But for the breath that God gives to us every moment, no one could have power to deny Him, or to take His name in vain. His life in us actually bears the sins that we commit. So it is a most literal truth that Christ "beareth the sins of the world." God says: "Thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities." Isa. xliii. 24. Therefore He adds: "I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." Sin is most hateful and disgusting to God, yet for our sakes He patiently endures it upon His life. "The longsuffering of our God is salvation." But He is most anxious to get the burden of it off from His life, and in doing that He clears it from every one who consents to be identified with Him.

GOD TAKES THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR SIN

You are doubtless familiar with the excuse that people make for their evil habits, when they try to throw all the responsibility for their sins upon the Lord, saying, "I did not make myself; I had no choice in being born as I was; if the Lord made me thus, how can I help it?" Now God has anticipated all that. It is not true that God has made us as we are, for His handiwork has been marred, and His image defaced; but since it is with His life that all the sin has been committed, He takes all the responsibility on Himself. No; that is not quite correct; He had all responsibility on Himself from the beginning, since He made man free to sin; we should more properly say that God did not throw off the responsibility for man's actions. He remained with him, going with him down to the depths, and charging no sin against him. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." 2 Cor. v. 19. The same principle applies to all sinners, as to Satan: If God had arbitrarily cut them off, it would not have been a revelation of His love and justice. He has a way of showing His abhorrence of sin, that is altogether different from man's way. Men show their abhorrence of an evil deed, by crying out against the transgressor, and cutting him off; God shows His abhorrence of sin by cutting Himself off. If He had at the beginning destroyed the devil, that would have indicated His abhorrence of the individual, but some other creature would have taken up the devil's work of sowing discord, and would have said, just as men even now do, "God gave the devil life, and His life was all that the devil had with which to act, and therefore He was responsible for his actions; and now He has cut him off for that which he could not help." But God is love; He is justice; and He cannot deny Himself; therefore it was not possible that He could destroy the devil, and still maintain His character before the eyes of the universe, without giving up His own life. In giving up His own life in Christ, He showed how greatly He hated the sin that had been brought upon it. Thereby He showed that He is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."

SIN PUT AWAY BY THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST

Christ has appeared "to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Heb. ix. 26. By Himself He has made purification of sins. Heb. i. 3. "He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John ii. 2. The sins of the world were on Him, and He could not have put them off without dying, except by denying Himself, which He cannot do. But now, having given up His own life, thus showing not only His hatred of sin, but also the immutability of the law of righteousness, He has a new life, that has not been tainted by sin, to give to every one who will accept it. His grace is as free as the air we breathe, and therefore there is no excuse for anyone who does not accept the new life in Christ. Whoever clings to the old life of sin must necessarily go to destruction, suffering the same penalty for sin that God Himself suffered.

FORGIVENESS FREE FOR ALL

You say that this implies that forgiveness was offered even to Satan. Of course it does; who that knows the character of God can doubt it? It is true that the proclamation of the Gospel has no reference whatever to him, and that he is not on probation, for the reason that the offer to him was made and rejected, and his place in heaven was forfeited, before man was created. The case of all the angels was decided, and "the angels that kept not their first estate," had departed from the light of heaven into "everlasting chains of darkness," before man saw the light. In being made flesh Christ "taketh not hold of angels." But the tender mercies of God are over all His works, and we may be sure that He did not allow "the anointed cherub that covereth" to leave His presence for ever, without making every effort possible to save him. That was to offer Himself, which was the most perfect and the only way that He could disprove Satan's charge that He was mindful only of Himself and regardless of others. It was not, however, merely to disprove Satan's charge, that God made the sacrifice. He did it because He is love, and love cannot be satisfied without the fullest and most perfect manifestation of itself. He did it not merely that certain lost ones might be saved, but that the millions of unfallen beings might have a sure ground of trust. Righteousness, which means forgiveness (See 1 John i. 9), is the foundation of His throne.

GOD HAS NO COMPLICITY WITH SIN

Now the sacrifice has been made, and God has shown that He has no complicity with sin and is not in the remotest sense the accomplice of sinners, although all sin has been committed with His life. Now, having taken the responsibility of all sin upon Himself, and having given His life as an atonement for it, He can justly destroy the one who originated it, and who has obstinately continued in it. Whoever continues in sin voluntarily chooses the death which the sinful life justly merits, and which God Himself suffered. Through death Christ has won the right and power to destroy "him that had the power of death," and at the same time to deliver all who are bound.

A FULL AND COMPLETE SALVATION

And right here comes in that which lifts this study out of the range of formal theological disquisition, and makes it most intensely personal and practical. Here is our encouragement: He who has won the power to destroy him that had the power of death, has won the power to abolish death itself. The offering was nothing less than the life that upheld the universe, so that the atonement having once been made, whosoever will may come. For His own sake God made the sacrifice, and whoever will consent to link his case with God's, to be identified with Him, may share all His gain. Sin must be destroyed; but "he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." The offering once for all embraces all. God can save the whole world as easily as one soul. Will you accept as yours by right, deliverance from Satan's power, and take it now?

"For the Children. The Lord's Prayer" The Present Truth 16, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

"OUR FATHER"

These are the first words of the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. Last week we told you of the heathen who think that they must cry aloud many times before they can get the attention of the gods that they worship. The Bible tells us that these idols have eyes, but they see not, and have ears, but they hear not. So no matter how many times nor how loudly they may be called upon, they pay no attention, for they can see and hear nothing.

But Jesus tells us: "Then when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which seeth in secret." When Jesus Himself prayed, "He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father."

This sweet name by which He has taught us to call the great God who made all things in heaven and earth, is the assurance that He will do for us all that we ask. For even a true earthly father will always supply all the needs of his children as far as he is able.

We are the children of God, because He made us. We we born of Him,-brought from His own being. You will remember that we are told of the first man that "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." But where did this dust of the ground come from? This question, is answered for us in the thirty-third psalm, where we learn that "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." This world, like all the other worlds-the planets and stars that we see shining in the heavens at night, is one of "the host of heaven," and-"all the host of them" were made by the breath of the Lord's mouth. That which gave to each thing as own shape and character was the Word that God spoke when He breathed it into existence.

Perhaps this is a new thought to you, and though you of course believe it, because the Word of God tells us that it is so, you wonder how it is that the solid, material things that you see around you, earth, the rocks, the trees, the animals, and even you yourself, could be formed from the breath of the Lord.

You may understand this better when you remember that everything can be changed by heat into the invisible gases that see in the air. For instance, if you put a stick of wood into the fire, the heat will soon turn it back again into what it was made from,-gas and sunbeams. You see in the bright blaze the sunlight that was stored up by the plant when it was growing; the gas that it gathered from the air escapes up the chimney, and what have you left? Just a little ash, that in a hotter furnace would be all burned up, and changed into gas that could not be seen any more than the air that you breathe. If the whole world should be burned in this intense heat, it would pass away, leaving nothing visible behind.

From this you may be able to understand better that it is the breath of the Lord, as His Word tells us, that contains all the elements from which this and all the worlds were formed. And therefore when "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground," He was taking some of His own substance, and shaping it into His own image. Then so breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and so His first human child was made,-born of God, for "Adam was the Son of God."

But all that God did for this first man, He has done for every child of Adam. Every one has been formed by God from the dust of the ground, and into every one He has breathed the breath of life.

Notice what David said of himself, and this is just as true of you and me: "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in Thy book were all my members written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."

This tells you that long before you came into this world, your Heavenly Father thought of you, and was preparing your substance in the dust of the ground. And at last, when all was ready and the

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fulness of time was come, He formed that substance into a living being bearing His own image, and you appeared in this world,-a child of God into whose nostrils He breathed, His own breath of life.

Think then, how greatly He must love you. He says: "Can a mother forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."

But O, He has so many "prodigal sons," those who have wandered away from the Father's house, and who will not own Him as their Father, and obey Him. And there are many, many more who know nothing of Him. No, one has ever told them the wonderful stay of their own creation, and their Father God.

But Jesus, the only begotten Son, has come into the world to bring us all back to the Father's house, to "bring many sons unto glory." And "as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name."

He came to show us the great love of our Father for His children, to make us know God, that our hearts might be won to love Him and that we might obey and serve Him for ever. Though our hearts are so sinful that we cannot of ourselves do the things that an pleasing to God, His Word says that "because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Father!"

When the Spirit of Jesus the Son comes into our hearts, we know that God is our Father, for "the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." The Spirit of the Son is the spirit of obedience; it makes us love to please our Heavenly Father, and to do His will, for Jesus said: "I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law to within My heart." So the Spirit of Jesus writes the law of God the Father in our hearts; it sheds abroad the love of God in us, and "this is the love of God that we keep His commandments."

Does it not then mean a great deal for us to come to God with the words "Our Father" upon our lips? Let us not take this sweet and holy name in vain, but ask Him to fill us with the loving, obedient spirit of His Son, that like Jesus we may "do always the things that please Him."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Viceroy of India telegraphs that the number of persons in receipt of relief has fallen to 1,422,000.

-Prince Christian Victor, grandson of the Queen, who was serving with the troops in South Africa, died October 29.

-Professor Max M¸ller, the eminent philologist, who has been professor at Oxford for half a century, died on the 28th ult. at the age of seventy-seven.

-The King of the Belgians has just signed a decree by which every Belgian resident in Belgium at least sixty-five years of age, workman or ex-workman, in necessitous circumstances, may obtain from January 1, 1901, an annual pension of ?2 12s.

-M. Frederic Godet, the well-known theologian and author, who was for some time tutor to the Emperor Frederick, died October 29 at his home in Neuchatel, Switzerland.

-According to native reports the Boers have destroyed several native kraals between Modder Poort and Clocolan, as punishment for giving the British information regarding Boer movements.

-The Norwegian Government has just decided to impose a special tax on all those who did not serve in the forces, the amount of the impost to be determined by the next session of the Storthing.

-An explosion on the premises of Tarrant & Company, chemists, of New York, October 29, resulted in the destruction of several surrounding buildings, and the loss of more than a dozen lives.

-A project is on foot on the Continent to found a daily and international newspaper devoted to the Roman Catholic cause. The paper will emanate from Brussels, where already offices have been taken for that purpose.

-On Monday, October 29, several severe shocks of earthquake visited Caracas and the surrounding districts in Venezuela, doing immense damage. The town of Guarenas is reported entirely destroyed, and twenty-five persons killed.

-Roumania would appear to be the most illiterate country in Europe. The last census shows that in a population of nearly 6,000,000 nearly 4,000,000 can neither read nor write, and that only a little over 1,000,000 have any education at all.

-In a recent attempt by General Paget to enter into negotiations with General Botha for surrender, the Boer commander admitted that all is over, but said that it was impossible to treat on the subject of surrender as long as any of his followers wished to continue the struggle. Ex-President Steyn is also said to be urging the scattered Boers to continued resistance.

-The Free Church of Scotland and the United Presbyterian Church have just formally united, and the event was celebrated with great ceremony. The union is considered the greatest ecclesiastical event since the Disruption in 1843. The new United Free Church of Scotland will be a body composed of over 1,700 ministers and about half-a-million communicants, and having an income of more than a million pounds sterling.

-The harbour works of Vladivostok, Russia, especially the repair of the Tsarevitch Nicholas Dock and the construction of two new dry docks, having a length of about 700ft., are being actively pushed forward. It has also been decided to build two ship-building yards for the construction of ships up to 3,000 tons. The Minister of Marine has further resolved to increase the number of docks in the Baltic ports, beginning with Revel.

-One of the largest crowds ever seen in London, far outnumbering that on Jubilee Day, gathered on Monday the 29th ult., to witness the homecoming of the City Imperial Volunteers. It is said that over 2,000 persons are known to have been injured by the crush, and the St. John's Ambulance Association treated 1,150 cases, many of which had to be taken to hospitals. Several persons were killed. The Volunteers found the march through the dense mass more difficult in many places than any of their marches in Africa.

-Last year Prince von Arenberg, a member of one of the most notable German families, and Lieutenant in the German West African military force was cashiered and sentenced to three years' imprisonment for the brutal murderer of a native servant. The Kaiser refused to sanction the sentence, on the ground that it was wholly insufficient if the prisoner had committed the crime, and ordered a new trial. As result, the first verdict has been confirmed, and the punishment is eighteen years' imprisonment in a fortress.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Whosoever is satisfied with doing less than his best a part of the time will eventually be content to do his worst all the time.

The Scientific American says that the beer which is consurned throughout the world in a single year would make a lake three and three-quarters miles long, one mile wide, and six feet deep.

A good man thinks that others are better than himself; a wicked man thinks that others are worse than he is. A sure sign that a sinner is on the road to righteousness is that he begins to think himself the worst person in the world.

There is only one thing that stands in the way of our attaining knowledge, or which can cause us to lose it when once we have it, and that is the love of sin. "If any man willeth to do His will he shall know of the teaching." But sin is deceitful and a man who knows the truth perfectly may by looking upon any sinful practice with longing eyes, and then pursuing it lose all his knowledge. True wisdom and knowledge cannot be separated from godly living.

"'Read, and You'll Know'" The Present Truth 16, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

"Read, and You'll Know." -This was the statement continually repeated by an old teacher to the young people whenever they expressed a wish for knowledge on any subject. It is pre-eminently true in the realm of religion; for "by faith we understand," and "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Only we should go a step farther back than the old man did, and say, "Believe, and you'll know." "All things are possible to him that believeth." There is no height or depth of knowledge that is not possible to the one who reads the Bible with a heart open to receive aII that it has to impart, and for the purpose of glorifying God in his body and spirit. To such God makes Himself known, and in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

And this again demonstrates the fact that the best things are the easiest to obtain. The most valuable possessions cannot be purchased, but are to be had for nothing. The Bible contains the key of all knowledge, the sum of all wisdom, and it is the easiest book in the world to understand. The reason why so few understand it is that they go at it in a hard way. They think that they must work the knowledge out of their own brain, whereas in order to understand the Bible one has only to believe. He has not to build up a system, but simply to believe each individual statement and allow the Holy Spirit to bring the various parts together in his mind, for whatever purpose they are needed. Our study is to know what God has said; His part is to make it clear to us.

"Satisfied with Good Things" The Present Truth 16, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

One of the things for which the psalmist calls upon his soul to bless the Lord is that "He satisfieth thy mouth with good things." Ps. cii. 5. This is no small thing, and it means far more than people are accustomed to think. It is not merely that He "giveth us richly all things to enjoy," withholding no good thing from us, although that would be enough for everlasting thanksgiving. But the greatest blessing of all is to be satisfied with good things. It is one thing to receive good things, and quite another thing to be satisfied with them. Good things we simple and there are few people who have simple tastes. Our so-called "natural tastes" are, because of our birth and training, wholly unnatural. There is scarcely one of the good things that God has given us to eat, that is not almost universally smothered with condiments of one sort or another before it is eaten. All sorts of things are devised to stimulate the appetite, which refuses, to be satisfied, and which gets more and more dissatisfied, because nothing can give satisfaction except that which is good; and whatever God has made good is good in itself, without any addition whatever.

"But," some one says, "we must enjoy what we eat, or else it will not digest well, and will not do us any good." That is true, but it by no means signifies that we should eat everything that our untamed, capricious appetites crave. It simply shows the necessity of learning to like that which is good. Appetite must wait upon reason, and be controlled and instructed by it.

Our natural appetites are like spoiled, unruly, untrained children, and must be treated in the same way that such children ought to be treated. No wise person would think it necessary to let such a child have his own way in everything. He must be instructed as to what is good, and until he is able to choose for himself, and choose well, some one must choose for him. He must not once be indulged in his waywardness, if his evil habits are to be broken. If his confidence is gained, and his conscience is awakened, and his will brought into harmony with the right, the task of reformation will be a short one: very soon he will go in the right way as naturally as he used to in the wrong way, and will find infinitely more satisfaction in it. In fact, for the first time in his life he will know what satisfaction is, and that satisfaction in doing the right will be one of the strongest safeguards to keep him from the evil.

"That which is not good, is not delicious
To a well-governed and wise appetite."

Just so it is with our tastes. We have been accustomed to be swayed by them, yet the more we gratified them the less were we satisfied. Now when we learn what is good, and see that it is good because it comes from the hand of God, and know that it must be the best thing for us, we shall believe that it tastes good to an undepraved or a regenerate appetite, and so we shall teach ourselves really to like it. It is surprising how quickly one can teach himself to like the good when once firmly convinced that it is good. And then for the first time is one really satisfied. One finds life itself full of enjoyment, and is no more under the necessity of seeking for something to make it enjoyable or endurable. To be satisfied with that which is good, so that never a longing desire arises for that which is evil, is one of the greatest blessings that God bestows upon us, and it is wonderfully easy to learn when one sets himself to learn at the source of goodness. "O taste and see that the Lord is good; there is no want to them that fear Him."

November 15, 1900

"The Basis of Sober Living" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

(Titus ii. 1-15.)²¹1

The Epistle of Paul to Titus was written for the special purpose of directing him how to "set in order the things that are wanting," and is therefore full of instruction and exhortation. Titus had been left in Crete, a country whose inhabitants were proverbial even among people of loose character for their wickedness and baseness; consequently there was need that those who had professed Christ should be specially on their guard. The epistle is most strikingly applicable to believers in the present day, when the state of things all over the world is getting to be like that of Crete in the days of Paul and Titus. Referring to some who were even making a profession of Christianity, and were setting themselves up as teachers, Paul wrote: "They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate." Titus i. 16. This corresponds exactly to what the same apostle wrote to Timothy concerning "the last days," when men should be "lovers of their own selves," "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." 2 Tim. iii. 1-5. Then "they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lasts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; add shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4.

This being the state of things, it is most fitting that the exhortation should come to us (for we can leave Titus out of the case, and consider the epistle as addressed to us personally): "Speak thou the things that become sound doctrine." The instruction that follows covers the duties of all classes-aged men, aged woman, young women, young men, and servants. It is plain, and no one can fail to understand it. It is not servants only, but all, who should so live "that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."

THE MEANS OF SALVATION PROVIDED

Then comes not only the reason why we should thus live and speak, but the means whereby we may be able to do it: "For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously an godly in this present world." The gracious goodness of God is the ground of repentance. "The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." Rom. ii. 4. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth," Christ said, "will draw all men unto Me." The grace of God that brings salvation ("by grace are ye saved") has indeed appeared to all men, but many close their eyes to it, or else all would be saved; for "they that know Thy name [Emmanuel, God with us] will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee." Ps. ix. 10. "The love of Christ constraineth us," for all were dead, "and He died for all." One would certainly say that when people are in danger of destruction, the knowledge that a sure way of escape is provided would be all the incentive necessary to lead them to accept salvation.

But it is not merely the case that the revelation of the grace of God furnishes an incentive to right living. It provides the means. It brings salvation. The Gospel of Christ "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." It not only tells us what we ought to do, but it makes known "the power that worketh in us" (Eph. iii. 20) "to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Jesus Christ is "the power of God" (1 Cor. i. 24), and He comprehends in His own person all "the everlasting power and Divinity" that is revealed in everything that has been made in heaven and in earth, "visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers." Col. i. 16, R.V. Therefore when by the grace of God we are made to see that Christ, the Word, is nigh us, even in our mouth and in our hearts (Rom. x. 6-10) we have only to accept the truth, that Christ may dwell there by faith, to be "filled with all the fulness of God." Eph. iii. 17-19.

The grace of God brings salvation to every man, showing him his danger, and the way of escape, and providing the necessary strength. Not a single person need be lost, for all have been redeemed. God says, "Of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands" (Jer. ii. 20), so that all anybody has to do is to obey the call, "Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down;" "loose thyself from the bands of thy neck." Isa. Iii. 2. The prison doors are open, and nobody need remain in bondage a moment longer than he wishes to. Freedom is proclaimed to all, and no evil spirit or base passion has the power to enslave anybody for a single

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moment while he trusts wholly in the grace of God that bringeth salvation.

CUTTING THE ACQUAINTANCE OF SIN

Verse 12 is rendered very strongly, and withal very accurately, in the most recent and best Danish translation, thus, "teaching us to say No to ungodliness and worldly lusts." The Gospel of the grace of God teaches us how to say No, makes us able to say it, and, best of all, gives the word such power that it is effective in stopping the clamouring evil desire. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James iv. 7.

The word rendered "denying," or, as just quoted, "to say, No," is the same that is used in Matt. xxvi. 72, where we read that Peter denied Christ, saying, "I do not know the Man." By the grace of God, therefore, we may be so redeemed from ungodliness and worldly lusts that we can say to everything of the kind that demands recognition, "I do not know you." The self-denial which the Gospel teaches is not the undergoing of a constant torture, tormented by longings for sin which we dare not commit. Such a life would be the worst sort of slavery. It means each separation from sin that one denies its acquaintanceship. Jesus "knew no sin," although in all things "made like unto His brethren," and "in all points tempted like as we are" (Heb. ii. 47; iv. 15), and Satan had nothing in Him (John xiv. 30); and, having been conformed to His image, we have cut the acquaintance of sin, so that we can truly deny all knowledge of it. Man originally knew the good, and only the good; it was not God's purpose that he should ever know evil; and the Gospel redeems us from all the effects of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; and from the act of eating. What a "blessed hope" this is to have, and to set before the struggling, despairing sinner! There is such deliverance from sin as will effectually blot out the knowledge of the evil deed, and the memory of the vile words. God has delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Col. i. 13. Who can help being glad for such complete redemption in Christ Jesus?

DOCTRINES OF HEALTH

It is worth noting that the word "sound," which occurs twice in this chapter, namely, in verses 1 and 2, is from the Greek word which appears in our language as "hygienic." There must be wholesome teaching, in order that man may be "healthful in the faith," for "the just shall live by faith." "The faith of Jesus" which is to be the characteristic of all the saints in the day of the Lord's coming (Rev. xiv. 12-14) made Him victor over death, and it will do the same for those who look for "the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ." Their whole body, as well as soul and spirit, will be sanctified and preserved blameless. Disease, even when the pestilence walketh in darkness, and the air itself is the breath of death, in the time of the seven last plagues, will not be able to get any hold upon them. The faith of Jesus will enable them to live the life of Jesus. But this does not come about by any sort of magic. Chance has nothing to do with it. It is not accomplished by any theoretical, intangible methods. The faith which purifies the heart produces a people "zealous of good works." There is no discount on good works, as so many suppose; the important point is that the works be good. Our works are not good, therefore they cannot save up; but "the works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honourable and glorious, and His righteousness endureth for ever." Ps. cxi. 2, 3. These works, "which God hath afore prepared," even from the beginning, "that we should walk in them" (Eph. ii. 10), are righteousness, and they endure for ever. They are "wrought in God," and so they inevitably come from those whom God possesses. Let us heed the words of His mouth, that we may experience His "saving health."

"What Has Jesus Done?" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

The question, "What would Jesus do?" seems to have passed out of common use, having had its brief run; but the question, "What has Jesus done?" ought to take its place, and never be allowed to fall into disuse. To know what He has done, is to know what we ought to do, because He "suffered for us, leaving no an example, that ye should follow His steps;" and "he that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked." Therefore it is most important for us to know what Jesus did here on the earth. Knowing that, we know how to yield ourselves to Him, how to co-operate with Him, for we are "saved by His life." He is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever," and so what He did is what He still does, and what He will do in us if we allow Him to live in us. "By the obedience of One shall many be made righteous."

Nor is this all. Just because people do not grasp what Jesus has done, they do not know what it is their privilege to enjoy. What has He done? He has "abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel." 2 Tim. i. 10. By the power by which He abolished death, He "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity." Titus ii. 14. He has overcome the world. He "has spoiled principalities and powers," the same ones with which we have to fight, and has taken from them all their armour, triumphing over them. Yea, He "loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God." Rev. i. 5, 6. What more could we ask to have done? Therefore we pray "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead."

"The Editor's Private Corner. Knowing as We Are Known" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

"Shall we know and have hereafter the love of those we have loved on earth? I ask the question, because I lost my wife when we had been married only three months, . . . so you will understand that it is no idle question, but one that I have sought the Scriptures for an answer to many a time. I quite believe that heaven will be joy to those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb; but I think that meeting some dearly loved one will be one of its greatest joys. I cannot think that God would plant a seed of love in our hearts for some one, ruthlessly to pluck it out again in a short time."

I have often heard the question asked, "Shall we know one another in the world to come?" when it seemed to me to be so idle as scarcely to merit attention; but your letter, with all the details that you have mentioned, shows me that the question comes from a burdened heart seeking relief, and I gladly offer such as the Word of God authorises me to give. There are certainly many besides yourself, who are longing for the same information, and who do not know what the Bible teaches on this point.

Let us first consider a case that is recorded in the Bible. When Christ was born, Herod was so anxious to kill Him that he "sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

"Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." Matt. ii. 16-18.

All are familiar with this story; but not all are so familiar with the words of comfort which God by the same prophet spoke to those sorrowing mothers, and so to all mothers mourning the loss of little ones.

The words just quoted are found in Jer. xxxi. 15, and immediately after them come these words:-

"Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine and, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border." Jer. xxxi. 16, 17.

Here is a distinct promise of the resurrection of those infants. They are to be brought from the land of the enemy,-death,-and restored to their mothers in their own land, the new earth, the heavenly Canaan. This is the hope set before the mourning mothers; they are comforted by the Lord Himself, with the promise that their children shall come to them again; but there certainly would be no comfort if they could not recognise them. That would be no restoration; it would be but to mock their grief, and leave them more desolate than before.

REUNION AT CHRIST'S COMING

Take again some words of comfort which the Lord charges His servants to speak to all whose Christian friends have been taken from them by death. The Apostle Paul writes:-

"I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent [go before, precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a about, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught tip together with them in the clouds to meat the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. iv. 13-18.

Some people in Thessalonica were mourning their dead friends, whom they thought were for ever lost to them. They knew of the coming of the Lord, but were imperfectly informed as to the resurrection. They had not yet been fully freed from the heathen idea that death is an eternal sleep. The Apostle, by the direction of the Lord, tells them and us that although we live till the coming of the Lord we shall not enter into glory before our dead friends do; for just as surely as God raised up Jesus, will He also bring with Him from the dead all those who sleep in Him, and that when He comes the sleeping ones will be awakened to immortality before we are changed, and then both they and we shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord; and in this manner we all shall be together for ever with the Lord.

AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING

But what comfort would this be to the sorrowing ones, if they were not to know their loved ones when they meat them at the resurrection? The same "hope" is set before them that was given to the weeping mothers in Bethlehem,-the hope of resurrection at the appearing of Christ. We shall all know Him, and we shall also know each other. That will be the coming of that perfect day, when we shall know even as also we are known; when "the loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall find truest and sweetest expression."

Let us note a few passages of Scripture, which show that this must necessarily be the case. "Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh." Matt. xix. 4-6. Note that man is essentially male and female; he was made so at the beginning. Thus we read again:-

"In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam [man], in the day when they were created." Gen. v. 1, 3. Adam was first created, then Eve; but the woman was taken out of the man, and was called woman for that reason (Gen. ii. 23), so that it plainly appears that Adam-man-is male and

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female. The two distinct persons are but a higher development, a more perfect manifestation of the perfect man.

THE FIRST DOMINION RESTORED

Now read further: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Gen. i. 27, 28. It was man-male and female-to whom God gave dominion over the earth in the beginning. The dominion has been lost, "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. iii. 23); but "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Gal. iii. 13), and in Him the dominion is restored to man; for it is written, "ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all principality and power." Col. ii. 10. "And Thou, O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah iv. 8. This dominion every redeemed sinner has now in Christ, just to the extent that his faith intelligently grasps and appropriates the gift of Christ. The "new song" which God puts into our mouth even now, as soon as we are lifted out of "the horrible pit," is "unto Him that loved us, and washed [loosed] us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God." Rev. i. 5, 6. "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people," "and to make them inherit the throne of glory." Ps. cxiii. 7, 8; 1 Sam. ii. 8. All this simply means the restoration of all things as they were at the beginning, but with enlarged dominion.

GOD'S WORK ETERNAL

Again: God built the rib which He took from the man into a woman, and He "brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh" (Gen. i. 22, 23); "wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Matt. xix. 6. God Himself will certainly not put asunder what He has joined together, thus undoing the work of His own hands; for "I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever." Eccl. iii. 14.

FALSE IDEAS CORRECTED

Does some one tell you that the idea of the loves and sympathies and relationships of this life being continued in the world to come is dishonouring and degrading to heaven? that it is altogether too gross? Then may God pity and forgive him, and open his eyes to know the Divine love, which is the only true love, and to appreciate the expression of it through the human agent. Right here it becomes apparent that the consideration of this question is a necessity, and is not by any means idle speculation upon things of the future, of which we shall know the certainty when the time comes. For it is this false, gross idea of love and the family relation, the conception of it as inconsistent with heaven's holiness, which has produced so much perversion of it in this life. The truth that we have just had opened up to us from the Scriptures, does not degrade heaven, but exalts love. If it were seen and appreciated and held, it would make people far more considerate. There would be no such thing as "a hasty marriage." There would be no marriage formed except by God, and none which could not be continued throughout eternity; and there would be no act in the marriage state inconsistent with the holiness of the new earth. There would be no such thing as "making love," for "God is love," and the only real love that can exist among men is that which is eternal, and which is the manifestation of God's presence. That which was given to man in Eden at the beginning, will not be withheld as unworthy of the same Eden restored.

GOD'S CHILDREN SPIRITUAL

Remember that all God's true children are spiritual. "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. . . . Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Rom. viii. 9-14. Therefore "if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

CHRIST ALL AND IN ALL

One thing more: Do not fail to note that the comfort which we are commissioned to give to those who mourn, which assures them of reunion with departed loved ones, closes with the statement, "so shall we ever be with the Lord." It is the Lord's presence, not the presence of our loved ones alone, that will make heaven. If we were not with Him, if we did not see Him, there would be no joy, no happiness, no love, even in heaven. "The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest expression," because there Christ will be perfectly revealed and perfectly recognised in every soul. And just as His presence makes heaven, and brings out there the full truth and sweetness of the loves which He has planted in the soul, so it is He and His presence that sanctifies and makes perfect every relationship in this world, and which gives the true believer a heaven in which to go to heaven. Ah, how little we have appreciated the rich gifts that God has provided for us, and which He leaves with us even in this sin-cursed earth! "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him;" and the reason why this is so is that we have been so gross, so unspiritual, and have perverted them; but in His great mercy "God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit." May the love of God be perfected in us all, that, being "in Him that is true," we may even now dwell in eternity.

"The Children. The Lord's Prayer. 'Which Art in Heaven'" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

"WHICH ART IN HEAVEN"

All the children of God dwell in "the Father's house." This is a very large place, for He dwells everywhere and in all things, and in Him we live, and move, and have our being, as we learned last week. Yet Jesus has taught us to pray to "our Father which art in heaven." This shows us what it is that makes heaven; it is the preserve at God. Wherever He is, is heaven; and since He is everywhere, there is no place, even on this sin-cursed earth, where we may not find heaven below, if we remember that God is there.

"Love but the Lord, and all is bright;
Love but the Lord, and earth is fair;
Love but the Lord, the Father's house
Is here, and there, and everywhere."

This was the precious lesson that God taught Jacob when he was alone in a desert place, cut off from home and friends by his own wrong-doing, with only a stone for a pillow. In his sorrow and fear, God appeared to him and comforted him: and when he understood that the presence of God was with him even there, he said: "This is none other than the house of God: this is the gate of heaven."

You will remember, perhaps, that he said also, "How dreadful is this place," He did not mean that it was a terrible place to be in, but a holy and sacred place where he would fear to do evil.

Do you not think, dear children, that if you should keep always in mind the presence of God, and of the holy angels who always behold His face, it would keep you from doing some things that you do, and help you to do some things you don't do that you ought to do? Would it not make you feel that "the place whereon you stand is holy ground"?

God says: "I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of a humble and contrite spirit." It is the presence of God that makes holy; so wherever He is, is a "high and holy place." Yet He dwells, as He says, with the humble and contrite in heart; and this shows us that those who are of an humble and contrite spirit dwell in "the high and holy place."

And what a happy place this is also; for remember that in His presence is "fatness of joy," and "pleasures for evermore." So no matter where you are, or what your outward surroundings and circumstances may he, you may have the "fulness of joy" that is always to be found in the presence of the Lord, for He is with you everywhere, and this will make heaven for you.

You will not be the only one who will feel the sweetness of the Lord's presence with you, if you live in the constant sense of it. Those around you will feel it too, for the sweet atmosphere of heaven will shed a holy influence round you, that will bring brightness and blessing to all with whom you associate.

"As some rare perfume in a vase of clay
Pervades it with a fragrance not its own.
So when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul
All heaven's own sweetness seems around it
thrown."

Last week we learned that God the Father sends the Spirit of His own Son Jesus into the hearts of all His children. Jesus dwelt always in the presence of God, and even when He was here on earth, He spoke of Himself as "the Son of man which is in heaven." John called Him "the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father."

Jesus knew always that He was in the bosom of the Father, and this was what made heaven to Him through all the temptations and trials of His life on earth. It gave Him perfect peace and fulness of joy through all. So if His Spirit abides in our hearts, it will make us sharers in these blessings. He says, "Peace I leave with you: My peace I give unto you," and "these things have I spoke unto you that ye might have My joy fulfilled in yourselves." The Spirit of the Son of God in our hearts raises us up "to sit with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Heaven is not only the place at love and joy and peace; it is also the place of power. "Our God is in the heavens; He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased." "Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" of angels, stand in His presence, and "do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word." He is "the Most High," "God in the highest,"-the One who is above all principalities and powers. How safe, then, we are, in His keeping, for so long as we abide in Him, we are lifted far above everything that could harm us.

So while the words, "Our Father" teach us that we are the children of God, and that He loves us with an everlasting love, the words which follow, "which art in heaven," show us His mighty power to protect us, to provide for us, and to defend us and deliver us from all evil. They show that He is able to fulfil all the petitions that we make to Him, and that we can never come to Him in vain.

He who "is in the heavens," "upholding the unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, at the same time cares for the wants of the little brown sparrow that sings its humble song without a fear." And "ye are of more value than many sparrows," so you may rest in perfect peace, trusting in the tender love and great might of "Our Father, which art in heaven."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

-A fatal case of plague has occurred at Bremen.

-The coal output of the United Kingdom last year was 220,094,781 tons. Of this total 55,810,024 tons were exported.

-The report of the Comptroller of the Russian Empire shows a surplus revenue over expenditure for 1899 of ?9,000,000.

-The loss to the Mint during the last eight years, occasioned by the wearing out of money, has been about ?200 a day.

-The municipal debt of London on March 31st last, exclusive of the debt of the City Corporation secured upon its special funds, was ?46,174,972.

-The leaders of the Filipinos state emphatically that they have no intention to cease hostilities. They say that "the people are fully determined to fight to the bitter end in the cause of freedom."

-The Pope has just published an encyclical making a universal appeal to nations and individuals to return to the principles of Christianity. Unfortunately this appeal loses all its force, on account of the fact that the Pope, by the very nature of his position, is ignorant of the first principles of Christianity, and so cannot give nations or individuals any help in that direction.

-The New York Herald states that within the year the Russian Government will place orders for five new battleships with American shipbuilders. The contracts will involve an outlay of $20,000,010-over ?4,000,000.

-Arrangements are being made to reduce the time of the journey from London to Paris via Dover and Calais to seven hours. The 185 miles from Calais to Paris have been covered in 184 minutes, and it is proposed to maintain this speed.

-Let no one charge the Turks with not having good judgment and sound sense. The Customs authorities at Constantinople have stopped ?1,000 worth of sugar plums from Great Britain, alleging that they are deleterious to health because coloured with analine dyes.

-The American liner St. Paul, on her last trip from Southampton to New York, was struck by an unusually heavy sea, which threw her stern out of the water, breaking the starboard shaft and screw, and disabling one of the engines. The repairs will, it is said, occupy five months.

-It is officially announced that the total population of the United States for 1900 is 76,295,220, being an increase of 13,225,464 compared with 1890. The Indians, who are included in the census, number 134,158. This enumeration also includes the inhabitants of Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands.

-According to the Tageblatt, the municipal authorities of Berlin have resolved to make a grant of 1,000,000 marks, to be devoted to the provision of housing accommodation for the poor, in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of the foundation by King Frederick I. of the Prussian Monarchy, which will be celebrated on January 18, 1901.

-The Chronicle says that "few people have any conception of the work of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs," and adds that the number of dispatches arriving at the Foreign Office when Lord Salisbury first held the double position of Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, was a hundred thousand a year, and the rate has been steadily increasing for many years.

-As the Belgian packet steamer Princess Clementine, was nearing Dover pier on the morning of the 3rd inst., messages were exchanged between her and Ostend. The report says: "Across nearly fifty miles of sea Marconi's instrument ticked off messages to and from Belgium . . . and the Princess Clementine was doing her twenty knots in the darkness, the passengers were peacefully sleeping in their bunks, and the only connection between ship and shore was a wire hoop at the top of the mast." The possibilities of this marvellous discovery are obvious. This practical demonstration cannot fall to suggest to thoughtful minds many things besides the commercial advantages of the system.

-This has been the record year of the century in Northern Switzerland for fruit. Unfortunately, however, as is common among men, this great blessing has been turned into a curse. Such enormous quantities of apples have been gathered that it does not pay to export the fruit, and the farmers have converted f?te cider, which is sold at a farthing a pint. The older is so cheap that innkeepers generally refuse to put it on the wine list, saying that it is unprofitable, and the people are in some places boycotting the inns, although net thereby diminishing the amount of drink. One publican is reported to be taking advantage of the situation to draw custom to his place, by advertising that for threepence he will supply customers with all the eider they can drink in an hour. He is having an immense patronage. Meanwhile there are thousands of people longing for the fruit that an equitable adjustment of things would give them.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

We have several questions on hand, which interested readers have sent in, and they will all receive attention as soon as possible. Let no one think that his case is forgotten, because an answer does not appear immediately.

Since beginning the "Editor's Private Corner" we have received more encouraging, appreciative words for the paper than ever before in the same length of time. To each one we would say, If you have received help, pass it on to some one else. That which does you good will be a blessing to another. If each reader of PRESENT TRUTH would secure one additional reader it would be a most practical way of showing thanks for blessings received.

There are few, if any, people better qualified to speak upon missions and Christians in the East than Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop. In reply to a question recently asked, whether the Chinese make good Christians, she gave the following good testimony:-

The very best. There is no cringing about the Chinese. They stand before you as men, and when they have accepted the Christian faith, they will endure any torture rather than renounce it. And it is through the particular characteristics of the people that the religion will grow amongst them. They are such ardent propagandists. If a man is converted, he will not rest content until he has converted a hundred others.

No better thing could be said of the people of any nation on earth.

The question of a Roman Catholic University for Ireland is a burning one, and many prominent statesmen have given the Catholic leaders reason to hope that the present Government will give them their desire. It is therefore just as well that all should know what such an institution would mean. In the Nineteenth Century for January, 1899, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Limerick wrote:-

In a Catholic University the authority of the Pope would be supreme, and would reach, directly or indirectly, to every part of its organisation, and guide and inform its operations. He would grant its charter, and appoint its rector, and sanction its degrees, and all its intellectual life would be carried out under ecclesiastical supervision and control.

The establishing of a Roman Catholic University for Ireland would undoubtedly indicate that the British Government had passed to a great degree under the domination of Papal influence.

"The Only Way of Atonement" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

The papers tell us that the counsel of the young man who made the attempt on the life of the Prince of Wales last summer, are hoping to obtain an "act of mercy" for their client on the ground that he has "expressed the determination to atone for the past by good behaviour for the future." We have nothing to say against any act of mercy, but take occasion to warn our readers against the too common idea that say amount of good behaviour will atone for past misdeeds. Abstaining from stealing for the rest of one's life will not atone for a theft committed to-day. A lie cannot be wiped out by any amount of subsequent truth-telling. An act once done is done for ever, and will for ever remain a blot upon the life until an entirely new life is obtained. Here is what the Lord says to every one who thinks that he can atone for his own misdeeds:-

"Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him? Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath; and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. Then will I confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee." Job xl. 9-14.

There is only one way: "It is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul." "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." Christ's life in the place of ours makes full and complete atonement.

"The Hope Within" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

The Hope Within .-The apostolic exhortation is, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." 1 Peter iii. 15. It is a great mistake to suppose that means to be able to repeat a creed, or to quote Scripture texts to substantiate dogmas. A formula of doctrine is not a hope. Hope is living; it is a real thing, "Christ in you" is the only "hope of glory." Col. i. 27. Therefore to be able to give to every man a reason of the hope that is in us, is to be able to make plain to him the Divine presence. This is further evident from the fact that the ability to give a reason for the hope in us comes from having God sanctified, enthroned, in the heart. See 1 Peter iii. 15. Christianity is love, not in word, but in deed and in truth.

"Roman Catholics on Sunday Observance" The Present Truth 16, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

The Catholic Press, the leading Catholic paper of Australia, published at Sidney, had in its issue of August 26 some statements concerning Sunday, which should be interesting, if not pleasant, reading for those professed Protestants who observe the first day of the week. There is a movement on foot in Australia, as in most other countries, to prohibit amusements on Sundays, and in an article on the subject occur the following questions and statements. It must be remembered, in reading them, that the term "Sabbatarian" is erroneously used with reference to those who plead for strict Sunday observance:-

"Sunday is a Catholic Institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. If the 'Bible and the Bible only is the religion of Protestants,' if 'whatever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby' has no claim on their faith or observance, what scrap of title can they show for all their dogmatic insistence as the requirements of the Lord's Day? From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first. Thus Sunday observance is an incongruous adjunct of the Protestant faith, utterly out of keeping with its fundamental principle, and strongly suggests a religion that suffered sadly from too much hurry in the making.

"If any Sabbatarian wants to know the proper method of spending the Sunday, the Catholic Church is the natural source to apply to for information. Under her direction the Sunday supplanted the Jewish Sabbath, and she is therefore the best fitted to settle any dispute as to its claims. She has no sympathy with a Puritan or Scotch Sabbath, and still less with the 'Continental Sunday' of German Lutherans and French infidels. She forbids all servile work, and requires the day to be devoted to public prayer and worship and hearing the Word of God, but these duties fulfilled she has no objection to such hours as remain being employed in any form of innocent outdoor amusement. This is the true view of Sunday observance."

It would be interesting to see a Protestant Sunday-keeper's attempt to answer this, and to reconcile his practice with his professed principles.

November 22, 1900

"Front Page" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

This is a most pitiable sight, is it not? The poor, old man, with scarcely enough rags on his body to cover his nakedness, digging in the muck and mire in the forlorn hope of finding some stray coin, or some cast-off article that he may be able to turn to account, would arouse the compassion of anybody not wholly hardened; but when we look above him and see the crown of glory that would be his if he would but lift up his head, the wretchedness of the case is aggravated. How can one spend his time searching for such contemptible things, without the certainty of finding even them, when priceless treasure is offered to him, and is assured to him for ever if he will but take it?

Most people fail to learn the full lesson from Bunyan's man with the muck-rake. They imagine that he always presents the appearance of the man in the picture; and in one sense he does, while in another he very often does not. To human eyes he is often dressed in fine clothing, and is amassing valuable treasure; but God sees with other eyes. He can see to the end of everything, and so He sees the whole, while we catch but a passing glimpse of a single part. The rich young ruler spoken of in our next article was really in as sad condition as the poorest scavenger in the street.

Think a moment: In the day when "the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat," what will be the difference in value between gold and diamonds and rags and dirt. They will all alike be resolved

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into the original elements, and will not be distinguishable. Very well; God, who sees, the end from the beginning, looks at earthly treasure now just as it will appear to all the world then. The last day will be but the revelation of what everything really is; therefore all the heaped-up treasures of this world are of absolutely no value.

But God offers to all eternal riches. The free gift has come upon all men unto justification of life, so that the crown of life hangs just above every head, no matter how low the head is bowed down by earthly care or sin and shame. Let us accept the eyesalve that He offers us (Rev. iii. 17, 18), so that we may see as He does, and no longer imagine that our filthy rags are rich garments, or our poor trash rich treasure. Then we shall take the pure gold which the fire at the last day cannot melt, and the white raiment which none of the filth of earth can defile, and which neither moth nor time can cause to grow old.

"The Performing of Impossibilities. The Rich Young Ruler. Matt. xix. 16-26" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

(Matt. xix. 16-26)²²1

"And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?

"And He said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

"He saith unto Him, Which?

"Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

"The young man saith unto Him, All these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?

"Jesus saith unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me.

"But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.

"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

"When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then, can be saved?

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Many lessons are taught in this one, and no one can say that one is more important than another, so we will simply open up each, that the Spirit of God may lead us unto the fulness of all.

CHRIST IS DIVINE

First of all, let us note that Jesus Christ is good, and His goodness marks His connection with the Godhead. Do not get the idea that His words, "Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God," were a protest against being called good. Far from it. He knew that He was good, for He declared that the prince of this world, Satan, had nothing in Him, and He boldly challenged the Pharisees to convict Him of sin. John viii. 46. He declared that He kept the Father's commandments, and always did that which pleased Him. What then was the force of His words to the young man? Just this: He was testing him, to see whether it was understandingly, or merely as a complimentary expression, that he had called Him good. In the question and statement Christ declared His Divinity. "There is none good but one, that is, God," but Christ is good; therefore Christ is God. Nothing less than this Jesus claimed. It is idle, therefore, for anybody to deny the Divinity of Christ, and at the same time to say that He was a good man. Good men do not make false claims. If Jesus were not Divine, He would have been an impostor. But He was good, absolutely good, the embodiment of all goodness; and therefore He was just what He professed to be, the Son of God. If the young man had recognised this, he certainly could not have gone away.

Some will not fail to have noticed that the Revised Version has, "Why askest thou Me concerning that which is good?" instead of, "Why callest thou Me good?" but the difference is apparent rather than real. The careful student will note that in the accounts in Mark and Luke we have even in the Revision, "Why callest thou Me good? None is good save one, even God," and that this is also given in the margin of the record in Matthew; so that there is very good authority for the rendering in the old version. But if we take the reading, "Why askest thou Me concerning that which is good?" we find that the meaning is essentially the same. That is followed by, "One there is who is good," implying that only He who is good can properly be asked concerning that which is good. "Unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare My statutes, or that thou shouldst take My covenant in thy mouth?" Ps. l. 16. But Christ came as the Teacher of that which is good. He began His ministry with the words, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek." So in any case we find that Christ, who was "meek and lowly in heart," could without any inconsistency or lack of modesty, declare Himself to be absolutely good, and so Divine.

THE WAY OF LIFE

The keeping of the commandments is the way of Iife. "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. xxii. 14. It is not that heaven is offered as a reward for commandment-keeping; not by any means. Heaven cannot be bought with money or any amount of work. Nor is it that eternal life is given as a reward for keeping the commandments. Life is too costly to be earned by any human efforts. "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. vi. 23. But the commandments are themselves life. They are not dead rules of life, but living principle-the Spirit of life in Christ. They were Christ's life, and we get life in the keeping of them, even as we get the law in His life. "The commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Prov. vi. 23. "Moreover by them is Thy servant warned; and in keeping of them there is great reward." Ps. xix. 11. The reward is not something to be gained by doing them, and to be bestowed after one has demonstrated his loyalty to them, but it comes in the keeping of them. God puts them into our hearts by His Spirit, and our part is to keep them,-to keep that which He has committed to our trust,-to keep the faith.

"WHICH?"

There are not several sets of commandments for us to choose from, so that it would be difficult for anybody to know which he ought to keep. The young man's question did not imply that he had any such idea. But so fully persuaded was he that he had kept all the commandments, that when Jesus told him to keep them, he asked in surprise, "which?" As much as to say, "What commandments can there possibly be that I have not kept?"

Jesus did not repeat all the commandments, but that does not signify that those that He did not mention are unimportant. He quoted a few, and summarised the whole in the general commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." He did not say anything about loving God, because that was unnecessary; "for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" 1 John iv. 20. Jesus tested the young man on that which lay nearest at hand. "All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Gal. v. 14. "Love is the fulfilling of the law," so that "he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Rom. xii. 8, 10. This is true because "love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." 1 John iv. 7. Jesus tested the young man sufficiently to show that He had not perfect love for man, and that therefore the love of God was not in him. His duty was to keep all the commandments, but he had kept none of them.

RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH

In saying, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments," and in naming some of them, did Jesus teach salvation by works? Not by any means, for that would have been to contradict Himself. He said "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." John vi. 29. He was showing the young man, and us also, the impossibility of salvation by our own works. The young man was not a vain boaster. He had kept the commandments as perfectly as it is possible for any man to keep them. His life had been outwardly perfect, and his conscience convicted him of no sin. But the demand that Jesus made showed that he had not known the vital principle of the commandments. He did not know the commandment which embraces them all: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," although he thought he did. Jesus showed him that only by following Him could he have the fulness of life which the law imparts. In Him alone is "the perfect law of liberty" found. But let no one hastily conclude that Jesus discounted the commandments in any degree, or that He thought that there is any duty beyond the keeping of them. The conclusion of the whole matter stands clearly expressed in God's Book: "Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. xii. 13. Good works are not disparaged in the Bible. Christ gave Himself for us, for no other purpose than to purify unto Himself a people "zealous of good works." Titus ii. 14. We are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works," but they are the good works which God Himself has prepared, "that we should walk in them." Eph. ii. 10. So it is that our salvation is the gift of God through our faith in His grace. We are justified, made righteous, made doers of the law, by the faith of Jesus Christ. Gal. ii. 16.

TEMPORAL TREASURES PREFERRED TO ETERNAL

It seemed a hard requirement for the young man to sell all that he had, and give it to the poor, before he could follow Jesus; yet if he had been spiritual enough to discern it, he would have seen that there was a most wonderful promise connected with it, which assured to him infinitely more than he would give up. "Thou shalt have treasure in heaven." Riches are at the best uncertain. "Labour not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven." Prov. xxiii. 5. In heaven, on the contrary, we have "an enduring substance." How foolish, then, to seek for or strive to hold that which may go at any moment, and neglect the "unsearchable riches of Christ," which last to eternity.

Moreover, no man ever gives up anything for the Lord, without finding superabundant recompense even in this life. Christ says: "Every one that hath forsaken houses, . . . or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life." Matt. xix. 29. So in asking the young man to give up all his wealth in order to have eternal life, Jesus was really promising a hundred times as much as he already had, with eternal life in addition. It is on the principle that "whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" If men could see that giving up their living would ensure them a hundredfold return in this life, they would at once enter into it as a grand speculation. But that would defeat their object for their so-called "giving up" would in reality be a grasping. So because "we can't see how it can be," men cling to the temporal and the fleeting, and lose the eternal, together with that which they think they have. Self-denial always carries its own recompense with it.

EARTHLY RICHES OPPOSED TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

More foolish than ever does this desire and love for wealth appear, when we read the Saviour's words that "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Mind that there is here no arbitrary shutting of rich men out of heaven. Christ does not say that they will not be permitted to enter heaven, in the future, but that they cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, which is here and now. The mind that is set on earthly wealth is utterly incapable of comprehending spiritual things.

And we see that this has a larger application than merely to those who actually possess great wealth. The disciples asked in astonishment, "Who then can be saved?" indicating that they thought that what Christ had said would cut everybody off from salvation; yet they well knew that only comparatively few have great possessions. A poor man may be farther away from the kingdom of heaven than a rich man; it all depends upon where his heart is. The rich man's heart may not be set on his riches as they increase; while the poor man may continually be longing for that which he has not. "Beware of covetousness."

GOD DOES IMPOSSIBILITIES

What gracious comfort this scripture contains for us! Nothing on earth can be more impossible than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. There has been much attempt to minimise Christ's words, and so the theory has been evolved that He referred to a gate in Jerusalem, called "The Needle's Eye," which was so small that a camel could not get through it without being unloaded. Of course the supposition

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makes nonsense of the text, and nothing more is needed for its refutation than the statement of the fact that there never was any such gate in Jerusalem. Jesus did not qualify His words, and we must take them se meaning what they say, and accept the comfort of them. It is impossible for us to do this good thing, or to break off that evil habit. It is impossible for us to be other than we are. But whatever our disabilities, we certainly have no task set before us as the condition of entering the kingdom of heaven, that is more impossible than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But "with God all things are possible." The thing that is absolutely impossible for men is easy for Him. So He can take us, and make us new, and will make us know that there are possibilities for the spiritual man that are absolutely inconceivable to the natural man. Therefore "unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."

"Showing Love by Receiving Service" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

When, on the night that He was betrayed, Jesus was washing the feet of His disciples, Peter said to Him, "Thou shalt never wash my feet." He would gladly have washed the feet of the Master, or have done any other service for Him, and would have counted it an honour to be allowed to do the most "menial" task for his Lord; but he shrank from being waited on by Jesus. Jesus replied, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me," and then Peter was more than willing to accept the service.

There is a lesson in this that we are very likely to overlook. People often forget that love is shown in receiving, just as well as in giving. Many wish to do everything themselves, but are too proud to receive service from others. Peter of course felt that he was too humble to receive such service from his Master and Lord; yet there is a part of humility that is really pride, but it is no part of love.

Whoever really loves another is willing to receive favours from the one loved. This is most strikingly apparent in our relation to the Lord. There is nothing in the world that we can do for Him. "Who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be the glory for ever." The only way we can show our love for Him is by taking His gifts as freely and gladly as He bestows them. "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation." To hold ourselves aloof from Him, and take His benefits, without which we cannot live, under protest, as it were, not being willing to acknowledge ourselves under obligation to Him, is an evidence of lack of love for Him. When we know how to love Him as we ought, we shall know how to love our fellow-beings on earth.

"The Editor's Private Corner. 'To Him that Overcometh'" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

"Some years ago I backslid, but was restored, and for years have been happy in the Lord; but lately the promises 'to him that overcometh' seem to trouble me, because the thought comes, 'But you did not overcome;' so I thought I would write you."

"Let not your heart be troubled." These are the words that the Lord speaks to me, and I have nothing better to pass on to you. He says, "The Father is with Me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." John xvi. 38. Do not think that it is the promises to him that overcometh that trouble you. The promises of God are not given for the purpose of giving trouble, but to save us from it. Your trouble comes from the whispered temptation of the enemy, who is seeking to blind your mind to what the promises say.

Read the text again. It does not say, "To him who overcame," but to him that overcometh. Note the ending, "eth," which indicates present time. It is he who overcomes now, that the Lord saves. We live in the present, and Jesus is "a very present help in trouble." So you need not be at all concerned over whether you did overcome or not at some time in the past; your care need only be, "Am I now overcoming? Am I now fighting the good fight of faith, and laying hold of eternal life?" This matter is easily settled, and you may constantly be of good cheer.

There is a phrase that is quite common with some people, namely, "Once in grace, always in grace," by which they mean that a man who has once received the grace of God can never backslide, and that if a professed Christian does go astray, that is evidence that he was never really a believer; that he was never converted. Thus they bring doubt and confusion into many souls.

The easiest way to show the fallacy of this is to take an actual occurrence. When Jesus came to the disciples as they were alone in the boat in the violent storm, Peter said, "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water." The Lord told him to come, and he at once got out of the boat and walked a little way toward the Master. The record plainly says that "he walked on the water, to go to Jesus." Matt. xiv. 29. "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me;" and immediately Jesus lifted him up, and together they came back to the boat.

Now it is certain that Peter had faith that he could walk on the water, or else he could not have walked at first. It is equally true that he lost his faith when he looked round at the boisterous waves; for Jesus said to him as He lifted him to the surface, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" The fact that he had faith at first, and that he actually did a wonderful thing through faith, did not make it impossible for him to lose the faith, and with it the power; nor did the fact that he fell prove that he had not had faith, for he had demonstrated it by walking.

Suppose now that Peter had said to himself, "But you did not walk on the water," then his case would have been the same as yours. You say that that would be foolish, for he did actually walk on the water. Well, so did you overcome, else you could not have backslidden. But what is the use of worrying over the past, anyhow? What difference would it have made to Peter if he had not been able to walk a step on the water when he first got out of the boat, if he had afterwards walked when the Saviour got hold of him? Even so with you; it does not so much matter whether or not you overcame some time ago; the question is, Are you walking with the Lord now? As well might the one who is just converted spend time mourning over the fact that he never served the Lord before. The Apostle Paul's rule is best: "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. iii. 13, 14.

Christ says, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." He is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever," so that the victory which He won in the flesh hundreds of years ago, is a present victory.

"This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith." 1 John v. 4, R.V. Remember that the victory does not depend upon what we do, but upon what Christ has done once for all. "He ever liveth to make intercession" for us, and therefore He is able "to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him." Heb vii. 23. This "to the uttermost" does not mean simply that He is able to save the worst cases, but that to the uttermost limit of time, continually, He is able to save them that come to God by Him, because He ever liveth. He Himself is the victory, as we read: "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty." 1 Chron. xxix. 11. He is our sanctification, our righteousness, and our redemption; and since He ever liveth, the righteousness and the victory that He won in Judea is as real, and present, and active now as then.

It is not simply individual sins that are to be overcome, but the world,-"the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." We are saved by Christ's life in us, by that life by which He overcame, and which is the victory. "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. ii. 20. Overcoming is nothing more nor less than laying hold by faith on the present life of Christ, and appropriating it as our own, so that the life that we live day by day is not from us, but it is the Spirit of Christ animating and using our bodies and every member and organ of them, just as He will. As "in Him is no sin," so sin shall have no more dominion over those in whom His life is given free course and full sway. We are victors over sin, because Christ is ours, and His victory is our victory.

One thing must not be forgotten, and that is, that when we accept the life of Christ in exchange for our old way of living, we get the whole of it from the beginning. He is the One who was, and is, and is to come; He inhabits eternity, and He brings eternity into every day; so that, having Him now, we are the same as though we had never sinned; the union is so close that it is the same as though we had never lived a day or done a single thing apart from Him. His life from the beginning takes the place of ours from the beginning, and so the past is obliterated. The blood of Christ "cleanseth us from all sin." This is the blotting out of sin, "The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve." Jer. l. 20. If we take Christ now, then we may know that we have Him for all that He has ever been and all that He ever will be. So we may in everything give thanks, knowing that in all things we are "more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

"The Children. The Lord's Prayer. 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

"HALLOWED BE THY NAME"

Notice that the very first petition, the first sentence in the Lord's prayer, which He has given to "teach us to pray," is not for something for ourselves, or bringing our own needs before Him. It is a praise petition, a request that the Father's own name may be hallowed,-held holy or sacred.

You may think that this petition is one that does not make any difference to you personally. But the truth is, as we shall see, that this one really affects you more than any of the others. For the name of the Lord, which we pray may be hallowed, is simply the declaration of what God Himself is; it shows us His character.

And all that we are or hope to be, all that we have or ever shall have, depends upon what God is; for everything comes from Him. So we are told to "give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness." "Holy" means whole, perfect, pure, beautiful.

As we come to God in prayer, the words "Our Father" assure us of His tender love; "which art in heaven" tell us of His power, and of the joy and peace that we find in His presence; and as we pray, "Hallowed be Thy name," we think upon His perfect, pure, lovely character, and we "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

Moses once asked the Lord to tell him what His name was, and the Lord answered him: "I AM THAT I AM." He meant that His name is that which He Himself is. So you can take the words "I AM," and fill out the sentence with all that His Word tells us that He is." He Himself afterwards did this for Moses, for He "passed by before him," and "proclaimed the name of the Lord:" "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin."

Knowing the name of the Lord, His love, His mercy, and His grace, His perfect and holy character, we know that "His way is perfect," and all that He does is just and right. So we can safely trust in Him, and "let Him do what seemeth Him good."

"In Thee I place my trust;
On Thee I calmly rest;
I know Thee good, I know Thee just,
And count Thy choice the best."

Since God is our Father, we are heirs of all that He is, and all that He has; for His Word says, "If children, then, if so we may inherit His pure and holy character, and this will give us His name also, for that is the description of His character.

All those who me are taken when Jesus comes to live with Him for ever in the Father's house, have "the Father's name written in their foreheads." This mean that they share in His Divine nature, and so are just like Him in character. Is it not then a very wonderful and precious thing that we should be called by Hiss name? In giving us His name, He gives us His nature, so that we may be "perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect," and so way have the family likeness which proves us to be His children. There is power in His name to make us holy, whole, perfect. Do you remember what Peter said about the lame man who was healed at the gate of the temple? When he was asked by what power, or by what name, the great miracle had been done, he said it was by the name of Jesus of Nazareth: "His name, through faith in His name, hath made this man strong, . . . and given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." There is power in His precious name to make us perfect and strong in soul and body, when we take it by faith, as the lame man did.

But suppose that we should take His name, and not become like Him in character, what should we then be doing? Recall the third commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Is not this what those are doing, who take His name, but do not know its power to make them like Him?

The Lord said of His people, the Jews, that by their sinful ways they caused His holy name, by which they caused His holy name, to be blasphemed and profaned wherever they want. They were taking His name in vain, and causing the people among whom they were scattered because of their sin, to think that there was no saving power in Him.

This third commandment is a precious promise given to us by our Heavenly Father, to save us from dishonouring Him in this way. It is a promise that if we will take His holy name upon is in faith, believing in His power to save us from our sins, it shall not be in vain, for He will lead us "in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Czar of Russia has typhoid fever.

-The amount already voted for the war in South Africa is ?66,680,700.

-Railway accidents have been quite frequent of late on the Continent, with severe loss of life in each case.

-The steamship City of Monticello was wrecked off Yarmouth on the 11th inst., and thirty-two lives were lost.

-The temperature in London has been thirteen degrees higher this month than the average for this time of year.

-In order to bring the Indian Army up to the modern standard in the line of ordnance, ?2,500,000 are to be spent for guns.

-The German Government's estimate of the cost of the China expedition up to January 1, 1900 one is ?7,600,000, none of which has yet been granted by the Reichstag.

-The famine sufferers receiving relief in India now number only about three-quarters of a million, and it is expected that relief operations will soon be brought to an end.

-The convention for the friendly acquisition of the Swiss Central Railway system by the Confederation has been signed. The purchase money amounts to 75,000,000 francs.

-On account of the fact that for three years the importation of sheep into England and Canada from Iceland has been prohibited, many Icelandic sheep-breeders are emigrating to Canada.

-The Paris Exhibition, which closed on the 11th, was visited by fifty million people in the seven months that it was open. This is more than double the number that visited the World's Fair at Chicago.

-"A veritable reign of terror" is reported from Chicago "as a result of wholesale burglaries and highway robberies." The Chief of Police has issued orders for the arrest of every known criminal in the city.

-The Nottingham lacemakers who were taken to the United States to start a factory in the proposed Chicago "Zion," were not allowed to land, on account of the contract labour law, and must return to England.

-The New York Herald's Washington correspondent states that Mr. Long's estimate for the cost of the Navy during the next fiscal year aggregates 87,172,680 dollars, the largest amount ever received, being an increase of 51,280,232 dollars, as compared with the revenue for the preceding year.

-The report of the Commission on the French Naval Budget for 1901, proposes the voting of a sum of 327,689,530f.-an increase of nearly 15,000,000f. on the credit allowed for the present year. The Budget provides for the construction of two first-class battleships, one armoured cruiser, ten torpedo destroyers, eleven torpedo-boats, and eight submarine boats.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

Some people can never be satisfied unless they are in trouble or making it. Last week a tinsmith sued a customer in the Lambeth county court for two-pence. He had already spent three shillings and much time in the quest of this small sum. He should have forgiven the debt, and made his customer a present of half a crown, and still been the gainer, but he had the satisfaction of "standing for his rights." The judge declared him to be a foolish man, and gave judgment against him; yet he was really no more foolish than the majority of people who go to law.

The Old Testament is often spoken of by thoughtless people as a yoke of bondage. But if the Old Testament be a yoke of bondage, the New must be also. Its requirements are at least as difficult. Christ did not introduce a lower standard of conduct in His sermon on the mount. The one who takes the New Testament as his standard has got as hard a master as the Jew who found a yoke of bondage in the Old Testament. The man who accepts them both and lives by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, instead of trying to live up to some of them, finds in both Old and New Testament the power of God unto salvation.

We are often told that we cannot now be doing all the will of God, because we do not yet know it all. This implies that if we only knew it all we could do it all, and that knowing is equivalent to doing. But the fact is that few people do all the righteousness that they know; and it in also certain that no one can of himself do all of God's law, even though that knowledge be the least possible amount. Only the grace of God working mightily in us can enable us to do that which we know. But if we never have any more righteousness than our minds can comprehend, we shall always come far short, for God's goodness is as infinite as He Himself. Therefore it is that He in His kindness does "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." It is not our doing, but God working in us both to will and to do. He knows everything, and has all power, and so He can fill us with all fulness of righteousness.

The Chronicle notes the Czar's aversion to "sport" as an evidence of physical weakness, and says that "when he was visiting the Queen at Balmoral the royal keepers were a little chagrined at the lack of enthusiasm which he displayed with regard to the deer-stalking arranged for his diversion. Here is something that follows, however, which is an explanation indeed, and which does honour not only to the Czar himself, but to the people with whom he is so closely allied:-

Apart, however, from constitutional weakness, which renders prolonged and violent exertion distasteful, the Czar inherits from his mother the Danish national characteristic of repugnance to any form of sport which entails suffering on animals. A boy who robbed a bird's nest or tormented a cat or dog would be outlawed in a Danish village.

At the recent Church Congress when one speaker referred to the Queen as "head of the Church of England," he was interrupted by cries of "No! no!" A voice in the congregation called out, "Supreme Governor," and the speaker accepted the amendment, and went on without any further trouble. Simple people that have not had a theological education will hardly see any difference in the distinction.

"All Things Spiritually Discerned" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. He that is spiritual discerneth all things, even the deep things of God. But this is not because the man has in himself any peculiar faculty that lifts him above other men, but because he receives the Spirit of God as a welcome and abiding presence. It is the Spirit that "searcheth all things, yes, the deep things of God," and we have received "the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to as of God." Some one will at once raise the objection that this applies to spiritual things, and does not apply to the attainment of the knowledge that is taught in the schools, and that is commonly recognised in the world as knowledge. To this it need only be replied that nothing can be greater than "the deep things of God," and that whoever can grasp and know them, can certainly comprehend every lower grade. Moreover there is nothing worth knowing unless it is true, and there is to truth except in God; for He is the truth. "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God;" and it is utter folly to call anything wisdom when God calls it foolishness. Therefore everything that men ought to know, they can learn, so as to know it as they ought to know it, only through God.

"Knowing the Truth" The Present Truth 16, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

Knowing the Truth .-The Apostle Paul speaks of men of this world, who are "ever learning, and never able be come to the knowledge of the truth." Is not this good? is it not good to be learning? Certainly not, if one never learns anything; and whoever does not come to the knowledge of the truth never really knows anything. "But," some one will say, "nobody can know everything at once, and since truth is infinite, one can never exhaust it, and so must he ever learning." Quite true; but the true follower of Christ begins with the knowledge of the truth, as Christ says: "If ye continue in My word, than are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth."

Christ is of God "made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." Our part, therefore, is simply to submit ourselves to the wisdom, as well as to the righteousness, of God, and then we shall both know and do. "The world by wisdom knew not God;" and we can no more establish our own wisdom than we can establish our own righteousness. There are wonderful heights and depths and breadths of knowledge for all who are content to learn as little children.

The knowledge of the truth can never be attained by any amount of study; it comes by revelation of God. No one knows God except as Christ reveals Him. When the truth has been revealed to us, and we have accepted it, then we are to go on far ever increasing in knowledge; bat the child of God hag this advantage, that, beginning with the knowledge of absolute truth, he has certainty all the way. He does not have to learn many things that are not so, and then unlearn them. There is no doubt, no theorising, no guesswork, but continual knowledge of the truth, and everything that is learned is so much actual gain.

November 29, 1900

"The Certainty of Hope" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

Very few of the thousands who daily express themselves as hoping for this or that, realise what hope really is. How often we hear of disappointed hopes, of "hopes dashed to the ground," of people who hoped for certain things, but did not get them; and even while telling of their "hope" for some desired thing, some will express the fear that they will be disappointed. Such ones know not what hope really is, and are deluding themselves with false hopes.

There is nothing true but God, for Christ, the revelation of God, is "the truth." He is also the reality, the fulness, of everything that is, because He is the life-the whole of life. He is, and without Him there is nothing. There is but one true God, and but one true love, "the love of God," because "God is love." So there is but one rightful Lord; but one faith-"the faith of Jesus; and but one real hope,-the hope of our calling in God. Eph. iv. 4-7.

This hope does not disappoint. That is the force of the expression, "hope maketh not ashamed," in Rom. v. 5. Real hope does not deceive us; we are not made ashamed by being obliged to admit that we have not received that of which we spoke so confidently. Often have we been embarrassed when we have been asked where a certain thing is, which we have with bright anticipation spoken about expecting to receive. We were disappointed, and would be glad to have the matter forgotten. We feel perhaps a little ashamed of our former enthusiasm, and do not like to have it mentioned. But nothing of this sort happens when we have "the blessed hope" which comes with the experience of justification by faith.

Why is this? What is the reason that hope-all hope that is hope indeed-"maketh not ashamed"? The reason is given: "Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." True hope has its origin in true love-the love of God,-because love "hopeth all things." 1 Cor. xiii. 7. "Love is of God," for "God is love;" therefore love is as enduring and unchanging as God Himself. He is "from everlasting to everlasting," and "the Lord hath appeared

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of old time unto me, saying, Yes, I have loved thee with an everlasting love." It must be evident to all that hope that is based upon such love can never disappoint one.

"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This was promised to Abraham, and the promise was confirmed by an oath,-God swearing by Himself,-for our sakes, that "we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek." Heb. vi. 17-20. All things are assured to us in Christ, and only in Him. Rom. viii. 32. There is nothing in this world or the world to come that we can have except through His cross. So the so-called hope for anything that is not to be found in Him is sure to meet with disappointment; and the hope for everything that is in Him, and that can be had with Him, is as sure of fulfilment, as that He lives.

Even this is not all; for hope is so very real that we truly have the thing hoped for. Thus: God's work was finished from the foundation of the world, and Christ was given before that. Heb. iv. 3. 1 Peter i. 19, 20. On the cross He said, "It is finished." Infinite and everlasting love has bestowed everything. God asks: "What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it." Isa. v. 4. All heaven has already been poured out in the gift of Christ, so that all that we can possibly hope for we already have in Him. We "rejoice in hope of the glory of God," and Christ in us is "the hope of glory." Col. i. 27. He is the brightness of the Father's glory (Heb. i. 3), and the glory that was given Him He has given us (John xvii. 22); therefore having Him we have all things. He is the same to-day that He is in eternity; therefore all the joys of eternity are ours in Him to-day.

This is the "lively hope," the living hope, that we have by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter i. 3. There is no element of doubt or uncertainty in it. The Christian's hope is no vague longing after something in the dim and uncertain future, but a firm grasp of that which is, as well as is to come. This is not simply "the larger hope," but the largest hope, for we are taught to believe that God's mercy is upon us according as we hope in Him. Ps. xxxiii. 22. Then let abiding hope abound, that joy may be full.

"Sight and Riches for Blind Beggars. Mark x. 46-52" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

(Mark x. 46-52)²³1

"And they came to Jericho: and as He went out from Jericho, with His disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timmus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the wayside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace; but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and said, Call ye him. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good cheer; rise, He calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, sprang up, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered him, and said, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And the blind man said unto Him, Rabboni, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him: Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And straightway he received his sight, and followed Him in the way."

ALL BLIND BEGGARS

All the miracles that Jesus did are written "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John xx. 31. Every one of them illustrates some feature or features of the great work of salvation from sin and death. This miracle is one of the most striking, since the blind beggar so aptly represents all unconverted persons, in the church as well as out. It is to the church that Christ says: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev. iii. 17, 18. All who are not in Christ are but blind beggars, wretched and miserable, and at the best clothed only in filthy rags. Isa. lxiv. 6. From this miracle we are to learn that the acts of kindness and mercy that Jesus exhibited for the poor, blind beggar, He is ready and anxious to perform for all. God hath chosen the poor of this world, and there are more promises specially to the poor than to any other class.

CONSCIOUSNESS OF NEED

The first thing to note is, that the blind beggar was conscious of his condition. Most people like to think that they are well off, even if they are not. They will not listen to correction or reproof, for their pride resents it. They may even pray for the Holy Spirit, but when He comes as a convincer of sin, as He always does at first, He is rejected. So they go on blindly in the way that seems right to them, and the end thereof is death. To be keenly conscious of one's lost condition is one of the greatest blessings. One is never nearer salvation than when confessing sin. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

PERSEVERANCE IN SPITE OF DISCOURAGEMENTS

But the one who seeks salvation will often find many who try to discourage him. Even professed Christians often hinder sinners from coming to Jesus. The people near Bartimaeus rebuked him, telling him not to make so much noise. What would the great Teacher, who had thousands following Him, and hanging on every word, care for a poor, insignificant, blind beggar? So many a poor soul is told: "You have committed the unpardonable sin;" or, "You are not one of the called; you are not of the elect;" or, "The Lord cannot be bothered with so unimportant a person as you." Many such doubts will be suggested by the devil personally, or by some of his agents; for be it known that every soul who utters a single word of doubt or discouragement to any other soul is doing the devil's work.

This poor man, however, was not to be discouraged. The more the people tried to keep him from Jesus, the more determined he was to attract His attention. "He cried out the more a great deal."

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He had of course never seen Jesus, and had never known personally of any of His wonderful works; but he had heard of Him, and he recognised His opportunity now that Jesus was passing by. He believed in the power of Jesus, and hoped in His mercy. Let him be your example in perseverance, and let rebuffs and discouragements only strengthen your courage.

CALLED BY THE LORD

Jesus stood still at the call of Bartimaeus. Everything in heaven waits on the faintest cry for help. He who listens when the ravens cry, and who opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing, will never ignore the cry of suffering humanity. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him." "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion." Ps. cxi. 4. "He will ever be mindful of His covenant." No matter what the Lord is doing, He will always stop "to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death."

"And He said, Call ye him." The word which Jesus made by men is just as valid as the word that sounded from His own lips from the mountain top, in tones that shook the earth. He "confirmeth the word of His servant." To us God has committed the ministry of reconciliation, and He has put the word of reconciliation into us. Therefore the word which God speaks by the mouth of any of His servants is as sure and as steadfast as though He used no human agent. We have not, therefore, to distinguish between the writers of the Bible, and to say that this is from Moses, and this from Isaiah, and this from Paul. No; all is from God.

THE ASSURANCE OF THE CALL

They that were sent said to the blind man, "Be of good cheer, rise, He calleth thee." How many doubt that they have been called. "If I only knew for certain that I was one of the called, I should be happy," is a statement that we often hear. We assure such an one that the Lord has called him, but he repeats, "O, if I only could know it." Well, how did blind Bartimaeus know that the Lord had called him? The Lord did not lift up His voice, and He had not directed a single word to him. All the assurance he had was the statement of those who did hear Him. Suppose Bartimaeus had not believed them? Well, perhaps Jesus might have come to him, and called him personally, for He is wondrously kind and long-suffering; but such a manifestation of doubt would have been to tempt the Lord. Then "how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him?"

Has God really called us? Yes; He has "chosen us" in Christ "before the foundation of the world" (Eph. i. 4), and "the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Acts ii. 39. That is, the Lord has called "all that are afar off." This means everybody. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God sent the word of salvation unto His people, "preaching peace by Jesus Christ, (He is Lord of all)" Acts x. 36. Note the statement "He is Lord of all," in connection with the fact that God was preaching peace by Jesus Christ; it indicates that He preaches peace to all. So we read: "I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him." Isa. lvii. 19. All, both near and far, are called. "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." Isa. xiv. 22. When one comes to another with these words of the Lord, and that other refuses to believe that he has been called, he is as unreasonable as Bartimaeus would have been if he had demanded that Jesus come to him in person, instead of sending messengers.

"BE OF GOOD CHEER"

"Be of good cheer; rise, He calleth thee." That is reason enough to be of good cheer. Everybody on earth ought to rejoice, because God has called all. "Be of good cheer;" when? Now, no matter what your condition or circumstances. "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." In the midst of tribulation, our joy may be full, from the mere knowledge that we are the chosen of God. "He loves me, and has chosen me," sings the heart of the maid, as she thinks of the lover, who to her is best of all. Even so our hearts should sing for joy, as we remember that "He loved me, and gave Himself for me." He has given the highest possible proof of His love to us and all mankind.

As showing the call to be "joyful in tribulation," note the fact that Bartimaeus was still a blind beggar when he was told to be of good cheer. He was not told to be cheerful because he had been healed, or had received a legacy, but simply because Jesus had called him. That was enough. Some of the sweetest songs and the most joyful testimonies have come from poor, blind cripples whose hearts were aglow with the thought of God's unbounded and impartial love.

LEAVE ALL YOU HAVE

Bartimaeus cast away his garment, and "sprang up" to go to Jesus. He was a beggar, and wanted clothing, but that did not make him keep what he had, when Jesus called him. He was going to an audience with the King, and the more needy he was, the more he could expect to receive. "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags about them, and cling to them, trying to make them appear to be clean garments. This is when we try to minimise our faults, or even to make out that they are virtues. Better far to acknowledge them, and cast them away, that Jesus may give us an entire new suit of white raiment. Yes, even though some of our clothing were not so bad, it is better to give all up, for "no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly;" and if we get back anything form His hands we are sure that it is right.

There was no delay, no hesitation. The blind beggar "sprang up, and came to Jesus." Why should he not do so? He had called to Jesus; why should he not make haste to come as soon as the word of the Lord came to Him? If he had not, he would have shown that there was no real sincerity in his call. Many bemoan their condition, separate from the Lord, and make may requests to Him, and then timidly shrink back when they get the assurance that they are called. Thus they cast doubt upon their sincerity in calling. If they did not believe that Jesus would give them what they needed, why did they call on Him? and if they did believe when they called, why do they not accept as soon as He speaks?

SAVED BY FAITH

Jesus asked what Bartimaeus wished Him to do. Not that He did not know but a thing that is worth having is worth asking for. God knows that we have need of food before we ask Him, yet He tells us

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to pray. "Give us this day our daily bread." Asking for a specific thing fixes our attention on it, and thus causes us to recognise God's gift in response.

The request was simple and direct: "Lord, that I might receive my sight;" and the answer came, "Go thy way; thy faith hath saved thee." (See margin of Revised Version.) He was told to go away while he was still blind, just as the ten lepers were told, while still leprous, to go and show themselves to the priest. And immediately he received his sight. "Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark xi. 24.

Do you believe this story about Bartimaeus? If you do, you know how to receive forgiveness and perfect righteousness from God. These miracles were recorded "that believing, ye might have life through His name." "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." The blind beggar's faith brought him faith sight, yes, and full salvation, too; for Jesus said, "Thy faith hath made thee whole," or "saved thee." In the gift of sight, Bartimaeus got everything he needed. So

"Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind.
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come."

"'The Hope of His Calling'" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

"The Hope of His Calling." -In the story of blind Bartimaeus we have a good illustration of the fulfilment of the Apostle Paul's prayer for us, that God would give us the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened; that we "may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." Eph. i. 17, 18. When they said to him, "Be of good cheer; rise, He calleth thee," hope sprang up in his breast, and he was glad. In the call he perceived, and in faith grasped, all the blessings that the Master designed to bestow when He called him. The God of all grace has "called us into His eternal glory" (1 Peter v. 10), and therefore when we accept the call, we may at once be "joyful in hope." He does not call us to deceive us; "He cannot deny Himself;" so that the call itself makes the eternal glory sure to us.

"Whate'er thou lovest; man, that too, become
thou most;
God, if thou lovest God; dust, if thou lovest dust."

"The Editor's Private Corner. The Labour Question" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

"Having had some personal experience in Labour Unions, Working Men's Associations, and of course in strikes, the question has come to me (because I have invariably found it that these Unions bring about the majority of strikes, with the distress and hunger which always follow, if the strike is prolonged). What should be my attitude as a Christian toward these organisations?

"If I do not become a member I am boycotted, and have to suffer in that way.

"Again, Why should Christians yield up all things to men of the world? Why should they not have a share in the blessings and good things of the world? Why should the devil have all his own way? Should we not fight him for some of the good things he seems to have appropriated for his followers?"

I think that your question answers itself, even if we take so thought of the moral aspect of the case, even allowing that it is proper for a Christian to "fight for his rights," what is the use of fighting a losing battle? You say that a prolonged strike is always accompanied by hunger and distress, and every account that I have ever read has convinced me that this is true; what good things, then, are gained by fighting?

I have before me a Welsh newspaper's estimate of the cost of the Taff Vale strike. It is put at ?400,000, of which sum the men had to sustain upwards of three-fourths. I have not exact statistics at hand, but I am awe that no one who has given thought to the matter will deny that there we very few strikes, even where the strikers gain their point, where the small increase in pay equals the loss of wages sustained in fighting for it. There is the loss of wages for weeks, and sometimes for months, to which is to be added the wastefulness and demoralisation that always attend idleness. Often the strike is not for increased pay, but for fewer hours of labour, so that at best the actual gain to the workman is nothing; but if the strike for increased pay is "successful," many months must elapse before the sum gained can make up for the cost of the struggle to gain it, and often the lose is never made good.

But the majority of strikes do not result in securing the end sought, and the strikers, after being out of employment for weeks or months, go back to work on the same terms as before. Where then does the gain and blessing come in? No; on a purely selfish, mercenary basis, a strike is one of the most foolish things in the world. It is much like a man cutting his own throat, to demonstrate his right to live independently.

You rightly say that "Trades Unions" and so-called "labour leaders," are responsible for strikes and the attendant suffering. If these "labour leaders," who are such, not because they lead in labour, or ever engage in honest toll, but because they had labour and labourers into captivity, were themselves affected, by the strikes which they encourage or impose, there would be fewer of these suicidal struggles. As with wars, so with strikes,-they are rarely begun by the people, but by men who serve their own ends at the expense of others who are foolish enough to be controlled by them.

LABOUR A BLESSING

But you are questioning me concerning your duty as a Christian, and therefore we must take our answer from the Christian's Guidebook, without any regard to the matter of possible pecuniary gain to ourselves. Let no therefore take a brief, comprehensive view of the labour question as set forth in the Scriptures.

It is a popular error, fostered by many thoughtless Christians, that labour is a part of the curse that has come because of sin. This is a grave error. Man was set to work by the Creator as soon as he was created. The command was: "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue it." Gen. i. 28. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him

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into the garden of Eden, to dress it and, to keep it." Gen. ii. 15. Labour is a blessing, a privilege which makes man an associate with God, and which will be continued throughout eternity. Jesus said. "My Father worketh hitherto and I work." John v. 17. The curse came upon the earth, making it less fruitful, and less responsive to man's efforts, and so more labour had to be expended for much smaller returns than before; but when the earth is made new again, and men are restored to the first dominion, "they shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble," for God's people "shall long enjoy the work of their hands." "They shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." Isa. lxv. 21-23

OUR RULE OF LIFE

The earth is yet under the curse, but true Christians are not; for "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse," and "if any man be in Christ; he is a new creation;" therefore Christians are to live in this earth the same as if it were already made new, or there had never been any curse. With them "old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new; and all things are of God." 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. God is sole ruler, and His Word is our sole rule of life.

OUR LIVES OWED TO THE WORLD

Contrary to the lazy man's motto, "The world owes me a living," the fact is we owe our lives to the world. The Apostle Paul's words are true for all: "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise." Rom. i. 14. If the world did owe us a living, and we were obliged to depend on it, we should surely die; for it would never pay the debt; it cannot give life. "The world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." 1 John ii. 17. "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts xvii. 25); and since the life of the Lord has been given for the world, it is evident that that portion which in us belongs to the world also.

DESTROYING LABOUR AND LIFE

In order that the instruction from Scripture may be more impressive, and its practical necessity may be more apparent, I will quote for you a bit of an article by John T. Day, Editor of the Shoe and Leather Record, in the Daily Mail of November 15. Writing on the greater cost of producing boots and shoes in England than in America, he says:-

For this lamentable state of things the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives is chiefly to blame. Its members are not allowed to do more than a certain quantity of work. Only a few months ago we had a lurid light thrown upon union methods in Leicester, where an operative named Shelton cut his throat rather than face the Union Committee, and at the inquest it came out that the charge to which he was invited to reply was merely that he had done too much work.

A pencilled scrawl addressed to his wife and found upon his body ran thus:-

"Dear Emma,-Forgive me for doing this, for I should be spotted all the remainder of my life. God bless you all."

It is a well-known fact that the average labourer's chief ambition seems to be to do as little work as possible in a given time, and not as much as possible, and that the Trades Unions are largely responsible for it. An active man is not allowed to do his best. Now this is in direct opposition to the Scripture injunction, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Eccl. i. 10.

This is not an arbitrary commandment, but one which, like everything right, grows out of the very nature of things. "In all labour there is profit." Prov. xiv. 23. This has no reference to pecuniary remuneration; the profit is in the labour itself. Labour elevates. Every man degenerates physically, mentally, and morally by idleness. A man who idles his time away, or who slights his work, or who purposely does less work in a given time than he is able to do, is sure to lose his manhood. Even though he get full pay, and more than pay for his time, he suffers a loss which nothing can make good. So far at least as any man's own personal profit is concerned, it would certainly be far better for him to labour hard for no wages, than to live a life of idleness with a regular income.

LABOURING BECAUSE WE LIVE, NOT FOR A LIVING

It must be remembered that we are not to "work for a living." "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." John vi. 27. The Lord tells us not to be anxious about what we shall eat, or what we shall drink, or with what we shall be clothed; "for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. vi. 31-33. We are not to labour in order to get a living, but to labour because God has given it to us, and has said, "Six days shalt thou labour."

It is evident that if these scriptures were believed and followed, there could be no labour troubles. A Christian can no more quarrel with his employer, or go on strike, than he can lie or steal. A man's work should have absolutely no reference to the wages he receives; he should do all he can, in the best way that he can, whether he gets little or much. If he be earning, say, thirty shillings a week, and for any reason his wages are reduced to twenty-five shillings, he should do just as much work as before. To many this counsel will seem foolish, and purely theoretical, but it is practical; and the man who will follow it as a life principle will never lack employment or food.

NO EQUIVALENT FOR LABOUR

People talk about "receiving an equivalent" for labour; but there is no such thing as an equivalent for honest toil, whether physical or mental. No money can be reckoned in comparison with a man's best thoughts or muscular energy. Labour is life, and money is not to be mentioned as an equivalent for life. If this be remembered, there will be an end of heart-burnings and jealousies because some one with no more ability than we, and who does even less work, receives greater pay. That is not our business. We serve the Lord Christ, and to Him we look for our reward.

"But we should be so oppressed that life would be a burden, if we lived according to this principle," you say. "Employers would take advantage of it, and would not give us anything."

Well, it all depends upon whether or not the principle is correct. If it is, and it surely is, because it comes from God's word, then we may be sure that God will honour it in us if we live by it. "I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor." Ps. cxl. 12.

ESSENTIAL WICKEDNESS OF STRIKES

Now a word as to the ethics of strikes, beyond that which is settled by the labour principle already set forth. Suppose we are oppressed: the Lord tells us to expect tribulation in this world. "Do not rich men oppress you?" James ii. 6. But "the just" do not resist, even when condemned and killed. James v. 6. Jesus said: "Resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to

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him the other also." "And if any man shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Matt. v. 39, 40. You may say that that is out of date or impractical; but it is the rule for Christians, and we are considering the matter from the Christian's point of view.

"Love seeketh not her own," and "love is the fulfilling of the law; "therefore he who strikes for higher pay, even though it be justly due him, is violating the law of God.

WHEN SATAN HAS IT HIS OWN WAY

Again, you ask why we should yield up all things to men of the world, and why the devil should have it all his own way. The devil never does have it his own way, except when we depart from the principles of Christ, to gain some of the "good things of this world." Satan once offered all the world to Christ, on condition that Christ would worship him. Christ would not do it, but chose rather to die, and thus He won the world. We may be sure that no man can got this world unless he does homage to Satan.

"The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Every evil thing, every deed of violence that a man does, comes back upon himself. "He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate." Ps. vii. 15, 16. Striving and fighting for that which we desire to have will never obtain for us anything that is real and lasting.

WORKING AND EATING

While it to true that we are not to work merely for a living, it is nevertheless a Divine commandment that if a man will not work he shall not eat. 2 Thess. iii. 10. If a man, therefore, for any reason whatever, refuses to work when he is able to work, and there is work to do, he deserves to starve; and whoever assists or encourages him in his idleness is encouraging disobedience to God.

SELF-CONFESSED SLAVES

I know the plea that is often made by labourers: "We would like to work; we have no personal grievance, and we have opposed the proposition to strike; but the strike has been declared, and we are obliged to stop work." This shows the wickedness of the whole thing, more than anything else. If trades unions were for the purpose of encouraging labourers, of instructing them in their trades; of assisting them to secure work, and helping them when they are ill, they would be useful; but the fact that they tyrannies over labourers, and enslave them, and terrorise them, shows that they are wholly bad. We are not now making any plea for capitalists, as against labourers. They can take care of themselves, and need no help from us, although I must bear testimony that all attacks upon them, whether by word or deed, are wicked, no matter how oppressive they may be; but the great objection to modern trades unions, aside from the moral aspect of the case, is that they are the greatest enemies of the working man. Labouring men have suffered more from them than from oppressive employers. A labour monopoly is worse than a money monopoly.

The man who says that he is compelled to stop work against his will is as much a slave as the one who against his will is driven to his work by the lash of the overseer. Only in the latter case the man has been captured and sold; and so is not responsible for his condition, while in the former. The man has voluntarily placed himself in a state of servitude. Such slavery is utterly incompatible with Christianity; for "he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's free man." 1 Cor. vii. 22.

We need not spend time to do more than refer to the wickedness of those who not only will not work themselves, but who, even with violence, hinder others from working. And what shall be said of professed Christian journalists who give countenance to such practices by stigmatising as "blacklegs" the honest men who wish to obey God's commandment to work whenever they can find work? The term is a disgrace only to the man who uses it.

CONTENT WITH WHAT WE HAVE

Finally, remember that it is not this world, but the one to come, that we as Christians are to seek. Let those have this world who will. "What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" And it is certain that he who gains this world does so at the expense of his soul. Gain is not godliness; "but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out; and having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."

"The Children. The Lord's Prayer. 'Thy Kingdom Come'" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

"THY KINGDOM COME"

His Kingdom of God that Jesus has taught us to pray for,-where is it? what is it? He tells us Himself where His Kingdom is. He says we are not to say, "Lo I here; or Lo! there," as though His kingdom were in any special place. And then He adds, "for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

By this He means that your own heart, your own life, your own body is His kingdom; this is where the great King of glory wants to set His throne and to rule. And in doing this He is only taking His own rightful place, for His kingdom is within us, whether we will let Him reign there or not. He will not force His way in, even to take possession of His own kingdom, but He leaves it to us to choose who shall be our king. He says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in."

"Knocking, knocking, who is there?
Waiting, waiting, O how fair;
'Tis a Pilgrim, strange and kingly,
Never such was seen before;
Ah, my soul, for such a wonder,
Wilt thou not undo the door?"

Think of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the King of all the worlds, knocking and waiting at the door of your heart, for you to say, "Come in, and take Thine own place, and reign over me," is this what you mean, dear children, when you say to Him daily, "Thy kingdom come"? If not, if you do not really want to let Him have the complete control of your life, the words are only a mockery, and not a prayer at all.

But although He is so gentle with you, and knocks and waits so patiently, yet "His arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies," and He will "cast out of His kingdom all things that offend and do iniquity." "Evil cannot dwell with Him," so when you let Him in, every evil thing will have to go out. It will be cast out by His pure and holy presence within you,-destroyed by the brightness of His coming."

Do you remember the story of Dagon, the false god of the Philistines? These poor people had given to Dagon the place in their hearts that God had made for Himself. The Philistines went to war with Israel, and in one of their battles they carried away the Ark of the God of Israel, that represented His presence with them.

The Ark was carried by the Philistines into the temple of their god Dagon, and set up there and left. But in the morning Dagon had fallen down from the high place they had made for him, and was lying in the dust. Thinking that this might have been an accident, they set Dagon up again, but the next day they found that the idol had not only fallen down, but was broken to pieces. God loved these poor Philistines, and wanted to teach them that He was the one true God, their true King, with power to cast down all their idols, and put every evil thing away from them, so that they should worship and serve Him only.

Let the King of glory into your heart, and He will rule there and cast out all His enemies. Who or what are these enemies, do you ask? Do you not know that there is one who has sought to take the Lord's place in the heart of every one? He who said, "I will be like the Most High," "I will exalt my throne," Satan (which means the adversary or enemy), has seated himself on the Lord's throne in the hearts of the children of men. But the kingdom does not belong to him, for "Thine, O Lord, in the kingdom," so Satan is a usurper and a thief.

And Oh, what sad havoc his evil reign has wrought among men! He first led Adam and Eve to disobey God, then Cain to kill his brother Abel. And every evil deed that has ever been done in this world has been prompted by this wicked "spirit that now ruleth in the children of disobedience."

Satan is stronger than we,-so strong that we are just led captive by him at his will so long as we let him rule. He puts angry thoughts into our minds, naughty words in our mouths, and makes us do unkind things. He keeps as from doing the good that we would like to do, and makes us do the evil things that we hate. But, thank God, there is One stronger than Satan, One who has already conquered him, and so can cast him out with a single word. Jesus showed this when He commanded the evil spirits to come out of the bodies of those who were possessed with them, and they obeyed His word in fear and trembling. So the Lord Jesus can cast Satan out of our hearts, and every high thing that exalts itself against Him, and bring every thought into captivity to Himself.

But perhaps you want to know what we may expect if we let Him in to rule. Here is what His word tells us that His kingdom brings. "The kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy." This is what the King will bring in with Him. He is the "King of Righteousness," and He is

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able to "make an end of sin and to bring in everlasting righteousness," so that you will be saved from doing the naughty things that you hate, and will have power to do what is right.

And He is also the "King of Peace." He is our peace, and we are told to "let the peace of God rule in our hearts." You remember how the angels sang, "Peace on the earth," when Jesus came to live here; and so will His coming bring sweet peace to your heart. No more strife, no angry, bitter words, no quarrelling, where He reigns. No; for He will "cast out of His kingdom all things that offend."

And His kingdom is "joy." You know that the nature of a kingdom depends on the character of the king. A wise, good king means a happy people. Surely, His blessed reign of peace must bring fullness of blessing to all His subjects.

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing."

But are you wondering if the Lord wants the hearts of the very little children for His kingdom? Yes, even the tiniest; for when He came to earth to show us where and what His kingdom is, He took the form of a tiny babe. This shows us that all, from the very first moment of their birth, we the subjects of His kingdom. Through all the years of helpless infancy and growing childhood, the "righteousness, and peace, and joy" of the kingdom of God ruled in His heart, showing what God can do for every little one. It showed His power and His willingness to put the kingdom of God into the heart of every child who will receive it. And Jesus said that only those who "receive the kingdom of God like little children," can ever enter therein. So every little child can "receive the kingdom of God." Do you not want to be a child of the Kingdom? Will you not pray in spirit and in truth, "Thy kingdom come?"

Next week we will tell you more about this heavenly kingdom, and of how the will of the great King shall at last be fully done "on earth as it is in heaven."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

-Early next year an attempt will be made to cross, or go through, the Atlantic in a submarine boat.

-One hundred years ago there was not a town in England, except London, that had 100,000 Inhabitants, and London had less than a million.

-A coloured youth, aged sixteen, has been burnt at the stake in a town in Colorado, U.S.A., for the murder of a white girl. The father of the victim applied the torch to the faggot.

-No fewer than 5,000,000 copies of the Bible, or portions of it, have been distributed by the British and Foreign Bible Society during this year, making a total of 165,000,000 copies during the century.

-The Russian Government has instituted free courses in the Chinese language for adults among the Russian population of Vladivostock and Port Arthur, and attendance is compulsory. At the same time it has been deemed that the official language of Finland must henceforth be Russian.

-Measles is repotted to be raging among the Boer prisoners in Ceylon.

-It is expected that the penny poet will be established in Victoria, Australia, on January 1.

-It is said to be now conclusively proved that bubonic plague is raging in Kaffraria, South Africa.

-A small-pox epidemic is said to be raging in Paris, there being no less than 400 cases at the Hospital of Aubervilliers.

-From five millions a few months ago, the number of famine relief cases in India has been reduced to half a million.

-The Italian Government has offered a reward of ?8,000 for the capture, dead or alive, of Mussolini, the celebrated Calabrian bandit.

-It was thought that the Czar had typhoid fever in very mild form, but it is now reported that his condition is far from satisfactory.

-A single share in the New River Water Company was sold at auction on the 21st inst. for ?120,000. The bidding began at 295,000. The dividend on this share last year was ?2,994, and there is considerable prospect of an increase.

-In connection with the appearance of bubonic plague at Izeil, near King William's Town, a proclamation lamed by Sir Alfred Milner declares all the ports on the East Coast of South Africa between the 10th and 40th parallels to be infected areas under the Cape Colony Health Act.

-All records for business on the New York Stock Exchange were utterly eclipsed on the 21st inst. The report says that "no such market was ever before known in Wall Street, and the excitement smug speculators was intense. Before the market closed 1,800,000 shares had changed hands."

-It is reported from Washington that since the occupation of Pekin by the allied forces, documents have been found, which show that Chinese missionaries crossed the Pacifist and landed in Mexico about 498, A.D., where they erected many temples and spread the doctrines of Confucius, teaching the natives many arts and crafts.

-It has hitherto been supposed that the greater the distance in sending messages by wireless telegraphy the higher must be the pole to which the receiver and transmitter are attached; but although it was necessary to remove the topmast of the Channel steamer Clementine, because of a gale on a recent trip, the change made no difference in the communication with the land.

-A telegram from the United States, the 21st inst. says: "A terrific cyclone swept through Tennessee and Mississippi last night, causing a great loss of Iife and destruction of property. Fifty people are known to have been killed. There were severe floods in Texas and Arkansas, while in Iowa, Missouri, and Dakota heavy snowstorms occurred. Railway traffic is almost at a stand-still."

-The National Paper Company, a new American company with a capital of 21,000,000, will soon begin to manufacture paper from the hulls of cotton seed, which are now mere waste. The company controls a new process for manufacturing pulp from this material, so the c tat of production will be only one-third that of wood pulp, and an important reduction in the price of paper is expected.

-The sanitary condition of Peking is becoming a matter of grave concern. Since the occupation of the city by the allied forces large numbers of Chinese have died, the cause of death in numerous instances being smallpox and other infectious diseases; and, owing to the fear of the natives that the funerals would be interfered with by the foreigners, the great majority of the corpses remain unburied, having been simply placed in coffins and kept either in the dwelling houses or the courtyards attached to them.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

Some of the papers which worked hardest to stir up the war spirit in England a year ago are loudest in their denunciation of the riotous conduct of the crowds which welcomed home the City Imperial Volunteers, and celebrated the relief of Mafeking. They do not like the appearance of the spirit they so zealously invoked. What then would they have thought if they could have witnessed the slaughter and mutilation and cruelty of the actual warfare? Surely they would have repented of their part in bringing it about, and would cease to blame the unthinking passions they had themselves aroused. For, having succeeded in awakening the spirit of envying and strife, they are responsible also, to the same degree, for the "confusion and every evil work," which accompany these. James iii. 16. If the minor results are disgusting to respectable people, how much more revolting ought the greater evils to be.

A little incident that is reported in connection with the production of a now play, shows how utterly wrong the whole basis of plays and acting is. A novel in which the scenes are laid in the reign of Henry VIII. has been dramatised, and the play is liberally interspersed with oaths. The actress who was chosen to act the part of Mary Tudor, refused to appear in the play unless the oaths were eliminated, as she objected to using them; but the author asserted that oaths were frequently used by ladies of that period, and seemed to think that this ought go reconcile any actress to the use of them. That is to say, if any evil practice has ever been followed by anybody, that makes it necessary to reproduce it on the stage. But did not ladies of that period, including Mary Tudor herself, ever do any good thing? If so, why not, if there must be plays, give that side of their lives? Everybody knows that such plays would be voted dull, which shows that the only object of the theatre is to appeal to that side of human nature which delights in scandal and in thinking on that which is bad.

What is more common than this: Two persons who, so comparative strangers, are most polite and obliging to each other, find that their paths lie in the same direction, and, becoming intimately acquainted, do not hesitate to speak sharply, discourteously, and even at times bitterly to each other. It ought not to be so. Surely the love that is kind even though it suffers long must be exceedingly kind when it meets love. God gives us the privilege of knowing some persons intimately, and of loving them, so that the kindness which our love prompts us to show them may serve as a standard for our treatment of all. Instead of giving the best to strangers, and the worst to intimate friends, love should manifest itself in its highest form to those upon whom we have the privilege of bestowing it freely; and then, as children of Him who is good to all, we shall know how to behave to those who touch our lives less closely.

Truth is that which is; it is reality. All else is emptiness. Christ is the truth, and in Him all fulness dwells. Now as it is evident that looking at vacancy is unprofitable, it is equally plain that in looking at any person or thing we should fix our eyes only on the measure of Christ that is revealed. For our own good, we ought to see only the good that is in others, since it is a principle that we unconsciously become like that which we habitually look at and think of. Therefore "whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be say virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

A religious journal, speaking of Temperance Sunday, and the sermons to be preached on it, said:-

"Those who have never looked carefully into the matter cannot believe what a startling difference would be produced if we could but stay the ravages of strong drink. The Gospel has not been preached in this country for a thousand years in vain. Christian influences are so powerful and widespread that if we could but remove this one accursed barrier they would flood the whole country with the Divine blessing."

This statement of the case reveals the secret of why temperance does not make more headway. It is because men think that intemperance must be removed by political methods, in order to give the Gospel an opportunity to work; and thus they reveal their lack of confidence in the Gospel. God always uses man in His work, but it is He who does the work. He is not dependent on men to go ahead and clear His way, so that He can have a chance. No one need expect that intemperance or any other sin will ever be extirpated except by the fires of the last day; but they may depend upon it that the only real gain in that direction will be by the power of the Gospel on individuals, and not by laws enacted for the man.

"Mourning Lack of Faith" The Present Truth 16, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

Mourning Lack of Faith .-It is not an uncommon thing to hear a Christian speak something like this: "I mourn my lack of faith." We never hear without thinking, "What is the use?" Why waste time mourning over that which may easily be remedied? We are doubtless all sorry for past unfaithfulness; but mourning will not remedy the matter, and we may rejoice because we know that the sin is covered by the faithful righteousness of Christ. And as for the present, it seems not merely useless, but positively sinful, for a man to say that he mourns his lack of faith. It is an insult to the Lord. Imagine one man saying to another, "I am very sorry that I have very little faith in what you say;" what would the other understand it? Just this: "I am sorry that your word and character are so uncertain that I cannot have more confidence in you." Everybody would know that this was what he meant; yet they cannot see the inconsistency of saying that they know that God is true, yet they cannot believe Him. If you have not had faith until now, then know that God abideth faithful, and cannot lie, and then believe Him at once and for ever; and the God of hope will "fill you with all joy and peace in believing."

December 6, 1900

"A Guest with Sinners. Luke xix. 1-10" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

(Luke xix. 1-10.)²⁴1

"Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And He sought to see Jesus who He was; and he could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him; for He was to pass that way.

"And when Jesus came to the place He looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they aIl murmured, saying, That He was gone to be guest with a man that was a sinner.

"And Zacchaeus stood, and sais unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

"And Jesus said, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

As Jesus was about to enter Jericho He met and healed a blind beggar; as He came out, he restored a rich publican. Both received that which they needed, and both were lifted up to the same level in Christ's kingdom.

From that which followed, we may be sure that it was something more than mere curiosity that led Zacchaeus to run before the crowd and climb into a tree to see Jesus. And yet it is evident that he had no idea of the honour that was to be bestowed upon him, or of the rich blessing that he would receive. God does for us more than we can ask or think.

In this incident we have a grand illustration of the text, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Rev. iii. 20. Note that He will come in to "any man" who will open the door. He is not merely willing to come in, but is anxiously knocking. He goes in to be "guest with a man that is a sinner." He did not tell Zacchaeus that if he would repent of his evil deeds, and would put away all his sins, He would

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come to his house. He came to him while he was yet a sinner, and the result of His entering the house was that Zacchaeus was converted. We are not to cleanse our hearts so that the Lord can come in, but to let Him in, so that the heart may be cleansed.

Jesus said to Zacchaeus: "I must abide at thy house." It was necessary for Him to lodge with him. The case was urgent. Even so it is in every case. He does not wait to be invited; He invites Himself, and will come in to abide with all, unless He is repulsed. Necessary as it was for Him to abide at the house of Zacchaeus, He would not have entered his house if he had been unwilling. How anybody can read the parable of the prodigal son, the account of the healing of the lepers, the giving of sight to the blind beggar, and the story of Zacchaeus, and doubt Christ's willingness and earnest desire to be one with the very worst sinners, is a mystery.

Zacchaeus did not imagine that he could atone for fraud by bestowing gifts upon the poor. He at once devoted the half of his goods to feed the poor, but he at the same time took from the remainder to restore fourfold to anybody whom he had wronged. Many seem to think that if they are only "charitable," meaning if they give a great deal to poor people, they can keep all their wrongly-acquired wealth. But "though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, . . . and have not love, it profiteth me nothing." "Love is the fulfilling of the law," one commandment of which is, "Thou shalt not steal." If one has stolen, it is idle for him to say that he repents, if he does not restore that which he has unlawfully taken. If he gives it away, it is just the same as though he kept it himself; for since one can rightly give away only his own, he says, by giving it away, that it is his own, that is, that he has not stolen it. The only way that he can truly confess and forsake the sin is to restore to the one defrauded. And the Bible calls for restoration not merely of the amount stolen, but fourfold; and this Zacchaeus did. He completely separated himself from his sin.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Zacchaeus had no sooner finished his confession than Jesus said, "This day is salvation come to this house." One is never nearer the Lord than when confessing sin. With the confession comes salvation.

"He also is a son of Abraham." To the Pharisees and Sadducees John the Baptist said, "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father;" and Jesus told the unbelieving and criticising Jews that they were children of the devil, and not of Abraham, although all of them could doubtless trace their genealogy direct back through some one of the tribes to Abraham. The sinful publican Zacchaeus, however, despised by the Jews as a renegade, was declared to be a son of Abraham. He was saved because he was a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." The fact that men are lost does not prove that they are not Christ's (for to be a son of Abraham is the same as to be Christ's. Gal. iii. 29), for there are many lost, wandering sons. All who are willing to receive the Lord, all who hear His voice, are His children, His flock. Willingness to acknowledge sin and to accept salvation, marks one as a true child of Abraham, and an heir, according to the promise.

In this we can understand Gal. iv. 1-5. The heir, so long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he is lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." A son is an heir, but in his minority he has no control of his property. He is a son, and a prospective heir. That represents our relation to the promise of God while we are yet in sin. The promise is to us, yet we get no benefit from it until we accept it, and confess our sins. Then we are sons indeed, and heirs. We then take our true place as sons. So it is not a question of whether or not a man is a sinner, but whether he accepts the lord, that determines if he is a child of Abraham, and an heir of God through Christ. "This man receiveth sinners;" how many sinners will receive Him?

"Sing it o'er and o'er again,
Christ receiveth sinful men!
Make the message clear and plain,
Christ receiveth sinful men!"

"Willing, But Unable" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

"Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight." Ps. cxix. 35.

Even though we have learned the law of God well enough to love it and to delight in it, we may still not be able to do it. The Apostle Paul thus describes his experience before he knew Christ: "To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find than a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Rom. vii. 18-28.

This is the condition of everybody who is awakened to conviction of sin, but who has not yet learned to yield to the Spirit. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Gal v. 17. This is the case of the "double-minded man," who is "unstable in all his ways." He cannot go straight.

In such case we have only to pray the prayer quoted at the beginning. God is anxious to guide us, if we are willing to let Him. We are His kingdom, but His place has been usurped by the evil "spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." When we say to Him, "Thine is the kingdom, and the power,"-"Thou hast the right to do as Thou wilt with Thine own; I give Thee full liberty to rule in me, and exercise Thy power in me." He will make us go in the path of His commandments. He is able to put us in the right way, and to keep us from stumbling in it. He works in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

The deliverance of Israel from Egypt is proof of His power to do this. When they "wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way," and in their trouble cried unto the Lord, "He led them forth by the right way." Ps. cvii. 1-7. He says, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. . . . I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by the arms." Hosea xi. 1-3. What a sweet picture of God acting as a nurse to His ignorant, helpless children.

"The Editor's Private Corner. Giving to the Lord" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

"I am the wife of a workingman who is not a Christian, and who is opposed to my giving anything to God. How am I to act regarding giving a tenth? I have no money of my own,-only what is given me for housekeeping."

There are many thousands of godly women in the very same condition as that which you describe; yet the circumstances of each one are different from all the others. In any case, one should be intimately acquainted with the details of all the circumstances, before venturing to give definite advice; and no one can know these so well as the one directly concerned. Consequently, all that I can say to you must be of a general nature.

In the first place you may be comforted with the thought that God does not require impossibilities, except when He Himself expects to perform them; and if there be first a willing mind, "it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." 2 Cor. viii. 12.

This eighth chapter of 2 Corinthians really covers the whole question. It presents the case of the churches in Macedonia, "in a great trial of affliction," yet "the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality." This does not say how much they gave; they may have given an amount much less than that given by some others; for God does not count as men count. You remember that the poor widow who gave a farthing gave more than all the rich men who cast of their superfluity into the treasury; for her whole heart went with it.

Notice that the Macedonians first "gave their own selves to the Lord." When this is really done, the problem of giving is solved; for if one gives himself, all that he has or may acquire is of course the Lord's. We must guard against deluding ourselves with the thought that giving ourselves is a substitute for giving means to God; there can be no real giving of self that does not also include everything we have; and when that is done, we shall be watchful to see every opportunity that is provided, and we may be sure that there will be some.

I cannot tell you how you can have money to give to the Lord, for it is impossible for me to know all the circumstances; they vary with each person, and from day to day. But I can make a few suggestions about giving, that may be helpful to you. First, however, remember that "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all, sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work; being enriched in everything to all bountifulness." 2 Cor. ix. 8, 11. Believe this, and you will find the answer to your question as to how you can give to the Lord. You may find some means unexpectedly coming into your hands; or you may find where you can lessen expenses without in any way diminishing the necessary supply of food; you may be able to purchase more cheaply than you expect; or you may find that some article that you supposed was necessary is really needless, and that by doing without it, or substituting something else for it, you will have some extra money, and still be much better provided for than before. In one of these ways, or in some other, God will enable you to give something; and the very means by which He enables you to give will prove a personal blessing to you.

This is, after all, the real reason why God asks us to give. We cannot enrich Him. He has no need of anything, and if He were hungry He would not tell us, for the earth is His, and the fulness of it. King David probably made greater gifts for the building of the temple, than any other man ever gave; yet he said: "Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of Thee, and

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of Thine own have we given Thee." 1 Chron. xxix. 14. All is from God, but He permits us to give back to Him of His own, in order that we may know the grace of giving. By it He makes us able to appreciate to some extent the blessedness that He experienced and does still enjoy, in giving Himself for us; for He has said that "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

And here I am reminded of a wish that is often expressed, and which is in your mind, namely, "I wish that I had some way of earning money, so that I could feel that I am giving of my own." It is a natural wish, and yet it is not wholly right; for from the scriptures already quoted we can see that God does not wish us to feel that we are giving of our own. He certainly does not wish us to feel what is not so; and the truth is that we have not, and cannot have, anything of our own to give. People often look upon a little child's gifts with a sense of amused superiority, as though it were only playing at giving, when it simply hands over to the contribution box the penny that has been given it for that purpose; but they have no business to feel that way. The child shames us. It gives freely, not merely a part of what it has received, but even all of it, while we often grudgingly give only a part; and, moreover, the tiniest and most helpless child earns whatever it receives, just as truly as the strongest and most active man does. Whatever we have is given to us, no matter how hard we work, just as truly as the little child's penny is given to it; but whereas the child takes its gift and unselfishly passes it on, we often selfishly eat our gifts up ourselves, as though we were afraid we should never have anything more; as though our lives depended on our holding fast to what we get.

Right here again comes in another mistaken idea. We say, "O yes, the child can well give away even all that is given to it, because it knows that it is not at all dependent on that gift, but that all it wants will he supplied aside from that." Exactly; and the fact that we do not think that our wants will be supplied even though we should give away all our living, shows that we have not that childlike simplicity and trust that must characterise all "the children of the kingdom" of heaven. We do not trust our heavenly Father as the little child trusts its father. We have too much pride and unbelief, too much of the spirit of "independence;" and although we cherish these feelings, we get no comfort from them. How much better we should feel, how much more secure and restful, if, instead of feeling that now as adults we are "thrown on our own resources," we should be as confidingly dependent on God as the child is upon the father. "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein." Luke xviii. 14. We are taught to be just as trustful. "Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Matt. vi. 26. "Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."

You say, "How could I give away all that I have for my family's living for any day?" I do not know, and I do not say that you should. Indeed, if I were so thoughtless as to advise it, it would be wrong for you to act upon it. You must never give anything because somebody advises you to, or because people think you ought to, but because your heart makes you willing. See Ex. xxxv. 5, 21. God alone can make you know when and how much to give, and the better we know Him the more simple and childlike will our giving be, and the more shall we see His wondrous working in supplying all our need "according to His riches in glory."

Before we part I must say just a word directly on the payment of the tithe, as it affects your special case. You have no money except that which is given you for housekeeping, yet no matter how great or small the amount, one tenth of it belongs to the Lord, and not to you or to anybody else. Suppose you knew that a part of the money that is handed to you each week had been stolen; would you use it? Of course you would not. Now your husband does not know of or acknowledge the Lord's right to the tithe; but the fact is that, whether one knows it or not, withholding God's tithe is as truly robbery as it would be to appropriate trust funds. Many are unconsciously guilty of robbing God, and He has said that a curse surely follows such a course. See Mal. iii. 8-13. You need nothing further as to your duty; the next question is, can you do it, and trust the Lord for the consequences? You know that the principle of the tithe is that we are wholly dependent on God, and that nine-tenths of our income, or even nothing at all, with the blessing of God, is better than the whole without it. Read again the text just referred to, and see what God says to those who are wholly faithful to Him. Do not make any experiments; it is not good to tempt God; but decide for yourself in His fear what is right, and what you are sure He will enable you to carry through, and then "do as occasion serves." "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."

"The Editor's Private Corner. Watchmen Who See Alike" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

"We cannot all see alike," are the words with which very many people invariably excuse themselves from accepting some truth that is presented to them from the Word of God. They seem to think that if two persons should see exactly alike that would mean the utter destruction of the individuality of one of them. It is supposed that on account of our different temperament and training all things must of necessity appear differently to each person.

If this were true, what would it indicate? Take for example, a light at a distance from a group of people. One says it is a white light, another calls it red, a third stoutly affirms that it is green, while a fourth declares that it is blue. Now it is certain that one light cannot be four different colours at the same time; it seems evident, too, that these four people cannot see alike; and therefore it is very plain that at least three of them have defective eye-sight. The fact that they cannot all see alike is not something to be proud of, but the contrary. If they all had good, true eyes, the light would present the same appearance to each of them.

Suppose these four men are engine-drivers; then the case is of a very serious nature. That light is a signal, and has a definite meaning, and hundreds of lives are dependent on the engine-driver's ability to see it just as it is. Every applicant for the position of driver upon a railway engine is tested as to his ability to distinguish between different colours. The railway company expects that all drivers shall see exactly alike, and they secure their object. With them it is no theory, no fad, but a matter of practical business. And they demonstrate that it is possible for thousands of men to see alike, and to read signals and understand them in just the same way. A man who would think to excuse his failure to read any given signal correctly, by saying, "We cannot all see alike," would instantly find himself out of

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employment, if he did not suffer some worse punishment.

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter i. 19. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Ps. cxix. 105. This word is unchangeable; the light is always the same; it never flickers nor burns dim. If it has a different appearance to different people, we may be sure that it is because they have poor eyes, and that they need the services of a physician. So the Lord says to all such blind and partially blind people, "I counsel thee to . . . anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev. iii. 18. Christ is sent to give "recovering of sight to the blind," so that all may see the same thing in the same way; and He declares that this will be the case with all His people, all of whom are commanded to "watch" (Mark xiii. 37), before He appears:-

"Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." Isa. Iii. 8.

It is apparent to all that it would be a serious matter if an engine driver or a ship's pilot could not see a light just as it is, and if all could not see it alike; but how much more necessary it is for God's people, who are to warn the world of the Lord's coming, to see exactly alike. If they could not, they could not all be sure that He is really the Lord, when He appears. But this difficulty will not exist, for all will see alike, and all will "speak the same thing," being "perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment." 1 Cor. i. 10.

Nor is there any chance for the objection that while all may have good eyesight, all cannot have the same point of view, and that so the same thing may present a different appearance to different persons. The Hebrew of the verse which reads, "The watchmen shall see eye to eye," is literally, "Thy watchmen shall see eye in eye." All will have exactly the same point of view, and all will see the same as if all had but one eye. We have one God, one Lord Jesus Christ, one truth, one faith, one hope; and all are unchanging; and God gives us all a single eye, that we may all see alike. It is true that two persons who meet may not have seen the same thing; but if both have the eyes of their understanding enlightened by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God, each one will see everything that the other really sees, as soon as it is pointed out to him. Let us then give diligence to get good sight, and no more complacently boast of our blindness.

"The Children. The Lord's Prayer. 'Thy Will Be Done'" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

How different the Lord's Kingdom is from the kingdoms of this world, we found in our talk about it last week. The kingdoms of this world are gained and held and ruled, not by love, but by force. The power of the nations is measured by the size of their armies and navies, and the number and deadliness of their weapons of warfare, And the laws that they make have to be "enforced" by magistrates and police courts, and prisons and punishments for those who do not obey them. This is the only way that the kings of this world can cause their will to be done.

But in the Kingdom of God it is not so. "God is love; His nature, His law, is love;" and this is the power by which He does His will. Remember the text we quoted last week, showing that "the kingdom of God is within you." When we let Him reign within us, we can any an Jesus did, "Thy law to within My heart."

"Out of the heart are the issues of life," God's Word tells us. The life blood from the heart carries life to every part of our bodies; so when the law is in the heart, all our members will be "instruments of righteousness unto God." He will rule our whole bodies by His law of love, and use our hands, our feet, our tongues, and all our members, to do His own sweet and holy will. "For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

And since He is love, "His good pleasure" will always be our highest good and happiness, and the blessing and helping of others through us. So shall we not say, as Jesus, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God; yea, Thy law is within my heart"?

Jesus has taught us to pray, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven." So if we would know how God's will is to be done on earth, we must see how it is done in heaven. In the book of Ezekiel we have a picture of the Kingdom of God, a description of His living throne, which shows us the nature of His Kingdom, and how His will is perfectly done in heaven.

After describing the different living creatures that form the throne, Ezekiel says, "Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went; thither was their spirit to go; and they went every one straight forward." That is, whatever it was the will of God that they should do, that was the only thing that they wanted to do, and they did it. They knew the will of God, they delighted in it, and they did it.

Then the prophet explains how this was by saying: "For the Spirit of Iife was in them." The Spirit of God's own life filling these living creatures makes them know and do His will perfectly, and delight in it.

And this is the only thing that makes it possible for the will of God now to be done in us as it is in heaven. In the eighth chapter of Romans we learn that the only way for us to do His will is to be filled with "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," and then "the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us" even now. For it is His Holy Spirit that brings His Kingdom into our hearts, and puts His laws there, so that He rules our whole bodies, and controls all our life.

As "God is love," His will is to make every one and everything in His Kingdom just as happy as it is possible for them to be, and to have every place beautiful and perfect, and filled with that which will give pleasure. So think what a glorious, happy time it will be when His will is as fully done on earth as it is in heaven. "And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one."

Then sin, and all the results of sin, sickness, sorrow, pain, death-all these shall flee away. The Spirit of God shall fill all things with the knowledge of the will of God, and give them the power to de it. The animals will be peaceful and gentle, so that the wolf and the lamb, the lion and the ox can live and feed together, and "a little child shall lead them."

How the loving heart of God must long for this happy time when His will shall be done on earth as in heaven. Shall we not

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pray more earnestly than before "Thy Kingdom come,"

"And sum up all our prayers in one
When we pray, 'Thy will be done.'"

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Egyptian surplus of revenue for 1901 is ?E64,000.

-Over 20,000 new patents have been registered this year.

-A seat on the New York Stock Exchange has just been sold for 47,000 dollars, nearly ?10,000.

-The Financial News says that careful estimates show that the cost of living has increased 20 per cent. in the last year.

-By a premature explosion of dynamite in a mine in the coal district of Aniche, France, Nov. 28, sixteen miners were killed, and thirty or forty injured.

-All the lace factories at Calais and St. Pierre were closed November 26, as a consequence of the regent labour troubles, and 14,000 workpeople are thrown out of employment.

-It is announced from the General Post Office that the postage to be prepaid on letters from this country for the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal will hereafter be 1d. per doz., instead of 2? d., as at present.

-Lord Roberts reports another plot against his life, which was fortunately discovered in time to frustrate it. It was the intention to blow up St. Mary's Church, Johannesburg, during service on Sunday, November .8.

-At the regimental school at Bouillon, Belgium an anarchist plot has been discovered, and on the arrest of several of the students, a list of intended victims was found. Severed persons in the neighbourhood were marked down for death.

-During a football match near San Francisco, November 29, the roof of a glass factory adjoining the grounds, from which about 200 men and boys were watching the game, collapsed, and thirteen were Instantly killed and eighty-two injured. Some were killed by the fall, while others were precipitated into the vats of melted glass and burned.

-The union of the United Presbyterian and the Free Church of Scotland has created a strong feeling of antagonism in the Highland districts, particularly Ross and Sutherlandshire. At Eventon the whole population are said to have turned out against two ministers who came to explain the union, and pelted their carriage with eggs, stones, and other missiles.

-The Washington correspondent of the Herald states that the preliminary report of the Isthmian Canal Commission gives preference to the Nicaragua route over all the other routes proposed, and suggests the construction of a canal 80ft. deep at a cost of 120,000,000 dollars (?24,000,000), with a recommendation that the lock dams be so constructed that the canal can be deepened another 5ft., should commerce require the extension.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

The following most pertinent questions were asked in a recent speech by Mr. Israel Zangwill:-

"Why have the fighting classes the monopoly of the motto, 'England expects every man to do his duty'? Why is it not hung up in workshops to counteract the teaching of the trade unions that it is wrong to do an honest day's work?"

The Christmas number of PRESENT TRUTH will be out early. It will be liberally illustrated, provided with a tinted cover, and will contain a large variety of interesting and timely matter. We invite the assistance of our friends in giving it the widest possible circulation. Doubtless there are many homes where the inmates are too poor to purchase a copy, and yet these need the Gospel the most. If those who are able to do so should provide themselves with extra copies and distribute them in these needy places, many a home darkened by poverty might be cheered by some rays of Gospel light. Some may be so situated that they cannot conveniently distribute the papers themselves, and yet would desire to have a part in the enterprise. Such are invited to send in their contributions to the PRESENT TRUTH, and this fund will be used in providing copies of the paper free to those unable to purchase it, and in placing it in public reading rooms. We feel sure that there are many readers of PRESENT TRUTH whose hearts have been touched with the spiritual needs of the poor, and who will gladly join us in the effort to present them with something bright, cheerful, and really helpful in the way of religious reading.

Strictly temperate people have had reason to congratulate themselves, as they have read of the hundreds who have been poisoned in Manchester, Liverpool, and other towns in the North, from drinking beer. Quite a number have died. The cause of this wholesale poisoning was for a long time a mystery, but it has now been ascertained that it was due to arsenic in the sulpheric acid used in the refinement of the glucose that is employed in the manufacture of beer. We pity the poor victims, but are glad that no such danger lurks in our food or drink. People who will persist in spending their money for that which is not bread, must not be surprised if they receive something far worse than a stone instead of food. There has been much agitation over the matter of the poisoned beer; but the loss of life and the disease caused by it has been infinitesimal, compared with that occasioned by beer that is called food. There is far more danger in ordinary beer than in beer with extra poison in it.

"I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee." Isa. xlii. 6.

"He holds it in His own right hand,
Can any pluck it thence,
Since He who is the 'Pearl of price'
Is also its defence."

"Defending a Defence" The Present Truth 16, 49.

E. J. Waggoner

We are in receipt of a handbill advertising a series of lectures "to establish the truths of Christianity, and to defend the Bible against all phases of unbelief, infidelity, and scepticism." It is wholly a work of superogation, for "the foundation of God standeth sure," having been established ages ago by the Lord Himself. "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." Ps. cxix. 89. The truths of Christianity are established in Christ Himself, who is the Rock of ages. Whoever advertises that he will establish them, thereby shows that he does not know them, and that he himself needs instruction in the first principles of the Gospel. To establish is to found, to build up, and so a Gospel that could be established by any man would be at the best only a human Gospel, with no more power than the man had who established it.

What the world needs to be told about is the Gospel that is so firmly established that it needs no defence, but can sustain and protect all who build upon it. This is why we have not the slightest interest in so-called "Christian evidence" lectures. One simple Gospel sermon is worth a million of them.

To every person who has the idea that he must defend God's Word, we recommend the reading of this text: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Ps. xci. 1-4.

Think now of the absurdity of having a so-called "defence" which you are obliged to defend. To be sure it is a common thing to speak of "defending a fort;" but that shows that the fort is in reality not a defence. The absurdity of the idea of defending God's truth is more apparent if we use a life-preserver as an illustration. On a ship there are hundreds of them, designed to keep passengers afloat in case of accident. They are light, and buoyant, so that it is impossible for any of them to sink. With one of them fastened securely about him, a person who knows nothing of swimming may rest securely in the water. But fancy a life-preserver which needed to be protected against the waves! one which required the services of a strong swimmer to keep it afloat! Instead of a help, it would be a hindrance. It would be a nuisance to the swimmer and a death-trap to the one who cannot help himself.

To talk about defending the Bible is the same as to talk about defending God. How little people, even many professed Christians, know of God's everlasting power and Divinity; and how much they stand in need of getting acquainted with Him who is "our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." To such ones, God is really the same as the carved gods of the heathen, which "must needs be borne, because they cannot go." Jer. x. 5. Not so is our God, who is in the heavens, and "hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." His throne of grace does not need to be propped up; His loving-kindness is so excellent that the sons of men safely take refuge under its shadow; and "they that truth in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people form henceforth even for ever." Ps. cxxv. 1, 2.

"Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel: I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments!" Isa. xlviii. 17, 18. Are you wiling to allow Him to lead you in the way you ought to go? He is able to do it.

December 13, 1900

"God's Unspeakable Gift. Matt. ii. 1-10" The Present Truth 16, 50.

E. J. Waggoner

(Matt. ii. 1-10.)²⁵1

What is it? Only a helpless baby, born in deepest poverty. But it was God's gift, and that made it great. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii. 16. This was the Redeemer, who was to turn away ungodliness from men. So we read: "Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast declared Thy strength among the people. Thou hast with Thine arm redeemed Thy people." Ps. lxxvii. 13-15.

It is with His strong right arm that God redeems His people; and this arm of the Lord is Jesus Christ whom He has sent; for we read again: "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Isa. liii. 1-3.

This is the "mighty arm" of the Lord, with which He redeems His people. Prophets had sung of it, and kings and people had looked with eager longing and exultant hope for its revelation; and when "the fulness of the time was come" what did they see?-Only a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. Disappointed? Yes; many of them were; but they had no reason to be; for that was the sign which the angel gave to prove that the great gift was bestowed. "The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 1 Cor. i. 25.

What is weaker and more destitute of reason than a new-born babe?-Not any other animal that lives. Yet that helpless babe was "the power of God, and the wisdom of God." The cross of Christ is the power of God. Christ hanging on the cross, nailed hand and foot, the helpless object of the ridicule of the mob, is the gift by which God redeems mankind. God's "strength is made perfect in weakness;" and so in the cradle and the cross we have the highest manifestation of God's everlasting power.

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to worship Him.

"When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet:-

"And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule [feed] My people Israel.

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"Then Herod when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship Him also.

"When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."

It was most fitting that wise men should bring gifts to God's unspeakable gift-to Him who was the wisdom of God. Earth's wisest men did homage to "the foolishness of God." In Him we see wisdom and foolishness combined. He who is set forth as the foolishness of God, which is wiser than men, is also the wisdom of God; so that God's foolishness is His wisdom. This is encouragement for the foolish of this world-those who lack wisdom. "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world," in order that He may through them glorify His own wisdom; for even the foolish things are by Him made to confound the wisest men of earth. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise," ordained strength, "that Thou mightest still the enemy of the avenger." Ps. viii. 2; Matt. xxi. 16.

Well might the wise men of earth bring the richest treasures to the infant Jesus, for He was "the Son of God" (Luke i. 35), "in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." Col. i. 14-17. All heaven, yes, the earth also, and the entire universe, was contained in that one gift; for "it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell." Col. i. 19. In Him "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. ii. 1-13), even "unsearchable riches." Eph. iii. 8. There is not a good thing enjoyed by any person on earth, that does not come from Christ. "A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven." John iii. 27. "Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." James i. 17. He "giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (2 Tim. vi. 17), so that our daily bread comes to us from the cross of Christ.

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit." 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10. "None of the princes of this world knew" the Lord of glory. Verse 8. They could not discern Him in the guise of a little child. Divinity was clothed with humanity, and the fleshly clothing which the Word took was a veil that concealed the glory from the eyes of the unspiritual. So when men were speculating as to who He was, and Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus said, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." Matt. xvi. 16, 17.

Even to this day the flesh serves as a veil to hide the Divine power from the perception of those who "have eyes but see not," that is, who do not allow God to use their eyes and all their other members; but the blood, the life of Christ, even in mortal flesh, gives us boldness to enter into the holiest, where we can "behold the beauty of the Lord," although outwardly "there is no beauty that we should desire Him." This failure to discern the Lord in the weakest form of weak humanity is what holds men in sin and degradation and misery. They look at themselves, at their own bodies as good as dead, and lose heart. "It is impossible for me ever to overcome," they say; "these sins are part of my nature; they were born in my flesh, and I cannot hope to get rid of them." They forget, that "The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the Word of faith, which we preach." Rom. x. 6-8. "The Word was made flesh," and still remains in the flesh, with "power over all flesh." John xvii. 2. Heaven's richest Gift, the power and fulness of the whole universe, is brought to and placed in everybody. No longer, allow the flesh to hide the glory of the only begotten of the Father; but yield your bodies as temples of the Holy Ghost where God may sit enthroned, so that He that sitteth between the cherubim may "shine forth."

But think! this gift was "born King of the Jews." Shall we therefore reject Him, saying, "We want no Jewish King to reign over us"? If so we reject salvation, "for salvation is of the Jews." John iv. 22. Those wise men from the proud East were not ashamed for all Jerusalem and all the world to know that they had come to worship the King of the Jews, although the Jews themselves were ashamed of Him, and hid their faces from Him. Ever since Constantine, the self-elected head of the apostate church, said, "Let us have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd," professed Christians have been following his lead. They reject God's law, and especially the Sabbath, because, as they say, "It's Jewish," and in rejecting the law, they reject the Lawgiver, the one who bestows the unspeakable gift; and so they despise the gift itself. No other throne was promised Him except that of "His father David," and "He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever." Luke i. 32, 33. God's richest gift is brought to us in the meanest covering and in the meanest form; may He give to us "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him."

"The Editor's Private Corner. A 'Sick Benefit' Society and True Life Insurance" The Present Truth 16, 50.

E. J. Waggoner

"I have, been reading PRESENT TRUTH for several year, and I am glad to see that of late you have been inviting questions from those in difficulty; therefore I take the liberty to write and ask you what the Bible teaches that Christians should do with reference to Life Insurance, Fire Insurance, 'Sick Benefit' Clubs, and Trades Unions."

The matter of Trades Unions was perhaps sufficiently dwelt upon a fortnight ago, before your question was received; but I am very glad that you have opened up the subject of Life Insurance and of the so-called benevolent societies in general, which are all, in principle, insurance companies. The Christian's duty with respect to them is very clear, although very many follow the custom of the world, without a though! so to the inconsistency of their course.

Let us first consider the matter from the lowest point of view, that of economy. How many people there are who pay into these societies more than they ever draw out even if they meet with reverses, and thousands pay in the course of years large sums, for which they never realise anything whatever. Where is the gain in such cases?

You may say they are providing for a possible contingency. Then the business is really of the nature of a lottery. It is a species of gambling, in which the players hope to get something for nothing; for if people did not expect to get from any of these various forms of insurance more than they invest, they would not have anything whatever to do with them.

Put the managers of the business on one side and those who are "insured" on the other, and you will readily see that both parties cannot make a profit, as in ordinary buying and selling. A merchant sells goods on which he makes a profit, but he gives to every customer an equivalent for his money, and so all are equitably dealt with. But it is not so in insurance of any kind. Here the company has nothing with which to meet a loss, except the sums paid in as premiums by those insured. Therefore the people insured must pay their own losses. No company starts in with a fortune which it is desirous of distributing to persons in distress. So the insured pay their own losses, in addition to supporting the insurance companies, which, as everybody knows, always do well for themselves. If therefore one wishes to lay up something to provide against a possible future lose, it would be a matter of economy for him to put the money in a savings bank. Then, barring accidents, he will have his money at his own disposal, instead of not getting any of it again.

"But ought we not to be willing to help others who are in need?" Most certainly; but every man ought to be the distributer of his own liberality, and not to put his means into the hands of somebody else, to be applied without any reference to his judgment as to the necessity of the case. No one will claim, however, that any feeling of generosity prompts him to join any "benevolent" association or to engage in insurance. People do it with their own personal profit in view, so that it is idle to defend the system on the ground of benevolence.

Don't you think it is a strange sort of benevolence, that gives only to those who have first given something, possibly an amount equal to or greater than the sum received? But the case is even worse, for it often happens that those who have paid in large sums can get nothing whatever in return. If they have not paid up their premium or their dues in full, it is the same as though they had paid nothing. All that they have paid in is lost, if they have failed to meet the last payment before their reverse.

The inherent and obvious selfishness of all these societies is sufficient reason why every Christian should keep clear of them. There is no society in existence that would accept people who are already ill. That is to say, there is no really benevolent association, that looks out for poor, afflicted people, and gives to them freely of its own funds. In all these societies which are called "charitable," from Free Masons and Odd Follows down no one is accepted as a member, who is not in apparent good health, and who has not some visible means of self-support. Life Insurance companies subject every applicant to a severe medical examination, and it he has any ailment, he is rejected. This is to guard as much as possible against the probability of having to be put to any expense on anybody's account. So it is self-evident that they are wholly selfish and mercenary in their object.

Now Christianity is just the opposite of all this. The followers of Christ are to seek out "the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind," (Luke xiv. 13), and care for them, "hoping for nothing again." Love "seeketh not her own;" but in all these societies each person is actuated solely by the desire to got something for nothing, and that something, if he gets it, quite often comes from those who are more needy than he. Nothing that savours of selfishness has any connection with Christianity, and therefore Christ's true followers can evidently have nothing to do with any such thing.

"Shouldn't we provide for the future?" you ask. Yes, most certainly; and the Bible tells us how. "Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded, nor trust in ascertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." 1 Tim. vi. 19-19.

If you say that this charge is only to the rich, then read the words of Christ to a certain rich man: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me." Matt. xix. 21. When he had sold all, and given all to the poor, he would no longer be rich; and then he could be a follower of Christ.

Here is Christ's instruction to everybody: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust

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doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; and lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." Matt. vi. 19, 20. I do not find anywhere in the Bible any instruction to the effect that we must "provide for a rainy day;" but I do read: "Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek." The societies under consideration, therefore, belong to heathenism, not to Christianity. "For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall he added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow; for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matt. vi . 31-34. How can laying up money for the future, no matter in what way, be reconciled with these scriptures? It is the Lord's work, and not ours, to provide for the future, even as He alone can provide for to-day.

The whole teaching of the Gospel is trust in God day by day. "The just shall live by faith." We live moment by moment, just as we breathe. And do not forget that those who by faith are just are to live, and not to die. In the giving of the manna, God gave His people a lesson for all time. None were to lay up anything for the neat day; and those who gathered more than they needed were to divide with those who had not been able to go out to gather, or who were less active. Thus it came to pass that "he that had gathered much had nothing over, and he that had gathered little had no lack." 2 Cor. viii. 14, 15; Ex. xvi. 16-18. So can we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." If we have enough for to-day, we are not to worry about the future. He who gives us strength for to-day's need, will furnish strength wherewith to gather to-morrow's supply.

Note the expression in 1 Tim. vi. 18, "willing to communicate." That is, willing to have things in common, as the early disciples did. Instead of joining a society to secure themselves a support for the future, none of them "said that ought of the things which he possessed was his own." Acts iv. 32. God has specially charged Himself with the care of the poor, as the Bible everywhere testifies; and "it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men."

Well, we might talk a long time over this matter, but I will refer you to only one more portion of Scripture. It is the fifty eighth chapter of Isaiah. Read the whole of it, and you will see that instead of planning to get something out of somebody else, for nothing, God's people are to be associated with Him in oaring for the poor and the outcasts. Here is the Lord's own "sick benefit" society.

"Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. . . . If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."

This is a "sick benefit" society worth joining; for instead of providing for one when sick, it promises to keep him in health. This is life insurance indeed. The Christian is not to make any plans for illness, because God promises to take sickness away from those who serve Him. Ex. xxiii. 25. "Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth;" and if by any means he falls ill, "the Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing," and will turn all his bed in his sickness. Ps. xli. 1-3. A life insurance which assures one to all eternity is incomparably better than any system which offers only a paltry sum of money, and that after one is dead. Does some one say that he wants something present and practical? Well, this is practical enough; for if God can keep us alive and support us in eternity, He certainly can do it a few years. This is a practical test of whether or not we believe the religion we profess. Then "trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 50.

E. J. Waggoner

-Dr. Joseph Parker will have editorial control of the Sun from the 17th to the 22nd inst.

-The population to come under the London County Council's jurisdiction will be 7,096,400.

-The eggs consumed in England last year would fill 40,000 railway trucks, which would reach upwards of 150 miles.

-The indebtedness of London has increased by two and three-quarter millions in the last twelve months, and now aggregates ?46,250,000.

-London's death rate has been gradually rising during the past few weeks, yet it is below the average rats in the thirty-three largest towns in the kingdom.

-At the South-Western Police Court a few days ago, the magistrate said that "the increase of drunkenness among drivers is alarming," adding that drivers are brought before him every day on that charge.

-According to the records of the National Telephone Company, the telephone messages for twelve months reach the astounding total of nearly six hundred and forty millions-more than seven times as many telephone calls as telegrams sent!

-Fourteen large firms in Scotland, engaged in manufacturing rivets, bolts, nuts, and railway fastenings, have combined with a capital of ?550,000. This is one of the biggest iron trade combinations on record, and it is stated that It is an indication of where all large businesses are tending.

-Sir F. Jeune says that on and after January 1 next special paper will be issued instead of parchment for grants and engrossment, and this will save something like ?8,000 a year to the public. A grant of probate or administration with will annexed will be written on the front of a whole sheet of paper, which will enclose the engrossment book fashion.

-Great damage has been done in Rome by the overflow of the Tiber. The water has stood several metres deep in the Pantheon. In the Forum the foundations of the temples of Saturn, Castor, etc., have been weakened, and even the Colosseum has been damaged. The destruction to churches is estimated at several million francs. Throughout the Campagna floods are general, and several deaths have been caused by the rising of the water.

-The various expeditions sent out from this country to prove the theory that malarial fever is transmitted by means of infected mosquitoes have returned to England on the completion of their work. The reports now in course of preparation are said to prove the truth of the theory, and it is expected that at an early date steps will be taken by the Colonial authorities on this basis for the prevention of malaria in the various dependencies of the Empire.

-In a telegram received from Pekin the 4th inst., the following item occurs: "The missionaries said others who went through the siege are most bitterly opposed to any show of leniency, and urge that especially those in high office, who were really responsible for the outrages, should be executed, and that a sufficient force should he kept In Chine to guarantee order and the independence of the Chinese. They declare that otherwise a repetition of the trouble is certain."

"The Children. The Lord's Prayer. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" The Present Truth 16, 50.

E. J. Waggoner

Whom does all the bread in the world belong to? Jesus has taught us to go every day to our Heavenly Father, and ask for our bread for that day, "our daily bread." This shows that all the bread, all the food that there is anywhere, belongs to God, and He is the only One that can give it to us. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." He says, "If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof."

This shows us also that in whatever way our food comes to us, it is in reality the gift of God. Do you think that your daily bread belongs to your father, who earns it by his hard labour, or your mother, who prepares it for you, and that they are the ones who give it so you? Think, then, who gives the life and strength by which your father works to get bread for you, and your mother is able to take care of you and provide for your needs. It is God who "giveth to all, life, and breath, and all things." So all the bread belongs to God, and He gives it freely to all.

When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, God wanted to teach them that He was the One who fed them and supplied their every need, so instead of giving them their food in the way that He usually provides it, He "rained down bread from heaven" for them. Day by day the manna fell upon their encampment, and they drank the living water that He caused to flow from the rock to quench their thirst.

When their wanderings were over, and they were about to enter the promised land, Moses saw that there was danger of their soon forgetting that the same God of love was still, providing for their daily needs, only in a different way from when the bread fell down direct from heaven for them. So he warned them that when the time should come that they would have plenty of silver and gold and flocks and herds, and food to eat and drink, they should not say in their hearts, "My power, and the might of mine hand bath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth."

So in whatever way our food comes to us, it is God who opens His hand and "satisfies the desire of every living thing," and all that anyone can do is, like the birds and the beasts, and all living creatures that He feeds, to gather what He gives.

For God not only feeds all mankind, but all of His creatures "seek their meat from God." He who made all things makes for each creature just the food that is best suited for it, and teaches it where to find it and how to get it. "Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God?" was one of the questions that the Lord asked Job. And this is answered in the 147th psalm: "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." So the cry of the hungry raven, as of every other bird and beast and living thing, is a cry to God for food, and He hears and answers.

But in our little picture you will see how God gives the food to the young ravens which cry. He does not Himself drop it into their mouths, but he uses the parent bird to supply their needs. He provides the food, and teaches the father and mother birds to gather it for themselves and their little ones. And so it is with His little children; He gives strength to the father and mother to gather for His little ones and for themselves the daily bread that He has provided for them.

"He causeth grass to grow for the cattle,
And herb for the labour of man;
That he may bring forth bread out of the earth."

But do you think you would like to be as the children of Israel were in the wilderness, or, as the multitude whom Jesus fed in the desert, and receive your food directly from His hands, or see Him rain it down from heaven for you? Do you not know that God is still raining down, bread from heaven day by day, and that all that comes upon your table has come to the earth in this way?

Read what God says of this in Isaiah: "The rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater." What is it that gives "bread to the eater"? It is the rain and snow that God sends down from heaven. We are told also in His Word that the showers that water the earth from "the river at God which is fall

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of water," greatly enrich it and fill it with corn, and crown the year with His goodness. So as we see the rain fall we may remember that God is as really raining down bread from heaven for us as He did for the children of Israel. Let us ask Him to open our eyes, so we may see Him everywhere, in all things, working out His loving purposes of good to all His creatures, and give thanks to Him whose "tender mercies are over all His works," and who gives us each day "our daily bread."

"Our Daily Bread" The Present Truth 16, 50.

E. J. Waggoner

Have you ever thought of the wonderful working of God's power that provides for you your daily bread? The Lord God made man "from the dust of the ground," in the beginning, and He is still by the same creative power, forming our bodies from the dust of the ground. But if we should take a handful of dust and feed upon it, it would not do us any good, but only harm, for we could not digest nor assimilate it.

The word "assimilate" means, to become like unto. And we must assimilate our food, before it can do us any good. Yet we could never assimilate the dust of the ground; that is, it could never be made into our substance, into flesh and blood, so as to become a part of us.

So God takes the dust and prepares it for us in a beautiful and pleasant way; He changes it so that we can feed upon it and assimilate it, and in thus changing it, He puts lovely colours upon it, sweet and pleasant savours into it, and makes it "pleasant to the sight" as well as "good for food." The grains, fruits, and nuts are what He has provided for our food.

He says, "Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you shall be for meat."

The plants take up the dust of the ground, which is food for them, and the life of God working in them changes the dust and prepare it for our food. Then that same wondrous life of the Creator working in us takes the substance of the plant, and makes it a part of our flesh and blood. And thus God mades our bodies from the dust of the ground.

Think what wonderful power there is in the words which God spoke of the trees and plants, when He said, "To you it shall be for meat." And how much meaning there is in the daily prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." It means far more than that God should provide us with something to eat. For nothing could be meat or food for us, except by the working of the same mighty power that made us and that made the food, changing it into flesh and blood to build up our bodies.

You eat when you we hungry, and it seems a most natural thing to you that your food should nourish you. But the food must be prepared in your stomach, where it is changed into a kind of milky substance that can be carried in your veins to your heart, from which it is pumped into the lungs, where it is purified and sent down again into the heart. Then it is sent through your arteries into every part of your body, and without your thought or care, the food that the blood carries is formed into your skin, you nails, your bones, your muscles, and the hairs of your head.

Will you not keep these things in mind, not only when you ask your Heavenly Father for your daily bread, but when you take that which He provides and feed upon it? If you do, your heart will be filled with love for Him whose power is thus working in you every moment, and you will let Him use for His own glory the life and strength that He imparts to you day by day, in giving you your daily bread.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 50.

E. J. Waggoner

"He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord." Prov. xvii. 15. There are many who would not think of justifying a man who tells a lie, who do not feel that it is a very carious matter to condemn a man on slight evidence, and who, for aught they know, may be just. To say that a good man is bad is just as wicked as to say that a bad man is good.

"When I said, My foot slippeth; Thy mercy; O Lord, held me up." There is therefore no need for anybody utterly to fall. In the very time when we feel as though everything were giving way, we may know that God is able to keep us from falling, and that He will do it, because He "raiseth up all that be bowed down." The Lord is a "very present help in trouble," so that any difficulty that we got into should simply serve as a reminder to us of the presence of the Lord.

It is stated that Birmingham is exporting idols to China, the highest priced being those which are supposed to protect against the "foreign devils." Birmingham also manufactures guns with which to shoot those Chinese who carry their opposition to "foreign devils" too far; and we know that some Christian missionaries also go from Birmingham, to convert the Chinese from the worship of idols. How mach further could impartiality be carried?

A Welsh minister says that he has had a Bible class for thirty years, and that the attendance now is forty to fifty as against twenty-five or thirty at the beginning; but the present class, he says, does not know half as much of the Bible truth as the class of twenty-five years ago. He considers that this lack arises from the fact that their reading of the newspapers and magazines, novels, and light literature of every sort leaves little time or inclination for Bible study. To this the Christian adds the pertinent statement that "even Bible-readers lean so much on Biblical helps, rather than meditating on the Word itself, that their convictions of truth are slight and their Christian experience is shallow." One can grow spiritually only by feeding on the Word; and the true Bible expositor is he who leads his flock to the pasture where they can graze for themselves.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases." Here are "sick benefits" worth having. Who would not rather have the assurance of being healed, and of being preserved from all disease, than to be assured of receiving a small dole in case of illness? Besides, the Lord's benefits, are constant, for He crowns His people with loving-kindness and tender mercies, and satisfies them with good things, so that their life which is redeemed from destruction, is renewed like the eagle's. With such promises from God, what is it but unbelief, that leads men to trust in earthly associations?

Even a "snare" is not without some value, although it can never effect any vital and permanent reform. For instance, the Fish Trade Gasette says that the demand for oysters in London hardly exceeds 100,000 a day, whereas eight years ago the London market exceeded a million daily. It seems that people have to some extent learned that the oyster is a prolific source of typhoid. It is, however, to be feared that many have substituted some other equally harmful object for the disgusting molluse that has so largely fallen into disfavour.

If anybody thinks that "disgusting" is too strong a word to be applied to the oyster, let him remember that the mouth of the Thames is the great breeding ground for oysters, and that they fatten on London sewage. And it is not the oysters alone that merit the title of scavengers. Tracing the food supply of the land, and showing why it is not exhausted, Professor Mitchell in his "Outlines of Biology" says: "The sewage of the Thames, for instance, ultimately supplies food for the rich fishing stations off Yarmouth and the Dogger bank; the sewage of the Clyde fattens the herrings of Loch Fyne." So the people who live on fish are really feasting on sewage matter. Many who shudder in disgust at the thought of the gamin fishing a piece of bread out of the gutter, and eating it, will cheerfully devour the contents of the gutter from which "fished his bread, together with much that is even more filthy. Some one says, "O don't talk about such things." Very well, forget them if you will, and go on eating your sewage in peace.

The consumption of tea in Great Britain averages nearly six pounds for each person. There is no other European country except Holland in which more than one pound a head is consumed. In Australasia, however, the amount drunk amounts to seven and one-half pounds per inhabitant. The United Kingdom, it is stated, uses more tea than all the other European countries and the United States of America together. The Chronicle, in noting these figures, and the change in social habits which their increase signifies, says that "if only India and Ceylon can send us tea, which stimulates without injuring the nerves and the digestion, the change may be welcomed." But they cannot do it. No such tea ever has been or ever can be raised. Artificial stimulation always means disordered and weakened nerves, and indigestion is inseparable from all tea-drinking.

The favour with which the ritualist party in the Church of England look upon the Roman Catholic Church may be seen by the following from an editorial in the Church Times:-

It cannot be pointed out too often that the future of religion in France is bound up with the future of Catholicism. It is not even a choice between Catholicism and Protestantism, between one form of religion and another; it is a choice between Catholicism and Atheism in its most aggressive and ugly form.

But every one ought to know that the atheism with which France is honeycombed is the direct result of the monopoly which Catholicism has had in the country. The "man of sin" "opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped," claiming power even above that of God, and is therefore itself the great atheistic society of the world. It is not that there are not thousands of good, sincere people in the pale of the Catholic church, but that Catholicism itself is the source of atheism and anarchy. So the Lord says to all who will hear: "Come out of her, My people."

December 20, 1900

"The Miraculous Birth" The Present Truth 16, 51.

E. J. Waggoner

"What think ye of Christ? whose Son is He?" The reply was, "The Son of David," and this was correct; for when Gabriel foretold to Mary the birth of Jesus, he said: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David." Luke i. 32.

But here comes a puzzling question, which silenced the unbelieving Jews, who had admitted that Christ is the Son of David:-

"How then doth David in Spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool? If David then call Him Lord, how is He his Son?" Matt. xxii. 42-45.

How?-Because it is a fact that the Son of David is Lord of all; David could not do otherwise than call Him Lord. But if it be asked, "How can it be that Jesus is both David's Son and his Lord?" the answer must remain with God, who alone knows the mysteries of miracles.

The wonder is not exhausted, however, for just as David's Son is David's Lord, so our Lord is our Son; "for unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the Government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His Government there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever." Isa. ix. 6, 7.

But not even yet has the depth of the mystery been set forth. Christ is David's Son and David's Lord, and our Lord also, and our Son; but He is at the same time the Son of God and the Son of man. He was "born of a woman, born under the law" (Gal. iv. 4), yet He was the Son of God sent forth into the world. When Mary asked by what means she, a virgin, should bring forth a Son, the angel replied: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that Holy Thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke i. 35.

In Luke the genealogy of Christ is traced back through David, the son of Jesse, Jacob, Abraham, to "Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." Luke iii. 23-38. Adam, the first man, in whom were all the human beings that have since lived on this earth, was "the son of God," so that it is not merely from the fact that Mary conceived by the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Son of God, but also because He is the Son of Adam, that is, "the Son of man." The truth contained in this simple statement has power to lift every man born of a woman into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Still again: In the garden of Eden, just after the first pair had sinned, God said to the serpent: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head." Gen. iii. 15. The Seed of the woman is not merely to be delivered from Satan's power, but is to crush his head-to destroy him. But who is the Seed of the woman?-It is Christ, you say. Undoubtedly; but the term is unlimited, and therefore it applies to every child born of a woman, whose

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faith grasps it. The seed of the woman is the seed of Abraham; and "if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. iii. 29. So it is given to every son of man to crush Satan? Yes; have you never read, "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly?" Rom. xvi. 20. Christ had to become flesh and blood, like the children of men, in order "that He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. ii. 14. He has "authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man" (John v. 27), and "this honour have all His saints." Ps. cxlix. 5-9.

THE FIRSTBORN

For He is "the firstborn among many brethren." He is in all things like them, only as firstborn He has in all things the pre-eminence. "But His birth was supernatural," you say, "for He was born of the Spirit." Ah, how little we know that what we call the natural is supernatural; we are so familiar with the phenomena of birth, that we forget that nobody understands the mystery of it. Christ was born of the Spirit, but even in this He was "like unto His brethren," for Elihu says: "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Job. xxxiii. 4. Ever since the Spirit of God brooded over the face of the waters, and brought order out of chaos, there has not been any manifestation of life that has not been that of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God in every man's nostrils (Job xxvii. 3) has kept him in life, and given him power even to wage rebellion against his Maker if he would.

Remember that miracles are God's ordinary work. He never goes out of His way to do anything. When God fed the Israelites in the desert with bread from heaven, it was only that they and we might ever remember that the bread which we make from corn is also rained down from heaven. See Ps. lxv. 9-11; Isa. iv. 10. When Christ turned the water into wine, at the wedding in Cana, He merely shortened the ordinary process, omitting some of the intermediate agencies, to let us know that he is the True Vine. The grape vine takes up water by its roots, and in the course of months of sunshine it becomes wine. Christ had the life which supplies light to the sun, so He did in a moment the work that He commonly does in months. In miracles God is not doing something extraordinary, for the purpose of astonishing us, but by leaving out the usual agencies, is letting us see that He is the power that is working and accomplishing the result, even when the ordinary time and agencies are employed.

So in the miraculous birth of Christ, by dispensing with the ordinary agency in the birth, God would demonstrate to us that the human agent is but the channel of the Divine creative life. He shows us how completely the Spirit ought to control in every birth. In the case of John the Baptist (Luke i. 15) and Isaac (Gal. iv. 23, 28, 29) we see this exemplified when the ordinary agencies were present.

The world was lost. Millions of human beings were serving in cruel bondage, toiling in the most abject, degrading slavery, sold for nothing, with only death offered as the reward of their labour. The Son of God, in His Father's house in heaven, looked down in pity on them, and said, "I will declare Thy name unto My brethren." Heb. ii. 11. He was not ashamed to call them brethren. They had lost the knowledge of God, and so were going to destruction, because just as to know Him is life eternal, so not to know Him is everlasting death; they did not know that God is the Father of all, and Christ came to make known to them their birthright. The "Son of the Highest" came as the child of the lowest; the Son of God was born of a woman, and thus henceforth was not ashamed to hold his original title by virtue of the fact that He was the Son of man.

THE "LAW OF HEREDITY"

Do you think it was nothing that He was sinless? You who talk of "heredity," and who sink down in indifference or despair because you had sinful men for your ancestors, give your thought to Him "who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh." He was descended from Adam, as we all are, and all that was evil in human nature seemed to be concentrated in His ancestry. That ancestry included Phares, who was the child of prostitution and incest; it takes in the harlot Rahab; David is most prominent in it, and the woman with whom he committed adultery was the mother of the line that reached from him to Christ. Farther down in that line we find Jehoram, the fratricide, who, by reason of his excessive wickedness, died a loathsome death, despised by his people; Ahaziah, whose "mother was his counsellor to do wickedly," and who "did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab," of whom it was said, "there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord;" Ahaz, who did "according to the abomination of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel;" and Manasseh who "seduced Israel" to do "more evil than did the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel," and who "shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another." If you knew of such wickedness among your forefathers you would try to conceal it, and would say that you could not possibly be expected to be sinless with such an inheritance; yet Christ of His own free will had all the weakness and wickedness of His ancestry set forth for all generations to read; and He "knew no sin." How could He be spotless with such a godless ancestry?-It was all due to His miraculous birth.

Yes; and He who knew no sin was "made to be sin for us," "that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John i. 12. That is, He restores to all who will have it, their birthright.

Yet more: He opens up to us the way of life, showing us not only how we may take our rightful place as sons of God, as pure as though we had never sinned, inheriting our nature direct from God, as pure as though we had never sinned, instead of from sinful flesh, but by His birth He shows what ought to be and may be the privilege of every child born of godly parents. Do you doubt it? you will not, when you have meditated long upon what it means to live in the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit; to have only the mind and will of God, and to yield the body as the holy temple of the Spirit of God, so that all the members are only instruments of His righteousness. When parents are in that state, then it must be that their children will be "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;" and to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord will be like training the flowers of Eden. It will be the same miracle that would have been manifest in every birth, if sin had not brought the curse; but "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us," so that the life of Jesus may be perfectly manifested even in mortal flesh. He frees us from "the corruption that is in the world through lust," and makes us "partakers of the Divine nature."

"The Editor's Private Corner. Celebrating Christ's Birth.óThe Christmas Festival: Its Origin and History" The Present Truth 16, 51.

E. J. Waggoner

Kindly favour a constant reader of the Editor's Corner with your views as to the proper observance of Christmas. Is it in any sense a sacred day? Are these good grounds for assigning to December 25 the birth of our Lord? How far back does this observance date?

Your last questions must be answered first; for we must know the nature and origin of Christmas before we can know anything about its "proper observance." As to the date you can read the following in Encyclop?dia Britannica:-

"A festival of the Christian Church, observed on the 25th day of December, in memory of the birth of Jesus Christ. There is, however, a difficulty in accepting this as the date of the Nativity, December being the height of the rainy season in Judea, when neither flocks nor shepherds could have been at night in the fields of Bethlehem."

It is a "difficulty" indeed. It is strange that anybody could ever have been led to suppose that Jesus was born on the 25th of December, and that shepherds were out in the fields with their flocks by night, in winter. Nobody in the world knows the date of Christ's birth; but nothing can be more sure than that it was not on the date commonly assigned to it.

It was not till some hundreds of years after Christ's birth that people thought of observing a day in memory of it, and it was some time later before they agreed as to what day they should take. October was by some regarded as the month in which Christ was born, and some time in spring was favoured by others. In the East the 6th of January was observed for some time. "By the fifth century, however, whether from the influence of some tradition, or from the desire to supplant some heathen festivals of that period of the year, such as the Saturnalia, the 25th of December had been generally agreed upon."-Encyc. Brit. In these statements all church historians are agreed.

In the "Dictionary of Religious Knowledge," published by the "Christian Literature Company," New York, Prof. Foster, of Oberlin, says:-

"The choice of the date, in the utter lack of all tradition, has been referred to different thoughts, but the most probable is the analogy between the birth of Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, and the beginning of the return, or the rebirth, of the natural sun upon Dec. 25."

Dr. Schaff, the celebrated church historian, says:-

"After the establishment of Christianity by Constantine, and among the new institutions which were intended for the benefit of the church, we seem authorised to place the commemoration of Christ's advent. . . . It is generally admitted that the designation of the 25th of December for the festival was first made about the middle of the fourth century." He adds that many think that that day was chosen "because it was the day on which the Romans celebrated the festival of natalis solis invictis (the birth of the unconquered sun), or of the sun's passing the southern solstice and beginning to return northward."

When we remember that "the establishment of Christianity by Constantine" was the paganising of the Church, and learn of the heathen festival to the sun, which was celebrated the last days in December, we can see that Christmas is wholly pagan in its origin, and that it has no sacredness whatever. To keep it as a sacred day, therefore, is as much a sin as to disregard a day which is sacred. That is, to presume to sanctify a day which God has not sanctified shows as much contempt for His authority as to treat as common a day which He has sanctified.

I think this fully answers all your questions; but now I hear another question: "Even though we do not know the exact day of Christ's birth, is it not well, and may it not be pleasing to God, for us to keep one day in memory of it? and since December 25 is commonly accepted, is there any harm in devoting it to that event?"

I must repeat what I have just said, that to presume to sanctify a common day is as wicked as to make common a sacred day. The fact that nothing is said in the Bible about celebrating the day of Christ's

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birth, and that not the slightest hint as to when it occurred is given, is ample evidence that God does not wish to have any day devoted to it. To celebrate a day which it is well known cannot be the day of Christ's birth, is as absurd as it would be for me to go to a shop and buy a photograph of a man whom I never saw, and carry it about most carefully, and proudly exhibit it to people, as the picture of my father. When people have done all that God has commanded, they will have no time nor inclination to devote their energies to that which He has not commanded.

One thing in which the Gospel is conspicuously distinguished from heathenism is that it has no festival days whatever. There is not a single day set apart to commemorate any event in Christ's life or earthly ministry. We have only the Sabbath, which is not a festival day, and which was before the Gospel, dating from creation. As to the celebration of Christmas, there can be no harm in making it the day of the annual reunion of families, as then the scattered members are free from business, since it is a regular holiday; and if we wish to give our friends, and especially the poor, some useful and needed article, there is no objection to making December 25 the date of its bestowal, provided it is not more urgently needed at some other time; but true Christians will certainly avoid making it a day of hilarity and surfeiting, or looking upon it as sacred in any sense whatever.

The practice of setting apart a day for the commemoration of Christ's birth indicates an utter failure to understand the nature of that birth. It is a thing for and of eternity. Christ's "goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity." Micah v. 3, margin. He is the One who was, and is, and is to come; "the same yesterday and to-day and for ever." God gave His only begotten Son from the beginning, even before the world was made; He is the Word that was with God in the beginning, and was God, and He was "made flesh" when Adam was created. His appearance as a babe in Bethlehem was to make so plain that none could fail to see it, that He does not despise us in our low state, but continues to dwell even in fallen, sinful flesh, in order that we may be born again, and become as new and as innocent as Adam was when God created Him.

Every day and every hour, yes, every minute in our lives, should be a celebration of the birth of Christ; not the mere keeping of it in memory, but the actual repetition of it in us. Christ is to be formed in us, and the life of Christ manifest in our mortal flesh is to be "renewed day by day." He is "the Son of man," and therefore every soul of man may say continually, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;" and as He who is our peace abides with us, so that the peace of God rules in our hearts, we may continually join in the chorus of the heavenly host, "Peace on earth, good will to men."

"The Editor's Private Corner. Christ's Second Coming" The Present Truth 16, 51.

E. J. Waggoner

"I have heard it said that the promise of the second coming of Christ is fulfilled in the advent of the Holy Spirit into the heart of the individual believer, but fail to harmonise such a position with texts like John xiv. 1-3, Acts i. 11, and similar scriptures. May I ask you to elucidate this matter in the Editor's Corner?"

No matter what we have heard said, our only dependence must be on "what saith the Scripture." The words of Christ Himself, and of the apostles, are so plain that there is not the slightest reason for anybody to be in doubt as to the manner and purpose of Christ's second advent.

It is not at all surprising that you cannot harmonise the idea that Christ's second coming is only the coming of the Spirit into the hearts of believers, with such texts as John xiv. 1-3 and Acts i. 11; for there is not and cannot be any harmony between them. Suppose we read these texts. Christ was just about to be crucified, and had told His disciples that He was about to go away and leave them, and that they could not go with Him. At this they were very sorrowful, for they loved Him. Then He said:-

"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." John xiv. 1-3.

Christ was not only personally, but visibly, present with the disciples, when He made this promise. They sorrowed because they soon were to lose Him from their sight; He comforted them by assuring them that if He went away He would come again, so that they could see Him. And remember this: In another place Jesus told them of the Holy Spirit, His Representative, who should abide with them for ever, and therefore He said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world;" but in this place He did not speak of returning to be with them, but of returning to take them to Himself, so that they could be with Him. It is not of His coming to stay with us, but our being taken to stay with Him, that Christ speaks in John xiv. 1-3. This is made apparent in 1 Thess. iv. 13-18, where the Apostle Paul gives us the word of the Lord concerning our being with Him. The Thessalonian brethren were sorrowing over their dead friends, whom they, not having been fully emancipated from heathen notions, thought were for ever shut away from Christ. The assurance is that we who are alive shall not go before those who are asleep, but that both they and we shall see the Lord at the same instant. This disproves the idea that the coming referred to is the presence of the Spirit; for the dead have no consciousness, and no part in anything that is dons under the sun; yet they are to share in the joy and glory of Christ's second coming, equally with those who live till that event. The apostle continues:

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the tramp of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Thus it appears that the second coming of Christ, instead of being the present communion with Him by the Spirit, is something in which no one can have a part until the resurrection of the just.

The Spirit is invisible, but Christ at His second coming will be as visible as at His first advent. After His resurrection He walked with His disciples from Jerusalem to Bethany, and while they were talking He lifted up His hands and blessed them, and promised them the power of the Spirit to enable them to be witnesses for Him. "And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." They saw Him slowly recede from them, and as they gazed after Him with loving longing, straining their eyes in the attempt to sea Him even after the cloud had enveloped Him, "behold two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts i. 9, 11.

There is no mistaking this language, Christ's second coming will be as open and as plainly visible as was His ascension. He went up in full view of His disciples, and gradually receded from their view, until at last they could see only a cloud. He is to come as He went away. Accordingly we read: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him." Rev. i. 7. This cloud will be the first thing seen and than as it approaches the earth, Christ will be seen sitting on it. See also Rev. xiv. 14.

From all this you can clearly see that the second coming of Christ is yet future, and entirely different from the Spirit's coming to individual believers. A few words on the relation of the first and second coming will be found on the last page of this paper.

"The Children. The Lord's Prayer. 'Forgive Us Our Trespasses'" The Present Truth 16, 51.

E. J. Waggoner

"FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES"

"Show me Thy glory." This was the prayer of Moses many hundred year before the angels song to the shepherds in the midnight watches, "Glory to God in the Highest." Do you not think that each of the shepherds, as he heard the angel's song, must have prayed in his heart this same prayer? Do you not think they all must have longed to see for themselves this great glory, that they might join in the glad song of rejoicing, and know the peace and goodwill that is had brought so the earth?

We may be sure that they did, bemuse they went with such haste when the angel told them just where the wondrous glory was shining forth in its fulness. Let us see how the Lord answered the prayer of Moses, and whit He showed to the shepherds, and this will open our eyes so that we too may "behold the glory of the Lord," and sing, "Glory to God in the Highest!"

When Moses prayed, "I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory," the Lord answered him, "I will make all My goodness pass before thee." Then He passed by before him and proclaimed the name of the Lord before him: "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." So He showed to Moses that His glory is the goodness, mercy, and grace by which He forgives sin.

Now let us see what it was that showed to the shepherds this same glory. The angel said to them: "Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: ye shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Hastening to Bethlehem, the city of David, the shepherds found, so the angel had said, "a babe lying in a manger."

Can this be what had brought the angel host from the courts of heaven, singing songs of deeper gladness than when "all the sons of God shouted for joy" over the creation of the new earth? Where is the glory of which the angels had sung? Ah, the shepherds saw it, and they made it known abroad, and "all they that heard it wondered."

For this infant whom they saw lying helpless in a manger, was their Saviour, "Christ the Lord." No doubt they learned from His mother Mary the baby's sweet name: "Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." This was the fulfilment of what the Lord had spoken by the prophet long before: "They shall call His name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, is, God with us."

From all this we learn what is the only thing that can save us from our sins; it is "God with us." Jesus saves us from our sins because He brings God to dwell with us. This is what the shepherds saw, and what we too may see, in this little babe lying in the manger.

But this, the angel said, is to "be a sign unto you," a sign that God has come to dwell on earth, and that He is with every little child ever born, to save them from their sins if they will let Him. It was not that God was with Him only, but, "God with us," God dwelling in us to be our Saviour.

This wonderful love, "the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from

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on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace"-this is the glory of our God. He forgives and blots out our sin by His pure and holy presence with us, making us pure in heart, so that we may see God.

But the angels sang, "Glory to God in the Highest!" Yet the shepherds found Him in a very low and humble place. Not even in a poor home, but out in the stable of the inn, "a babe lying in a manger."

"Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining,
Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall."

Can this be "God in the Highest"? Yes; for He is the Most High for evermore," and wherever He dwells is "the Highest," "the high and holy place." He says, "I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of an humble and contrite spirit."

In sending forth His son in the form of a little child, God has shown that it is possible for every little one to be a child of God, dwelling with Him in "the high and holy place" and showing forth the glory of His love. So each one of you may be, as you often sing.

"A gleam of grace to all around.
A little spot of hallowed ground."

In our talks together about the petitions in the Lord's prayer, we have come to this one for you to think about: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." This shows us that we must learn of God how to forgive. The coming of Jesus to this earth teaches us of our Heavenly Father's tender love, that covers all our sins, and blots them out and remembers them no more. He so loves us that He comes to dwell with us, to save us from our sins.

The knowledge of this great love, which makes us at peace with God, makes us at peace also with every one else. And so Jesus brought "peace on earth, goodwill toward men." For can we have a hard and unforgiving spirit in our hearts, toward anyone else, when we think of Him who shed His own blood, to wash away our trespasses against Him?

"Harmonious Discord" The Present Truth 16, 51.

E. J. Waggoner

A few weeks ago I was walking through Finsbury Park, when my attention was drawn to what seemed to be a bird concert in a thicket near by. It was as though a hundred birds were singing in harmony such as can be produced on this earth only by birds, each one pouring forth the fulness of his coal in a flood of melody. It seemed so strange and so delightful to hear on a November afternoon the music of a spring morning, and I went near, to try to see the songsters. As I changed my position, the music suddenly stopped; not a bird was to be seen; but the sounds that before were the sweetest music were now the horrible noise of a locomotive standing outside the station, letting off steam.

There could be no mistake; and I passed on to get out of the range of the shrill, discordant sounds made by the escaping steam, when suddenly they again became transformed into the sweetest bird-notes, and the harmony was entrancing. The notes of the sparrow, the black-bird, and the thrush, together with others, could be distinctly discerned. I stood and listened to the concert for awhile, enjoying it none the less because I knew that the throat that produced it was iron, and not flesh and blood. Then as I walked on, the concert was broken up, and only the sibilant steam was heard.

Here was a revelation. I had twice stepped into a place where all the sound waves focused, so that there was harmony where elsewhere there was discord. Then I thought, Thus it is that God can make the wrath of man to praise Him, and can cause us to find joy and comfort in the wildest discord of earth. And, on the other hand, How often when our nerves are jarred by irritating voices and sounds, we might find melody if we were only in the proper position. May it not be that often what seems discord, is the voice of God speaking comfort to us, but we are not soothed by it, because we are not in the focus of His voice?

"In Thee the long-lost note is found
Which fled from earth's accursed ground.
Thou art the one and only key
By which returns all harmony;
For love alone can tune the heart,
And unison with heaven impart."

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 51.

E. J. Waggoner

There are no Notes on the International Sunday-school Lesson in this week's paper, since the lesson is a review. Our next issue will contain the first lesson in the new year, the subject of which is "Jesus Anointed at Bethany."

The Chronicle says that "there are still people who believe that Britons are the 'lost ten tribes,' as there are people, Mr. Kruger among them, who hold that the earth is flat." There is no notion in the world so absurd that it will not find many believers, often among people who are very "cautions" when a Bible truth is presented them. Indeed, it is always those who do not receive the love of the truth, who are ready to believe a lie.

There is hope for all. No matter what our ancestry, the new birth delivers us from all the disability it entailed on us. The Spirit is more powerful than the flesh, and Christ, who offered Himself "through the eternal Spirit," has "power over all flesh." That was demonstrated in His life for our sakes. In nothing had He any advantage over us, and "as He is, so are we in this world." Our ignorance and wilfulness may have given our children a sad inheritance; but God, through His holy Child Jesus, can, if we will not continue to thwart His working, make them like Himself. "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!"

"I don't feel like going on; I cannot see my way ahead at all," is in substance a statement frequently made by people who are "halting between two opinions" concerning their duty, in regard to the truth. They seem to think that their situation is peculiar, whereas it is only that which is common to all men. Nobody on earth can see a moment into the future. No one can tell what lies a single step ahead of him. But God knows the end of all things from the beginning. He inhabits eternity, and to Him the things in the most distinct future are the same as though they were already in the past. This is why we do not need to see ahead; for He has said, "I will instruct them in the way that thou shouldest go; I will guide them with Mine yes." His truth, like Himself, endures forever, and there is no risk whatever, in going forward in the way of His commandments. "We walk by faith, and not by sight," and that is the only safe way to walk for "the just shall live by faith." Whoever walks by the Lord's sight is sure to live, while those who stumble along in their own blindness are sure to fall into the pit where they will perish.

If we smile at the unreasonableness of the horse who shies at a hay stack, we may certainly be allowed to laugh at the person who is afraid of fresh air. A Massachusetts physician tells a most amusing story of a family who were very particular, throughout the whole year, to keep all their windows and doors tightly closed, especially at night. In the autumn the man decided to remodel the house somewhat, and the repairs were not finished when winter set in, and the people, much against their will, were obliged to breathe fresh air night and day. The wife, in telling her experience afterward, said that "she didn't know how they could have stood it if it hadn't happened that they were all in better health than usual." To be obliged to live in a house open to the weather would make many families in better health than usual.

"Christ's Coming" The Present Truth 16, 51.

E. J. Waggoner

Every thoughtful reader of the Old Testament, that is, of all the Bible that was written before Christ's birth in Bethlehem, must have noticed that it makes no distinction between the first and the second coming of Christ. All the references are simply to the coming of the Lord, combining as in one event "the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow." 1 Peter i. 11. This is because that which we now look forward to as the second coming of Christ is only the consummation, the development, the filling out, of His first advent. The manger and the cross, contained all the glory of the second coming, only it was veiled. Christ is coming again in pursuance of the very object for which He died, namely, to save His people. When He comes again, the bright beams of glory that reveal His power will proceed from the side that was pierced. Likewise all the power that will attend His appearing-power that will shake both heaven and earth, and will bring forth the dead from their graves in immortal freshness-is the power that was with Jesus at His first advent, and that is constantly at the service of all who receive Christ in the Spirit.

The present of the Holy Spirit is not the second coming of Christ, but is the preparation for that event. When the disciples asked Jesus what should be the sign of His coming, and of the end of the world. He replied, among other things: "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Christ's second coming is the end of the world, as He says in Matt. xiii. 40-43; but the whole world must hear the Gospel of the kingdom before He comes; and it cannot be preached except by the power of the Spirit with which Christ Himself preached.

Moreover, it is the Spirit that makes us acquainted with the Lord, so that when He comes He will not come to us as a stranger. It is the Spirit that makes our mortal bodies alive at His coming, and that sanctifies us, to keep us blameless till He comes. The Spirit is the water of Life which Christ gives, which in every one who believes will be a "well of water springing up into everlasting life." John iv. 14. Not only so, but this well is to overflow in a stream which will refresh others. John vii. 38, 39. Thus will Christ's coming be hastened. Those who have the most of the Spirit's presence in their hearts, look most earnestly for Christ's second coming. John, full of the Spirit, and walking in the Spirit, in response to Christ's words, "Surely, I come quickly," prayed, "even so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. xxii. 20. Let us then welcome the Spirit into our hearts, that our lives may be only the life of Jesus in our mortal flesh, and that we may "love His appearing," and may rejoicingly say when He comes to bring us the crown of glory, honour and immortality, "Lo, this is our God, and we have waited for Him, and He will save us."

December 27, 1900

"'The Son of the Highest'" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

It is plain that the Son of the Highest must Himself "be exalted and extolled, and be very high." So God has raised Christ from the dead," and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet." Eph. i. 21, 22. Nevertheless Christ, the Son of the Highest, is the Son of David, and He has been raised to His exalted position, in fulfilment of God's oath to David "that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne." Acts ii. 29, 30. "The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David." Luke i. 32.

"God sent forth His Son, born of a woman," that in Him He might show the position to which He has called, "the seed of the woman," that is, every person descended from Eve. Christ is the Son of God's love, and "behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John iii. 1. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."

"In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power." Col. ii. 9, 10. Christ is to dwell in our hearts by faith, to the end that we may "be filled with all the fulness of God." Eph. iii. 17-19. God "hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Christ as Son of the Highest is but the "first-born among many brethren," and therefore we in Him are all sons of the Highest; for as may as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

Do not get the idea that this is mere theological dogma. It is vital, practical truth. Here is the application of it in Scripture language:-

"What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor. vi. 16-18; vii. 1.

Everything that tends to lower and debase us must be cleansed from us by the life of the Lord. As the son of the Highest, every man ought to be living the highest possible life. Having been raised to sit in

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the heavenly places with the highest, we should live as does the Highest. Thus through man will come the restoration of the earth to the heavenly condition from which man's fall cast it down. There is inspiration in this truth. Every one who appreciates "the high callinig of God in Christ Jesus" will know by the Spirit through the Word what becomes such a position, and what habits are wholly inconsistent with it, and, knowing this, will yield to the Word which is able fully to make him a partaker of the Divine nature. Take heed to the exhortation to "walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called."

"Making Christians" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

At a recent Church meeting in Canterbury, the Archbishop told a conversation that he had with General Gordon just before the latter started on his last expedition to the Soudan. Gordon wished to know if he might, in the absence of a clergyman, receive natives into the church. Dr. Temple replied in the affirmative, provided he was quite sure of their repentance and faith. The next question was whether it would be possible to allow the native Christians to have more wives than one, and to this Dr. Temple replied in the negative. "What a pity!" Gordon exclaimed. "If only we could let them have four wives each, I verily believe that in half a century you could make the whole of Africa Christian."

There is no doubt but that the whole world could be "made Christian" in much less than half a century, if all were allowed to retain their worldly and heathen customs; but to call people Christian does not make them so; no matter what a man is called, a new life alone can make him a Christian, and that is absolutely necessary. But that which should be remembered in Europe as well as in Africa, is that nobody, no matter what his position or office in the church, is authorised to tell prospective or present Christians what they may or may not do. The Word of God settles that, and to it alone people are to be directed. It is the sole authority and guide as to a Christian's duty, and the Christian worker's duty is to set the truth plainly before people, leaving them free to accept it or not as they will. The papacy was simply the result of the bishops putting themselves and their interpretations of Scripture, in the place of the Bible itself; and the Papacy still exists, not only in the Church of Rome, but wherever even right practices are made to rest on human authority instead of God's Word. Only the Spirit of God can make man Christian.

"Secrets" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

One of the most wonderful verses in the Bible is this: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." Ps. xxv. 14. Men have been known to give what to the majority of people would be a fortune, merely to gain possession of some State secret; but the secret of the King of kings, who inhabits eternity, sitting in the high and holy place, may freely become the property of the poorest person on earth.

May we know what this secret is? Certainly, yet not so that one person can reveal it to another. Surely every one with whom the secret is will know it; yet no matter how many know it, it still remains a secret. Only God Himself can impart it to any soul. It cannot be bought or sold, and nobody can make private gain of it; yet it is of inestimable value both for time and for eternity.

Well, what is this wonderful secret?-It is that which distinguishes the Lord from all false gods. The prophet Jeremiah enables us to find it out. After describing the helpless idols, which "must needs be borne, because they cannot go," and which "cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good," he adds: "But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King; . . . He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His direction." Jer. x. 5-12. The secret of the Lord is life. "He is thy life, and the length of thy days." Deut. xxx. 20. "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things."

That life is the secret of the Lord is evident from the words of the text: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant." What is His covenant?-Speaking of Levi, that is, the one joined to Him, the Lord says: "My covenant was with him of life and peace." Mal. ii. 5. The one who is joined to the Lord gets life; for nothing can be in His presence without partaking of His overflowing life. Coming to the Living Stone, we also become living stones. "He asked life of Thee, and Thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever." Ps. xxi, 4. The Lord's blessing, which He has commanded, is "life for evermore" (Ps. cxxxiii. 3), for "His commandment is life everlasting." John xii. 50.

Secrets are revealed only to intimate friends; to know another's secrets means very close acquaintance, and very confidential relations. So it is that the word rendered "secret" in Ps. xxv. 14, has also the meaning of "familiar acquaintance," "confidential intercourse," and is so translated in some versions. This also shows that life is the secret of the Lord; for to know the only true God is life eternal. John xvii. 3. Life, eternal life, "life for evermore," is the secret of the Lord, and it is "with them that fear Him."

Mark well this last statement. The text does not say that we shall know the secret, but that we shall have it with us. God shows it to us; "for the life was manifested, and we have seen it." 1 John i. 2. Those who fear the Lord have the secret of life, the secret of living; they know how to live, because the Lord shows them how He lives, and comes and lives His own life in them, as they fight the good fight of faith, and "lay hold on eternal life."

It is impossible for anybody basely to betray the Lord's secret, for nobody can be in possession of it except in the immediate presence of the Lord. If one would go away from the Lord, to trade with His secret on his own account, he would lose it the instant he separated from God. The one who would remain in possession of the secret must dwell in "the secret place of the Most High" and "abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

"God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." The secret, therefore, is love, for love is life, and God's love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit of life. The secret, or mystery, of God, is "Christ in you the hope of glory," and the acceptance of the Gospel makes us sharers of the fellowship of the mystery, "which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God." When God dwells in us, then of course the mystery must be hid in us.

The Lord expects us to confide in Him, telling Him the secrets of our own lives. "Whoso covereth his sins shall not prosper;" we must part with them to the Lord. "He abideth faithful," and will not betray us. Our only safety is in telling them to Him, for in the day when every work shall be brought into judgment, with every secret thing, (Eccl. xii. 14), and all

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will be spread out to the gaze of the universe, our secret sins will be safe from observation, because God will have buried them in the depths of the sea, so that though they be sought for they cannot be found (Micah vii, 19; Jer. 1. 30), and God Himself will have forgotten them, so that He cannot make them known if He would. It is as blessed to be able to tell the Lord our secrets as it is to know His secret. He who has the secret of the Lord,-life,-has all that he needs for this world and the one to come. Therefore get acquainted with God, study His works, and learn His ways.

"Love's Offering. Matt. xxvi. 6-16" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

(Matt. xxvi. 6-16)²⁶1

"Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very previous ointment, and poured it on his head, as He sat at meat. But when the disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me. For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on My body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

"Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time He sought opportunity to betray Him."

Nothing in the entire Gospel history more fully shows the quiet calmness of the life of Jesus, and His perfect ministry of every situation, and His constant readiness for every event, than this feast at the house of Simon. Jesus was exactly what the ordinary man is. Although nobody else knew what was coming, Jesus well knew that within two or three days He was to be betrayed and crucified; nevertheless He accepted an invitation to a supper that was made specially for Him. See John xii. 2. The ordinary man, not merely the man of the world, but the professed Christian, would under such circumstances think that he ought to be "preparing for death;" but Jesus was always prepared for everything. There was no necessity for Him to change His manner of life in view of any event whatever. This contains a lesson for us. Even though we are not expecting death, but the coming of the Lord, we ought to be living day by day so that if it were announced as a certainty that the Lord would come to-morrow, it would make no difference in our arrangements. The exhortation of Jesus is: "Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matt. xxiv. 44. We have no time given us except "to-day." Therefore every day ought to be spent as though it were to be our last, and yet not our last, but our entire time of preparation for eternity.

By reference to John xii. 2, 3; xi. 1, 2, we learn that it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who anointed Jesus at this feast. "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus," and it is very evident that Mary had great love for Jesus; and this is proof that she had been forgiven much, for the one who is forgiven much, loves much. Luke vii. 41, 42, 47. This reminds us again that the love of Jesus for men does not depend on their sinlessness. "This man receiveth sinners." If He did not love sinners, He could never love anybody on this earth; and "we love, because He first loved us."

Note the value of the gift that Mary bestowed on Jesus. The disciples said that "it might have been sold for much," and in John xii. 4, 5 we learn that Judas, who was a business man, valued it at "three hundred pence." This, however, does not convey to the casual reader an idea of its value as compared with present prices. We do not need to know the value of a penny in the time of Christ, as compared with our money; but when we remember that a penny was considered a fair day's wages (Matt. xx. 2), we see that the ointment represented a labouring man's wages for an entire year. It was no small gift that was poured out upon the Master. It was a royal gift, and was bestowed by Mary in recognition of the fact that Jesus was her Lord.

"To what purpose is this waste?" This was that the disciples said, evidently following the lead of Judas. Do not judge them harshly; we should no doubt say the same under similar circumstances. Remember that they did not know at the time what we know from the history. They did not fully appreciate who Jesus was, and they did not know, although they had been told, that He was about to die, and be taken from them. And the act seemed so unnecessary and improvident. "If she had only given Him something that he could keep, and that would have been of real use to Him! If we would have exclaimed, "but this ointment is of no practical value to Him even now, and its odour and effect will soon be gone. It is simply a woman's thoughtless lavishness. With the money that this would bring much food and clothing could have been purchased."

Thus reasons cold, calculating selfishness; but love can sometimes teach reason. The odour of that ointment has not yet passed away. The Lord does not estimate gifts at their money value in the world market. The poor widow who gave "two mites, which make a farthing," gave more than all the rich men who gave of that abundance; and on the other hand Jesus who was poor, and was used to saving all the fragments of food, so that nothing should be wasted, did not think that this princely gift was anything to be astonished at, or that it was wasted. Did you never stop to think how much property that was dedicated to the Lord in ancient times was by His order deliberately burned up. When Noah came out of the ark, he built an altar, "and took of every clean east and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour." Gen. viii. 20, 21. "What a waste!" the critic would exclaim. Not by any means; it was an offering of love and trust. All the sacrifices of old were an expression of the truth that all things belong to God, and that since all things are in Him, we have everything even though we give Him everything, and it is poured out at His feet or consumed into smoke. The gifts of love, like love itself, can never be wasted. Love's labour is never lost; it is its own reward. Christ "poured out His soul unto death," but the gift was not wasted. "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. He does not regret the gift, even though it is rejected. As we learn its worth, we shall learn how to give, and shall estimate the value of gifts in heaven's coin, and not in that of this world.

"Were the whole realm of nature min.
That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so Divine,
Demands my life, my soul, my all."

"The Editor's Private Corner. 'One Mediator'" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

In order that all the readers of PRESENT TRUTH may understand the reference in the first part of the following question, it may be necessary to state that the Sabbath school lessons to which the questioner refers are on the Epistle to the Galatians, and were written by the editor of this paper. The matter referred to is also more fully dealt with in the little book on Galatians, called "Glad Tidings."

"In studying our S. S. Lesson, it has seemed to me that you have not recognised the fact that Moses was a mediator. He received the law for the people by their request. Acts vii. 38; Deut. v. 31. Is not Moses, as a mediator, contrasted with Christ as the mediator of a better covenant? Christ's ministry is more excellent, to the extent that, He is the mediator of a better covenant. Heb. viii. 6. Is not His mediatorial work His ministry? Christ is the mediator of the new testament (Heb. ix. 15), and is not Moses the mediator of the first testament? Verses 18, 19. Was it not in connection with that first covenant that the law entered because of transgressions? Christ as mediator brings man to God; Moses as mediator stood between man and God, to keep them apart 'lest they die.' I know that the law was spoken by Christ as a mediator; but was not the 'hand of a mediator' the hand of Moses? I can understand the law being ordained by ministering spirits in the hand of Moses, but I cannot see the meaning of its being ordained by angels in the hand of Christ. If I am wrong, I would be glad to know wherein I have missed the point."

You have asked a very comprehensive question, yet I think we may give it a fairly thorough consideration in the time allotted to us, and I am sure that no subject can be studied with greater profit.

COVENANT NOT TESTAMENT

In the first place, let me caution you against falling into the too common habit of treating the words "covenant" and "testament" as synonymous. It is true that they are so used in our common English version, but it is wholly arbitrary and unwarranted. There is but one Greek word from which they are both translated, and in every other version than the English this word is uniformly translated by one word, which means "covenant."

Even though you may not read the Greek, you can to some extent satisfy yourself on this point. Thus: it is evident that the very same thing is referred to in both Heb. vii. 22 and viii. 6, 7, yet "testament" is used in one place, and "covenant" in the other. But Heb. viii. 8-11 is quoted from Jer. xxxi. 31-34, where the word "covenant" is used, and the Hebrew word there used never has any other signification than that of covenant. It is true that the Greek word for "covenant" was also used to indicate a will or testament, but this latter meaning never occurs in the Bible. So drop the word "testament" out of your vocabulary, so far as the Bible is concerned, and when in your reading you come to it, always say "covenant" instead, as it will save much confusion. Many theories and arguments have been built on the idea of a will which Christ made, and which came into force after His death, but not before; but all of them were wasted breath and energy; yes, worse than wasted, for they tend only to mislead the hearers or readers, instead of to instruct them.

THE COVENANTS OF PROMISE

Before we can fully understand the office and work of the mediator of a covenant, we must have a clear understanding of the nature and object of the covenant. Remember that God's covenants are "covenants of promise." Eph. ii. 12. The first covenant of which we read was an unconditional promise not to destroy the earth by a flood. Gen. ix. 8-17. Indeed, every promise of God must necessarily be unconditional, since we have nothing to give, can do nothing, and are nothing. Gal. iii. 14-18 shows also that God's covenant is His promise, for the disannulling of the covenant would be to make void the promise. The promise made to Abraham, and confirmed by God's oath (Heb. vi. 12-18) is in Galatians spoken of as the covenant confirmed.

THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to give Him "all the land of Canaan" (Gen. xv. 3-28; xvii. 4-8), which constituted him "heir of the world." Rom. iv. 13. This promise was "through the righteousness of faith."It was "to Abraham and his seed," and assured the land to them "for an everlasting possession." It was confirmed by the oath of God (Gen. xxii. 15-18), not for Abraham's sake, but in order "that we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us." (Heb. vi. 13-18). So we see that the covenant which God made with Abraham four hundred and thirty years before the law was spoken from Sinai, is the covenant by which we now find salvation. It embraces "all nations," even "all the families of the earth." It assures righteousness to all who trust in God through Christ, and through the righteousness in Christ everlasting life in the kingdom of God. That covenant included all that God has to give to any people, and all that He ever requires of anybody.

It was to this covenant that God referred when He said to the Israelites: "Ye have seen, what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine; and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." Ex. xix. 4-6. No other covenant than that made with Abraham was needed, for that was "confirmed in Christ" (Gal. iii. 17), and it was not God's design to make any other.

THE COVENANT WITH ISRAEL

There are many covenants mentioned in the Bible, but the terms "first covenant" and "second covenant" have reference to two covenants made with the whole house of Israel. The first covenant was that made at Sinai, "which gendereth to bondage." Gal. iv. 24. It was essentially the people's covenant; for when God exhorted them to keep His covenant,-the covenant already made with Abraham,-which meant that they should keep the faith, the people self-confidently interposed their own promise. God told them what He had done, and what He would do, and they, without thanking Him for His "exceeding great and precious promises," immediately proceeded to tell what they would do. But inasmuch as "every man at his best state is altogether vanity," their promises were worth nothing, and to that covenant was "made void" (Ps. lxxxix. 39) from the beginning. They promised to keep the law, but "by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." By virtue of that first covenant, therefore, the people of Israel never got anything, for there was never any virtue in it.

THE SECOND COVENANT WITH ISRAEL

"If the first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second." Heb. viii. 7. A faulty covenant can never make a perfect people; but there is nothing faulty in what God does. The covenant was not faulty because the people did not promise to do the right thing, but because the making and performing of promises that are of any

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value at all rests with God alone. So the second covenant is better than the first, because its promises are God's promises, and not man's. "Finding fault with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; . . . for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be My people; and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know Me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Heb. viii. 8-12.

This covenant includes nothing that was not in the covenant with Abraham, but it is simply an act constituting "the commonweath of Israel" God's people for evermore. It has not yet been made, as can be seen by reading Jer. xxx. to xxxiii., but it is a matter of promise, to be fulfilled at the second coming of Christ. The fact that Christ is the "Surety" or pledge of this covenant (Heb. vii. 22) shows that the covenant itself has not yet been made; for we need no surety for that which we already have. The house of Israel has not yet been gathered out from among the nations; among every people there are "lost sheep of the house of Israel," and these must be gathered out before the second covenant with that people can be made. When it is made, there will be no more need for the preaching of the Gospel, for all will know the Lord, from the least to the greatest. In the meantime, we have the covenant made with Abraham, confirmed to us by the oath of God in Christ, which brings us to God, and makes us His heirs,-"partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT

This is Christ, as we are plainly told in Heb. ix. 15. Knowing what God's covenant embraces, we can know the work of its Mediator. God's covenant is first of all the promise of righteousness, through which we are fitted for an eternal inheritance. Righteousness is the perfect manifestation of the requirement of the law; it is the law in living form-"the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." It must be put into us, for we do not possess it by nature, and cannot get it for ourselves. "The righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ," "witnessed by the law and the prophets," is "unto all and upon all them that believe." Rom. iii. 22. Christ is of God "made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. ii. 30. Only by His life in us, by the exercise of His power over our flesh, can we be made righteous. "By the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." Rom. v. 19.

Thus Christ is the means, the medium, by which God's promises become realities to us. "For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him, Amen." 2 Cor. i. 20. He is thus the Mediator. He has once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, "that He might bring us to God." 1 Peter iii. 18. Through Him we "have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Eph. ii. 18. We are "made nigh by the blood of Christ." His name is Emmanuel, "God with us," and as He is made flesh, even our flesh, He is the means by which God, and consequently His righteousness, dwells in us, filling us with His fulness.

CHRIST THE ONLY MEDIATOR

"There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." 1 Tim. ii. 6. This text settles the question as to whether or not Moses was a mediator. Moreover, the very text which most plainly tells us that Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant, shows us that the first covenant had no mediator, and that herein lies the advantage of the second over the first. Thus: "He is the Mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." Heb. ix. 15. You see it is only by virtue of Christ as Mediator of the new covenant that the transgressions that were under the first covenant were forgiven.

That first covenant was the promise of the people to keep God's law. If it had only had a mediator-some one to put the law into them-it would have lacked nothing, and they would have been perfect. But it had no mediator, and so they would have been in a hopeless condition if it had not been for the covenant made with Abraham, and confirmed in Christ by an oath of God.

I must not forget to remind you that the scripture that speaks of Christ's "more excellent ministry," is not contrasting His work with that of Moses, but Christ's priesthood with that of human priests. See Heb. vii. 21, 22; vii. 1-7. His priesthood is as much better than theirs as God's promises are better than man's, and as "the power of an endless life" is better than the weakness of mortal flesh.

A MEDIATOR NOT A SEPARATOR

Christ the Mediator between God and men, and thus He brings them together. This is the sole work of a mediator. But how was it with Moses? You have already said that he kept God away from the people. When God had spoken the Ten Commandments, they said to Moses, "Speak thou with us, lest we die." "And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." Ex. xx. 19-21.

God had already said to them: "I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself" (Ex. xix. 4), and this was done through Christ, the one Mediator, so that they needed no other; but they blindly rejected Christ, and asked Moses to take His place, to keep God away from them. Thus Moses was just the opposite of mediator, although he himself had free access to God. He could not be mediator, any more than you or I or any other man could.

IN THE HAND OF CHRIST

This expression, "in the hand of a mediator," which seems so difficult to you, is one of the most precious assurances in the Bible. You say you can understand the law being ordained by ministering spirits, in the hand of Moses, but you cannot see the meaning of its being ordained by angels in the hand of Christ. The very reverse of this seems to me to be the case. We have not time now to go much into detail, but it will help you if you will remember what the work of a real mediator is. The Mediator between God and men must bring them together, and must put His righteous law into the hearts and lives of men.

Perhaps Deut. xxxiii. 2, 3 may help you: "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of His saints [holy ones]; from His right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand." So both the law and the saints are in the hand of Christ. That is good; that unites them. His hand under and upon us protects us and keeps us in the law, and the law in us. He says of His people; "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." John x. 28.

We need nothing except to be brought to God, and Christ is in Himself alone abundantly able to do this. He joins Divinity and humanity in a perfect union. The law was "ordained to life," but if we meet it apart from Christ we shall find it to be unto death. We have cause for everlasting rejoicing that the hand from which the fiery law proceeds also holds us, and that in Him who is our peace we are saved from the wrath which it works.

"The Children. The Lord's Prayer. 'Deliver Us from Evil'" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

"Lead us not into temptation." This is a part of the Lord's prayer, which it is well for us often to think upon, so that we may earnestly pray it from our hearts every day, and keep it in our minds. For this will help us to remember our own weakness and how impossible it is for as to meet temptation and overcome it in our own strength.

Do you think that if you really pray this prayer each day you will be likely to run into temptation heedlessly. Of your own freewill? Surely you will not want to run where you have earnestly prayed that the Lord will not lead you.

Yet there are some who think that they am strong enough to endure temptation, so they do not try to keep away from it, but even sometimes place themselves in the way of it. Such are sure to fall into the very temptation that they thought they were strong to resist. For our greatest weakness is to trust in ourselves, and think that we are strong. But our greatest strength is to know that we have no strength whatever, for then we shall cling always to the mighty arm of Jesus our Saviour, and hide under His wing for shelter. So "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take head lest he fall."

If only Eve had turned her back on the tempter, and not listened to his enticing words, and looked at the tempting fruit that he held out to her, how much of sin, sorrow, suffering, and death, she might have saved herself and all her family.

Last month we printed some verses containing a "Lesson from a Spider's Web" to teach you the danger of going needlessly into temptation. You can look them up for yourself, but we will quote a few of the verses here:-

"I sat here one day, when there came by the
way
A silly young bottlefly buzzing along;
He tossed up his head, and so boastingly said,
"I'm sure there's no danger, because I'm so
strong.
"'With one stroke of my wing I'll demolish this
thing,
Where so many poor, weak, foolish creatures
have died;'
Then in vain, pompous way, the young bottlefly
gay
Rushed up to the web in his confident pride.
"But these strong little strings caught his silvery
wings,
And soon to his horror the bottlefly found
That he, too, must die, like a poor, common fly,
Though he fluttered, and tugged, and buzzed
wildly around."

But when, without our seeking it, or running into it, we meet temptation and trial, than we may pray with trust and confidence to our Heavenly rather, "Deliver us from evil." He is able to keep us from failing and is even more anxious to keep us spotless than we are to be kept from sin.

There is only one way that we can overcome temptation, and be delivered from evil. Jesus tells us the only way, when He says: "Overcome evil with good."

Yet in us "dwelleth no good thing," so of ourselves we have no good" with which to "overcome evil." For "there is none good but one, that is, God," and everything that is good must come from Him. So we may read this in its true meaning, "Overcome evil with God."

And this is just what His Word tells us to do; for "He gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver as from this present evil world." God has given us Himself, so that we may be able to overcome aIl evil.

Have you received the wondrous gift? and do you know His power to keep you? You cannot get the evil out of your heart in any other way than by letting Him come in. Then His presence in your heart will drive out evil, because "evil cannot dwell with Him."

What is the only way that you can get rid of darkness? It is by letting light shine in, and then where is the darkness? It is overcome, swallowed up, by the light, so that it disappears completely, and is not.

All evil is darkness, which the light of the Son of Righteousness only can dispel. But when He arises and shines in our hearts, where will the darkness or the evil be? It will be destroyed by the brightness of His shining, just as the light of day causes the darkness of night to vanish away. Only light can overcome darkness; only good can overcome evil; only life can overcome death; and only God can overcome Satan.

Are you not glad that "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts"? When you feel any evil thought rising up in your mind, any naughty temper in your heart, any unkind word coming to your lips, will you not remember that He has given Himself to save you from this evil? Will you not ask Him to shine it all away, and overcome the evil with His own goodness?

Then as you learn more and more to know His power over all tire power of Satan, you will be able to sing with new meaning the beautiful Psalm of David, that you well know:-

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me."

"Jottings" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

-Influenza is raging in St. Petersburg, and the mortality is very great.

-The Indian Famine Fund at the Mansion House will be closed at the end of the year. It now amounts to ?390,050.

-A woman who has just celebrated her one hundredth birthday at Bramley, near Guildford, was in service in one family for seventy-seven years.

-Severe storms have been raging on the Atlantic. On her last trip to New York the Umbria's library and music room were flooded by heavy seas, and the captain's cabin was wrecked.

-News has been received from Canton of the sinking of a passenger steamer near Hokau, on the West River. The vessel was overcrowded and capsized. Of the 400 persons on board over 200 were drowned.

-The Sultan's idea to send a special religious mission to China to preach to the Chinese Moslems and at the same time inculcate loyalty to their reigning Emperor, has been approved by the Council of Ministers.

-The Hay-Paunceforte treaty concerning the ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama, which provided that it should be neutral, has been rejected by the United States Senate, the demand being for the Nicaragua route, to be owned and controlled and fortified by the United States.

-Though the number of patients suffering from alcoholic neuritis in the Manchester district shows a marked diminution, the cases seem to be of a more serious nature. Arsenic has now been found in beer brewed from hops and malt alone, no glucose having been used.

-The German cadet training-ship Gneisenau was totally wrecked on the 16th inst., when entering the port to seek shelter from a severe storm. The commander and more than forty of the crew were drowned, and the most of those who were saved were injured.

-An idea of the extent of French thrift is given by the statement that in consequence of a law to come into effect in January 1, 1901, that "no deposit account in the French post office savings bank may exceed ?60," the sum of 200,000,000 francs (?8,000,000) will have to be withdrawn.

-The New Zealand Government, in view of the probable annexation of Fiji, is requesting the Secretary for the colonies to issue letters patent for the extension of the boundaries of the colony of New Zealand. It is said that the Fijians would prefer to be annexed by Australia rather than by New Zealand.

-The report of the Metropolitan Police force for last year, shows that there is a total of 15,765 men in the service. During the year they dealt with twenty-one murders, in nine cases of which the capital sentence was carried out. There were 447 burglaries, which was fifty-one less than the previous year.

-Now that the election is over in the United States, the Trusts are free from anxiety as to their future, and the Meat Trust has increased the wholesale price of meat by a half penny in the pound, which trifling sum will net them annually eight millions sterling. This gives an idea of the immense amount of meat that is consumed.

-The United States machinery exhibition at Vincennes, one of the most interesting of the engineering collections in connection with the Paris Exhibition, has been bought-building and plant-in its entirety by a Lancashire engineering firm.The huge building and immense plant will be taken down and brought to Lancashire.

-The experts sent out by the British South Africa Company, to inquire into the reported coal find in Rhodesia, say that the coalfield is situated about 180 miles northwest of Bulawayo, and is known to extend over 400 square miles. It has consequently been decided to take the Cape to Cairo railroad through the centre of the coalfields and on to the Victoria Falls.

-It is stated that scarcely a day passes in France without the announcement of some strike. During the month of October sixty-nine strikes were officially recorded, and the number of workmen who have taken part in them is stated to be 36,469. The strikes have lasted from one to twenty-nine days, but in only sixteen of them have the workmen completely succeeded in attaining the object for which they went on strike.

-Colonel Crompton, who was in command of the detachment of the Corps of Electric Engineer Volunteers that went out from England to South Africa last April, has come back in advance of his corps, by special request of Lord Roberts, in order to work out a comprehensive scheme for the use of mechanical transport in time of war. He is engaged in working out new designs for various types of motor vehicles especially suited to the needs of an army in the field.

"Back Page" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night. Ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence, and give Him no rest till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."

At the Guildhall a few days since a farmer was fined ?20 and four guineas costs for sending tuberculous meat to the Central London Meat Market. Having a heifer which did not thrive, he killed it, and sent the carcass to a salesman in London, to "do the best he could with it." The only unsatisfactory thing about this affair is that it will lull people into a feeling of security in the thought that all such cases are detected, and the offenders punished, when the truth is that the diseased cattle that are destroyed and not eaten are the exceptions.

Some people stumble over the word "fear," in the statement that we must "fear God." They think that it has the idea of fright, and that God is so austere that we are to be cowed in His presence. Such should bear this text in mind: "If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared." Ps. cxxx. 2, 3. God is not looking for faults in us, nor harshly reproving us when He sees them; but He graciously forgives them, and it is this tenderness that leads us to fear Him. The true fear of God is fear to grieve His tender heart of love.

Under the guidance of Lady Wimborne, a "Ladies' League for the Defence of the Reformed Faith of the Church of England" has been established at Eastbourne, with branches in other parts of the country. Lord Lindsay is president. Of course they know the nature of their "faith" better than anybody else does, and it may need defending; but we much prefer the true faith which is itself a shield of defence. A shield that has to be defended is of very little practical value.

"Present Truth Fund" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

The following two letters are short and pointed, and speak for themselves:-

"Will you please accept the enclosed P. O. to send out a low numbers of the PRESENT TRUTH In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?"

"Enclosed is one shilling towards distributing free copies of the Christmas number of PRESENT TRUTH. I hope you will have lots of contributions, and that it will have lots of circulation."

To which we respond, Amen. There are no names signed to these letters, but the PRESENT TRUTH, unlike most other journals, takes notice of anonymous contributions. We are persuaded that the Lord does also.

Many thousands of the Christmas number have been sold in excess of the ordinary number, and of course many have been given away by the kindness of friends. But with the exception of the cover, every number is just as good as that, and just as worthy of circulation. Now it has occurred to us, that out of the thousands of readers of PRESENT TRUTH there must be at least many hundreds who would take pleasure in contributing pence, shillings, and even pounds to assist in extending its circulation. If so, we shall be glad to acknowledge the contributions in the paper.

There has been a liberal response to the appeal foe the relief of the famine sufferers in India, who are no longer in need; may we not find a heartier response to this appeal in behalf of those in still greater need from lack of the bread of life? Let all be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, remembering His claims upon us.

? s. d.

Just received ...................... 3 6

"The Lavishness of Love" The Present Truth 16, 52.

E. J. Waggoner

The lavishness with which God dispenses His gifts a thus indicated in His wonderful challenge to Job:-

"Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it, to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?"

Man's natural disposition would say, "To what purpose is this waste?" Why pour out water upon a waste and desolate land, where no man dwells? To be sure, the text says, that it is "to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth;" but of what use is the tender herb where there is no man to see it or make use of it?

That is the language of the selfish man, who cannot understand why anything should exist if it does not directly benefit trim. He does not know that God is love, and that love must give lavishly, in order to satisfy itself. As Grey has said:-

"Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air;"

Only its sweetness is not wasted. Perfect love must do perfect work. It is not the nature of God to slight the out-of-the-way corners. The remotest and most obscure nook has as much elaborate work bestowed upon it is the most showy place. An honest man cannot be satisfied to do a poor bit of work anywhere; and God, who is the Truth itself, must be so satisfied with the work of His hands, that He will take delight and be refreshed in contemplating it.

Some one has said that "nature is never prodigal with her gifts;" but he did not know what he said; for God is prodigal, even recklessly wasteful, according to man's calculation. Just think of the showers of rain that fall on the ocean! Nobody can see any need for it there, because there is water enough there already; yet it falls. Instead of talking about waste, we should rather rejoice to know that our Father is so rich that He can bestow without limit and not feel any less. His storehouse cannot be exhausted. He always gives "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over."

Look at the wealth of blossoms on the fruit trees in the spring. It is not possible that every blossom on an apple tree should give place to an apple, for no tree could hold them; there would not be room enough on the tree for the fruit, for the blossoms themselves crowd one another. God wishes to delight the eye to the fullest extent, and to please the senses with delicious fragrance, without reference to what the "practical" man would call utility.

These things are a Gospel sermon. They show us how freely God bestows His love. There is more than enough to save all mankind; for "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." All the universe cannot draw upon God's infinite love sufficiently to make any difference in it; and there would have been just as much poured out if only one man, instead of the whole world, had sinned. Thank the Lord for His boundless, lavish, overflowing love!

"Plenteous grace with Thee is found,-
Grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within."

¹ (International Sunday-school Lesson for Jan. 11.)

² (International Sunday-School Lesson for Feb. 4.)

³ International Sunday-School Lesson, March. 1.

⁴ (International Sunday-school Lesson for March 18.)

⁵ International Sunday-School Lesson, for April 22.

⁶ (International Sunday-school Lesson for April 22.)

⁷ International Sunday-School Lesson, for May 6.

⁸ (International Sunday-school Lesson for May 13.)

⁹ International Sunday-School Lesson, for May 20.

¹⁰ International Sunday-School Lesson, for June 17.

¹¹ International Sunday-school Lesson for July 15.

¹² International Sunday-school Lesson for July 22.

¹³ International Sunday-school Lesson for Sept. 2.

¹⁴ International Sunday-school Lesson for Sept. 23.

¹⁵ International Sunday-school Lesson for Oct. 14.

¹⁶ International Sunday-school Lesson for Oct. 14.

¹⁷ International Sunday-school Lesson for Oct. 28.

¹⁸ International Sunday-school Lesson for Nov. 4.

¹⁹ International Sunday-school Lesson for Nov. 11.

²⁰ International Sunday-school Lesson for Nov. 18.

²¹ International Sunday-school Lesson for Nov. 25.

²² International Sunday-school Lesson for Dec. 2.

²³ International Sunday-school Lesson for Dec. 9.

²⁴ International Sunday-school Lesson for Dec. 16.

²⁵ International Sunday-school Lesson for 23.

²⁶ International Sunday-school Lesson for Jan. 6.