The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 75 (1898)

January 4, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 1 , p. 8.

YOU have been, and you are, thankful that you have confidence in God. This is well; for it is a great thing to have doubt and uncertainty removed, and confidence in God established in the mind and heart. It is, therefore, a thing really to be thankful for, that you have confidence in God.

Yet there is a greater thing than this to be thankful for, and that is that God has confidence in you.

Indeed, it is God's confidence in us that is all the ground of our confidence in him.

Considered solely upon the merit of the question, it is indeed a very little thing that we should have confidence in him; while it is a thing great beyond all comparison that he should have confidence in us.

Just think what we were,–a people laden with iniquity, alienated from God, and enemies in our minds, by wicked works. Yet when we were all this, God deliberately invested in us all that he had,–the great "price" of his dear Son, in whom dwelleth all the fulness of God. this is a marvelous display of confidence.

He had such confidence in us that he would invest in us–aliens and enemies–all that he had, and all that he is,–even himself,–expecting that his confidence in us would destroy the alienation, break down the enmity, and win us to confidence in him.

And this fairly reckless confidence in us did actually win us from alienation and enmity to confidence in him. This is the only thing that ever did or that ever could so win us. Thus his confidence in us is all the ground of our confidence in him.

And thus is established and illustrated the divine principle that confidence begets confidence; yea, that confidence to the extent of what seems recklessness will beget confidence even to what seems recklessness; for no person can fairly and seriously contemplate the marvelous confidence that God has shown in us, without being won to a confidence in God that is a perfect abandon of trust,–a trust that holds firm and stead through every vicissitude–fire, flood, suffering, persecution, death itself–that this world can possibly know.

Nor did the Lord's marvelous display of confidence cease with only this investment to win us to confidence in him: but when it had won us to confidence in him, he then confided to our keeping his own honor in the world. He did not stay here in person to guard his honor and his character. No; he left the world, and left his disciples here in his stead, entrusting altogether to us the guardianship of his honor and his character. "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." Are you true to the trust, or are you betraying his boundless confidence?

Yes, for us to have confidence in God is indeed a great thing: but O! great beyond all measure it is that God has confidence in us–and such confidence! May this perfect abandon of the confidence of God in us hold us from proving recreant to the trust and from ever betraying that confidence.

"That Prayer of Ours" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 1 , pp. 8, 9.

"THESE words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come: glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee."

This prayer may be ours as really as it was his. Yes, this prayer should be ours as really as it was his. It is our part to glorify God, as really as it was his. But we cannot glorify God without both praying and living this prayer.

Let us study the Word, and see that every word of the prayer in this verse does really belong to us, and that we not only may, but should, use it as our own.

First, he says, "Father." Are we not to say "Father"? Is he not our Father also? Is it not true that "we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father"? So much of this prayer, then, is certainly ours.

"The hour is come." What hour?–The hour to "glorify thy Son." And are not you his son? To as many as believed on him "gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." You believe on his name. To you has he given power to become the son of God; for "ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." And "behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." Therefore, "beloved, now are we the sons of God;" and our Father love us precisely as he loves his other Son. He has no favorites among his children. He loves us all alike, and what belongs to the One belongs jointly to all.

This word of prayer, "Glorify thy Son," is our prayer as really as it was the prayer of Jesus. And is it not true that "the hour is come" that he should glorify us?–In answer let us read that word which, for several years, we have been reading with special emphasis: "Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord IS RISEN UPON THEE. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee."

That word is ours just now. God has given it to us just now. It is certainly true, then, that "the hour is come" that he should glorify us. So far, then, each one of us can sincerely and truly pray this prayer, every word: "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy son."

But why did he and do we ask that he should glorify us?–"That thy Son also may glorify thee." We must glorify God. we were created to glorify God. The very object of our existence is that we glorify God. But this word plainly shows that we cannot glorify him unless he first glorifies us–"Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee."

You have wanted to glorify God, and have mourned because you have failed. But that was because you tried to glorify him before he had glorified you. You want to glorify God in all things, and have been disappointed that you have failed in so many things. But have God glorify you in all things: then you can glorify him in all things. Do you not see how much you need, daily and always, to pray this prayer? O, then, do not neglect ever to pray, "Father, glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee"!

This is the truth as to the fact that he must glorify us in order for us to glorify him, and that if he does not first glorify us, we cannot glorify him; but now the question comes, How does he glorify us? When we know how he glorifies us, we know just how to glorify him; for he is to glorify us, so that we may glorify him.

How, then, does he glorify us?–Read: "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self." That is how he glorifies us; he does it with his own self. He gives himself to us. He gave himself to the whole world, and for the whole world, so that the whole world might glorify him, and so meet the object of their creation. If he had not glorified the world with his own self, if he had not given himself to the world, it would have been forever impossible for the world, or any one in the world, to glorify God. But since God has glorified the world with his own self, since he gave himself to the world, it is not only possible for every one, but it is the blessed privilege of every one, to glorify God.

Therefore, as it is with his own self that he glorifies us, and as he has given his own self, it is for each one of us to receive his own self, that he may indeed glorify us with his own self. Then when we have so received him, and have been so glorified by him, we can glorify him.

And how is it that he glorifies us?–With his own self. Then how is it that we shall glorify him?–With our own selves. How much of himself did he give, how much was required, to glorify the world, in order that the world mighty truly glorify him?–All–"all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

How much, then, of ourselves must be given, how much is required, in order that we may glorify him?–All; all there is of us–body, soul, and spirit.

He gave himself up, he abandoned himself wholly, to mankind, that they might do with him just what they might choose. We are to give ourselves up, we are to abandon ourselves wholly, to God, that he may do with us just what he chooses.

And O, the difference! When he abandoned himself to men, they crucified him; but when men abandon themselves to him, he saves them. Yet he even abandoned himself to men, even to be crucified by them, in order to glorify them, that they might glorify him. Then can you not abandon yourself to God, even to be saved by him, that you may glorify him? Accept, then, just now, his giving up of himself, his abandonment of himself, to you, that he may glorify you with his own self. Then you can abandon yourself to him, and you will surely glorify him. Accept his abandonment of himself to you always and in everything to glorify you: then you can, you will be glad to, abandon yourself to him always and in everything, and you will surely glorify him always and in everything.

Therefore, this prayer is surely ours. Bless the Lord! Then let every soul pray, now and always, "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy son, that thy son may glorify thee. . . . And now, O Father, glorify thou me

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with thine own self," that I may glorify thee with mine own self. Amen. And let all the people say, Amen.

"An Interesting Bit of History" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 1 , pp. 9, 10.

IT is believed that Jacob Gruber, a Methodist preacher, was the first person ever arrested in the United States for the utterance of abolitional sentiments. In a sermon at a camp-meeting in Maryland, Aug. 16, 1818, he uttered the following splendid words against slavery:–

The last national sin is slavery and oppression. This in particular is a reproach to the nation. Other nations, which are under the yoke of despots, are pititied, especially when they are ground down by the iron heel of oppression. The nation is happily delivered from such bondage. We live in a free country: and that all men are created equal and have unalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we hold as self-evident truths. But there are slaves in our country, and their sweat and blood and tears declare them such. The voice of our brothers' blood crieth. Is it not a reproach to a man to hold articles of liberty and independence in one hand, and a bloody whip in the other, while a negro stands and trembles before him with his back cut and bleeding?

There is a laudable zeal manifested in our country to form Bible and missionary societies to send the Scriptures and the gospel to heathen nations. Would it not be well for some to be consistent, and instruct the heathen at home in their kitchens, and let them hear the gospel likewise? What would heathen nations at a distance think, if they were told that persons who gave liberally to send them the Bible and the gospel did not read, believe, or obey it themselves, or teach their own families to read that book, or allow them time to hear the gospel of their salvation preached? There is some difference, even in this country. We Pennsylvanians think it strange, and it seems strange, to read in the public prints from some States an advertisement like this: "For sale, a plantation, a house and lot, horses, cows, sheep, and hogs. Also, a number of negroes, men, women, and children, some very valuable ones. Also, a pew in such and such a church." Again: "For sale, a likely young negro, who is an excellent waiter, sold for no fault, or else for want of employment." These are sold for cash for four, five, six, seven, or eight hundred dollars a head, soul and body together, ranked with horses, hogs, etc. Look farther, and see: "Fifty dollars reward, one hundred dollars reward, two hundred dollars reward." What for? Has an apprentice run away from his master?–No; perhaps a reward for him would be six cents. A man that ran off has probably gone to see his wife, or child, or relations, who have been sold and torn from him, or to enjoy the blessings of a free country, and get clear of tyranny. In this inhuman traffic and cruel trade, the most tender ties are torn asunder, and the nearest connections broken. That which God has joined together, let no man put asunder. This solemn injunction is not regarded. Will not God be avenged on such a nation as this? . . .

"Is there not some chosen curse,

Some secret thunder in the stores of heaven.

Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the wretch

That traffics in the blood of souls?"

He was prosecuted upon the charge of having "with force and arms, . . . unlawfully, wickedly, maliciously, and advisedly" endeavored "to stir up, provoke, instigate, and incite divers negro slaves. . . to commit acts of mutiny and rebellion in said State."

Curiously enough, he was defended by Roger B. Taney, who afterward was made chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and who, as chief justice, rendered the famous Dred Scott Decision, which was intended to fasten slavery upon the whole nation forever. In his speech in defense of Mr. Gruber, Lawyer Taney said:–

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It is well known that the gradual and peaceful abolition of slavery in these States is one of the objects which the Methodist society have steadily in view. No slaveholder is allowed to be a minister in that church. Their preachers are accustomed, in their sermons, to speak of the injustice and oppressions of slavery. The opinion of Mr. Gruber on this subject, nobody could doubt; and if any slaveholder believed it dangerous to himself, his family, or the community, to suffer his slaves to learn that all slavery is unjust and oppressive, and persuade himself that they would not, of themselves, be able to make the discovery, it was in his power to prevent them from attending the assemblies where such doctrines were likely to be preached. Mr. Gruber did not go to the slaves; they came to him. They could not have come if their masters had chosen to prevent them.

But the reverend gentleman merits a defense on very different principles. The counsel to whom he has confided his cause cannot content themselves with a cold and reluctant acquittal, and abandon Mr. Gruber, without defense, to all the obloquy and reproach which his enemies have industriously and most unjustly heaped upon him. We cannot consent to buy his safety by yielding to passion, prejudice, and avarice, the control of future discussions on this great and important question. He must not surrender up the civil and religious rights secured to him, in common with others, by the Constitution of this most favored nation. Mr. Gruber feels that is it due to his own character, to the station he fills, to the respectable society of Christians in which he is a minister of the gospel, not only to defend himself from this prosecution, but also to avow and to vindicate here, the principles he maintained in his sermon. There is no law that forbids us to speak of slavery as we think of it. Any man has a right to publish his opinions on that subject whenever he pleases. It is a subject of national concern, and may at all times be freely discussed. Mr. Gruber did quote the language of our great act of national independence, and insisted on the principles contained in that venerated instrument. He did rebuke those masters who, in the exercise of power, are deaf to the calls of humanity; and he warned them of the evils they might bring upon themselves. He did speak with abhorrence of those reptiles who live by trading in human flesh, and enrich themselves by tearing the husband from the wife, the infant from the bosom of the mother; and this, I am instructed, was the head and front of his offending. Shall I content myself with saying he had a right to say this; that there is no law to punish him? So far as he from being the object of punishment in any form of proceeding, that we are prepared to maintain the same principles, and to use, if necessary, the same language here in the temple of justice, and in the presence of those who are the ministers of the law.

A hard necessity, indeed, compels us to endure the evil of slavery for a time. It was imposed upon us by another nation, while we were yet in a state of colonial vassalage. It cannot be easily or suddenly removed. Yet, while it continues, it is a blot on our national character; and every real lover of freedom confidently hopes that it will be effectually, though it must be gradually, wiped away, and earnestly looks for the means by which this necessary object may be best attained. And until it shall be accomplished, until the time shall come when we can point without a blush to the language held in the Declaration of Independence, every friend of humanity will seek to lighten the galling chain of slavery, and better, to the utmost of his power, the wretched condition of the slave.

Curious as is the fact that Mr. Gruber was defended by one who afterward was chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, it is yet far more curious that any man who, as a lawyer, could identify himself with such noble principles and sentiments as these, could yet, even after the lapse of thirty-nine years, as chief justice of the national Supreme Court, render a decision in which, with direct reference to the "liberty" clause of the Declaration, the following words are found:–

The general words above quoted would seem to embrace the whole human family; and, if they were used in a similar instrument at this day, would be so understood. But it is too clear for dispute that the enslaved African race were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this Declaration; for if the language, as understood in that day, would embrace them, the conduct of the distinguished men who framed the Declaration of Independence would have been utterly and flagrantly inconsistent with the principles they asserted; and instead of the sympathy of mankind, to which they so confidently appealed, they would have deserved and received universal rebuke and reprobation.

They [the negroes] had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior that they had not rights which the white man was bound to respect, and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.

Yet another curious point in this is that the decision rendered by Chief Justice Taney in 1857 against the Declaration and confirming slavery forever, was effective in so awaking the nation as completely to accomplish the very thing which Lawyer Taney in 1848 declared that "every real lover of freedom confidently hoped" might, as a "necessary object," "be attained" in favor of the Declaration and against slavery.

Life itself is a curious thing, isn't it?

"Why Is This Thus?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 1 , p. 10.

MENANDER was a Greek writer of comic plays, who lived in the time of Alexander the Great. All his writings were lost, and for ages were known only by quotations in other authors. Only lately some papyri were unearthed in Egypt containing nearly a hundred verses of what is said to be "one of Menander's most celebrated plays." How this is known is by the fact that in these verses there are found "three passages that are quoted by ancient writers as being from the play in question."

We do not deny that this is all correct enough. But what we would call attention to is the fact that the Biblical writings are not accepted on like evidence by the same scholars who "know," and fully accept upon this evidence, all these verses as the veritable words and work of Menander.

There have come to us in the Bible whole books purporting to be the writings of Moses. In the New Testament, in the writing of other hands, there are passages quoted from these writings of Moses, which are there plainly declared to be quoted from the writings of Moses. Anybody can turn from these quotations to the original books, and find there the quoted passages. Yet this is not allowed to weight anything in favor of these books being the veritable writings of Moses; all that is allowed is that these particular quoted passages in the books are the genuine writings of Moses. It is the same way with other books all through the Bible.

Now what we want to know is, Why is not this procedure in the matter of the writings of Menander accepted and followed with respect to the writings of Moses and other Biblical authors? Why is it that three quoted passages, when verified in purported writings of Menander, are accepted as sufficient proof by which to "know" that the whole document is genuine, when, by these same people, a greater number of quoted passages form the writings of Moses and of other Biblical hands are accepted only as evidence that the particular quoted passages are genuine, and prove nothing as to the books?

These "ways are not equal." There is something wrong somewhere. Upon the verification of three quoted passages, the whole of a pagan, corrupt, idolatrous document is accepted as genuine; while with respect to divine, purifying, saving books, the verification of any number of quoted passages is not allowed of the particular passages themselves! It all only illustrates the ready and stubborn infidelity of the natural mind, which receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness to him.

January 11, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 2 , p. 28.

"WHEN thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

Note, this does not say that he will reward you in secret. No; he sees you in secret, he hears you in secret; but he rewards you, he answers you, openly.

In this, then, he teaches you and me that we are to care for the secret life, and he will care for the open life. And as certainly as we are watchful upon our life, and keep it straight with God, so certainly he will be watchful upon our open life, and will keep it straight with men.

Yet man's way is the reverse of this: he is inclined to be ever watching his open life, trying to correct a wrong impression here, to straighten a crooked influence there, all the while neglecting the secret life, of which these outward things are but the reflection.

Can a crooked stick cast a straight shadow?–No more can a life that is crooked in secret be straight openly. When a crooked stick has cast its crooked shadow, is it the sensible thing to go to tinkering the shadow to make it straight?–No; correct the stick, make it straight; then there will be no difficulty with the shadow: all who see it will see that it is straight. No more is it sensible to be tinkering your outward life to have it straight; straighten the secret life, and God has certified that your open life shall be straight.

Then put your time and attention upon your secret life; keep your time and attention there; spend much time with him who seeth in secret; and he will put his time and attention upon your open life; he will keep his time and attention there, and will spend much time with you openly, and before those who see only openly; and will see to it that your open life tells only of the good, the pure, and the true,–that it tells only of God.

"'The Sheet-Anchor of American Republicanism'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 2 , p. 24.

IN the times when self-government is denied to the people of the new accessions of the United States, and even the principle is being abandoned by American Republicanism, it is well to revert to original principles.

No American ever understood this better than did Abraham Lincoln; and no one ever made it plainer, nor proclaimed it more fully. He hoped that "government of the people, by the people, for the people," would not perish from the earth. And now that it is really being abandoned by the leading men of the United States, and the masses are following, it is well to recall the attention of the American people to what Abraham Lincoln declared to be "the sheet-anchor of American Republicanism."

He was speaking at Peoria, Ill., Oct. 16, 1854, and said:–

I trust I understand and truly estimate the right of self-government. My faith in the proposition that each man should do precisely as he pleases with all which is exclusively his own, lies at the foundation of the sense of justice there is in me. I extend the principle to communities of men, as well as to individuals. I so extend it because it is politically wise as well as naturally just–politically wise in saving us from broils about matters which do not concern us.

The doctrine of self-government is right–absolutely and eternally right. . . . If the negro is a man, is it not to that extent a total destruction of self-government to say that he, too, shall not govern himself? When the white man governs himself, that is self-government: but when he governs himself, that is self-government, and also another man, that is more than self-government,–that is despotism. . . .

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. I say this is the leading principle, the sheet-anchor, of American Republicanism. Our Declaration of Independence says:–

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, DERIVING THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED."

I have quoted so much at this time merely to show our ancient faith,–the just powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed. . . . Allow all the governed an equal voice in the government; and that, and that only, is self-government.

Abraham Lincoln understood perfectly what American Republicanism is. And since he has here so clearly defined it, what is this thing now being advocated by the expansionists, who must needs deny to whole peoples the exercise of self-government?–This is the distinct abandonment of every principle of republican government.

"Evangelistic Temperance. The Lord's Wish" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 2 , p. 25.

TEMPERANCE is self-control. Evangelistic temperance–Christian temperance–is self-control in all things,–of body, soul, and spirit. For he which "striveth for the mastery is temperate [controls himself] in all things." This is the only true temperance. And this is in order that we may glorify God in both body and spirit,–glorify him, and him alone, in all things, and so meet the object of our creation and of our redemption.

The Lord has created and redeemed the body as really as he has the soul. He cares for the body as really and as fully as he does for the soul. And he wants us to care for the body as really and as fully as we care for the soul. Therefore he has said, "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." Thus it is certain that the wish of the Lord is that our prosperity in health shall be even–evenly balanced–with our prosperity of soul, or spirit.

No one will for a moment question that God has given directions and prescriptions abundant to assure the prosperity of the soul. Every one knows that every one who will sincerely accept the word of God as to the good of his soul will assuredly find his soul prospering abundantly. Yet as the Lord has recorded his wish, "above all things," that our health may prosper evenly with our souls, it certainly follows that he has given directions and prescriptions assuring prosperity in health evenly with the directions and prescriptions assuring prosperity of soul.

Yet this is very little thought of, even by professed Christians; and by many who happen to think of it, it is not believed sufficiently to lead them to an honest study of the word of God to know what he has said on the subject, and then give it a place in the life. Many will bear great concern about the prosperity of their souls, to the utter neglect of their health, when if only they would take thought and care as to how they are living, and correct that by the word of God, the prosperity of their souls would be so abundant that there would be no room for anxiety in the matter.

Many people will ask for prayers that they may enjoy the blessing of God, when all that is needed is that they quit using some pernicious thing in food or drink. Many will "call for the elders of the church" to pray that they may not be sick, when all that is needed is simply a good bath, or perhaps only a good hot foot-bath. They will ask for prayers for recovery from sickness, when a bath, or perhaps only a foot-bath, would have entirely prevented the sickness.

Now we are not saying anything against calling for the elders of the church or praying for the sick; but we do say that the Lord never intends that prayers shall take the place of thought and common sense in every-day, simple things. He does not intend that he and miracle shall be substituted for individuality and intelligence. He has given us responsibility, intellect, and judgment. He has given us his word and his Spirit to be our knowledge and guide. In his word he has told us that "above all things" he wishes that we may be in health; in his word and our own bodies he has made every possible provision that, by the co-operation of his word and ourselves, we may indeed, "above all things," prosper and be in health according to his wish.

That we may do all that is possible to help in this great thing, we shall publish, in this department of Evangelistic Temperance, the Bible principles of evangelistic health, which are essential to evangelistic temperance, as well as the principles of evangelistic temperance itself.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 2 , p. 28.

"WHEN thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

Note, this does not say that he will reward you in secret. No; he sees you in secret, he hears you in secret; but he rewards you, he answers you, openly.

In this, then, he teaches you and me that we are to care for the secret life, and he will care for the open life. And as certainly as we are watchful upon our life, and keep it straight with God, so certainly he will be watchful upon our open life, and will keep it straight with men.

Yet man's way is the reverse of this: he is inclined to be ever watching his open life, trying to correct a wrong impression here, to straighten a crooked influence there, all the while neglecting the secret life, of which these outward things are but the reflection.

Can a crooked stick cast a straight shadow?–No more can a life that is crooked in secret be straight openly. When a crooked stick has cast its crooked shadow, is it the sensible thing to go to tinkering the shadow to make it straight?–No; correct the stick, make it straight; then there will be no difficulty with the shadow: all who see it will see that it is straight. No more is it sensible to be tinkering your outward life to have it straight; straighten the secret life, and God has certified that your open life shall be straight.

Then put your time and attention upon your secret life; keep your time and attention there; spend much time with him who seeth in secret; and he will put his time and attention upon your open life; he will keep his time and attention there, and will spend much time with you openly, and before those who see only openly; and will see to it that your open life tells only of the good, the pure, and the true,–that it tells only of God.

"Provide Things Honest in the Sight of All Men" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 2 , p. 28.

IN the sixth chapter of Ephesians, and also in the corresponding passage in Colossians, there is a statement of the Christian life in all its relations. In the latter part of the fifth chapter, directions are given to husband and wife; then in the first verse of the sixth chapter, the children are addressed: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." Christian parents will teach their children to obey because it is right, not because they have power to punish if they do not do right. The children must be taught to obey because it is right. Then when the children have grown up, they will do right because it is right, and they will refuse to do wrong because it is wrong.

The fourth verse says to the fathers: "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

And the fifth verse speaks to those who are employed by others,–servants,–those working for others: "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free."

In all our service, even when we are employed by other men or institutions, we are working for Christ. Whether you recognize it or not, this is a fact. Every one who is employed by another, whatever the business may be, is to consider that he is working for Jesus Christ. And whatsoever he does in his work there, he is to do it in the sight of Christ, because Christ is his employer.

The man for whom I am working individually, and whose money is to come to me for what work I do, may be an infidel; yet in that work I am to work for Jesus Christ. I am to do that work as unto Christ, as though Christ alone were my direct and only employer. And I am to do that work in such a way that I can with confidence lay it before Christ, trusting him to accept it without any question.

When I do the work in that way, the man who has employed me will be pleased with it; he, too, will accept it without any question. He may despise my religion, he may not care for me; but he will be pleased with the work that I do. And whatever you and I, Seventh-day Adventists,–all,–are employed by anybody else, whether it be by one of our own brethren, by one of our institutions, or by some man in the world, we are to do that work as unto Jesus Christ. We are to consider that he is our only Master; that we are his servants only. We are to consider always that we are his servants only, and that in working at that which men give us to do, we are the servants of Jesus Christ. He is the only Master; the work is unto him, and he is the one who rewards it. Whosoever does thus will provide things honest in the sight of all men.

Again we read, in Colossians, third chapter and the twenty-second verse, and onward to the end of the chapter: "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God."

Your service will not then be divided between God and men; it will be with singleness of heart unto God. You will honor the man in whose employment you are working; in respect to the work to be done, you will be honestly considerate in doing his will and conforming to his wish, in that thing. Yet all the time you will bear in mind that you are not working for the man but for God.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons."

Thus the word of God insists upon this one thing,–that wherever you and I are at work, we are working for God, we are working for Jesus Christ. Then every hand employed in any institution, or by any individual, is under employment to Jesus Christ; he is to see Christ's service in the work. He is to work honestly, as in the presence of Jesus Christ.

No one employed in an institution is to work for any foreman in the institution; he is not to work for the superintendent of the institution; he is not to work for the manager, the president, or any other man; he is to work for Jesus Christ.

If it is a heathen institution altogether, and a Seventh-day Adventist is employed there, whatsoever the work may be, he will be at work there for Jesus Christ, and he will see nothing else in it than the work of Jesus Christ. The observance of this principle is the only possible way in which employees can keep from stealing. It is the only possible way in which we can provide things honest in the sight of all men.

"How Shall We Do His Will?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 2 , pp. 28, 29.

WE pray often, some of us every day, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." But how many have ever taken the time to find out just how his will is done in heaven? Yet where can there be any real point in our prayer, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," so long as we do not know how his will is done in heaven?

Such a prayer is certain to be vague and indefinite, a mere generalization, unless we know how his will is done in heaven. But when we do know that, our prayer can be definite, positive, and full of faith, and thus with the sure result that, so far as we are concerned, his will will be done on earth precisely as it is in heaven.

What a wonderful thought that is,–that the will of God will be done in us on earth just as it is done in heaven! Yet it is certainly true, or else that prayer is all in vain, and the giving of it to us by him is but a vain and tantalizing thing.

But the Lord does not present to men vain things. It is intended, and it can be so, that that word shall be accomplished as certainly as it is prayed. Though, again, we say, How can this be unless we know how his will is done in heaven, so that this prayer by us can be definite, positive, and full of faith?

Who are in heaven to do the will of God there?–The angels, to be sure. Then when we know how the will of God is done by them in heaven, and what they do that the will of God may be done in them in heaven, we can know how to pray this prayer so that it shall mean to us just what it says,–we shall know just how the will of God shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What, then, of the angels?

First: In heaven the angels "do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." Matt. 18:10.

Second: His angels harken to the voice of his word. Ps. 103:20. And they "do his commandments" through "harkening unto the voice of his word."

Third: The will of God, as in his word,–"as it is in heaven,"–is conveyed to the knowledge of the angels by the Spirit of God–"Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went." Eze. 1:20.

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Fourth: When the Spirit of God thus conveys to their knowledge the will of God, as it is in his word, to which the angels are "harkening," instantly their spirit responds, and thus his will becomes at once their will, too,–"Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, . . . thither was their spirit to go." Verse 20.

Fifth: When, by the instant submission of their spirit to his Spirit, his will has become their will, the thing is done; his word is fulfilled, his will is accomplished, quick as the lightning's flash–"Withersoever the Spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go." "And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." Verses 20, 14.

That is the way that the will of God is done in heaven. And that is the way that it is to be done in the earth. That is what is in the prayer, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." And that is the way that his will will be done on earth, in every one who, knowing how his will is done in heaven, puts him self in the same attitude with those in heaven, and makes the prayer in an intelligent faith.

And this attitude of the angels in heaven is precisely the attitude which it is intended that we shall hold on earth. Read, then, of ourselves:–

First: We are always to behold the face of God, "in the face of Jesus Christ." "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." "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image." 2 Cor. 4:6; 3:18. "Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God." Ps. 123:1, 2.

Second: We are to harken to the voice of his word–"Mine ears hast thou opened." Ps. 40:6. "The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back." "He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." Isa. 50:5, 4.

Third: The will of God as in his word, is to be conveyed to our understanding by the Spirit of God. We are to be ever dependent upon the Spirit of God for this. "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." 2 Tim. 2:7. "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, . . . whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26. "He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak." John 16:13.

Fourth: When the Spirit of God does convey to our understanding the will of God as it is in his word, instantly our spirit is to respond, and yield submission to his Spirit, that his will may be our will. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." Rom. 8:14, 16. And "the minding of the flesh is death; but the minding of the Spirit is life and peace." Rom. 8:6, margin.

Fifth: When we thus harken to his word and receive, by his Spirit, the understanding of his will as it is in his word,–"as it is in heaven,"–and our spirit responds to his Spirit so that his will becomes our will, then the thing is done; his word is fulfilled, his will is accomplished, in us on earth as it is in those in heaven: and it is done just as quickly–"as the appearance of a flash of lightning"–in our innermost, secret life, and shines through all time, openly, before those who are without. For "my word. . . shall accomplish that which I please." Isa. 55:11. And the word of God always acts instantaneously–"He spake, and it was." Ps. 33:9. The leper said, Lord, "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." The Lord replied, "I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed." Mark 1:40-42.

Do you now see more clearly, do you understand better, how the will of God is done in heaven, and how it is to be done on earth? Can you now pray more intelligently, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven?" And will you now pray directly, positively, and in full faith, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven"?

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 2 , pp. 29, 30.

"IN the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god." Dan. 1:1, 2.

It was not the Lord's wish that the king of Babylon or any one else should besiege Jerusalem. It was not the Lord's wish that King Jehoiakim should be captured by Nebuchadnezzar. It was not the Lord's wish that the holy vessels of his own holy house should be carried away by an idolatrous king, and laid up as tokens of victory in the house of a false god. It is therefore well for us to study the causes of these unwished results. This will be well also, in order that we may the better discern the true setting of the book of Daniel.

The Lord sent his prophets, and especially the prophet Jeremiah, with messages of love, in counsel and warning, to save Judah and Jerusalem from that which came upon them. That which came upon them was but the inevitable result of causes from which the Lord earnestly endeavored to save them. And there were several of these which stand out so clearly as easily to be distinguished.

The first of these, and the worst, was formalism in religion. The Lord had appointed, in his service, many forms and ceremonies, as the means of expressing the religion that, from him, was to dwell in the heart. And when that religion was not truly abiding in the heart, all the forms and ceremonies which even the Lord had appointed as the means of expressing it, were only meaningless and empty nothings. Yet this was the very position which the king and the great mass of the people occupied. They made everything of the forms of religion, and nothing of the religion which alone could give meaning and grace to the forms.

Under these circumstances, all sorts of iniquity appeared in the daily life, while at the same time they were exceedingly zealous in the performance of all the forms of religion. Then when the messenger of the Lord would reprove them for their iniquity, they would reject it all, and shield themselves with their punctilious practise of the forms. And as the temple of the Lord was the great center of all the worship and of all the forms, they made it the citadel of their formalistic defense against the reproofs of the Lord upon their essential wickedness.

When the Lord, by the prophet, told them that their wickedness of life would surely result in the destruction of the city and the temple, and in their own captivity, they hooted at it. What! the Lord destroy his own temple, where dwells even now the holy Shekinah! the holy house which was built under his own direction, and which, at its dedication by the great Solomon, had been accepted by the complete filling of it with his own glory! Faugh! Away with such prophesying, and with such prophets, too! "The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these"!

But Jeremiah was commanded of the Lord to go and stand in the very gate of the temple, and "proclaim there this word;" "Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. . . .

"Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.

"But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim." Jer. 7:2-15.

Yet even with all this, the Lord pleaded with them, and promised, "For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever." Jer. 7:5-7.

But they would not mend their ways. They would not cease their wickedness. They would not believe the Lord. Therefore the sure result came,–their wickedness grew so great that the land was not able to bear them; their city was made a heap of ruins, the temple was

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completely destroyed, they themselves were carried into captivity or slain, and their land was left desolate.

Now this same condition of formalism in religion is declared in the Word to be, and it is, the great characteristic of the last days. Read: "This know also, that 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, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

In these last days, too, men will increase the forms of religion, and intensify their adherence to them, while in their wicked lives they, as "evil men and seducers, shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." And this, as of old, will be persisted in until the terrible captivity of death by sword, famine and pestilence carries away the whole multitude, and the whole earth is left desolate, without an inhabitant. 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 19:11-21; Jer. 4:23-29.

Thus it is plain that the evil practises that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of that whole land, are used by the Lord, and are recorded in his book, for the counsel and warning of the people in the last days. And the book of Daniel, written specially for the last days, is a book of divine principles which, if received by all, would save the world from the destruction that came upon Judah and Jerusalem. And even though these divine principles be rejected by the great mass, resulting only in the great destruction, yet every individual who will receive these principles as his life will surely be delivered in the great day "when the towers fall."

January 18, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 3 , p. 44.

DO you really enjoy Christianity, or do you only endure it?

This is really an important question: there is more to it than perhaps would at first be though.

As a matter of literal fact, we have met many professed Christians who, in answer to this question, were obliged, honestly, to confess that they endured it. They could not say that they enjoyed it.

How is it, then, with you?

That you may have a fair chance to look at this question just as it is, and truly to answer it for yourself, to yourself, we set down here the two words, with their definitions:–

"ENDURE: to last, or hold out against; to bear with patience; bear up under without sinking or yielding, or without murmuring or opposition; put up with."

"ENJOY: to feel or perceive with joy or pleasure; take pleasure or satisfaction in the possession or experience of; to derive pleasure from association with or observation of; take delight in being with or in. 'Enjoy' is composed to two words,–en, signifying 'in,' and 'joy'–literally, 'in joy:' and joy is ardent happiness arising from present or expected good; exultant satisfaction; exhilaration of spirits; gladness; delight."

Now do you enjoy Christianity, or do you only endure it?

"Christians Are Glad" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 3 , p. 44.

"SERVE the Lord with gladness." Do you do it? If not, why?

Of all the people in the universe, those who are washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God, are the gladdest.

We do not say that they should be the gladdnest. We say they are the gladdest. If you profess to be redeemed by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and are not one of the gladdest, happiest people in all the world, then it is certain that you have not that which your profession says that you have.

The profession of being a Christian testifies that we are Christian, it testifies that we are in possessof what the Christian faith gives. And by so much as we lack what that faith implies, by just that much our profession bears false witness against what the Christian faith really is.

Now it is certain that from the beginning to the end of the world; that even in the midst of sorrow, with which this world is so heavily laden, the Christian faith gives "always rejoicing."

Look at the situation: We were under the curse; laden with iniquity; enslaved to the power of evil, which we hated even while we did it; living in malice and envy; hateful, and hating one another; under bonds to death, and "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord;" and never had any peace. But now, through the grace of the Lord Jesus and the mercy of our God, he "hath redeemed us from the curse;" he has "taken away all iniquity;" he "hath delivered us from the power of darkness," and given "liberty to the captives;" he has put in our hearts his own love for all people instead of the old malice and envy, hatefulness and hating; he has given us his own peace,–yea, he has made himself "our peace;" he "hath given us eternal life in place of death, and a "certain dwelling-place" in his presence, where we "shall see his face," midst "pleasures which are forevermore" and the blessedness of "eternal glory."

Now any one of these things which the Lord has given is sufficient to make glad, and it does make glad forever, the soul who really receives it. And how much more is it so when all these things are really received! It is literally impossible for any soul really to receive these things that Christ has brought to him, without being literally filled with a gladness which abides, and which will abide forevermore. "The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."

Therefore if any one who professes to be a Christian,–professes to have received all this which God has given, and which Christ brings,–and yet is not filled with gladness so that he really serves the Lord with gladness, it is perfectly plain that his profession of Christianity is merely a profession, and is not the genuine faith which puts the soul in possession of the gifts of God. He still comes short of the glory of God, and bedims to the world the brightness and beauty, the genuine attractiveness, that truly belong to the Christian religion.

Come along, then! Let us believe God, and "be glad in the Lord," and really serve him "with gladness." No other service than the service of gladness can rightly represent our Lord.

"The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory."

"Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all yet that are upright in heart."

"Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified."

"Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice."

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."

"Rejoice evermore."

"I will be glad in the Lord."

This is Christianity. This is what it is to be a Christian. Come, now, therefore, and let us all be Christians.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 3 , pp. 44, 45.

FORMALISM being so confirmed upon both king and people in the days of Jehoiakim king of Judah, it was inevitable that every kind of evil practise would abound.

There is no power in forms to correct the life. There is no power in forms to hold men back from the evil that is in human nature. Nothing but the power of God can do this; and the power of God can come to men and abide in men only by a living, personal faith. It is this alone that can purify the heart and reform the life: the life can be reformed only by beginning and ending with the heart, out of which "are the issues of life." Purify the fountain, and the issuing streams will inevitably be pure; for "no fountain can yield both salt water and fresh." Also when the heart is purified and the life endued with power, by the living faith of Christ, grace is given to all the forms of religion, and the Lord is honored and glorified in the worship so offered.

The essential iniquity of the lives of king and people in the days of Jehoiakim may be noted under several heads. Along with the general wickedness of murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and all the accompaniments of idolatry, there was,–

1. Oppression and injustice: "O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." Jer. 21:12. "Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place." Jer. 22:3. "Execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; . . . oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, . . . then will I cause you to dwell in this place." Jer. 7:5-7.

2. Oppressing and defrauding the laborer in his wages, while they in their wealth reveled in luxury: "Woe unto him that buildeth his

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house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; that saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion." Jer. 22:13, 14.

3. Neglect of the poor: "Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. But thine eyes and thing heart are not but for thy covetousness." Verses 15-17.

4. Disregard of the Sabbath: "Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. . . . And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently harken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain forever. . . . But if ye will not harken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Jer. 17:21-27.

5. The worship of the sun: In Ezekiel 8 is recorded what he saw in Jerusalem, even in the very presence of the holy temple, as he was taken there in vision from the place of his captivity.

First he saw "the image of jealousy" in the very entry of the gates of the altar.

Next he saw, in one of the chambers of the court of the temple, "every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about," with "seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel," every one with a censer in his hand, offering incense.

Next he saw, "at the door of the gate of the Lord's house, which was toward the north," "women weeping for Tammuz."

After all this the Lord said to him: "Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east." Eze. 8:15, 16.

6. Rejection of all the word of the Lord in counsel and warning: King Jehoiakim himself, with his princes and counselors, persecuted a prophet of the Lord till, to escape their murderous hands, he fled into Egypt. But the king sent even to Egypt, and had him brought back, and then murdered him. They also persecuted Jeremiah, and threatened him with death. A testimony which the Lord gave by the hand of Jeremiah was read to the great assembly in the presence of the temple. The king commanded that it be brought and read to him. "Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth." Jer. 36:22, 23.

Because of all these things, the Lord likened Jerusalem to Sodom, declaring that she and Sodom were sisters, and said: "As I live saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." Jer. 16:48-50.

Because of all this, Ezekiel saw, in the vision, a man with a writer's inkhorn by his side, passing throughout the city, setting a mark upon the foreheads of the men who were sighing and crying for all the abominations that were done there. Six men followed this man, with slaughter-weapons in their hands, "slaying utterly" all to whom they came, but were to "come not near any man upon whom was the mark." Eze. 9:1-7.

Now all these things have their parallel in the last days. Formalism in religion abounds (2 Tim. 3:1-4); general wickedness prevails (Matt. 24:12; 2 Tim. 3:2-4, 13); oppression, injustice, defrauding the laborer in his wages to increase the overloaded coffers of the rich, who revel in luxury, are all practised (James 5:1-8); there is neglect of the poor to such an extent that God is obliged to turn his attention especially to them (Luke 14:21-23); the Sabbath is disregarded (Isa. 56:1, 2; 58:13, 14); the sun–in the Sunday–is honored (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 14:9-12); the word of God in counsel and warning concerning all the evil and the impending destruction, is rejected (2 Peter 3:3-7, 10-14; Matt. 24:37-39),–so that again, looking upon it all, God is compelled to liken it also to Sodom, and the last days of the world to the last days of Sodom: "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lord, . . . even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." "The same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed."

And because of all this, while destruction is impending, the holy prophet of Patmos saw in vision the heavenly messenger passing through the world, and setting the royal seal–the heavenly mark–upon the servants of God,–that are done in the land (Rev. 7:2, 3),–and after him the passengers of judgment, slaying utterly all upon whom is not found the mark. Rev. 14:9, 10; 15:1; 16:1-21.

Thus, again and overwhelmingly, is it demonstrated that the wickedness of Judah, which led to their captivity, to the destruction of the city and temple, and to the desolation of the land, is a perfect representation of the wickedness of the world in the last days, which leads to the everlasting captivity of the people and the desolation of the earth. And that situation of old is used by the Lord as an object-lesson of counsel and warning to the people of the world in the last days.

Thus the history of the times of Daniel is present truth to-day; and the divine principles of the book of Daniel are given to save the people from the wickedness that cursed Judah and Jerusalem to destruction and desolation. "Whoso readeth, let him understand."

January 25, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. How to Live" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 4 , p. 57.

WE live by breathing. The first thing that anybody does in the world is to breathe; and the last thing he does in the world is to stop breathing. We can live weeks without eating, and days without drinking; but it is only the smallest number of minutes we can live without breathing; this, of itself, is sufficient to settle it that breathing is the most important part of living–indeed, that it is living.

As certainly as we live by breathing, so certainly we can live rightly only by right breathing.

What, then, is right breathing? how can we know? Upon a certain point, Inspiration cites "nature" as a sufficient teacher: "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" We may lawfully, therefore, and we know successfully, appeal to "nature itself" for instruction on the subject of right breathing. We are "fearfully and wonderfully," and wonderfully wisely "made." And upon the great and all-important subject of how to live, "even nature itself" is a wise instructor, through the principles and hints written in our members.

The lungs are the organs of breathing, the nostrils and windpipe being merely open passages by which the air reaches the lungs. The place of the lungs is within the chest, which is the upper part of the body. Here they are strongly fenced in with the largest and most powerful ribs, these being further strengthened with the breast-bone. The breast-bone does not extend downward as far as the ribs number; the lower ribs, growing shorter as they descend, are loose at the front ends, and so are pliable. They are therefore called "floating" ribs.

The general shape of the thorax, the inside of the chest, and of the vital organs therein, (the heart and lungs), is that of a cone, right side up; that is, the small end up. However, it is not the shape of a complete cone, but of what is called a "truncated cone;" that is, a cone with the point off,–a cone which does not end in a point at the top, but yet is considerably smaller at the top than at the base. The lungs and heart, the vital organs, completely fill this cavity, so that there is not a particle of unoccupied space there. And as the heart occupies but a very small place, it is evident that almost the whole cavity is occupied by the lungs alone.

Now, this cone-shaped body formed of the lungs and heart is not fastened at any place to any part of the chest. It is connected with the throat by the windpipe, but it does not hang from the throat by this. What, then, supports these organs and keeps them in place?–The diaphragm.

The diaphragm is a floor upon which rests this cone-shaped body formed by the lungs and heart.

The accompanying cut shows the position and general shape of this cone, and of the diaphragm which supports it. The diaphragm is that apparent band, marked d, running across the body just below the heart, marked a. And just beneath the diaphragm is the stomach, marked d.

The diaphragm is an arched, or, more properly speaking, a dome-shaped, muscle, which forms the floor of the organs in the chest-cavity, and at the same time the roof of the organs in the abdominal cavity. It is thus a lateral, or transverse, dome-shaped partition between the inside of the chest and the inside of the abdomen.

Thus the vital organs–the lungs and heart–are the contents of the thorax. The thorax has the general form of a cone right side up. This cone is formed almost wholly by the lungs, and is therefore capable of expansion, so as completely to fill, when at rest, the whole cavity of the chest. This cone is supported by the dome-shaped floor–the diaphragm.

The amount of air taken in at a full breath varies, of course, according to the various sizes of individuals; but the average is about 230 to 250 cubic inches. Here we stand, then, ready to breathe.

Now with the whole cavity of the chest completely filled already by these organs, it is plain enough that in order to get 230 cubic inches of air into the lungs, room must be made for it in some way. And it is evident enough that in order to make the required room, something has to move. To make this required room in the right way, to move the right things in the right way,–this is the whole philosophy of right breathing.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 4 , p. 60.

SAYS Jesus: "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." And that is the living, present truth.

It is, day and night, everlastingly true that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

Do you say, as some have said, "I have not found it so"? If so, then the difficulty in your case is that you have not his yoke nor his burden on you.

This is as certain as that two and two make four. Look at it: there stands the word of Christ, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Will you say that he lied in saying this?–No, no, certainly not. He told the truth.

Very good, then; he told the truth when he said, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." And you say that that is the truth. Then if you have not found his yoke easy and his burden light, is it not certain that you have not found them at all? If to you his yoke is not easy, and his burden is not light, then is it not perfectly plain that you haven't his yoke on at all?

There is no dodging this. You cannot go along uneasy and galling under the yoke that you are wearing, and bowed down under the burden that you are bearing, and call that the yoke and burden of Christ; for that is not true of his yoke nor of his burden. He says, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Then, dear soul, take his yoke and his burden. Give to him yours.

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

It is true, bless the Lord!

"Seeds of Gladness" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 4 , p. 60.

"LIGHT is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart."

Gladness is sown for you in the great things that the Lord will do. "Fear no, O land; be glad and rejoice; for the Lord will do great things."

Gladness is sown for you in the giving of the latter rain. "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he hath given you the former rain moderately ["a teacher of righteousness according to righteousness"], and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain."

Gladness is sown for you in the fact that the time of the marriage of the Lamb is come. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready."

Gladness is sown for you in the glorious truth that the Lord is coming. "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth."

Gladness is sown for you in the blessed promise and sure prospect that the kingdom of God is soon to be set up upon the earth, and that he will govern the nations of the saved upon the earth. "O let the nations be glad an sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth." "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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." "And the city 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. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day; for there shall be no night there."

And gladness is sown for you in the promise of your own sure and eternally undisturbed inheritance and home in this glorious land where "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. . . . And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with sons and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." "Be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy."

Will you not, just now and always, receive into good ground these seeds of gladness? Will you not cultivate them carefully, that they may grow exceedingly, that you may, just now and always and forevermore, reap abundantly the blessed crop of gladness from these many seeds of gladness which the Lord has sown all around you, and before you throughout eternity?

Who, then, will not "serve the Lord with gladness," and "come before his presence with singing"?

"I will be glad in the Lord." Amen. And let all the people says Amen.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 4 , p. 61.

IT is certain that the wickedness of the king, princes, priests, and people, in the days of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, caused the captivity of the people and the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. It was for this cause that "the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah," "with part of the vessels of the house of God," into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who carried all to the land of Shinar, where they must remain seventy years.

Out of this calamity and captivity came the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel was written especially for the last days; for when Daniel came to explain to King Nebuchadnezzar the great things of the king's dream, he said that God "maketh know to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." Dan. 2:28. And when the writing of the book was finished, Daniel was commanded to "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end" (Dan. 12:4); and was then told, "Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Verse 9.

These references are sufficient to show that the book of Daniel was given and written especially, and even specifically, for the last days.

We have also seen that the iniquity of the people of Judah in those last days of their dwelling in that land, is so exactly paralleled to the last days that there is no room for doubt that the record of that ancient time was written, and has been preserved, to be for counsel and warning in the last days.

The book of Daniel, then, coming to us out of the consequences of a condition of things which finds a parallel in the last days, and having such an origin, and being specifically designed for the last days, it is certain that it contains principles, as well as prophecies, which are of special importance, and have a special bearing, in the last days. These principles are given to save the people of the world in the last days from calamities and destruction of which those that came upon Judah and Jerusalem are but a feeble representation. To ignore these principles, given especially for this time, is but to court a destruction as much more dreadful than that other as world-wide destruction and final ruin are greater than local destruction and temporal ruin.

So much for the origin, the setting, and the purpose of the book. We now begin the direct study of the book itself.

"And the king spake unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans." Dan. 1:3, 4.

"No blemish" and "well-favored." This would require that they should be physically sound, well-built, and symmetrical.

The words translated "wisdom," "knowledge," and "science" in verse 4–Hebrew death, madda, and chokmah–are closely related, though the second is broader than the first, and the third is broader than the second.

The word translated "wisdom" signifies "knowledge, understanding, and intelligence." It implies the faculty to discern what is valuable knowledge, and the ability and capacity to acquire such knowledge.

The word translated "knowledge" relates to "the mind or thought," and implies knowledge acquired by thinking and application.

The word translated "science" signifies "skill, dexterity, sagacity, shrewdness, ability to judge;" and is well translated in our word "science," which signifies "skilful in knowledge." It implies a select and systematized knowledge.

Therefore the requirement of King Nebuchadnezzar in the selecting of these youth was that they should be physically sound and symmetrically built; and that, mentally, they should be–

1. Skilful in discerning what is valuable knowledge, and skilful in the ability to acquire such knowledge.

2. Cunning in the acquisition of knowledge by thinking and applications; and–

3. Understanding how to correlate, classify, and systematize the knowledge which they had the faculty to discern was valuable knowledge, and which they were cunning in gathering.

And they must have "ability" in all these things. What they knew was not to be mere head-knowledge; but they must have the faculty of observation and adaptation so trained that what they had learned could be practically applied in their experience in every-day affairs. They were not to be like that graduate of a great university, who bore the title of A.M., yet who, when driving a horse and wanting him to go faster, thought to accomplish his purpose by pushing on the lines. They were to have such ability, such every-day common sense, as would enable them to use their knowledge to practical advantage in the common things of daily life, so that they would be practical men wherever they were; so that they could adapt themselves to any circumstances or situation, and be the master and not the slave of either circumstances or situation.

From the specifications distinctly made in the scripture, and from the close and thorough examination that must be passed, it is certain that all that we have outlined was comprehended in the requirements of the king respecting the youth who were to be chosen. And this is no small tribute to the educational ideas of King Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed, his views of education, as shown in this verse of the Bible, were, for all practical purposes, far in advance of the educational system that prevails to-day, even in the leading colleges and universities of the United States.

Yet Daniel, Hananiah, and Mishael, and Azariah were able successfully to pass such an examination. Where, then, did they get such an education, being, as they were, but mere youth? The answer to this question is worth having. Besides, we need it just now; for all this was written especially for the last days.

"Christian Discipline" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 4 , pp. 61, 62.

CHRISTIAN discipline is the best thing in the world. It is the only true discipline. It begins with the individual himself, before God, and is accomplished in the fear of God, by the word and Spirit of God. the individual puts himself, and keeps himself, under discipline to God.

This discipline is not accomplished by means of a set of rules, but by the living principles of the will of God. Every person is free to adopt, or not to adopt, these principles. If he does not adopt them, he cannot be a Christian, however much he "tries." And having adopted them, and so become a Christian, he can remain a Christian only by maintaining true-hearted loyalty to those principles every moment of his life. He will not sanction for a moment, he will not overlook nor wink at at all, he will not apologize for in any degree, in himself, any lack of perfect conformity to the living principles of the will of God, as made known in the word, and by the Spirit, of God.

This, and this alone, is Christian discipline. This is the discipline that belongs in the Christian church. And it is the only discipline that becomes the church. Indeed, it is the only true discipline that there can be in the church; anything different from this is not true discipline; so far as it differs from this, it fails to being true discipline.

No person is compelled to be a Christian. This is a matter that always rests wholly upon his own free choice. But having chosen, and having professed, to be a Christian, he is bound by his very profession to maintain, in unswerving, perfect loyalty, the principles of that profession; that is, the principles of the word and Spirit of God. and whenever he loosens down this discipline; whenever he entertains in himself any disloyalty to these principles; whenever he adopts, or allows the practise of, any other principles, just then he owes it to the Christian profession and to the world to make it publicly known that he no longer belongs to that profession; this should be made known as openly and publicly as was the profession at the first.

Not to do this is to be essentially dishonest; it is to destroy all distinctions of propriety and right; it is to annihilate discipline, and give over everything to the confusion of every evil work. In a word, it is simply devilish; for it is precisely the thing that the devil attempted first of all to do in heaven. Lucifer, in his original place in heaven, chose to have his own way apart from God; he chose not to hold the principles of the word and Spirit of God; he chose not to conform to the discipline of heaven.

All this he was at perfect liberty to do. There was in heaven no disposition to compel him either to hold the principles or to conform to the discipline of that place. But when he had chosen other principles than those of heaven, and had refused to conform to the discipline of that place, the only proper or honest thing for him to do was to leave that place. Yet when this was suggested, he considered it an outrage; and with great show of virtuous indignation and injured innocence, he resented and utterly rejected it. It was not enough for him that he should have his own way; but he must have his own way in his own way–he must have his own way in heaven,

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It was not enough for him that he should be at liberty to adopt the principles of hell; but the principles of hell must become the principles of heaven. It was not enough for him that he should be free to refuse conformity to the discipline of heaven, and to adopt the confusion and anarchy of hell; but this confusion and anarchy must be made to prevail in heaven. In short, heaven itself must be turned into hell, righteousness must surrender to sin, God must give place to Satan.

This simply could not be. And as the rebel and his adherents would no go, they had to be cast out. They resisted: "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 more in heaven."

Now this is precisely the course that is taken by every person who makes the Christian profession, and then disregards the principles and loosens down the discipline of the word and Spirit of God.

And this holds good throughout the whole connection of the Christian name and profession. In every Christian church, every Christian school, every Christian sanitarium, and every Christian publishing house, the principles must be strictly Christian principles,–the principles of the word and Spirit of God; and the discipline must be strictly Christian discipline,–the discipline of the word and Spirit of God.

No one is compelled to become a member of any Christian church, nor a student in any Christian school, nor an employee of any Christian sanitarium or publishing house: that is altogether a matter of personal, free choice of the individual himself. And when he, of his own free choice, joins himself to the church, or the school, or the sanitarium, or the publishing house, in that very act he publishes to that institution and to the world that he accepts the principles, and will conform to the discipline, of that institution.

Having once done this, he is not, even then, compelled to remain; he is at liberty at any moment to change his mind, and separate himself from the institution. But having of his own free choie joined, and it being upon his own free choice that he remains,–so long as this is so, that itself is public notice that he holds the principles and conforms to the discipline of the institution.

And if he knowingly violates any of the principles, or disregards the discipline, of that institution, and neglects or refuses to make amends and discipline himself, that thing itself separates him from the institution, and the only honest or proper thing for him then to do is to make public the fact that he has separated himself from it. For him to insist on remaining in the institution, while violating its principles and disregarding its discipline, is only to insist on subverting those principles and annihilating the discipline,–it is to insist on destroying the institution as a Christian institution, and turning it into the opposite, as did the devil at the first.

And when this point has been reached, and such persons so insist, it then becomes the Heaven-appointed and Heaven-bound responsibility of those whom God has placed in charge of the interests of that institution to see that it is publicly known that such persons are no longer recognized as being connected with the institution. And for those persons to resent such a course or resist such procedure, is nothing else than to take the exact position that the devil did at the first.

Now on the other side: for all this it is perfectly clear that it strictly becomes all who are in places of responsibility in any Christian church, or Christian school, or Christian sanitarium, or Christian publishing house, to know, personally for themselves, that God has placed them there, and that they occupy that place and discharge that responsibility unto God, in the sight of God in Christ.

It becomes all those also to know of a surety that the principles which they represent are none but the principles of the word and Spirit of God; that the discipline which they maintain is nothing else than the discipline of the word and Spirit of God; and that the way in which they seek to maintain this discipline is strictly the way of the word of God and Spirit of God.

Upon this the word of God is perfectly plain. Therefore let us read:–

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Gal. 6:1.

What is the position of the man?–He is "in a fault." What are the spiritual to do?–"Restore such an one." "Restore" him. What does "restore" mean?–"To bring back to a former and better state;" "to bring back from lapse, degeneracy, or a fallen condition, to a former state." Then what has the man's fault done to him?–It has separated him from the good and proper relation of his profession in the body. Is he, then, by his "fault," already separated?–Surely; or else there is no meaning in the direction to "restore such an one," which is to bring him back and set him in his place again. If he is not separated, he does not need to be, indeed he cannot be, restored.

His fault, then, his violation of principle, has separated him from the place which his profession proclaims that he occupies. But the Lord does not want him to be separated from these principles; for these principles are life, and to be separated from these is to be separated from life. The Lord does not want this, and the "spiritual" do not want it. Therefore the Lord directs, "Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one," and the spiritual always have the desire to do so; and being "spiritual," they are able to go about it all "in the spirit of meekness."

In another place the Lord of Christians and of Christian institutions says, "Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." Matt. 18:15.

If he hears you, what have you done?–"Thou has gained" him. "Gained him" to what?–To the right, certainly; to that from which his "fault" had separated him. He is already separated; "his fault" has done that. And you are to gain him, you are to restore him.

Then for what is it that you speak to him?–To "gain" him, to "restore" him–not to condemn him, not to find fault with him, not to separate him. Nothing needs to be done to separate him; he is already separated by "his fault." Everything that is done is to "restore" him; everything that is said is to gain him. And if what you can do will be done not to restore, if what you can say will be said not to gain, then you have nothing either to do or to say in that matter; your part is to become "spiritual."

But if he will not hear you, if he will not be restored, if he will not be gained, what then?–"Then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." Verse 16.

And if he will not yet hear, if he will not yet be restored,–what then?–"If he shall neglect to hear them, tell is unto the church." Verse 17.

And if still he will not hear; if still he will not be restored; if he holds to his fault; if he holds to his violation of the principles, and his disregard of the discipline, of the word and Spirit of God; if he persists in the separation which his fault has made,–what then?–"If he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." Verse 17. "A man that is an heretic [one that persists in choosing for himself against the word and Spirit of God] after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such, is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." Titus 3:10, 11.

He being already separated, and now subverted and condemned of himself, it must be known that he has repudiated the principles and the discipline of the Christian profession, lest that profession itself be subverted and condemned by sanctioning the principles of the devil under the profession of allegiance to the principles of Christ.

Such is the course, and the only true course, of the exercise of Christian discipline anywhere in the Christian connection,–whether in the Christian church, the Christian school, the Christian sanitarium, or the Christian publishing house. And the word "tell it to the church" when it is done in church connection, is, in principle, tell it to the school, or the sanitarium, or the publishing house, when this course much be taken in connection with these respectively.

And in all this discussion the term Christian church, Christian school, Christian sanitarium, and Christian publishing house, means Seventh-day Adventist church, or school, or sanitarium, or publishing house. Some Seventh-day Adventists have the wild notion that because they cannot have church trials, with their resulting divisions, wars, and fightings, there is to be no discipline at all, but everything is to be left to the devil. No greater mistake was ever made. The truth is that while there is no place for a church trial, there is no place for anything but church discipline; that is, Christian discipline of the word and Spirit of God. That is what the church and church organization in the world are for; for the church is the pillar and ground, the support and stay, of the truth of God in the world.

This article is longer than we usually care to print at one time; but we consider this matter of such importance that we think it better to print it all at once, so that it can be studied in its full connection, than to issue it in divisions. We firmly believe that with the presence of the Holy Spirit, God is giving to his organization both the love and the practise of Christian discipline; and the churches must be ready to rise to this call, and the people to fall into line with it.

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We thank the Lord that he has well begun this in the institutions–church, College, Sanitarium, and Publishing House–in Battle Creek. It has not been begun by a plunge and a spurt of some committee, or plan of men banded together, but by the gentle, steady, elevating, and reforming power of the Spirit of God. The cause, the church, the institutions,–all are the Lord's. He is Head of all, and over all. Only let him have the place that belongs to him, and all is well.

February 1, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. How Not to Breath" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 5 , p. 73.

HOW, then, shall the necessary space be created for this air which we must have at each breath? Shall the cover of this cone be moved? or shall the cone itself be moved? What does nature itself teach in answer to these questions?

Let us take the first question first: Shall the cover be raised in order to give the cone, the lungs, the required space in which to expand, and thus receive the 230 cubic inches of air required? The cover of this cone is that part of the chest from the tip of the breast-bone upward. In other words, it is that part of the chest which is formed of the strongest and heaviest ribs, strongly braced, both front and rear, by the back-bone and the breast-bone, and therefore is the most rigid part of the whole structure. Now to look at this structure, does it appear as if it were made to be either raised or expanded so as to create 230 cubic inches of space twenty times a minute?–Everybody can see that the only possible answer is a decided and emphatic No. It is true, as we shall see later, that there is a slight movement of these ribs upward at the outward ends; but it is so very slight, when compared with the amount of space which must be created, that it is practically nothing.

But even though the chest–the cover of this cone–could be raised sufficiently to form the required space, it would have to be done by drawing the air into the lungs; and by this means, with the lung-fiber as a lever, lifting the chest. This would bring all the pressure upon the lungs, and would require that they do all the lifting. It would practically make the lungs perform the function of a force-pump, with which to lift a weight. But the lungs are not a force-pump, and cannot be made to perform the function of a force-pump without destroying them, and so destroying life itself.

The lungs are not muscular tissue at all. They are neither muscle nor flesh, but a sort of spongy texture containing air-cells, with only enough of tissue to hold these cells together, and give place for the necessary arteries and veins to keep them alive, the whole forming a texture almost as elastic as rubber and as light as sponge. The air-cells contained in the lungs of an average man are so numerous that, if spread out flat, they would cover a space of two thousand square feet, equal to a floor or ceiling fifty by forty feet in size. Yet think, all this two thousand square feet of air-surface is contained in the lungs, which occupy so little space as to be held in that part of the chest from the fifth rib, or point of the chest-bone, upward, in a medium-sized man.

A single glance at these facts is enough to convince anybody forever that the lungs, not being composed of muscular tissue, are totally incapable of performing any work for themselves; and that therefore no process of breathing or speaking which causes the lungs to do any work in lifting or expanding the chest, can possibly be right.

From these facts it is clear that the chest and shoulders were never created thus to be raised; that the lungs were never created for any such purpose as the raising of them; and that to make any such use of the lungs is a violation of nature's law, which is the law of God. Therefore, "doth not even nature itself teach" that all breathing that requires the lifting of the chest is certainly wrong breathing?

It will be well to note the danger that is caused by this perversion of nature's intent in the use of the lungs.

The surface of the air-cells in the lungs is a membrane so thin and delicate that when the blood is thrown against the inside of it, and the air strikes the outside of it, the life-property of the air passes through into the blood; yet the blood cannot pass through to the outside. God has made it so.

Now it is a principle in nature that when any unusual exertion is required of any organ, nature begins at once to supply whatever is needed, that the organ may perform the extra labor, or meet the extra demand, without injury. When any part is injured, nature seeks at once to repair the injury. This is done only by sending to that place an increased supply of blood, carrying in its corpuscles building material with which to strengthen the organ for the increased exertion, or to repair the injury done. It is a fact that nature will, against continued abuses, thus fairly work miracles to keep men alive; and it is a sad fact that she is compelled to do this nearly all the time with multitudes of people.

But it is impossible for nature, with safety, to strengthen the lungs to perform the unusual labor that is put upon them by this wrong way of breathing, which tries to lift, or expand, the chest. She tries to do it, but cannot; for the very effort which she makes to remedy the evil is itself an injury. Let us examine this: When this unusual exertion, this work which was never intended, is put upon the lungs, of course they are unprepared for it. Nature is compelled at once to strengthen them for it in the only way possible; that is, by sending an increased supply of blood into the lungs. But if this blood is to strengthen the lungs, it can do it only by making the tissue itself stronger. And this must inevitably make thicker that delicate membrane which is the surface of all the air-cells. But as certainly as this is made thicker, the vitalizing property of the air will not as readily pass through into the blood. Thus not enough breath can be taken to keep the blood pure; the blood, therefore, being deprived of this vitalizing property, becomes sluggish, and grows more and more impure. This conduces to ill health, breeds disease, and brings death.

But the lungs cannot in all cases endure this process, particularly in those who have much talking or public speaking to do. In many cases this delicate membrane of the air-cells becomes distended by the increased supply of blood. When so distended, it is easily ruptured; and then, instead of the vitalizing property of the air passing through into the blood, the blood itself passes through into the air; there is bleeding at the lungs, and this means death. It is plain, therefore, that whatever nature may do in her efforts to build against the abuse of the lungs, it means only death,–not death on the instant, of course, nor in a day, nor in a week; but it means death just the same, sooner or later, and that long before nature's proper time. As the Testimony expresses it, it is "slowly committing suicide."

It is certain, then, that "nature itself" teaches, in positive tones, that any practise of breathing in which the chest must be lifted and lowered, or that brings pressure upon the lungs to lift and lower the chest, is positively, and even dangerously, wrong breathing.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 5 , p. 76.

"WHAT shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?"

You know that the Lord has bestowed upon you benefits of all sorts, and in countless number. "They cannot be reckoned up in order." "If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."

Now the question is, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?" How shall I pay him for what he has bestowed? And the answer is, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord."

That is to say that what you are to render to the Lord for all the benefits which he has given you, is to take more benefits.

Yea, more than this: what you are to render to the Lord for all the benefits which he has given, is to take the greatest of all the benefits which he can possibly give.

If you have all these benefits except this greatest one, then all he asks of you to ay for all these is that you take this greatest of all.

And if you have all of them, even to the greatest, then all he asks of you to pay for all these is that you take yet more of the greatest of all,–that you drink yet deeper of the cup of salvation, and call yet more upon the name of the Lord.

That is the Lord's system of receiving pay for what he bestows.

Now read Luke 6:32-38 and Acts 20:34, 35.

"Two Sons" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 5 , p. 76.

ABRAHAM had two sons.

One was born of the bondwoman; the other, of the freewoman.

One son, therefore, was a bond son; the other was a free son.

One was born by their own invention; the other was born by the promise of God.

One was born of the flesh; the other was born of the Spirit.

The son who was born of the bondwoman, by their own invention, and of the flesh, was "a wild man." Hebrew, literally, "a wild-ass man." Revised Version, "He shall be as a wild ass among men." His hand was against every man, and every man's hand was against him.

The son who was born of the freewoman, by promise, and of the Spirit, was meek and lamblike. His hand was against nobody; and when anybody's hand was inclined to be against him, he soon "saw certainly that God was with" him, and "departed from him in peace." Gen. 26:12-31.

"Which things are an allegory;" for God has two sons. "For these [women and their sons] are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children." The other is from Mount Calvary, and answereth to "Jerusalem which is above" and "free, which is the mother of us all." Gal. 4:24-26.

Now in teaching redemption to the people in old time, the Lord said, "All the first-born of man among thy children shalt thou redeem," and of "every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord's," except the firstling of an ass.

The firstling of an ass had to be redeemd; and it had to be redeemed with a lamb: "Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb." And any firstling of an ass that was not so redeemed, its neck was to be broken: "If thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck." Ex. 13:12, 13.

These things were shadows of realities. What are the realities?–One we can find, anyhow, if not all.

The scripture says that the son of Abraham by Hagar was "born of the flesh," and that he was "a wild-ass man."

The scripture likewise says that Hagar and her son represent the covenant from Sinai and the children of that covenant.

This says, then, that those who were or are of the covenant at Sinai were and are born after the flesh, and are "wild-ass men." And as the firstlings of the ass must be "redeemed with a lamb," this says that every soul who ever was or is of the covenant at Sinai, every one who is born of the flesh, must be redeemed with the Lamb of God, or his neck will be broken.

"For this cause he [Christ] is the mediator of the new testament [covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament [covenant], they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." Heb. 9:15. This is to say also to every soul of those who are the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, that they must be redeemed with a lamb; and that unless they are redeemed with a lamb,–the Lamb of God,–they shall perish; for it is not possible for the blood of bulls or goats or lambs to take away sin.

Yet more than this, it is likewise to say to all who are born only of the flesh, who are therefore "wild-ass" men, who are of the "carnal mind," which "is enmity against God," and which "is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,"–it is likewise to say to all these that they must be redeemed with a lamb,–the Lamb of God,–or their necks will be broken, and they will be destroyed by their own sins.

And to all who are of the covenant from Calvary, who are born of the freewoman, of the promise of God, and of the Spirit of God, who are the seed of Abraham according to the promise,–these, too shall be redeemed, to these redemption is certain; for the Spirit itself, of which we are born, is "the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." Eph. 1:14. And the redemption of the purchased possession includes the redemption of our bodies, who "have the first-fruits of the Spirit." Rom. 8:11, 23.

How is it with you? Are you born of the flesh only? or are you already redeemed with that Lamb, born of the Spirit, and by that Spirit sealed unto the redemption of the purchased possession?

"Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." "For if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise,"–born of the promise of God, born of the Spirit of God, children of the free, sealed unto the day of redemption. Bless the Lord!

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 5 , pp. 76, 77.

WHERE did Daniel and his three companions obtain the education which enabled them successfully to pass the examination required by King Nebuchadnezzar? Where did they obtain an education which made them "skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science," and which gave them "ability" in all these things?

It must be borne in mind that these words mean more in themselves, and to Daniel and to us, than at that time they meant even to Nebuchadnezzar. For instance, the word "wisdom" meant to Daniel, and means in itself, "the fear of Jehovah." But Nebuchadnezzar at that time, being an idolater, had no respect for Jehovah; therefore the word meant to him only respect for the gods in general.

Where, then, did they get this superior instruction and education?–Without hesitation it can be answered, In a "school of the prophets," the divinely established schools in Israel. There was at that time a "college," or "school of the prophets," in Jerusalem. For in the eighteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah, which was only fifteen years before the captivity of Daniel, there is the clear record of such a school in Jerusalem.

In the eighteenth year of Josiah, while at his command the temple was being cleansed and repaired from the abominations of Manasseh and Amnon, a copy of the Pentateuch, or "book of the law of the Lord by Moses," was found by Hilkiah the priest. Hilkiah "delivered the book to Shaphan" the scribe; and "Shaphan carried the book to the king," and "read it before the king." "And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes," and commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Shaphan the scribe, and others, "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found."

"And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess. . . . Now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college [margin, "in the school"], and they spoke to her to that effect."

Here was, in Jerusalem, a college, or school, in which "dwelt" the prophetess. This at once shows this school to have been a school of the prophets, because that which made those schools the schools of the prophets was the fact that a prophet dwelt with the school, and was, under God, the head of the school. This fact is revealed in the two other instances in which they are mentioned: in 1 Sam. 19:20 "the company of the prophets" was seen, and "Samuel standing as appointed over them." In 2 Kings 6:1-6 we meet again "the sons of the prophets," and Elisha the prophet is dwelling with them; for they said to Elisha, "The place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us."

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Thus we find three schools of the prophets in three widely separated ages,–the age of Samuel, the age of Elisha, and the age of Josiah,–and in each instanced a prophet is dwelling in the school. These three passages were written to give us information as to the schools of the prophets. And first, they show why these schools were called schools of the prophets–because a prophet was the head of the school; they show also that the college, or school, in Jerusalem, in which dwelt Huldah the prophetess, was a school of the prophets as certainly as was the school where dwelt Elisha the prophet or Samuel the prophet.

It was, then, in a school of the prophets, in the Lord's school, where Daniel and his three companions obtained the education of which we read in Dan. 1:4,–the education which made them "skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding sciences," and gave them "ability" in all these.

In the schools of the prophets the Spirit of God was the one all-pervading influence, the one great prevailing power. The first time we meet one of these schools is in 1 Sam. 10:5-12, when Saul came "to the hill of God," and met a "company of prophets coming down" with instruments of music, and prophesying. "And the Spirit of God came upon him," and "God gave him another heart;" he was turned "into another man," and "he prophesied among the prophets."

That this should occur in the case of such a man as Saul was so great a wonder that the people of Israel were astonished at it to such an extent that henceforth it became a proverb in Israel, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" It is evident, then, that in that school of the prophets, the Spirit of God prevailed to such an extent that an exceptionally hard case was converted by coming under the living influence of that Spirit in the school.

Yet this was not an exceptional manifestation of the power of the Spirit of God in the school of the prophets; this was but the usual degree of the manifestation of the Spirit in the school. For we find after this, when Saul, by disobedience to God and jealousy of David, had separated himself from the Spirit, and was constantly seeking to kill David, that David escaped, and fled, and "came to Samuel to Ramah," and "he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." This was where there was a school of the prophets. "And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise."

When Saul saw that his first messengers had yielded, of course he sent the second time such ones as he supposed would not yield. And when he found that they also had yielded, he determined to trust no more messengers–he would go himself. Therefore in his wrathful determination "went he also to Ramah," and demanded, "Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied."

All this shows, and it was written to tell us, that the Holy Spirit was the all-pervading influence and the all-controlling power in the schools of the prophets. So fully was this so, that stern, hard-hearted, and even exceptionally unspiritual men were melted and subdued by his gracious influence whenever they came in contact with the school.

All this shows, also, that the Spirit of God in these schools manifested himself in prophesyings. Thus it was the Spirit of prophecy that pervaded and controlled the school. "The Spirit of prophecy" is "the testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 19:10), in counsel and instruction. Thus Jesus Christ himself, by the Spirit of prophecy, was the real head of the schools of the prophets. A prophet was with the schools, through whom the testimony of Jesus was made known for the guidance of the school, and the Spirit of God was the great instructor of the students.

This is not to say that there was never more than one such school at a time; for in the time of Samuel there were at least two: now is it to say that when there were more than one, there was necessarily a prophet dwelling permanently in each school; for in the time of Samuel there were at least two of the schools, yet there was but one prophet–Samuel himself. It is only to say that a prophet was in charge, whether there was one school or more; and that the Spirit of prophecy was the great guide and instructor therein, whether there was one school, or whether there were more than one.

And all this is to teach us now, for our own time, that in the Lord's schools, the Spirit of prophecy, the testimony of Jesus, must be the great guide and instructor, and that the Spirit of God is to be courted until he shall become the all-pervading influence and the all-controlling power in every school established in the name of the Lord.

Next we shall inquire, What were the studies in the schools of the prophets, and especially in the school where Daniel was educated?

February 8, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. Doth Not Nature Itself Teach You?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 6 , p. 89.

THE leading question just now in our study of breathing is, How shall the necessary space be created in the chest-cavity to enable the lungs to receive the necessary amount of air seventy times a minute?

We have seen that the lungs and heart together form a cone-shaped body which completely fills the thorax, the inside of the chest, and that the strongly built chest is a protecting cover to the vital organs which form this cone. We have inquired whether the cover of this cone shall be raised in order to provide the necessary space for breath; and we have found that answer to be a most emphatic No. The chest cannot be kept in motion for any such purpose, and the lungs cannot be used to produce such motion, without tending directly to disease and death.

Then as the cover of the cone cannot be moved, can the cone itself be moved? As nature teaches so decidedly that the chest, the cover of the lungs, cannot be lifted for this purpose, does nature itself teach that the cone itself can be lowered so as to provide the necessary space for air in breathing?

Well, as something has to move in order to provide the space for the two hundred and thirty cubic inches of air that we must have, and as the chest cannot be moved sufficiently for this purpose, it follows, and nature itself teaches, that the cone itself–the lungs and heart–must be moved. How, then, shall this be done?

In describing these organs at the beginning (see cut in first article), we found that the cone formed by the lungs and heart rests upon the diaphragm as upon a floor. If that floor can be lowered, this will lower the cone. And when the cone is lowered, this will give space as really as though the chest were raised; then the lungs will be expanded by the air which will rush in of itself.

Now this is precisely what is done in right breathing. This is nature's way. This is just what God has made these organs to do. And this is why the diaphragm is made as it is, and occupies the place that it does occupy as the floor of the lungs, the base of that cone.

The diaphragm is an arched, or rather, dome-shaped, muscle (as it is arched on all sides), which forms the floor of the organs in the chest-cavity, and at the same time forms the roof of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The drooping sides of this dome, all around, are formed of muscle, which reaches up over the curve toward the center, but does not extend entirely to the center. A considerable portion of the center of the diaphragm is not composed of muscle, but is simply a sheet of tendon.

The drooping sides of the disphragm extend downward along the inner surface of the body to the twelfth rib all around, except in front, where it extends only a very little below the tip of the breast-bone; and the edge is fastened all around to the inner surface of the body. By this it is seen that the edge of the diaphragm where it is fastened all around, is a considerable distance below the top of the diaphragm, except immediately in front. It is seen also that the drooping sides of the diaphragm all around, extend downward close to the inside walls of the body.

Now the muscles of these drooping sides of the dome-shaped diaphragm contract, and thus draw down the top of the dome, which is the floor of the cone that is formed of the lungs and heart.

When this floor is drawn down, that which rests upon it–the whole cone-shaped contents of the chest–descends with it. the lowering into a larger cavity of that cone which already only fills the cavity where it is, would leave a space all around and over itself from bottom to top, but for the fact that "nature abhors a vacuum." Therefore as this cone is lowered, and begins thus to make room, the air, which exerts fifteen pounds of pressure to the square inch outside of the body, rushes through the nostrils into the lungs, and causes the lungs to expand till every particle of this larger space is filled as completely as was the smaller space before the cone was lowered. Thus is created the room for that two hundred and thirty cubic inches of air which must be taken in at each breath. And in this way of breathing, it is perfectly plain that it is all accomplished without a particle of exertion being made by the lungs themselves, and without any pressure being brought upon the lungs.

Now we have taken the breath in, how shall it be got out? Let us follow on and see.

It was stated a little while ago that the top of the diaphragm not only forms the floor of the organs of the chest cavity, but also the roof of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The stomach, liver, etc., fit up under this roof just as closely as the lungs fit down on the floor above. From this it is evident that when this roof descends by the contraction of the muscular sides of the diaphragm, that which is beneath–the contents of the abdomen–is forced downward also. but the abdominal cavity is completely filled already, and there is no vacant place into which to push the contents of the abdomen. Besides, the abdominal cavity is smaller at the lower part than at the upper.

What, then, can be done? That roof is surely descending, and so surely that which is beneath if must be pushed downward out of the way. And this is just right. The Lord has provided for this. It is true that there is no vacant space into which to push these organs. But the Creator made the muscular walls of the abdomen elastic, so that when the diaphragm forces down the contents of the abdomen, these elastic muscles are stretched by the pressure against them, the abdomen swells outward, and thus ample room is made for the contents of the abdominal cavity when the contents of the chest-cavity descend by the drawing down of the diaphragm.

Then, when the muscular contraction of the diaphragm has ceased, and the pressure is removed from the elastic abdominal muscles, those muscles naturally return to their former and normal position. This forces the contents of the abdomen back again, up against the diaphragm; this carries the disphragm upward again to its normal position; and this, in turn, carries the contents of the chest cavity back to their normal position by contracting the lungs and forcing out the air which has been taken in at the previous inspiration. And still it is all accomplished without a particle of exertion being made by the lungs themselves. They are not required to do any work at all, but are wholly passive, subject to the movement of the diaphragm.

Thus the abdominal muscles, alternating with the muscles of the diaphragm, carry on the motion which alone is right breathing. The principle is that of the blacksmith's bellows. The weights attached to the lower part of the bellows draw it down, the pressure of the air outside raises the valves underneath, and the air rushes in and fills the bellows. The blacksmith's hand presses down the lever, compresses the bellows, and forces the air out. The diaphragm corresponds to the weight on the bellows, the abdominal muscles correspond to the lever, and the lungs are the bellows. As the bellows can do no work except as it is moved by the lever, so the lungs can properly do nothing except as they are moved by the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm. The lungs, as the bellows, are never active of themselves, but always passive; they never act, but are always acted upon.

This, though, is in normal, regular breathing. But when taking a long, full breath, the fullest kind, there is another motion added to these, and that comes only as the consequence of these. It is a slight upward motion of the ribs.

In looking at the course of the ribs, it is seen that from back to front they tend downward, instead of pointing straight around. If the front ends of the ribs could be raised so that they would point straight, or nearly straight, around, instead of downward, it would make the chest larger, and so make more room inside. Now there are muscles attached to the ribs, and interconnected from rib to rib over the whole chest, which are put there for the express purpose of raising the ribs to the position in which they point nearly, if not quite, straight around. This is so arranged in order that the deep, full, long breath can be taken, which is taken only occasionally, in addition to the normal, regular breathing; and which, when it is taken, should fill each cell of the lungs to its fullest capacity.

But, as before stated, this motion is only in addition to the regular motion of the diaphragm and abdomen, and is only the consequence of that motion. It can never be properly made, except as it follows the full motion of the diaphragm and abdomen. ¹1 Thus the only way to elevate and broaden the chest is by "exercising the abdominal muscles in deep breathing."

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 6 , p. 92.

DO you want to get out of this world into a better one?

If you do want this, you can have it; and if you do not want it, you are a very queer sort of person, and we should like to know more of you.

As such a person as that would be so exceptional as fairly to be out of the list, we take it that you would like to get out of this world into a better one.

Why do you want to get away from this world?

Is it because you have to labor so that you are very weary? Very well, Jesus says, "Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest."

Is it because your burden is so great that you are wearied in bearing it? Then "cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee."

Is it because your cares are so many and so perplexing? Then cast "all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

Is it because you have so many griefs and so great sorrows? "He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows."

Is it because death reigns, and holds everything under its sway? Ah! but "the sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,"–victory over sin, and victory over death because of victory over sin. For, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

Do you not see, then, that when you are in Christ, you are in another world? Christ is the only way out of this world into a better one. If you are Christ's, you are not of the world, because he has chosen you out of the world.

And he is "not far from every one of us." "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man heart my voice, and open the door, I will come in." And "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." And "ye are complete in him."

Now will you be so inconsistent as to want to get out of this world into a better one, and find the way, and the only way, wide open to you, and then not go?

Come along, friend, and let us together be "giving thanks to the Father, . . . who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."

"Integrity" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 6 , p. 92.

WENDELL PHILLIPS said: "At the outset of life I asked God that whenever a thing was wrong, it might have no power of temptation over me, and that whenever a thing was right, it might take no courage to do it. and from that day to this, whenever I have known a thing to be wrong, it has been no temptation; and whenever I have known a thing to be right, it has taken no courage to do it." This prayer is worthy to be made by every soul; for such a prayer is the secret of all integrity, and the answer to it is integrity itself.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 6 , pp. 92, 93.

WHAT was taught in the schools of the prophets? To know this is important, not only for its own sake; but because, when we know this, we know what should be taught in the Lord's schools always. These things are in the Bible. They were written for our learning. And being in the book of Daniel, they are written especially for our instruction and admonition "upon whom the ends of the world are come." In this article we shall have space only to discover and enumerate these studies. What each subject involved will be studied afterward.

Daniel and his three companions were "skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science." This education, we have found, was acquired in the college, or school of the prophets, in Jerusalem. This statement, therefore, certifies that wisdom, knowledge, and science were taught in those schools.

Another thing that was taught there was music. This we know from the fact that the first time that we meet any of the students of such a school, they have "a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them;" and they were playing with such spirit and such power in the Spirit that the man who then personally met them was drawn to God and converted. Thus all the circumstances show that this was trained, harmonious music, played by the students of this school. And this is plain evidence that music was taught in the schools of the prophets.

Another thing that was taught there was work, or "manual training," as it would be called to-day. This we know from the record of these schools in the time of Elisha: "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood." 2 Kings 6:1-4.

This shows that in those schools, work was taught and the love of it; because when the school-building became too small for the attendance, the students themselves suggested that they themselves should build the new and larger house that was needed. There was no thought of hiring other people to do the work, nor of letting it by contract. No; they themselves said, "Let us go, . . . and let us make us a place."

And they were also so in love with work that they would borrow tools with which to work; for when one of the axes flew off the handle and into the river, as one of the students was chopping, he exclaimed to Elisha, "Alas, master! for it was borrowed."

More than this, even the principal of the school–Elisha–went with them to the work, and joined with them in the work; for he was among those who were chopping on the bank of the river when the ax flew into the water.

All this shows, as plainly as needs to be shown, that work and the love of it, real industry, was taught in the schools of the prophets–the Lord's schools of ancient time.

Another thing that was taught there was temperance–healthful living. This is shown by the fact that Daniel and his companions refused the king's dainties and royal food, and the wine which he drank, and asked for a simple fare, a vegetarian diet. Dan. 1:5, 12-16. That they were taught this in the school of the prophets which they attended, is plain from the fact that this was a thoroughly grounded principle with them, and that in that school they had been educated. And that such was the diet in the schools of the prophets is taught by the fact that in that school, in the time of Elisha, even when "there was a dearth in the land," Elisha, giving directions to prepare food, said, "Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage." And in following this direction, "one went out into the field to gather herbs." 2 Kings 4:38, 39. When herbs were gathered in response to the ordinary direction to prepare food, and this when "there was a dearth in the land," surely this is strong evidence that a vegetarian diet was the regular diet in the school. This is confirmed by the further recorded fact that "there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he [Elisha] said, Give unto the people, that they may eat." Verse 42. Here was a man bringing a present of provisions to the principal of the school, and he brought only food from the vegetable kingdom.

All this is evidence that a vegetarian diet was the diet of the students and teachers in the schools of the prophets; that this temperate way of living was a part of the instruction; and that temperance was so inculcated as to become a living principle in the lives of the students.

Another thing taught there was law–statutes, justice, and judgment. This was directly commanded to be taught: "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. . . . What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons." Deut. 4:5-9. "Justice, justice, shalt thou follow." Deut. 16:20, margin.

Another thing taught there, and this "specially," was morals; for after urging upon them the obligation to teach carefully and diligently the statutes and judgments of the Lord, he commanded them to teach to their sons and their sons' sons, "specially," the ten commandments which they heard, said he, "the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me

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all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children, . . . And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone."

Another thing taught there was history: "When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes." Deut. 6:20-22. This study was not confined to the history of the deliverance from Egypt; it embraced all as it was given in the sacred writings. We know that this history was one of the studies of Daniel; for the form of government, having three presidents, one of whom was chief, which was introduced by Daniel as prime minister in the days of Darius the Mede, was adopted literally from the records of Israel as to the government of David.

Yet another thing taught there was poetry. This was an essential accompaniment of the teaching of music, and the songs of worship of which their music was composed. With all this, of course, reading and writing were taught.

We find, then, that the course of study in the school of the prophets embraced at least the following studies:–

1. Wisdom,
2. Knowledge,
3. Science,
4. Manual labor,
5. Music,
6. Poetry,
7. Temperance,
8. Morals,
9. Law,
10. History,
11. Reading,
12. Writing.

All these things are written in the Bible for us. They center and are emphasized in the book of Daniel specially for the last days. We are now in the last days. These things are specially for us. The instruction given, the course of study in the schools of the prophets, is instruction for the Lord's schools for all time. This is the instruction that belongs to-day in every school that makes any pretensions of being a Christian school.

In this study, all that we have attempted is to find what things were taught in the schools of the prophets. We have not studied each particular subject to know what was embrace in the teaching of that thing. It will now be worth while to study each one of these studies that was taught in the Lord's schools. It is evident, from the simple list of studies, that the field was not by any means a narrow one. And when we shall study each particular subject, this will be yet more apparent.

"The Last Days" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 6 , p. 93.

THE appointment of Governor Griggs, of New Jersey, to the office of attorney-general of the United States, is to be celebrated February 18 by prominent men of New Jersey, at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York, with a dinner costing $100 a plate. No one can rightly dispute that those who have money are at liberty to spend it as they choose. At the same time no one can truthfully dispute the fact that there are thousands upon thousands of people who will draw invidious comparisons between a dinner costing $100 a plate and the reduction of from ten to twenty-five per cent. in their own wages, which are already so low that they can scarcely live.

The New York World justly comments on the situation as follows:–

There are many who will speculate upon what could be done with this $3,00 to be expended upon a single dinner.

The cotton-mill workers in New Bedford, for instance, will be interested in this banquet. The oldest worker, who is able to make $6 a week by the hardest kind of labor, may find food for comment in the fact that powerful political rulers will each eat and drink $100 worth in a few hours. The old cotton-spinner would have to work 1,000 hours to earn that sum.

And those all over the country who are out of employment will think about this dinner, and speculate upon how much could be done with the money expended on it. there are sufferers in this city, like the garment-makers, whose condition would be bettered by it. They will have difficulty in realizing that a single individual can consume $100 worth of food and drink at a single meal. That would keep many a family in victuals for months.

But the feast will no doubt take place without thought of this suffering. The thirty will sit at a table adorned with beautiful flowers,–violets, orchids, and roses. There will be rare old vintage wines with every course. The rarest delicacies that can be found the country ever will be placed before the hosts and their guest.

And the Scripture portrays the situation exactly when it says of the "rich men" of "the last days:" "Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth. . . . Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton: ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter." James 5:1-5.

"Education of the Negro" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 6 , p. 94.

IN a masterly article in the Independent of Jan. 27, 1898, Booker T. Washington points out the essential weakness of the education that has been given to the negro in the South since the war, and also prescribes the only true remedy; and his prescribed remedy is infallibly the infallible one. He says:–

Negro education immediately after the war in most cases was begun too nearly at the point where New England education ends. Let me illustrate: one of the saddest sights I ever saw was the placing of a three-hundred-dollar rosewood piano in a country school in the South, that was located in the midst of the "Black Belt." Am I arguing against the teaching of instrumental music to the negroes in that community?–Not at all; only I should have deferred those music lessons about twenty-five years.

There are numbers of such pianos in thousands of New England homes; but behind the piano in the New England home, there was a hundred years of toil, sacrifice, and economy; there was the small manufacturing industry, started several years ago by hand-power, now grown into a great business; there was ownership in land; there was a comfortable home, free from debt; there was a bank account.

In this "Black Belt" community where this piano went, four fifths of the people owned no land, many lived in rented one-room cabins, many were in debt for food-supplies, many mortgaged their crops for the food on which to live, and not one had a bank account. In this case how much wiser it would have been to teach the girls in this community how to do their own sewing, how to cook intelligently and economically, housekeeping, with something of dairying and horticulture, and to teach the boys something of farming in connection with their common school education, instead of awakening in these people a desire for a musical instrument which resulted in their parents' going into debt for a third-rate piano or organ before a home was purchased. These industrial lessons should have awakened in this community a desire for homes, and would have given the people the ability to free themselves from industrial slavery to the extent that most of them would soon have purchased homes. After the home and the necessaries of life were supplied, the piano could come: one piano lesson in a home is worth twenty in a rented log cabin.

Only a few days ago I saw a colored minister preparing his Sunday sermon just as the New England minister prepares his sermon. But this colored minister was in a broken-down, leaky, rented log cabin, with weeds in the yard, surrounded by evidences of poverty, filth, and want of thrift. This minister had spent some time in school studying theology. How much better would it have been had this minister been taught the dignity of labor, theoretical and practical farming, in connection with his theology, so that he could add to his meager salary, and set an example to his people in the matter of living in a decent house, and correct farming. In a word, this minister should have been taught that his condition, and that of his people, are not that of a New England community; and he should have been so trained as to meet the actual needs and condition of the colored people in this community. . . .

I stated in the beginning that industrial education for the negro has been misunderstood. This has been chiefly because some have got the idea that industrial development is opposed to the negro's higher mental development. This has little or nothing to do with the subject under discussion; and we should no longer permit such an idea to aid in depriving the negro of the legacy, in the form of skilled labor, that was purchased by his forefathers at the price of two hundred and fifty years in slavery.

I would say to the black boy what I would say to the white boy, Get all the mental development that your time and pocketbook will afford,–the more the better,–but the time has come when a larger proportion–not all, for we need professional men and women,–of the educated colored men and women should give themselves to industrial or business life. The professional class will be helped in proportion as the rank and file have an industrial foundation so that they can pay for professional service.

Whether they receive the training of the hand while pursuing their academic training or after their academic training is finished, or whether they will get their literary training in an industrial school or college, is a question which each individual must decide for himself; but no matter how or where educated, the educated men and women must come to the rescue of the race in the effort to get and hold its industrial footing.

I would not have the standard of mental development lowered one white; for with the negro, as with all races, mental strength is the basis of all progress; but I would have a larger proportion of this mental strength reach the negro's actual needs through the medium of the hand. Just now the need is not so much for common carpenters, brick-masons, farmers, and laundry-women as for industrial leaders,–men who, in addition to their practical knowledge, can draw plans, make estimates, take contracts; those who understand the latest method of truck-gardening and the science underlying practical agriculture; those who understand machinery to the extent that they can operate steam and electric laundries, so that our women can hold on to the laundry work in the South that is so fast drifting into the hands of others in the large cities and towns.

And we hesitate not a moment to say that all this is just as good for white people as it is for colored people. It is all just as good for all Seventh-day Adventist schools, and for all Seventh-day Adventists everywhere–grown people and youth–as it is for the Tuskegee school and for the colored people of the South. And compared with our study in the book of Daniel this week, who can say that it is not entirely Scriptural?

"Armenia" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 6 , pp. 94, 95.

IN a letter dated Dec. 16, 1897, and published Jan. 26, 1898, Dr. Geo. H. Hepworth, who is traveling in Armenia for the New York Herald, reports a long interview with a representative Armenian, in which occurs the following passage:–

"It does not lessen our loyalty to the home government to know that, centuries ago, we were an independent people. We prefer to live in Turkey than to abide in any other country; for we have more freedom here, and if the Turk would simply be fair to us, there would be no trouble. We do not want to emigrate. We have a strong affection for our home; and if allowed even a modicum of liberty, we should be prosperous and happy."

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"Then you are looking forward," I said, "to converting yourselves into a Bulgaria?"

He smiled sadly: "A wild dream of folly, my friend. You have traversed this country, and can see that such a hope would be the dream of a fool. we do not live in a section by ourselves, we are not accustomed to the use of arms. If you have investigated the subject, you have found, here and there, Armenian villages, but surrounded on all sides by half a dozen Kurdish villages. In the majority of instances there are in the Kurdish villages, ten, twenty, perhaps thirty, Armenian families. What preparation is it possible to make for autonomy? The revolutionists may make their living out of agitation; but we poor creatures are made to suffer for their idiocy. I assure you that no one fears the revolutionist as the average Armenian fears him.

"Ah," he concluded, "we were a happy people then. We paid large taxes, we had large business interests, we were contented and prosperous. But the treaty of Berlin and the interference of England! If Europe would let us alone, we might still have a future; but as it is, we seem to be a doomed people. Europe has interfered in our favor, and ruined us. She has aroused the worst passions of the Turk against us, has excited his suspicious, and left us in the lurch, to die or live, as God may will. Alas! my ruined country."

From personal knowledge, acquired in Turkey itself, we can confirm this as a fair statement of the case. If England and some missionaries would endeavor to dissipate all idea of separate government for the Armenians, instead of favoring it, the Armenian difficulty would be speedily settled, and the Armenians would indeed have "more freedom" there. Armenian revolutionist agitators are the curse of Armenia.

February 15, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. How to Breathe" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 9 , p. 105.

WE have studied the teachings of nature as to what is the only right way to breathe. It will not be well to study the teachings of the Spirit on the same subject, that we may have all the light possible upon it.

Our first quotation, will be found in the little book entitled "Christian Education." Under the heading, "The Necessity of Doing Our Best," page 125, we read:–

"They should perseveringly practise speaking in a low, distinct tone, exercising the abdominal muscles in deep breathing, and making the throat the channel of communication."

This is right breathing, and only this is right breathing. The abdominal muscles, or muscles of the abdomen, form the structure which God has built that men and women may breathe for health.

This confirms what we learned from "nature itself,'–that no effort is to be made by the lungs; no strain is to be brought upon them. They are not made for that. Whenever this is done, it is only warring against life.

You are not to breathe with your lungs, nor to talk with your throat. The abdominal muscles are to be used to breathe with and to talk with. The lungs are not to be active, but passive; they are not to act, but to be acted upon by the machinery which is to be kept in motion by the exercise of the abdominal muscles. So, likewise, with the throat; it is not to be the organ, but only "the channel, of communication." The exercise of the muscles of the abdomen, causing contraction of the lungs, forces the air through the throat over the vocal cords, and thus creates the tones; then the tongue, teeth, and lips cut the tones into words, and thus speech is formed. Therefore, do not breathe with the lungs, and do not talk with the throat. Breathe with the abdominal muscles, and talk with the abdominal muscles and then mouth.

"Many speak in a rapid way, and in a high, unnatural key, but if they continue such a practice, they will injure the throat and lungs, and as a result of continual abuse, the weak and inflamed organs will become diseased in a serious way, and they will fall into consumption."–Id.

Do you not see, then, that it is a serious wrong for any Seventh-day Adventist to be a consumptive? It is wrong for any Seventh-day Adventist to have continued lung trouble of any kind; but it is an awful thing for a Seventh-day Adventist, and above all, a minister, to die of consumption.

"Ministers and teachers should give especial attention to the voice, and learn the art of speaking, not in a nervous, hurried manner, but in a slow, clear, distinct manner, preserving the music of the voice."–Id., page 126.

But you never can do that if you use the throat, much less if you use your throat and lungs both.

"Let no one say, 'There is no use for me to try to pray, for others do not hear me.' Rather say, 'I will make earnest efforts to overcome this God-dishonoring habit of speaking in a low, indistinct tone, and I will put myself under discipline until my voice shall be audible, even to those who are hard of hearing.' Will it not be worth disciplining yourself to be able to add interest to the service of God, and to edify the children of God?

"Let the voices of the followers of Christ be trained so that instead of crowding words together in a thick, indistinct way, their words will be clear, forcible, and edifying. Do not let the voice fall after each word, but keep it up so that every sentence will be full and complete."–Id., page 131.

"The proper use of the vocal organs will bring benefit to the physical health, and increase your usefulness and influence."–Id., page 132.

You will see this more fully as we advance. We are simply searching now for the right principles.

"They can give attention to the cultivation of the voice, and by judicious exercise may expand the chest and strengthen the muscles."

But it is not enough simply to expand the chest,–it may be, and often is, expanded altogether wrongly,–but you must expand it rightly. Now let us see how that is done.

"Let the abdominal muscles have full play. Do not bind the waist with bands and corsets, but taking in full breath, let the burden of your words come from this foundation, supported by abdominal breathing, and let the throat be the channel for the tone."–Id., page 122.

The abdominal muscles cannot have any proper play at all, much less can they have full play, when you have them bound with dress bands and corsets.

And when we come right down to practical health reform, really to right living, it is a living test with our sisters as to whether they are going to accept God's way or the devil's way in this matter,–whether they will follow the Lord's word, or follow fashion's tyranny. Which will you do? Will you set about this in sacred earnest, and breathe according to the Lord's directions? or will you bind yourselves tightly about so that you cannot possibly breathe properly, and so never have good health? O, let your bodies loose! set yourselves free! "Let the abdominal muscles have full play. Do not bind the waist with bands and corsets, but taking in full breath, let the burden of your words come from this foundation."

In this way you can take in a full breath, even while you are talking or reading, and can keep it up right straight along, breathing not only between sentences, but between clauses, or even between words, if the sentence is long, just as you please, and nobody will notice it. But it you undertake to use your lungs in breathing, speaking, or reading, you will be constantly on a strain to keep yourself in breath; and if the sentence is long, you will actually have to catch your breath in the very midst of it; the reading or speaking will be all broken up; you will get weary, and those who hear you will also get weary in listening; your lungs will be in pain; your throat will be sore; you will be a living invitation to throat and lung diseases; your work will be crippled, and your efficiency, and even your usefulness, will be destroyed. O, such a course is only a lingering death! The other way, according to the Lord's directions, is life,–bright, cheery, active, vigorous, healthy, God-given life. Which will you choose? Which will you follow?

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 7 , p. 108.

THE baptism of the Holy Spirit is only unto service.

Anybody who wants the baptism, or the gift, of the Holy Ghost, in order that he may be lifted up in an ecstasy and kept there, swinging, like a canary, in an ecstatic feeling the rest of his days, will never get it.

Yet this is about the idea that thousands of people have of the purpose and the effect of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. therefore their favorite song is,–

"O, could I ever, ever stay

In such a frame as this.

I'd sit and sing myself away

To everlasting bliss!"

Christ never was in such a "frame" as this, thank the Lord: if he had been, we should be eternally lost. But those people think that such is exactly the "frame" that becomes heaven. Yet if they would really think, they would see in a moment that it is altogether a false conception.

Jesus was in heaven. He was there the possessor, by divine right forevermore, of all the bliss that heaven can possibly know. Yet, knowing and possessing all this, he did not sit and sing himself away to everlasting bliss.

No. He left it all behind, and came down to earth, and spent his life here in the service of a poor, ruined people, laden with iniquity, to bring to these the knowledge of God, and all the good which that knowledge brings.

And to him this was bliss. To him this was more than to be in heaven itself. It was not to him more nor less than heaven itself; it simply was heaven itself; for when he came down to earth, he did not, strictly speaking, leave heaven behind–he brought it along, and linked it to earth in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

To him this was better than to stay in heaven. He voluntarily chose to do this; therefore he did it because he would rather do it than to stay in heaven.

Thus of his own free choice he came out of heaven to the earth, and stayed here as long as men would let him stay.

As long as he could stay here and work for mankind, he would rather do so than to go to heaven.

And this is Christianity.

Unto this glorious mission the Lord Jesus was born of the Holy Ghost, and was baptized and anointed with the Holy Ghost. And this is the purpose of the birth, the baptism, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, upon every soul who receives him.

"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good." "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

This is what the baptism of the Holy Ghost was for them; and this is what it is for forever.

What an astonishing conception of Christianity it is, indeed, that he who had received the greatest degree of its spirit should forget everybody but himself; and thinking nothing, caring nothing, for the sin, the distress, and the misery of the multitudes of the lost all around him, should "sit" pampering himself in a halorious mood, and "sing himself away to everlasting bliss"!!

Such is not the spirit of Christianity. It is simply the spirit of the supremely selfish, shirking, lazy loafer.

No; the spirit of Christianity is the spirit of the Lord Jesus himself, and he who has the greatest degree of it, instead of sitting and singing himself away to everlasting bliss, stands up, in the conscious surety of everlasting bliss, and works with all power in heaven and earth, and sings while he works, to draw all others from the darkness and woe of this world of sin, unto the everlasting bliss of the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

He does not care to go to heaven till his work in the world is done. Give him his choice any day, and he would rather stay in this world, and work, than to go to heaven. He knows that in Christ, who is his life, heaven is sure to him. And having found in his blessed Lord, and by his Spirit, the connection between heaven and earth, to him it is heaven to work to get other people into the knowledge and surety of heaven.

O, let us be only such Christian as Christ was in the world! Then we shall be of profit to the world, and the world will know that God sent Jesus into the world.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 7 , pp. 108, 109.

DANIEL, while yet a mere youth, was "skilful in all wisdom." This was the leading part of his education. He was educated in a school of the prophets. Wisdom, then, was one of the principal studies in the schools of the prophets; that is, in the Lord's schools.

What is wisdom? whence come it? how is it attained? and what relation does it bear to education in general?

"Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.

"God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. . . . When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold! the fear of the Lord, THAT IS WISDOM; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28:12-28.

It is certain, then, that the fear of the Lord was an essential part of the education in the schools of the prophets. This, in itself, required that the revelation which God had given of himself should be studied, that they might truly know the true God and his attributes. For they could not fear–reverence–him unless they knew him. And in studying the revelation which the Lord had given, this, of itself, was the study of the sacred writings,–the books of Moses and the writings of the other prophets.

As "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge," it is certain that wisdom was the leading subject of study in the schools of the prophets. It preceded every other study. More than this, it not only preceded every other study; but it was the leading element, the guiding principle, in every other study. And as the knowledge of God is essential to the fear of God, and the certain knowledge of God is attained only by the revelation that he has given of himself and of his attributes, it is certain that the Holy Scriptures were the essential basis of all studies, the guide in every course of investigation, and the ultimate test of every inquiry.

Wisdom is "the fear of the Lord," and "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." All that any person can possibly know in this world without the fear of the Lord, will in "a little time," vanish forevermore: while he who knows the fear of the Lord will abide forevermore; that which he learns in accordance with the fear of the Lord will also, with him, abide forevermore; and forevermore there is open to him the wide universe, with all its possibilities for the increase of knowledge. Thus he who has the fear of the Lord has also, in that, for an eternity, all things else: while whatever else he might have without the fear of God, he would not really have even that; because in a little while all that, with himself, must vanish. Thus in the very nature of things, the fear of the Lord is the most important of all things, and is therefore properly the beginning of knowledge as well as of everything else.

There is another very important sense in which the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: unless a person knows a thing right, he is not certain of his knowledge nor of himself in it. Certitude is essential to genuine knowledge. "Knowledge" that is derived from guesses is not true knowledge; it is but a guess. For all that can ever be derived from a guess, is a guess. "Knowledge" that is gathered from a "working hypothesis" is not genuine knowledge. All that can ever be evolved from a hypothesis, "working" or other, is a hypothesis. With all such "knowledge" there goes a "painful uncertainty" and also the consciousness of it, which of itself vitiates every essential quality of it as being real knowledge. Such learning the scripture aptly describes as "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

On the other hand, however, he who begins with the fear of the Lord, he who begins with the knowledge of God and with knowledge obtained from God, begins with the truth. The knowledge of God is the knowledge of the truth; for he is the truth. Knowledge obtained from God is itself truth; for it is given by the Spirit, which is only "the Spirit of truth," through the Word, which also is only "the truth." Thus he who begins with

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the knowledge and fear of God begins with the truth; and all that he ever learns, being learned upon this basis, and measured, weighed, and tested by this supreme standard, will be only the truth. This itself is the detector of error and the test of truth; he therefore rejects the error and accepts only the truth, and so learns only the truth. And thus, though also ever learning, he is ever learning in the knowledge of the truth,–not ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge truth,–for he begins only with the truth, and learns only the truth, and so is ever learning in the knowledge of the truth.

It will not do to say that this is impossible,–that there was never any such learning, and never any such teaching in the world. There has been just such teaching and just such learning in the world. Just such teaching was in the schools of the prophets, and just such learning was that of Daniel. And this record of Daniel and of the schools of the prophets was written to tell us of just such teaching and of such learning as that. It was true of others besides Daniel, as we shall see later; but if it were true only of Daniel, the fact that it was regarded by the Lord "for our learning" is sufficient proof that such learning is not impossible for us.

We have seen, by the Word, that the Holy Spirit was the great Teacher in the schools of the prophets, which were but the models of all of the Lord's schools; that is, of all Christian schools. And it is written to us, in the words of the Lord Jesus, that he, "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, . . . shall teach you ALL THINGS." And he is only "the Spirit of truth." Being only the Spirit of truth, it is impossible for him to teach anything but the truth. Then whosoever begins every study in the fear of the Lord, with the Spirit of truth as his teacher, and the word of truth as his supreme standard, and learns faithfully from these, will ever learn only in the knowledge of the truth.

Thus it is that in the most vital sense "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." And this is why it is that wisdom–the fear of the Lord–Had the precedence in every line of study in the Lord's schools.

It must be borne in mind, too, that the fear of the Lord was distinctly taught there. The teaching of theology, or things about the Lord. The fear of the Lord itself, as a distinctive thing in the individual experience, was taught. The students were instructed as to what the fear of the Lord is, how to approach unto him, how to pray to him, how to submit themselves to him, how to commune with him, how to court his Holy Spirit, how to be led of the Spirit, how to live with God, how to walk with him, how to have the Lord dwell in their lives, how to know that they were ever in his presence, how to have him their companion in everything that they did in their daily lives,–in short, how to glorify God in body, soul, and spirit, in every thought and word and deed.

All this is the teaching of wisdom. Wisdom was the chief and all-pervading subject of study in the Lord's school. And Daniel is presented to us as a sample of what such teaching will produce. Let such teaching pervade again the Lord's schools, and Daniels will be again produced.

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 7 , pp. 109, 110.

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, with his usual wisdom, says: "Mental development alone will not give us what we want; but mental development, tied to hand and heart training, will be the salvation of the negro." Yes; and it will be the salvation of other people just as well.

Again, he says: "Mental development is a good thing. Gold is also a good thing, but gold is worthless without opportunity to make it touch the world of trade. Education increases an individual's wants many fold. It is

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cruel in many cases to increase the wants of the black youth by mental development alone, without at the same time increasing his ability to supply these increased wants along lines at which he can find employment." And it is just as cruel to do that to the white youth as it is to the black.

"Success and Happiness" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 7 , p. 110.

"THAT intense feeling that something has got to be done, is the thing that works the doing. I never met a great man who was born rich. I am sure it is quite often more difficult to rise with money than without it," well says Joseph Choate, the leading lawyer of the American bar. And in the following passage from an interview with the same gentleman, published in that excellent magazine, Success, is the most intelligent and best definition of "success" and "happiness" that we have ever seen:–

"You have had long years of distinction and comfort; do you find that success brings content and happiness?"

"Well," he answered, contracting his brows with legal severity, "constant labor is happiness, and success simply means ability to do more labor,–more deeds far-reaching in their power and effect. Such success brings about as much happiness as the world provides."

"I mean," I explained, "the fruits of that which is conventionally accepted as success,–few hours of toil, a luxuriously furnished home, hosts of friends, the applause of the people, sumptuous repasts, and content in idleness, knowing that enough has been done."

"We never know that enough has been done," said the lawyer. "All this sounds pleasant, but the truth is that the men whose efforts have made such things possible for themselves are the very last to desire them. You have described what appeals to the idler, the energyless dreamer, the fashionable dawdler, the listless voluptuary. Enjoyment of such things would sap the strength and deaden the ambition of a Lincoln. The man who has attained to the position where these things are possible is the one whose life has been a constant refutation of the need of these things. he is the one who has abstained, who has conserved his mental and physical strength by living a simple and frugal life. He has not taken more than he needed, and never, if possible, less. His enjoyment has been in working. I guarantee that you will find successful men ever is to be plain-mannered persons, of simple tastes, to whom sumptuous repasts are a bore, and luxury a thing apart. They may live surrounded by these things, but personally they take little interest in them, knowing them to be mere trappings, which neither add to, nor detract from, character."

February 22, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. How to Live" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 8 , p. 121.

AS WE can live only by breathing, it certainly follows that we can live rightly only when we breathe rightly; our physical life will be full, bright, and strong only when we breathe fully, brightly, and strongly. And when, physically, we live fully, brightly, and strongly, we can also live a spiritual life that is full, bright, and strong. Read this:–

"By giving heed to proper instruction, by following health principles in regard to the expansion of the lungs and the culture of the voice, our young men and women may become speakers that can be heard, and the exercise necessary to this accomplishment will prolong life."–"Christian Education," page 132.

This touches the point; yea, it tells the whole story. And again we may say, It is not enough simply to expand the lungs. You can expand the lungs in such a way as to make them only an invitation to consumption; yet in the right way, you can also expand the lungs so that it will be impossible for consumption to get hold of you. When this is done, then even if you should take cold, and it should even reach and settle upon your lungs or in your throat, you need not be afraid; it cannot stay, neither can it stop you in your work. The life and living vigor of the whole system will drive it speedily away. O, the Lord wants us to live!

"There is need that among our ministers careful attention should be given to the culture of the voice, or many will lie down in untimely graves. The Lord is not glorified by the reflections that are cast upon him, when men attribute to him their sufferings; for the Lord has no pleasure in the suffering and death of his people. He would have them pursue a right course of action, carefully looking after their bodies that they may be in health, and know how to keep the habitation in order.–Id., page 133.

Now, do not get the idea that this is an intricate thing, hard to understand, and difficult to get hold of, so that you must have a whole lot of unscientific instruction to get it. It is not that at all. It is all as simply as any other part of the religion of Christ. Listen to this:–

"If we neglect to heed the simple laws by which we may preserve health, and fail to cultivate right habits, the Lord will not work a miracle to heal our disorders, while we continue to transgress his laws. Men are sleeping in their graves that the Lord would have had live. They destroyed themselves through lack of knowledge."–Id., page 133.

What kind of laws are these?–Simple laws. That is just what they are. Do not allow yourself, not allow anybody else for you, to make them anything else than simple. You will see this more fully as we follow this subject further:–

"Some of our most talented ministers are doing themselves great injury by their defective manner of speaking. While teaching the people their duty to obey God's moral law, they should not be found violating the laws of God in regard to health and life. Ministers should stand erect, and speak slowly, firmly, and distinctly, taking a full inspiration of air at every sentence, and throwing out the words by exercising the abdominal muscles. If they will observe this simple rule, giving attention to the laws of health in other respects, they may preserve their life and usefulness much longer than men in any other profession."–"Gospel Workers," page 147.

Well, then, is it not almost a disgrace for any Seventh-day Adventist minister, except the oldest, to die, especially to die of lung or throat troubles? and he professing to be a health reformer, too! If we did not have these things, if God had not spoken on these subjects, and set them so plainly before us, and so repeatedly, too, it would not be so bad. But with all these things made so plain, and these good wishes of the Lord so fully expressed, it is awful to have our ministers dying, when to take the Lord's way, the ministers may "preserve their life and usefulness much longer than men in any other profession." Then let us quite dying. This expression is not out of place, either; for men often think they are all right, and not dying, when the truth is that they are dying all the time. Read again:–

"The chest will become broader."

What! the chest become broader by exercising the abdominal muscles?–Yes, of course. That is the only way the chest can become broader in the right way, in the way to have health. Now there is no contradiction nor inconsistency here. I am not explaining, yet, just how this will be. It is all true, though. You believe it, and practise it, and you will find it so. However, we are searching now for what is the right way to breathe; how to practise it we shall study afterward.

"The chest will become broader, and by educating the voice, the speaker need seldom become hoarse, even by constant speaking."–Id.

The throat is the place in the body to become weary from speaking; the lungs, never. The abdominal muscles may become tired sometimes, and the back also, and even other parts of the body, with long or strong speaking, but the lungs and throat will be all right. Only use them as God intended them to be used, and they will outlast all the rest of the system.

"Instead of becoming consumptives by speaking, our ministers may, by care, overcome all tendency to consumption."–Id.

Good. Then why should any Seventh-day Adventist minister have any tendency to consumption, much less have consumption itself? And even some of our doctors have tendency to consumption; yea, some have actually died of consumption, in the face of this direct instruction from the Lord, too! How long shall these things be? Instead of being delicate, and sunken-chested, and weak-lunged, the Lord wants us to be healthy, full-chested, strong-lunged, and proof against disease instead of being subject to it. And why is not this true of all the people as well as of the ministers? Why should our sisters be sunken-chested, stoop-shouldered, and weak-lunged, and subject to lung troubles, any more than our brethren or our ministers?–They should not. The Lord wants women to have as good health as he wants men to have. And these excellent things that we have been reading are just as much for women as for men, and are just as true of women as they are of men. Then, sisters, you stand erect, and use the abdominal muscles in deep breathing and in expanding the chest. You, too, can throw out your words by exercising the abdominal muscles. Then, if you have any tendency to consumption, you will soon be all right,–in more ways than simply your lung troubles, too,–you will "overcome all tendency to consumption." This is a great deal; it is a blessed promise.

"I would say to my ministering brethren, Unless ministers educate themselves to speak in accordance with physical law, they will sacrifice life, and many will mourn the loss of 'those martyrs to the cause of truth;' when the facts in the case are, that by indulging in wrong habits, they did injustice to themselves and to the truth which they represented, and robbed God and the world of the service they might have rendered. God would have been pleased to have them live, but they slowly committed suicide."–Id.

That is to Seventh-day Adventists who die of consumption. It is an awful thing when a person, in very desperation, commits suicide by a sudden act. But how much more awful it is for a person–and of all people a Seventh-day Adventist, too–slowly to commit suicide,–to keep it up, and follow it up persistently for years, till it is finally accomplished! That is terrible. Who, then, will continue to do it? O, rather, who will not cease entirely to do it, by choosing now, and diligently following, the right way?

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 8 , p. 124.

"CHRIST impressed upon his disciples that they were to ask God in prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit; and then, placing themselves in an attitude to receive, they would receive all the gifts comprehended in the gift of the Spirit."

Jesus says, "Without me ye can do nothing."

But he is gone away; he is not here as he was when he said this.

That is all right, however; for it was expedient for us that he should thus go away.

Nevertheless he says: Be not ye troubled: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

We are not left comfortless, because he comes to us by the Comforter. And "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost," shall "abide with you forever."

The Holy Spirit brings the presence of Christ to the believer, to abide with him forever. "His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts, . . . that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."

The Holy Spirit comes to abide with us forever. The Holy Spirit brings the presence of Christ to abide with us forever. Therefore says Jesus, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Jesus said, "Without me ye can do nothing." It is the Holy Spirit only that brings Christ to us. Therefore it is as plain as A B C, and as true as the word of God, that without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing.

Professing religion, joining the church, "working in the cause," are all "nothing" without the gift, the baptism, the abiding forever, of the Holy Spirit. "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"The Lord Jesus wants all to stand in their appointed place. He makes use of one believer's influence, another's wealth, and another's attainments. On all is inscribed, Holiness to the Lord. All is sanctified and set apart for a holy purpose. All are to co-operate with God. Mind, heart, soul, and strength belong to God. We are his by creation and by redemption. 'Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.'"

When Cyrus W. Field, the maker of the Atlantic cable, left home at the age of fifteen to make his way in the world, his father said to him: "Cyrus, I feel sure you will succeed; for your playmates could never get you off to play, until all the work for which you were responsible was done." That is sufficient surety that any boy will succeed. It is simply faithfulness. And faithfulness itself is success.

"He who has not sufficient faith in Christ to believe that he can keep him from sinning, has not that faith that will give him an entrance into the heaven of God."

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 8 , pp. 124, 125.

THE second feature in Daniel's education is that he was "cunning in knowledge." He had knowledge acquired by experience, or practice,–technical knowledge.

The third feature of his education is that he understood science. This was but the complement of the second, as the second was the complement of the first. Wisdom, knowledge, and science were these three. Wisdom is the fear of the Lord; this is the beginning of knowledge. Daniel was "skilful in all wisdom;" he was skilful in the fear of the Lord. This being the beginning of knowledge, Daniel had proceeded from this beginning to its complement,–he had observed facts and studied things, and so had become "cunning in knowledge;" and from this, in turn, he had proceeded to its complement, and had classified and systematized his knowledge, and so understood science.

This is the divine order in education: first, the fear of the Lord; secondly, knowledge, thirdly, science. First, the fear of the Lord as the beginning and the basis of all knowledge; secondly, knowledge, acquired from the careful observation of facts and the diligent study of things; and thirdly, science, as the result of this knowledge classified and systematized.

But where did Daniel or his teachers find any formulated science or any guide to science which might be used as a study in school or as a material part of general education?–Without hesitation it can be said, and truly said, that all this had been matter of common knowledge in Israel for hundreds of years, and at least the principles of it were found in the Holy Scriptures, the Bible of that time.

Solomon lived and taught, four hundred years before Daniel's school-days. Solomon "was wiser than all men." And what Solomon knew was not kept to himself, lock up in his understanding; but he taught it to the people. He taught it, too, to all the people; he popularized it. It was so plain and simple that the common people could understand it.

Solomon thoroughly understood what is now called botany, and zoology, and ornithology, and entomology, and ichthyology, and meteorology. For "he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall;" and that is called "botany." "He spake also of beasts;" and that is called "zoology." He spake also "of fowl;" and that is called "ornithology." He spake "of creeping things;" and that is called "entomology." He spake "of fishes;" and that is called "ichthyology." He spake of the course of the wind in "his circuits," of the clouds and the rain; and that is "meteorology." Solomon knew more of all these sciences than any man to-day knows of any one of them. And he taught them all to the people; for "he spake" of them all. 1 Kings 4:33; Eccl. 1:6, 7; 11:3, 4.

We do not say that Solomon taught "botany" as such, nor "zoology" as such, nor "ornithology," nor "entomology," nor "ichthyology," nor "meteorology." We do not say that he taught "science" at all, as it is taught to-day, nor as it is suggested in these big words; that is, science in the abstract. He did not speak of "botany;" he "spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall." He did not speak of "zoology;" "he spake of beasts." He did not speak of "ornithology;" he spake of fowl. He did not speak of "entomology;" he spake of "creeping things." he did not speak of ichthyology;" he spake "of fishes." He did not speak of "meteorology;" he spake of the wind in "his circuits," and the returning of "all the rivers" from the sea to the place whence they came to "run into the sea."

That is, he did not give learned and high-sounding discourses on these subjects; he spake of the things themselves. The very flowers themselves were studied, and discoursed upon; not the flower plucked off, and torn to pieces, and each piece designated by an almost unpronounceable term, and that perhaps in a foreign language,–not this, but the flowers as they grew, in garden, field, or forest, just as God caused them to grow, clothed with living beauty. And the lesson which God teaches by each flower was learned from the flower as it stood; for instance, the lovely little violet growing demurely among the grasses. Likewise also the beasts, the birds, the creeping things, and the fishes were studied and discoursed upon as they were, alive and before his eyes and the eyes of those to whom "he spake."

Such is the way in which science was taught and learned in Israel, where the fear of the Lord was the beginning of all knowledge, the guide in all study, and the basis of all science. It was the study of things, rather than a study about things. And that is just the difference to-day that there is between the right and the wrong way of studying science. The right way it to study things, the wrong way is to study about things. By studying this right way, the student learns always something; whereas, by studying the wrong way, he learned only about something. The right way gives him practical knowledge; the wrong way gives him but abstract theories, which he has not the gumption to reduce to practise.

Now this genuine science which was taught by Solomon, remained with the nation after Solomon had died. Much of it was written out, and so was accessible to both teachers and students. And above all, the lessons were ever before them in the beasts and the birds, the creeping things and the fishes, in the trees and the flowers, in sky and sea, in the sunshine and the rain, in the wind and the cloud.

We know that it is commonly supposed that "the Jews did not understand science;" that it was only the heathen that had attained to that. The fallacy of such a view is clearly seen by the fact that although at the time when Daniel was carried away captive, Babylon is supposed by these same persons to have stood at the head of the world in scientific attainments, yet when these four young Jews were examined there after three years of study, "in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm." Dan. 1:20. These magicians, astrologers, etc., were the scientists of Babylon. Some of them had been the teachers

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in the school in Babylon, where Daniel was obliged to go and study. Yet when examination day came, Daniel and his companions proved to be ten times better informed than all of them. No man in this world could ever teach ten times more than he knew. Therefore it is certain that Daniel and his brethren did not obtain from those teachers their great knowledge. They obtained it from their own Scriptures, under the teaching of the Spirit of God. In other words, they continued in Babylon that same system of study that they had formerly used in the college in Jerusalem; and, in all that was really knowledge in the Babylonian studies, this gave them ten times the advantage of even their teachers there.

Another illustration of the worse than fallacy of this supposition that the Jews did not understand science, while the heathen did, is the fact that in the books to-day, and in standard school-books too, it is printed and taught that Anaximander, a Greek, invented the sun-dial about 550 B.C., while the sun-dial was in use in Jerusalem in the reign of Ahaz, nearly two hundred years before that. Isa. 38:8; 2 Kings 20:11; 16:1. It is possible that to the sadly belated Greeks, Anaximander's sun-dial was a new invention altogether, and a great scientific discovery; but for our part we refuse to believe the books, even though they be in Seventh-day Adventist schools, which teach that the sun-dial was invented by Anaximander or anybody else two hundred years after it was in common use by the Jews in Jerusalem. The truth is that among the Jews only was known the purest and truest science that was known in the world down at least to the time of Daniel. And when there shall be found again schools that will teach science as it was taught in the school where Daniel learned, there will be found again Daniels in science–even young men who will know ten times as much as even the teachers in schools where the fear of the Lord is not counted as having any connection with science.

No greater mistake has ever been made, no greater loss has ever been incurred, neither by the church nor by the world–and it has been made by both–than the mistake that has been made in separating the fear of the Lord–religion–from science.

The church, when she ruled the world, held that the fear of the Lord was a matter altogether apart, and had no relation to the observation of facts and the study of things; and so, that religion had nothing to do with science. Consequently, the most "pious" ones, the "saints," turned away from facts and things, and shut themselves up in cloisters and cells, or set themselves on the tops of pillars, and spent their time in "worshiping" by trying how many times they could bow or prostrate themselves in an hour; or else in drawing fine-spun distinctions in doctrine, and expounding hair-splitting theories in theology, and then arraigning and hunting as "heretics" all who would not espouse their particular distinction when they themselves could not clearly state it. Then as the number of theological distinctions was increased, "heresies," of course, multiplied. As heresies multiplied, councils were held to set straight the "heresies." In setting straight the heretics, the councils were obliged authoritatively to interpret the word of God. Different councils interpreted it differently. Appeals were lodged with the bishop of Rome as the chief bishop of "Christendom." And thus it came about that the bishop of Rome became the oracle through whom alone the word of God could come rightly interpreted, not only to the church, but even to science. Thus was developed the infallibility of "the church," which was but the infallibility of the bishop of Rome as the chief voice in "the church;" for wherever is lodged the authoritative interpretation of the word of God, or the claim of it, there lies infallibility or the claim of it.

The world, on the other hand, of course held that the fear of the Lord was a matter altogether apart, and had no relation to the observation of facts and the study of things; and so held that religion had "nothing to do with science."

Thus originated the conflict between religion and science. This conflict has always continued on the part of the world. But since the Reformation, there has been an effort on the part of the church to connect religion and science. However, in this effort, "science," as the world had developed it, was taken as the standard, and the fear of the Lord–religion–was made to conform to it. But this "science" had been built up without the fear of God, and in many cases in direct antagonism to it. And when this was accepted by the church as the standard to which the fear of the Lord must conform, and by which the fear of the Lord must be gauged, this was to make "science," and even science falsely so-called, the beginning of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord the end; instead of the fear of the Lord being the beginning, and science–true science–the end. Science was made the head, and the fear of the Lord, the tail. And thus the word of God, by which alone the fear of the Lord can be acquired, was made, even by the church, subordinate to human, and even antagonistic, "science;" the word of the Lord must be interpreted by this human and antagonistic "science:" and so infidels and atheists, through this science to which the church deferred, became the oracles through whom alone the word of God could come rightly interpreted even to the church. And thus is fast developing the infallibility of "science," which, when finished, will be but the infallibility of the dictum of the chief voice in science, speaking ex cathedra.

The everlasting truth is that genuine religion and genuine science are inseparable. Neither with Solomon nor with Daniel was there ever any conflict between religion and science. With neither of these was there ever any accommodation, any more than any conflict, between religion and science. With both of these men, science was what it always it–the complement of religion.

True science is the complement of true religion,–and it is only the complement, it is never the essence. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and it is only the beginning. It is not intended to be anything but the beginning of knowledge. Therefore he who does not take the fear of the Lord, and use it for the acquirement of knowledge, makes an infinite mistake. And he who takes the fear of the Lord, and uses it for the acquirement of knowledge, and yet stops short of having his knowledge attain to the grade and character of science, just so far frustrates the real object of his receiving the fear of God to begin with. He who receives that which is the beginning of science, is bound by that very thing, so far as in him lies, to go on and attain the end of that of which he has received the beginning.

And thus with the fear of the Lord as the beginning of science, and science as the inseparable adjunct of the fear of the Lord; with the word of God as the means of knowing the fear of God, and this same word as the basis of all science; with the Holy Spirit of God as the great teacher and the only interpreter of the word of God; true religion and true science will be united, one and inseparable, now and forever: and infallibility will rest where it belongs,–with God, the author of both true religion and true science.

March 1, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. How to Speak" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 9 , p. 137.

THE right way of breathing has everything to do with the right way of speaking. We are to use the abdominal muscles in speaking as well as in breathing; and if we do not use them in breathing, we cannot use them in breathing, we cannot use them in speaking. Therefore it we do not breathe rightly, we cannot speak rightly.

"Speaking from the throat, all the time fretting and irritating the vocal organs, letting the words come out from the upper extremity of the vocal organs, is not the best way to improve health or to increase the efficiency of those organs."–"Gospel Workers," page 150; "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. II, page 616.

There have been even Seventh-day Adventist workers, who had a great deal of talking to do, who had so nearly ruined the throat that it was somewhat doubtful whether it would ever be well again. The throat was so filled with diseased formations that it had to be cauterized–burnt out. And the sole difficulty was that the throat had been used in talking just as is here stated should not be done. The throat had been used alone, all the time fretting and irritating it, until it was almost destroyed. And all this through lack of knowledge of the simple principles which we are now studying.

"You should take a full inspiration, and let the action come from the abdominal muscles."–"Gospel Workers," page 150.

Let what come?–The action. From what place?–From the abdominal muscles. The action should not come from the lungs, nor from the throat. "Let the action come from the abdominal muscles."

"Let the lungs be only the channel; but do not depend upon them to do the work. If you let your words come from deep down, exercising the abdominal muscles, you can speak to thousands with just as much ease as you can speak to then."–Id.

Where shall the words come from?–From "deep down," not from high up; from the base of the vocal organs, not from the top, the action coming from the abdominal muscles. Then you can speak to thousands with just as much ease, so far as the lungs and throat–the vocal organs–are concerned, as you can speak to ten. But no man can do that who speaks with his lungs and throat; for the more effort there is put upon these, the more destructive it is. But any extra exertion of these muscles can be made just as easily as can the normal by the man who is using his abdominal muscles. Of course, if he has to speak to but ten, he will speak as if he were speaking to but ten; and the muscular exertion will not need to be much, if any, more than if speaking to one. But if he is speaking to ten thousand, this will require more power; yet all he has to do is to bring more pressure on the abdominal muscles, and he can make the people hear; and the throat and lungs will be just as safe as in the other case. There is no more danger of injuring the throat in the extra use of the abdominal muscles than in the regular use of them.

"Some of our preachers are killing themselves by long, tedious praying and loud speaking, when a lower tone would make a better impression."–Id.

You have heard it,–you have heard ministers, when speaking in a small room to only a few people, strike a high key, that would make the house fairly ring. To cause all in the house to hear, they did not need to talk any louder than they would in simply talking to one or two; yet they actually talked louder than would have been necessary had they been speaking to hundreds. When they stopped talking, they were tired, and you were also tired. Then, too, if they chanced to go out into cold or wet weather, they took cold; and the throat being all irritated and inflamed already, the cold seized upon that at once, and they were "laid up" for days or perhaps weeks, besides having laid the foundation for serious disease.

"A lower tone would make a better impression, and save their own strength. Now, while you go on, regardless of the laws of life and health, and follow the impulse of the moment, do not charge it upon God if you break down."–Id.

Do not think these are but imaginations, or mere trifles, meaning but little. They are not; they mean your life. And you can carry out these instructions if you will but persevere, and work with diligence. You can do it alone. There will yet be teachers in all our schools, and among the ministers, who will give this training. But you need not wait. Until these teachers come your way, you can study these principles and follow a few simple rules, and so breathe and speak rightly anyhow.

Here is a sentence on that:–

"Teachers should be employed to educate the youth to speak without wearing the vocal organs."

Thus you see the right way to speak is not to wear the vocal organs. Then do not allow yourselves to wear your vocal organs when you are talking. That is the way a teacher would train you if he were with you; but till you meet him, do it for yourself. And that you may see that it can be done easily, read the following sentence:–

"All that was essential was to study and conscientiously follow a few simple rules, . . . and to exercise a little common sense."–"Testimonies for the Church," Vol. IV, page 605.

This was originally given as a Testimony of reproof of that which was done a number of years ago, when a "professor of elocution" was employed to come to Battle Creek and teach elocution. They got up a great stir over the matter, and some even dropped the work of the ministry to take up the teaching of elocution. This Testimony was given to correct this wrong course. I have met some of the brethren who were there, and who took that instruction in "elocution," and they have been suffering from the effects of it ever since. They did not know what was the matter with them, until they studied up in the Testimonies on this matter. And then they had to undo that which they had been taught by that "professor of elocution."

But the Testimony says that instead of employing a professor of elocution, all that was essential was to study and conscientiously follow a few simple rules, and educate themselves by the exercise of a little common sense.

That was all that was needed then; and it is all that is needed now–at least until a teacher is found who understands the subject himself, and can train people as directed by the Lord.

"You should not let the labor come upon the upper portion of the vocal organs; for this will constantly wear and irritate them, and will lay the foundation for disease. The action should come upon the abdominal muscles. The lungs and throat should be the channel, but should not do all the work."–Id., Vol. III, page 311.

There it is written both how to breathe and how not to breathe,–not to breathe,–not to use the throat and lungs, but to use the abdominal muscles, while the lungs and throat form only a channel.

Again, in speaking of a certain one, the Testimony says:–

"He breathes only from the top of his lungs. It is seldom that he exercises the abdominal muscles in the act of breathing."–Id., Vol. II, page 67.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 9 , p. 140.

THE gift of the Holy Ghost, "the sanctification of the Spirit," is "unto obedience."

Disobedience to God it is that has brought all the trouble and woe upon the whole world; so that the children of men are at the same time "the children of disobedience."

But the Lord Jesus gave himself for us, and "suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God," that he might bring us unto the ways of obedience. "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good work, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

But "obedience is not a mere outward compliance;" it is "the service of love." The obedience is obedience to God. The love, then, from which springs the service, is only the love of God. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments."

Therefore it is written, "Ye have purified [sanctified] your souls in obeying the truth, through the Spirit." Sanctification is "of the Spirit" only. Sanctification is "through the truth" only. The Spirit is only "the Spirit of truth." The commandments of God are only "the truth." And true obedience to that truth can be only "through the Spirit."

All trying to keep the commandments, all trying to obey the truth, all trying to do anything, without the Spirit of God, is altogether vain. "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

"Without me ye can do nothing." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Then, strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, Christ dwelling in the heart, and filled with all the fulness of God, you and I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth us.

This is sanctification of the Spirit. This is obedience. And it is sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience.

"Immortalizing Goodness" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 9 , p. 140.

"GOD works for his faithful servants, who do not shun to declare the whole counsel of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. as messengers of God, we have his endorsement upon our work. The work of the faithful messengers of righteousness is to continue throughout their lifetime. The standard is to be held aloft till the hand is palsied by death, that all may see it. When they sleep in death, the place that knew them once, knows them no more. The churches in which they preached, the places they visited to speak the word of life from the living oracles, still remain. The mountains, the hills, the things seen by mortal vision, are still there. But all the things now seen must pass away. The time is coming when the mountains will be removed as a cottage. But the thoughts, the purposes, the aspirations, of the faithful worker for the Master, although now unseen, will appear again at the great and final retribution. Things which now seem a light matter, will then appear as witnesses either to approve or condemn.

"If this be the case, and we know it is, why does self seek for such prominence, even in the servants of Jesus Christ, who claim to know the Word? Why is there so much sowing to the flesh to reap only corruption? Why is not every hour used only for God, in and through the grace of Christ? Why do we not improve ourselves by cherishing the attributes of Christ, thus immortalizing goodness? Love, courtesy, amiability, are never lost. When men shall be changed from mortal to immortal, all the deeds of sanctified goodness done by them will be made manifest. These deeds will be preserved through the eternal ages. Not one, however small or simple, is ever lost. Through the merits of Christ's imputed righteousness, they preserve their fragrance."

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 9 , pp. 140, 141.

TEMPERANCE is one of the prominent characteristics of the youth and the life of Daniel. That this was taught to him in the school which he attended, and was a material part of his education before his captivity, is evident from the fact that it was already a fixed principle in his life at that time.

When the royal captives reached Babylon, "the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank." The word here translated "meat" signifies "dainties;" and refers to the royal dainties, such as would be expected at the table of such a great king. It included flesh meats, of course; for these were largely used; but the word signifies all the royal dainties.

But Daniel refused it all, and also refused the wine, and chose "pulse to eat, and water to drink." The word translated "pulse" is a word of wide meaning, just as is the word translated "meat," referring to the king's dainties. The word translated "pulse" comprehends the whole realm of vegetarian diet, just as the other word comprehends the whole field of the king's dainties. What Daniel asked was that he, with his three companions, might have a vegetarian diet for food, and water to drink, instead of the richly prepared and highly seasoned dainties of the king's table for food, and his wine for drink.

This action of those four boys was but the expression of a fixed principle, derived from knowledge of the effects which the king's provision would have. For Daniel not only "purposed in his heart" that he would not partake of the king's victuals and drink, but he did this because "he would not defile himself" with those things. He refused that food and drink because he knew their defiling effect upon those who used them.

For the effect of all such food and drink is certainly to defile. The full discussion of this subject will appear in our "Evangelistic Temperance" department. Here we shall state the principle by an illustration so plain and simple that all can understand it.

If you lamp chimney is all befogged, the light will not shine clearly through it; not half the light will shine through it then that will shine through it when it is well cleaned. Yet the light itself within the chimney may be the same all the time. The oil may be of the purest, the wick perfectly trimmed, there may be no lack whatever in the light itself; yet if the chimney be dusty, smoky, or in any way befogged, the light will not shine clearly. It simply cannot shine clearly, because of the condition of the medium through which it must shine.

You know that when this is so, the thing to do is not to tinker the light nor to find fault with it, but to clean the chimney. And you know that when you do clean the chimney, the light is not only allowed to shine through, but it is actually enabled to shine as it cannot possibly without any chimney. Thus it is literally true that, other things being equal, the strength and clearness of the light depend upon the medium through which it must shine.

Now, believers in Christ are the mediums through which the light of God, by his Holy Spirit, must shine to the world. That light is perfect. It is impossible that there should be any lack whatever in the perfect shining of that light itself. So far as there is any lack in perfect shining, it is altogether because of defect in the medium through which the light would shine. And anything whatever that benumbs the nerves or clogs the blood, befogs the system and bedims the light of God, as certainly as that befogged lamp chimney bedims the light of the lamp.

Every kind of stimulant and narcotic–wine, tobacco, beer, coffee, tea–does benumb the nerves; and all richly cooked, highly seasoned, and flesh-meat food does clog the blood; so that the effect of all or any of these is to befog the system, and bedim the light of God that would shine, by his Holy Spirit, through our lives in the darkness of the world.

Daniel lived in the darkest age of ancient Israel,–the age when it fell by the weight of its own iniquity. He also lived in the darkest age of ancient Babylon,–the age when Babylon also fell by the weight of its own iniquity. Daniel stood in the world as one of the professed people of God, through whom the light of God must shine in the darkness of the world of his day.

We live to-day in an age that corresponds to that of both Jerusalem and Babylon. To-day God calls his people out of Babylon, that they "be not partakers of her sins," and "receive not of her plagues." We stand as the professed people of God, through whom the light must shine in the darkness of the world. Yet hundreds, we fear there are thousands, of professed Seventh-day Adventists, do drink tea, coffee, or other such evil stuff, and do eat flesh meats, dainties, and highly seasoned food; and then wonder why their neighbors do not "see the light"! They ask the Lord for his Holy Spirit, and then wonder why they have "so little influence"!

The truth is, their neighbors cannot see the light: it is so bedimmed by their befogged minds and lives that people simply cannot see it clearly. The Lord give his Holy Spirit, he has now poured out his Holy Spirit; the perfect light is given, and as for the light itself, it cannot shine any clearer; but this holy light is so bedimmed by the benumbed nerves and befogged senses of these users of tea, coffee, flesh meats, and dainties, that those, even,

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who long to see it, and are looking earnestly for it, cannot see it. It cannot shine to them.

Daniel would not so defile himself. He had respect to the claims of his profession of being one of God's people. He therefore cleansed himself "from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit," that the light of God might shine undimmed and unhindered by the medium through which that light must shine in the darkness where he was. And all this happened for an example, and it is written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Please, now, do not any more dare to sing "Dare to be a Daniel," unless you do really dare to be a Daniel.

Nobody had any difficulty in seeing the light where Daniel and his companions were. It shone clearly. The moral integrity which they had acquired through the word and Spirit of God shed its clear, distinct rays in every situation in which they were found. The light of this single principle of temperance and right living shone so clearly and so powerfully, in these boys, in contrast with the others, as to win the approval of the king's high officer. Dan. 1:12-15.

All this is precisely what is wanted to-day in the darkness of the Babylon that surrounds us. Who of those to-day who profess to have the light of God for the world will defile themselves with the Babylonish meats and drinks of those around them? Who to-day, of all these, will not, in deed and in truth, "dare to be a Daniel"?

"It Still Lives" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 9 , pp. 142, 143.

MANLY pluck is so scarce nowadays, even in the story-books, that when we find an instance of it in real life, we desire to let everybody know it. Also we love to honor the manly man who displays the manly pluck. Therefore we gladly print the following "true story" from the World:–

A blue-coated official waded through a few pools of melted snow in the district of the Bronx, and finally mounting the big pile of well-frozen slush, beheld a gang of "white wings" laboriously working away with pick and shovel and brush. Bossing the job was a young man in the gray uniform of a foreman. The blue-coated officer evidently was looking for this same young man; for his eyes rested upon him, and, hat in hand, he politely inquired: "Is this Mr. Hines the commissioner's secretary?"

"No; this is Mr. Hines, the street-sweeper," answered the young man.

"You're mistaken," answered the blue-coated one, politely; "you've just been appointed. The commissioner wants to see you."

Whereupon Joseph Hines left the mud and the slush, and reported at the handsomely furnished rooms of the Street-cleaning Department in the New York Life Insurance Building. He was escorted to a fine roil-top desk, and told that he could sit there as long as he behaved himself.

This was on Monday. Mr. Hines was sitting there yesterday when a World reported found him.

"I never met Commissioner McCartney in my life," he said, "until I was called before him, and

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told that I had been appointed as his private secretary. I had hoped to be made a foreman, but beyond that I did not even dream of anything. I suppose it's all right," he said, with a laugh, "and that I won't wake up, and find myself up in the Bronz. But don't pinch me too hard, because I may be asleep, after all, and this is a very pleasant dream. Seriously, though, I think I know enough about office-work, and particularly of the work in this department, to fill the position, and I am going to try hard to hold the job."

Mr. Hines was born in the first ward. After a few months spent in a big steamship office, he entered a wholesale carpet house. He rose from office boy to clerk, and at twenty-seven years of age was buyer, with a large salary. He married a charming New York girl, and went to live in a fine flat on the East Side. Then came reverses. The firm for which Hines worked began to reduce expenses. He was thrown out of employment, and as vacancies in his line are few and far between, he soon found his little savings gone. There was a wife and child to look after now, and Hines, having tried almost every field, made up his mind that he would have to get down to every-day laboring work.

And so he called upon a political friend to get him, if possible, any position in the Street-cleaning Department. "Larry" Delmour, then the leader in his district, went to commissioner Waring, and asked him to find room for the young man. Colonel Waring said that he could give him a job at cleaning the streets, and Delmour went back to the young man very much discouraged.

"That's all right," said Hines: "I'll take the job right away. I'm not going to sit around and see my family starve, when I can earn $1.64 a day with a broom."

So Hines reported for duty in the district of the Bronx. But he didn't have to handle a broom. The inspector saw at once that he was a bright, intelligent young man, and made him a clerk in the stables. Soon afterward he was appointed acting foreman of a gang of laborers. But all the time he continued on the pay-rolls as street-sweeper.

Hines's friends, among, them Maurice Featherston, promised to try to get him a position as foreman; but Commissioner McCartney, after reading the recommendations, decided that he was just the sort of man he wanted as his private secretary. He had never seen Hines, but after hearing of his plucky struggle with poverty, he felt safe in making the appointment, so he sent a message to Hines to report for duty.

The salary of the commissioner's secretary is $1,500 a year. The young man had been compelled to move to a very modest home, but now he will move back to his old district, and live comfortably.

"You see," he explained, yesterday, "I had to move up to the annexed district because I didn't have enough money to pay car-fare or buy lunches, but I guess better times are coming now."

If this bright young man had got so "stuck up" when he was prosperous and had a big salary, that he had thought it beneath him to take honest employment, however plain and humble, when he was in adversity, you can see plainly enough that he would have always stayed in "adversity;" but he would have had nobody but himself to blame for it.

Never be afraid to "step down." If you "step down" in the right spirit, you will presently find that you have stepped up, in what was seemingly a great stepping down. "Adversity" is not always adversity. Long, long ago one of the most eminent men of his time was by experience constrained to exclaim to his happy family, on a happy occasion, "We should have been ruined, had we not been ruined!"

Manly pluck still live, thank the Lord! Be a manly man, with manly pluck. May Mr. Hines live long and propser always, as he has since he first took that broom in his hand at $1.64 a day. And let all the people say Amen.

March 8, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. The Breath of Life" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 10 , p. 153.

PLEASE read carefully the following sentence, and consider how much of you is involved in right breathing. See how certainly breath, by proper breathing, is "the breath of life:"–

"He breathes only from the top of his lungs. It is seldom that he exercises the abdominal muscles in the act of breathing. Stomach, liver, lungs, and brain are suffering for the want of deep, full inspirations of air, which would electrify the blood and impart to it a bright, lively color, and which alone can keep it pure and give tone and vigor to every part of the living machinery."

How much of a person suffers from failing to exercise the abdominal muscles in breathing! Think of it,–"stomach, liver, lungs, and brain"! Take these things away from a man, and how much is he worth? Put it in another way: Take away from man the proper and free use of these organs, and what is he in comparison to what God intended that he should be?–He is as nothing compared to what God made him to be. And yet the "stomach, liver, lungs, and brain" of thousands of people–some of them Seventh-day Adventists, too–are suffering because they do not now how to breathe correctly. Study up on these things. God has given us these organs to be kept in health, and to be used to glorify him. But it is not health to have the stomach, liver, lungs, and brain suffering.

Now to sum up:–

Question.–What is right breathing?

Answer.–"Exercising the abdominal muscles."

Q.–What is wrong breathing?

A.–"The use of the top of the lungs."

Q.–What is the right way and manner of speaking?

A.–"By using the abdominal muscles."

Q.–What is the wrong way?

A.–"To use the top of the lungs and the throat."

Q.–Where are the words to come from?

A.–"Let your words come from deep down."

Q.–Where shall they not come from?

A.–"Not from high up. Not from the throat, nor from the upper extremity of the vocal organs."

Q.–What is to do the work?

A.–"The abdominal muscles."

Q.–What is not to do the work, not to be worn?

A.–"The lungs and throat, the vocal organs."

That you may see yet more plainly how important this is, we quote a statement clipped from one of the leading papers of the United States–a Christian and temperance paper, too. Under the heading, Physical Culture for Children, it says: "I would begin when a child is two years old, and teach her [her, mark it. You will readily see that there is a point in so teaching her rather than him] to stand poised from the hips, and slightly forward, chest up, abdomen contracted, toes turned out at an angle of sixty degrees, and neck erect, so that the collar-bone should be horizontal. . . . Then I would teach her to breathe slowly, inflating the chest upward and outward, not downward, keeping the abdomen contracted."

Think of it,–chest up, abdomen contracted, toes turned out, neck erect, breathe slowly, inflating the chest upward and outward, not downward! To take a grown person who is breathing rightly, and put him or her through that drill, would be torture to him or "her." A child two years old breathes rightly just as she is; she breathes naturally, as God made her to breathe. But lo! this proposes to take her at that age, and train her into this absolute perversion and inversion of nature. Let not such speak any more against the Flathead Indians, nor against the Chinese binding the feet of their female children.

If a child, taken at that age and trained in that way, should chance to survive the dreadful ordeal, she will be shaped, when she gets her growth, directly opposite to what God made her to be,–she will be shaped like an inverted cone, like a common ink-bottle upside down,–and will be a living invitation to consumption. It is plain to see, however, why such directions are given as physical culture for children. Some devotee of fashion invented this plan so as to have the women wasp-waisted, as fashion dictates. People will take the girl at two years old, and train, or rather, torture, her into this shape, so she will have as small a waist as possible. These same people will praise the Venus of Milo, and then take their children and train them in exactly an opposite shape,–opposite, too, to the shape which God made them to bear.

Now, in the way the Lord made us, as we have already seen in these studies, the vital organs–the heart and lungs–are in the upper part of the body, and are fenced in strongly with the large, powerful upper ribs, which are further strengthened and braced by the breast-bone; but the breast-bone does not extend all the way down as far as the ribs number. The lower ribs are loose at the front ends. This makes them pliable, and therefore they are called "floating" ribs. Now which is it easier to move–the ribs that are so strongly braced as to be almost immovable, or the ribs that are left free and floating purposely to be moved?–There is only one possible answer. Therefore, does not nature itself, and common sense, too, teach that breathing should be downward instead of "upward and outward," as this extract says? Nothing more than this simple consideration is needed to demonstrate that this method of physical culture for children, or anybody else, is contrary to nature. And by every passage which we have quoted, we know that it is contrary to revelation.

The general shape of the thorax, of the inside of the chest, and of the vital organs contained therein, is that of a cone right side up; that is, the small end up, and the large, broad part down. But the method given in the extract under consideration would develop just the reverse of that. This would put the broad part up and the point down. Do you not see that this reverses nature, and makes the shape just the opposite of what God made it?

Nothing more is needed to demonstrate that such a method of breathing is contrary to nature and revelation, to reason and common sense. And here we leave the subject for the present. Study these things carefully, consider them prayerfully, apply them conscientiously, and glorify God by having good health.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 10 , p. 156.

"IF any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

Have you the Spirit of Christ?–Do you answer that you "do not know"?

But if you do not know, then do you not certainly know? If you do not know that you have the Spirit of Christ, then you may certainly know that you have not.

Do you suppose that a matter of such vast importance as that, upon which turns your eternal destiny, is left so vague and indefinite that you need be in any uncertainty whatever in regard to it?

Such a supposition as that will never do. It is not true. You may know that you have the Spirit of Christ, as certainly as you know that you are alive. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren."

What is the Spirit of Christ?–It is the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit of the love of God. To have the Spirit of Christ is to have the disposition, the nature, the character of God imparted to you. And here it is: "Merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."

"Merciful" is to be full of the disposition to treat offenders better than they deserve. Do you find this disposition in your experience? "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."

"Gracious" is extending favor to all people. Do you do so? or have you your likes and dislikes for people? Have you favorites?

"Long-suffering." Do you find in your experience the disposition to bear injuries many and long-continued? or are you ready to resent everything that touches you? Are you ready to think that you are aimed at, that you are slighted, that you are hurt, and that you "will not stand it"?

"Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." Do you find in your experience this disposition toward others? Are you forgiving those who trespass against you? or are you only "willing to forgive if they will first make it all right, and promise not to do it again"?

All this is the Lord's disposition toward you: he is nothing but merciful to you; he is nothing but gracious to you; he is nothing but long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth toward you; he is nothing but forgiving, now, just now, to you. This is his disposition toward you, and toward all people. What is your disposition toward others? Have you his Spirit or not?

To impart to you this disposition, this "divine nature," is the object of the gift of the Holy Spirit? Have you the Spirit of Christ?

Mark, we have not asked whether you find this spirit in yourself; but, Do you find it in your experience? Do you find it in God, and from him imparted to your experience through the faith of Jesus Christ by his Spirit? Have you the Spirit of Christ? Are you his? "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"The heart of every church-member must be as humnble as the heart of a little child. All overbearing, accusing speech must be overcome, else we can never unite with the family above."

"The Law Without Christ, and with Christ" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 10 , p. 156.

DID you notice that remarkable sentence in the REVIEW of February 8, in the middle of the middle column of the first page? It reads thus: "Were the law understood apart from Christ, it would have a crushing power upon sinful men, blotting them out of existence."

Did that sentence strike you as remarkable when you read it in its place in the paper at first? If not, does it strike you as remarkable now that you have read it the second time? If not, then we beg of you to take that sentence, and read it, write it out if necessary, so that you can look at it as it stands alone, and then ponder it word by word until you catch what is really said in it.

"Were the law understood apart from Christ, it would have a crushing power upon sinful men, blotting them out of existence." Then the man who, without Christ, attempts to understand the law of God, is simply bidding to be crushed out of existence. The Bible statement of this principle is, "The law worketh wrath." And yet the Bible speaks of people who rest in the law, and make their boast of God. Rom. 2:17. But the man who rests in the law is resting in wrath; he is like one resting on a volcano. That man cannot boast of God, nor of anything else but utter destruction.

Yet as a matter of fact, the law of God cannot be understood apart from Christ. "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad." That law is a transcript of the divine mind, of the infinite will. And for the finite to attempt, by its own efforts, to understand that which is infinite, is a fruitless task.

Only in Christ can the law be understood. Christ is God's own exposition and explanation of his own law. Nobody but God can fathom or reveal the wide meaning of his law. In Christ, God has done this. Whoever, therefore, would understand the law of God, must study not the law, but Christ,–not the law as it is in the law, but the law as it is in Christ. To study the law as it is in the law is to court destruction. To study the law as it is in Christ is to court salvation.

"By understanding the law in connection with Christ, receiving him by faith as his substitute and surety, man sees himself a prisoner of hope. The truth as it is in Jesus is an acquaintance with the holy, just, and good law of God, as this law is elevated, and its immutability demonstrated, in Christ."

Christ is God's own explanation of all law–moral, ceremonial, natural, or what not. Then study Christ, and Christ alone. In studying him, and him alone, you are studying everything that can ever be known; for he is the truth, and "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him."

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 10 , pp. 156, 157.

THE Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, to be his own people in the world. Before they entered the land of Canaan, the Lord said of them, "Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." Num. 23:9. Thus God never intended his people to form themselves into a kingdom or government, like the nations. They were first "the church in the wilderness" (Acts 7:38); and he intended them to be only the church–not a state–when they dwelt in the land.

The government of Israel was intended to be a theocracy pure and simple–God their only King, their only Ruler, their only Lawgiver. The system formed in the wilderness through Moses, and continued in Canaan through Joshua, was intended to be perpetual. But Israel desired a king, a state, "like all the nations." They "did not realize that to be in this respect unlike other nations, was a special privilege and blessing. God had separated the Israelites from every other people, to make them his own peculiar treasure. But they, disregarding this high honor, eagerly desired to imitate the example of the heathen."

Israel would be reckoned among the nations. They persisted in having a king. And though they must reject God in order to have a king and be like all the nations, they insisted on doing it. And in rejecting God that they might be like all the nations, they became like all the nations that rejected God. Their kingdom came to naught, their government perished, and the people themselves were scattered among the nations.

God had placed them in Palestine, at that time and for ages afterward the pivot of the known world. At this pivot he placed his people to be a light to all the nations, that those nations might know of the true God. By having God abiding with them, he intended them to influence all the nations for good. But they not only would be like all the nations; they became even "worse than the heathen." The land could no longer bear them; it must spew them out, as it was obliged to do with the people before them.

As they had frustrated God's purpose to enlighten all the nations by them in the land where he had planted them, he would fulfil his purpose, and enlighten all the nations by them in the lands where he had scattered them. As they had lost the power to arrest and command the attention of all the nations, that they might consider God and his wonderful ways and works with the children of men, he would now use them to enlighten those who had acquired the power to arrest and command the attention of all the nations, and thus cause all nations to consider the wonderful ways and works of God with the children of men. This is the whole philosophy of the captivity of Judah and of the position of Daniel in Babylon. This will be certainly seen as we now proceed to the study of the book of Daniel.

God had brought Nebuchadnezzar to the place of authority over all the nations. Two years before Daniel was carried captive to Babylon, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying:–

"Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, and send them to the king of Edom, and to

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the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; and command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. . . . But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein." Jer. 27:2-8, 11.

But Nebuchadnezzar did not yet know the Lord. He must be given the opportunity to know him. And then if he would acknowledge God, he, being in the place of authority over all the nations, could call the attention of all the nations to the Lord whom he had come to know. And thus the knowledge of God, by means of his people in captivity in Babylon, would be brought to the attention of all the nations.

By the excellency of the learning and ability of the youthful Daniel and his three companions, they were brought into immediate connection with Nebuchadnezzar; "they stood before the king." Thus the captive people of God were the means of divine enlightenment to those who ruled the world, that this divine enlightenment might be given to the world. But Israel might have done this themselves from the pivot of the world in their own land, if only they had always honored the Lord in their own land, as these young men honored him in their captivity.

"Joan of Arc" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 10 , p. 157.

THE bishop of Orleans, France, has become very much concerned over the atheism of the French people, and longs to have the nation delivered from it. Accordingly, he lately made a special visit to the pope, to plead that Joan of Arc be made a saint without delay. He declared: "It is of the greatest importance that her case should be immediately considered and decided, inasmuch as France is suffering from an attack of atheism, which cannot be relieved by recourse to metaphysics. What France wants is to be shown a person who has loved and worked for her, and behind whose love and work, God necessarily appears. The country will rise again from belief in such a person, to belief in God." There are the names of two hundred and seventy-one candidates for saintship on the docket ahead of Joan of Arc, yet the appeal of the bishop was strong enough to gain the assurance that "the Maid of Orleans should have precedence over all others." The Independent very pertinently remarks that "it is an extraordinary strabismus which can see, in the canonization of a popular heroine, a cure for atheism." In fact, the atheism of the proposed cure is scarcely less than that of the supposed disease.

March 15, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. Exercises in Breathing" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 11 , p. 169.

WE do not want this matter of breathing to be a theory in any sense. We want it to be strictly practical. There is too much involved in it for us to treat it lightly, or to pass it by merely as a theory. We therefore ask you, Are you breathing right? Are you exercising only the muscles of the abdomen and diaphragm in your regular breathing? Examine yourselves and see.

An easy way to determine whether or not you are breathing correctly is to place one hand on the upper part of the chest, and the other on the point of the abdomen, and see which one moves. If only the upper hand moves, your breathing is altogether wrong. If only the lower hand moves, your breathing is partly right and partly wrong. You must train yourself to breathe so that only the lower hand will move.

Again: put your hands upon the sides. If they move out and in, except slightly and as a result of the full abdominal motion, you are breathing wrongly. Train yourself so that when you breathe, in regular breathing, there shall be visible only the motion of the abdomen. Breathe so that in deep, long, full inspirations, there shall be only the abdominal motion, followed by the rising of the ribs in the expansion of the chest, as explained above. The motion of the abdominal muscles is the foundation and key of all.

Do not say you cannot bring yourself to it. By diligent and persevering effort you can; for the Testimony says so, and it is so.

If you have no teacher, you can train yourself by following "a few simple rules." We give a few:–

Fill the lungs as full as possible, any way that you can; then hold your breath, and force all downward. This will help to get the diaphragm in motion.

To help the abdominal muscles to their proper motion, place the thumbs backward, on the sides at the top of the hip-bone, and knead the abdomen with the hands. When you have once acquired the proper motion, it will soon go easily enough, and at last it will become so natural that it will go on of itself.

But be sure that you get the right motion. That is, when the breath goes in, the muscles of the abdomen must swell out; and when the breath goes out, the muscles of the abdomen must draw in. You will have to watch this carefully, or you will get it going just the reverse of the right way. I have known many to do it. It is not enough that the abdomen should move out and in. It must do so at the right time and in the right way.

Take a good stiff stick; place it across the back, with the ends in the bend of the elbows. Hold it tightly, and bend the body to the right, to the left, and backward; stand stiffly, and turn the body right and left. Do not practise too long at once, especially at first.

1. Inhale.–Breathe deeply, forcing the abdominal muscles outward.

2. Exhale.–Breathe out; let the abdominal muscles sink as much as possible during exhalation.

3. Full Breathing.–Inhale slowly, and exercise the will upon all parts of the body simultaneously. This is but an intensified form of what should be the natural habit of breathing.

4. Exhale slowly, exercising the will, the same as above.

5. Prolonged Breathing.–Prolong the exercise of full breathing.

6. Effusive Breathing.–Inhale naturally until all parts of the lungs seem to be filled; then give out the breath in the sound of the letter "h," as gently and gradually as possible, until the lungs are empty.

7. Expulsive Breathing.–Inhale as in full breathing, and expel the air forcibly, but gradually, upon the sound of the letter "h."

8. Explosive Breathing.–Take full breath; expel suddenly, and with force, in a whispered utterance of the word "ha."

POSITION.–In No. 1 allow the arms to hang by the side, but raise gradually while inhaling. In No. 2 allow the arms to drop gradually while exhaling. In Nos. 3, and 4 place the hands about the waist. In No. 5 allow the arms to hang by the side. In Nos. 6, 7, and 8 take a natural position. Stand erect in all cases.

CAUTION.–Always breathe through the nose, whether inhaling or exhaling. Keep the mouth shut, and thus preserve your health; for the nose will prevent germs from entering the lungs.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 12 , p. 172.

"AS many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God;" and "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

To be led of the Spirit and to walk after the Spirit are clearly the same thing. Then it is clear that the Holy Spirit is to show us the way in which we should walk. As it is written, "He will guide you."

"I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go." The only object in giving a guide to anybody, the only thing a guide is to do, is to show the right way; and the only thing that anybody can rightly do who has a guide, is to follow him.

It is preposterous to claim to have a guide, or to claim to need a guide, and then go our own way. Then the very claim that we have, or that we need, a guide, demands of us that we put ourselves wholly in his charge, that we give ourselves up absolutely to his direction.

"It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." "All we like sheep have gone astray," and do not know the way. The great Shepherd of the sheep has given us a guide to be with us forever. This guide is the Holy Spirit. You and I claim to need this guide. Indeed, we claim to have this guide with us as ours. Now have you put yourself wholly in his charge? Have you given up yourself absolutely to his direction?

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in."

Do you study, and inquire, and watch, only to know His way? And when he indicates the way, even only with his eye, do you promptly walk that way? or do you hesitate and parley, and want to know whether there is not another way? Do you always treat him implicitly as the guide? or do you assume the position of guide? Do you try to guide your Guide? Don't be as a horse, or a mule; be a Christian.

"Keswick Movement" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 12 , p. 172.

MUCH is being made of what is called the "Keswick movement" in Christian living. It is so called because it originated in Keswick, England. Dr. F. B. Meyer, of London, who was lately in the United States, and as far west as Chicago, is one of its chief exponents. We have been watching it for two or three years, and studying what, by its chief friends and exponents, it is said to be. And we personally know that all that it is claimed to be in Christian living has been for years the positive teaching of the Seventh-day Adventists; and this without any thought whatever that it is anything but the plain, every-day Christianity that goes with the very name and profession of Christianity. That it is considered anything else by the professed Christian world forces the query as to what the professed Christian world has so far been thinking that Christianity really is. All this emphasizing of special "movements," "higher Christian life," etc., etc., betrays an utter misconception of what the Christian life really is. The Christian life is the life of Jesus Christ,–"Christ liveth in me,"–and it is nothing else. Christian living is simply Christ living in the believer,–"the life of Jesus made manifest in our mortal flesh,"–and it is nothing else. And Christianity is just that, and nothing else.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 12 , pp. 172, 173.

BEFORE the Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar arose to power, the empire of Assyria ruled the world, as described in Eze. 31:1-6, and mapped in "Empires of the Bible" at page 374.

In 625 B.C. there was a revolt of the countries of Media, Babylon, and Egypt, all at once. The king of Assyria in person subdued the revolt in Media; while he sent his trusted general, Nabopolassar, to bring Babylon into subjection again. Both were entirely successful, Nabopolassar performing his part so well as to merit and receive from his sovereign the honorable title "King of Babylon." This Nabopolassar was the father of Nebuchadnezzar.

Affairs in the government of Assyria went from bad to worse, so that in 612 B.C. there was another grand revolt on the part of the same three countries, led this time by Nabopolassar himself. This one was completely successful: Nineveh was made a heap of ruins; and the Assyrian Empire was divided into three great divisions,–Media, holding the northeast and the extreme north, Babylon holding Elam and all the plain and valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris, and Egypt holding all the country west of the Euphrates. The seal of this alliance between Babylon and Media was the marriage of the daughter of the king of Media to Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar.

It was in the performance of his part in the alliance against Assyria, that Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates when King Josiah of Judah went out to fight with him, and was slain at Megiddo. 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chron. 35:20-22. Then as all this western territory pertained to the king of Egypt, it was in exercise of his legitimate sovereignty, gained by conquest, that he removed Shallum, the son of Joseiah, from being king of Judah, and appointed Eliakim king of Judah in his stead, changing his name to Jehoiakim, and laid a tax upon the land. 1 Chron. 3:15; 2 Kings 23:31-35.

Pharaoh-Necho, however, was not left very long to enjoy his share of the vanished empire of Assyria. In the year 607 B.C., Nabopolassar associated Nebuchadnezzar with himself as king, and sent him on an expedition in invasion of the territory of Pharaoh-Necho. Thus it was that "in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim [607 B.C.] king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it;" and took part of the vessels of the house of God, and a number of captives, among whom was Daniel, and carried them to Babylon.

This, of course, was resented by Pharaoh-Necho. Accordingly, "in the fourth year of Jehoiakim" he came out of Egypt on an expedition against Babylon. He went no farther than to Carchemish, however; for there he was met by Nebuchadnezzar, as is related in Jer. 46:1-10. "Necho was overcome and put to flight; one single battle stripped him of all his conquests, and compelled him to retire into Egypt."–Lenormant. "And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt." 2 Kings 24:7.

At the time when Cyaxares of Media, Nabopolasser of Babylon, and Necho of Egypt, formed their triple alliance for the destruction of the Assyrian Empire, Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, was united in marriage to Amyitis, the daughter of Cyaxares. Not long after the destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire, there was war between Media and Lydia; but during a great battle there occurred an eclipse of the sun, which so awed both armies that they ceased fighting. This lull was seized upon by Nabopolasssar to intervene and ask both kings to come to an agreement, out of respect to the gods, who had so manifestly shown their displeasure by darkening the sun. He was successful. Peace was established, and the agreement was sealed by the marriage of the daughter of the king of Lydia to the son of the king of Media. Thus Babylon, both by the prestige of her ancient and mighty name and by the good offices of Nabopolassar, strengthened herself in the position of a controlling influence over the two strong kingdoms of Media and Lydia. And when, shortly after this, Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, conquered Necho of Egypt, at Carchemish by the Euphrates, drove him back to Egypt, and took possession of all his territories, even up to the River of Egypt itself, Babylon secured the decidedly predominant power over all.

Thus matters stood when, in 604, Nabopolassar died, and was succeeded immediately by Nebuchadnezzar, having already so signally displayed his ability in war by the defeat of the king of Egypt and the conquest of all Palestine and Syria, easily maintained the dignity and predominance of Babylon before all nations. In addition to this, the family relationship of Babylon with Media and Lydia was now closer than before; for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was son-in-law to the king of Media, and brother-in-law to the heir of the throne of Media, who was son-in-law to the king of Lysia. All these influences gave Babylon, at the very beginning of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, an easy predominance, which was only strengthened at every step throughout the long reign of the mighty Nebuchadnezzar.

Such was the position of Babylon before the world at the end of Daniel's three years of study in Babylon, when he had most successfully passed the final examination, and was chosen, with his three companions, to "stand before the king."

March 22, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 13 , p. 186.

"THE fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."

In order that there may be fruit, there must be root. It is impossible to have fruit without first having root.

In order, therefore, to have the fruit of the Spirit to appear in the life, the Holy Spirit himself must be the root of the life. In order that the fruit of the Spirit may appear on the tree, the Holy Spirit himself must be the life of the tree.

It is impossible to have genuine love, or joy, or peace, or long-suffering, or gentleness, or goodness, or faith, or meekness, or temperance, to appear in the life, without having the Holy Spirit to be the root, the spring, of the life–yea, even the very life itself.

It is not genuine love that loves only them that love you, but that which loves all, even enemies. It is not genuine goodness that does good only to them that do good to you, but that which does good to all, even the unthankful and the evil. Luke 6:32-35.

Genuine love, or joy, or peace, or long-suffering, or gentleness, or goodness, or faith, or meekness, or temperance, comes not from ourselves, it comes not from this world; it comes only from God, it is the fruit only of the Spirit of God.

All may have the fruit of the Spirit, because all may have the Spirit. "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 13 , p. 186.

"REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."

"Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."

Note, the scripture does not say only that the Sabbath is a sign that he is the Lord God; it says the Sabbath is a sign, "that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."

There is a difference between his being the Lord and men's knowing that he is the Lord. There is a difference between men's knowing that he is the Lord and knowing that he is their Lord.

God is the Lord, whether men know it or not. He would still be the Lord, and always the Lord, though not a man on the earth ever knew it. The Sabbath is not a sign only that he is the Lord, but that men may know that he is the Lord.

Men might know that the Lord is somebody else's God. Many of the idolatrous kings and nations in old time knew, by personal calamity and sad experience, that the Lord was another people's God; but they did not know that he was their God. The Sabbath is not a sign by which men may know that the Lord is somebody else's God, but that they may know that the Lord is their God.

There are many people who do not know that the Lord is God; and many more who do not know that he is their God. Yet there is no need whatever of this; for God has given to them–to all the world–a sign by which all men may know that he, the Lord, is their God: "Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."

This is true, whether men believe it or not. By not believing it, they simply shut themselves off from the blessed knowledge. And when they do that, God is clear, and they are without excuse. God wants every soul to know that the Lord is his God. And in the Sabbath the Lord has given a sign by which all men may know this. All that is needed is that they hallow the Sabbath, and they will know it. And "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 13 , pp. 186, 187.

ISRAEL had failed to fulfil the purpose of God to convey by them to all nations the knowledge of God, from the place where he had planted them, in order that they might do it. He was obliged to send them into captivity and scatter them among the nations, destroy their temple and annihilate their long-established worship, that, in their affliction, they might seek the Lord truly, and thus be lights in the darkness.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had attained to the headship of the world, and so held the power over all the nations. And now the Lord would convey to him the knowledge of the true God, and would utilize his position to convey to all the nations the knowledge of God.

But King Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater. He worshiped many gods, even the host of heaven, and knew not the true God at all. He must be taught the knowledge of God. And in order to do this most effectually, it was necessary to separate him from all false gods, and destroy all his confidence in them. When his mind was once cleared of all these false views, the true views would be seen clearly. And all this was done thoroughly.

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar alone, B.C. 603, he "dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him," which very much impressed him, in which he was exceedingly interested, but which he could not possibly recall. He therefore "commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king."

He asked of them that they should tell him the thing that he had dreamed, and they answered by asking him to tell them the dream, and they would tell the interpretation. But the king had not asked for any interpretation. What he wanted was to know what he had dreamed. If he had himself known the dream, he could have made an interpretation for it as easily as they could. But the dream itself had gone from him when he awoke, yet the impression of the fact that he had dreamed of something remarkable so remained with him that he could not rest. He therefore said to them again, "The thing is gone from me." Then he demanded of them that they should make known to him both the dream and the interpretation. They, in turn, repeated their request, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it."

By this time the king had caught the true point in the situation, and said to them: "Tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof." This was their test, and it was only a fair one; for if they were really able truly to interpret it had they known it, they were able to discover it when the king did not know it; and if they could not discover it, and tell it to the king in such a way that he would recognize it as the thing which he had dreamed, this was evidence enough that any interpretation they might give, even though they knew it, would be mere guesswork. They therefore surrendered, so far as they themselves were concerned, by declaring: "There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter."

But not content with thus clearing themselves, they cast reflection upon the king by saying, "Therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean." More than this, they proceeded to give away their case again by declaring not only that it was "a rare thing that the king requireth," but that "there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."

Now the very gist of the profession of these magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans was that they held such relationship to the gods that it was their peculiar prerogative to discover the will of the gods, and communicate it to both king and people.

The magicians pretended, and were supposed, to be the interpreters and expounders of divine things. They pretended to be able by their art–magic–to "control the actions of spiritual or superhuman beings."

The astrologers pretended, and were supposed to be able to declare the will of the gods from the stars. The word "astrologer" is from aster, a "star," and logos, "word,"–the word, or instruction, of the stars. And as the stars were the gods, and these astrologers were the ones who pretended to declare the word of the stars, they simply pretended to declare the word and will of the gods.

The sorcerers were of the same order as the magicians, only that these had more peculiarly to do with evil spirits.

The Chaldeans were the priestly caste, who had control of the books in which was contained the instruction in magic, and sorcery, and all pertaining to the gods. Thus they were the instructors in all the wisdom and knowledge of the gods. They were the chief claimants to divine knowledge; they were the very chief guardians of such knowledge. If any men could be supposed to be able to declare secret and divine things, it would have been these.

Now, when all these together declared that none but the gods could tell this thing that was wanted, and that the gods were not near enough to men to allow this to be understood from them, this was nothing less than to confess that their whole profession was a fraud. And this was further to confess that all their conjurations, divinations, magic, sorcery, and "revelations" in times past were simply a fraud and an imposture upon the king and the people.

187

When this truth flashed upon the mind of Nebuchadnezzar, and he clearly saw that he and his people, and their fathers before them, had been systematically and continuously duped by these men, he was so disgusted, humiliated, and outraged that he thought the only faith thing to do was to wipe from the earth at once this whole combination of impostors. He therefore instantly "commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain."

Daniel and his brethren had been placed in the schools of these imposters, and were, indeed, reckoned among them; therefore the executioners "sought Daniel and his fellows to the slain." When Arioch, the captain of the guard, had found them, and told them what was to be done, Daniel said to him, "Why is the decree so hasty from the king?" Arioch told him the whole story. "Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation," both as to the dream and the meaning of it. This was granted. Then Daniel went to his house, and informed Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and suggested that they should "desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret." "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision."

After giving grateful thanks to God that he had made known to them "the king's matter," "Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon," and said to him, "Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation." Arioch hurried away to the king, and said to him, "I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation." Daniel was called, and the king asked, "Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?"

Then "Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:–

"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

"This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. . . .

"The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king."

March 29, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 14 , p. 202.

"WE know not what we should pray for as we ought."

Not knowing what we should pray for as we ought, it is certain that we cannot receive as we ought even the thing for which we do pray.

All such praying as that, therefore, must, in the nature of things, be vague and indefinite, and weakening instead of strengthening to faith.

But the Lord does not desire that any prayer shall ever be vague or indefinite. He never intended that prayer should ever in any way have any tendency to weaken faith.

The Lord desires and intends that every prayer shall be so definite and so certainly directed that both in its presentation and in its answer it may be a positive and evident strengthening of the faith of the one who prays.

How then, can this be, when it stands true that "we know not what we should pray for as we ought"? Ah! the Father has not left us alone; "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities." And the Holy Spirit does know, perfectly, what we should pray for as we ought.

The Holy Spirit searches the heart and the conscience of man and also "the deep things of God." He knows perfectly what we need. He knows perfectly what we should pray for. He knows precisely how we ought to pray for what we should pray. He knows how this should be presented to God in such a way that a direct and evident answer may be received. He knows how to present our prayers exactly "according to the will of God." And "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 hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." Such praying as this is a perpetual strengthening of faith.

Without the Holy Spirit we cannot pray at all "as we ought." Without the Holy Spirit, our prayers cannot be definite in aim, cannot be certainly according to the will of God, and therefore cannot strengthen faith. While, with the Holy Spirit, we can pray as we ought, our prayers will be definite in aim, will be according to the will of God, and therefore will perpetually strengthen faith, and will build up the believer in genuine faith.

The sum of all is, therefore, that we must not pray, we must not think of praying, without the Holy Spirit.

Wherefore, beloved, build up "yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost."

"The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

Who shall say that that record is not correct? "This is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son." God is the witness. The testimony is therefore true. The record is correct. Eternal life, therefore, is a gift of God only in his Son.

God being the witness, the testimony therefore being true, and the record correct, who can possibly deny the conclusion, which, indeed, the Lord himself has drawn: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life"?

Eternal life being the gift of God, only in his Son, it is absolutely impossible for any one to have eternal life, anywhere or in any way, who has not the Son of God.

In him, however, it can be had for the taking. For "verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

It is written: "No man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

God is know only in Christ, only as he is revealed through Christ. For "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." He is "God manifest in the flesh." He is "God with us."

It is written also: "Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."

God is known in hallowing the Sabbath: the object of the Sabbath is that in the hallowing of it, the one who hallows it may know that the Lord is his God.

Now as God is known in the hallowing of the Sabbath, and as God is known only in the revelation of Jesus Christ, it is certainly true that true hallowing of the Sabbath is known only in Christ, and the true knowledge of Christ is known only in the hallowing of the Sabbath.

As God is known only by those to whom Christ reveals him, and as the Sabbath is a sign by which the believer may know that the Lord is his God, it is certainly true that the Sabbath is a sign by which he who hallows it may know that the Lord is his God as Christ reveals him.

And it is written, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Therefore, as the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, and as the Sabbath is a sign by which, in the hallowing of it, "ye may know that I am the Lord your God," it is certainly true that the seventh day is a sign by which he who hallows it may know that the Lord is God as Christ reveals him.

That many people do not believe this, that even man Christians do not believe it, does not affect the truth of it. It is the truth, even though nobody on earth ever believed it. And being the truth, people–even Christians–by not believing it simply rob themselves of its virtue and its power.

"No man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." "Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 14 , p. 205.

THE question of unequal taxation is fast becoming a vital one; and conservative journals, such as the Independent, declare in no uncertain tones that it seriously threatens the welfare of this government. In some way the owners of millions are almost invariably assessed for only nominal amounts, and the taxes they actually pay are outrageously out of proportion to what are collected from the common people. It is refreshing occasionally to see collectors who are not afraid to do their duty. Last week in South Chicago six banks refused to pay their taxes, on the ground that the assessments were too high. An injunction to prevent their collection was not sustained in the courts; and immediately the collector, with a guard of some twenty men, visited each bank, and demanded the taxes. At first there was a refusal. They were told that unless the money was forthcoming, the banks would be closed up at once; and so, rather than submit to this, they paid over, "under protest," it is reported, sums in the aggregate amounting to $165,792.49.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 14 , pp. 202, 203.

THE Lord had revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar, and had exposed the absolute nothingness but imposture of all claims in behalf of any other god. However, the king was not yet really acquainted with the Lord; he had much yet to learn of right principles.

In the interpretation of the remarkable dream that was given to him, the Lord had said to him that the head of gold of the great image represented the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar himself; and that after him should arise another kingdom inferior to his, and a third kingdom inferior to this, and yet another, a fourth kingdom, inferior even to this, and after that a condition of things yet further inferior. First there was gold, then silver, next brass, after that iron, and last of all, "iron mixed with miry clay."

Nebuchadnezzar, however, in his royal pride could not accept this statement. When he had received that wonderful dream, it was because that while upon his bed, thoughts had come into his mind as to "what should come to pass hereafter." From what came to pass afterward with him, it is evident that his thoughts as to "what should come to pass hereafter," were to the effect that the mighty kingdom which he ruled, this "lady of kingdoms," "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," would in its greatness and glory continue on and on indefinitely.

To correct this view, and show him the truth of the matter, the dream of the great image was shown to him. This told him that the golden glory of his kingdom would continue but a little while, and then another would arise, and another, and another, and then there would be division, with all these descending in a regular scale of inferiority, and then at last "the God of heaven" would "set up a kingdom," and this alone would be the kingdom that should stand forever, and not be given to other people. But the king could not accept this view of the subject; and after thinking upon it for a long time, he formulated his own idea in a great image, about a hundred feet tall and ten feet broad, all of gold from head to feet. This was a positive setting up of his own idea against that of God. This was to declare to all people that his golden kingdom was to endure forever, that there was to be no such thing as another kingdom arising separate from his and inferior to his,–a kingdom of silver, and another of brass, and then of iron, and even descend so low as iron mixed with miry clay. No! there should be only his golden kingdom of Babylon, and that should never be broken nor interrupted.

He therefore set up, to be worshiped by all, his great golden image as the just representation of what his great kingdom should continue to be. A great day was appointed for the dedication of the image; and "the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces" were gathered to do honor to the occasion and the image. Through proclamation by royal heralds, all were commanded, at a given signal of all kinds

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of music, to fall down and worship the golden image.

In a number of points all this was an open challenge to the Lord. It was the assertion that Nebuchadnezzar's idea of the kingdoms of men should be accepted as the true and divine idea instead of that of God. It was the assertion that the embodiment of this idea should be worshiped as God. And all this was indeed the putting of Nebuchadnezzar himself in the place of God as the ruler in the kingdom of men, the head of all religion, and the director of all worship.

April 5, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 15 , p. 218.

"THE kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

The kingdom being the kingdom of God, the righteousness is only the righteousness of God, the peace is only the peace of God, and the joy is only the joy of God–joy in the Holy Ghost; it is found only in the Holy Ghost.

And "verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Except a man be born again, he cannot see righteousness, he cannot see peace, he cannot see joy in the Holy Ghost.

To be born again is to be born from above. It is to be born into the things of God. It is to be born of water and the Spirit.

The things of the kingdom of God–righteousness, and peace, and joy–can be known only through the Spirit of God; for "the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."

And "the kingdom of God is within you." Is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, within you? If not, why not?

Do you profess to be a Christian,–a citizen of the kingdom of God,–and have not the essential elements–indeed, the kingdom itself–within you?

If this be so, it can be only because you are not born of the Spirit. And "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of is."

O, the Heavenly Father is more willing to give you the Holy Spirit than you are to give good gifts to your own children! "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 15 , p. 218.

TO his disciples, Jesus said: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep."

Lazarus had been sick; and the disciples, thinking that now he was "taking rest in sleep," answered, "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well."

"Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead."

First Jesus said, "Lazarus sleepeth." Then he said, "Lazarus is dead."

When he said, "Lazarus sleepeth," Lazarus was dead; and it was with direct reference to Lazarus dead that Jesus said, "Lazarus sleepeth."

It is, therefore, perfectly plain that the direct teaching of the Lord Jesus is that when a man is dead, he is asleep.

When Jesus said, "Lazarus sleepeth," Lazarus was dead. In saying to his disciples, "Lazarus sleepeth," he was informing them that Lazarus was dead. In so saying, he meant that Lazarus was dead; for he so explained his word.

It was only the misconception of his meaning by his disciples that caused Jesus to say anything further than that Lazarus was asleep. But seeing this misconception, he said, further, "Lazarus is dead."

It is, therefore, perfectly plain not only that Jesus definitely taught, and intended definitely to teach, that the dead are asleep; but that he taught, and intended to teach, his disciples to think and speak of the dead as being asleep.

It is, therefore, perfectly plain that, upon the authority of Christian truth, the dead are asleep, and that the sleep of the dead is distinctively a Christian conception.

That many people–even professed Christians–do not believe this does not in the slightest affect the truth of it. Jesus taught it, and it is the truth. He taught it that men, and of all people his own disciples, should believe it. Those who do not believe it simply rob themselves of a great Christian truth.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 15 , pp. 218, 219.

AS before remarked, King Nebuchadnezzar's setting up thyat great gold image, and commanding all, under dreadful penalty, to worship it, was, in a number of points, an open challenge to the Lord. It was the assertion that his idea of the kingdoms of men should be accepted as the true and divine idea, instead of that of God. It was the assertion that the embodiment of this human idea should be worshiped as God. And all this was nothing less than the putting of Nebuchadnezzar himself in the place of God, as the head of all religion and of all government, and the director of all worship.

Yet the Lord employed it all, not only to instruct the king, but to instruct all nations at that time and forever after. The situation created by Nebuchadnezzar for his own glory, the Lord would use in accomplishing his great purpose of giving to all nations the knowledge and glory of God.

In the great crowd that was assembled, there were the three faithful servants of God–Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And when, at the voice of the royal herald, and the sound of harp, flute, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, the great crowd of princes, governors, counselors, sheriffs, and all the people "fell down and worshiped the golden image," these three young men stood bolt upright, and gave no notice whatever to the image.

Then "certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews." They said to the king: "There are certain Jews whom thou has set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou has set up."

"Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury" commanded that the three men should be brought before him. He said to them, "Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?" He then in person repeated his command that they should worship the image, and the penalty upon disobedience, that "if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it know unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

Then the furnace was heated to sevenfold its usual strength, and the men were cast into it, and "fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." But suddenly the king, fairly petrified with astonishment, rose up in haste from his throne, and cried to his counselors: "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."

The king called them forth, and said: "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God."

God had commanded all nations to serve King Nebuchadnezzar, and had said that whatsoever nation would not serve the same king, the Lord would punish. Jer. 27:1-8. Yet here he wrought a wonderful miracle to deliver these men who had openly and directly refused to obey a positive command of the king. Why was this? Did God contradict himself?–Not at all. This command of the king was wrong. He was requiring a service which he had no right to require. He had given a command which he had no right to give.

In making him king of the nations, the Lord had not made him king in the religion of the nations. In making him the head of all the nations, God had not made him the head of religion. But being an idolater, and having grown up amid idolatrous systems, Nebuchadnezzar did not know this. With idolaters, religion always has been, and still is, a part of the government; in heathen systems, religion and the government are always united: while in the true system–the divine, the Christian, system–they are always separate.

And this was the instruction which the Lord gave to King Nebuchadnezzar in this great transaction. In a way in which it was impossible not to understand, the Lord showed him that he had nothing whatever to do with the religion, nor in directing the worship, of the people. The Lord had brought all nations under this king's yoke as to their bodily service; but now, by an unmistakable evidence, this same Lord showed to King Nebuchadnezzar that he had given him no power nor jurisdiction whatever in their souls' service. The Lord thus showed the king that while in all things between nation and nation or man and man, all people, nations, and languages had been given to him to serve him, and he had been nmade ruler over them all, yet in things between men and God, he was given plainly and forcibly to understand that he had nothing whatever to do. And this is all written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

And there being present and beholding it all, "the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces" of

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all his realm, this great truth, with the knowledge of the power and glory of the true God, was by this one mighty impulse spread among all the peoples, nations, and languages throughout the whole mighty and wide-spread empire.

"Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon."

April 12, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , p. 238.

"IF we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Do you live in the Spirit? If you do not, why is it so?

The Spirit is everywhere; he is all-pervading in all the world. Why, then, do you not live in the Spirit?

Read this: "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. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."

Seeing that the Spirit is thus everywhere, in the dark and in the light, and it is impossible to go where he is not, why, then, do you not live in the Spirit?

Surely it cannot possibly be for any other cause than that you will not recognize him, and believe in him everywhere.

And why do you not recognize him, and receive him everywhere?–It cannot possibly be for any other cause than that the world has the preference. For "the world cannot receive him. But "we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God."

Why do you choose to live in the world, rather than to live in the Spirit, when, because of his all-pervading presence, it is just as easy to live in the Spirit as it is to live at all?

You do not have to go somewhere to find the Spirit; he is everywhere where you are: you cannot get away from him. Then why not live in him, and have all the joy of it? To live in him, all that you have to do is to receive him; and to receive him, all you have to do is to believe him.

"Receive ye the Holy Ghost," and live in the Spirit.

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , pp. 238.

"REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

"Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."

There is no genuine Christianity without sanctification.

There is no genuine sanctification but that which is accomplished by the Lord himself.

And the genuine keeping of the Sabbath is a sign that the Lord does sanctify the believer, and that he may know that the Lord does sanctify him.

To profess sanctification without the keeping of the Sabbath is to come short. To profess to keep the Sabbath without sanctification is a contradiction.

Sanctification is perfected in keeping the Sabbath. Keeping the Sabbath attains its perfect aim in sanctification.

"I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them."

Verily, therefore, "my Sabbaths ye shall keep." And "the seventh day is the Sabbath."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , p. 238.

"SHALL we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid."

Then as we are not to continue in sin, in order that grace may abound, shall we continue in sin at all?

Surely if there could be any possible excuse for continuing in sin, it would be that grace should abound.

But that is God-forbidden; it is impossible to have even any such excuse as that for continuing in sin.

Consequently the gist of this question is, "Shall we continue in sin?" Shall we continue in sin at all? Is there any possible ground for it? And the answer is forever, "God forbid."

Then when God has forbidden it, why do it?

He has made abundant provision for us not to do it; then why do it? Why should not this provision be employed, so that we shall not continue in sin?

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , pp. 238, 239.

IN the dream and its interpretation, of the great image of Daniel 2, the Lord revealed himself to King Nebuchadnezzar, and taught him the impotence of all the gods, and the imposture of all the claims on their behalf made by astrologers, magicians, and Chaldeans.

In so wonderfully delivering from the fiery furnace his servants who refused to obey the king's command to worship the king's great golden image, the Lord taught to Nebuchadnezzar and all people that, according to the word and will of God, earthly governments cannot rightly have anything whatever to do with commanding, regulating, or directing the religion or worship of the people; that there must be a positive and clear-cut separation between the worship of the people and the government of the state, and between religion and the state. In this the Lord also taught to him and to all people that which he acknowledged,–that the king's word, the laws of the state, must change and give way in the presence of the exercise of the right of the people to be religious, and to worship according to the will of God toward the individual himself–in modern phrase, according to the dictates of the individual conscience.

There was yet one further lesson to be given to the king, thoroughly to teach him and all people that it is the Most High, and not kings alone, who "ruleth in the kingdom of men."

King Nebuchadnezzar had accomplished the complete conquest of all the nations, which had proved him to be the greatest warrior then in the world. Great in war, he was yet greater in peace. "It was as the adorner and beautifier of his native land–as the builder and restorer of almost all her cities and temples–that this monarch obtained that great reputation which has handed down his name traditionally in the East on a par with those of Nimrod, Solomon, and Alexander, and made it still a familiar term in the mouths of the people. Probably no single man ever left behind him as his memorial upon the earth one half the amount of building that was erected by this king."

He made Babylon one of the greatest of the "seven wonders of the world," "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency" (Isa. 13:19), the very "lady of kingdoms." Isa. 47;5. "Throughout the empire, at Borsippa, Sippara, Cutha, Chilmad, Duraba, Teredon, and a multitude of other places, he built or rebuilt cities, repaired temples, constructed quays, reservoirs, canals, and aqueducts, on a scale of grandeur and magnificence surpassing everything of the kind recorded in history, unless it be the constructions of one or two of the greatest Egyptian monarchs." "It is scarcely too much to say that, but for Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians would have had no place in history. At any rate, their actual place is owing almost entirely to this prince, who, to the military talents of an able general, added a grandeur of artistic conception and skill of construction which place him on a par with the greatest builders of antiquity."

Of all this, King Nebuchadnezzar, very naturally and very humanly, was very proud. He gave to himself the credit for the whole of it. But from this self-worship the Lord would save him; the process is given in the king's own words in Daniel 4. The king was at rest in his house and flourishing in his palace. Upon his bed he dreamed that he saw a great and high tree standing in the midst of the earth; the height reached to heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves were fair, the fruit was much, and it was meat for all. The beasts of the field had shadow under it, the fowls of the heaven dwelt in its boughs, and all flesh was fed of it. In his dream he saw a watcher and an holy one descend from heaven, and heard him cry aloud: "Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him: and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." Dan. 4:14-17.

The magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans were again called. But though, this time, the king told them his dream, they could not tell him the meaning of it. Then Daniel was called, who readily told the interpretation to the king. Of the great tree he said: "It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth." Of the watcher and the holy one who came down, he gave the meaning: "That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and

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they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule." Dan. 4:25, 26.

Upon all this Daniel gave him a word of counsel: "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." Verse 27.

But, like many another man, Nebuchadnezzar would not yield to the warning, accept the word, and so escape the impending calamity. He continued to indulge his self-worship. "At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws." Verses 29-33.

Yet the rest of the dream was fulfilled also; his kingdom was held sure unto him, and when the time was expired, and he had learned of a surety, and would acknowledge permanently, that the heavens do rule, his intelligence was returned to him, and he was restored to his kingdom in peace.

It was not alone for Nebuchadnezzar's sake that all this occurred, but for the sake of all nations and kings not only of that time, but of all time, even to the world's end. Accordingly, when he had learned the appointed lesson, and, in the fear of God, was seated upon the throne to which he now acknowledged that the Most High had brought him, he wrote out a full account of his experience, and in the form of an official royal proclamation, sent it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in all his wide dominions.

And here it is: "Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation." Verses 1-3. Then follows the full account of his dream of the great tree, etc., of Daniel's interpretation of it, of how it all came upon him, and how he was driven out to the fields for the appointed time; and he concludes the proclamation as follows: "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase." Verses 34-37.

All the Lord's training of King Nebuchadnezzar had been to this great and noble end, and that noble end was nobly accepted by him. It was written for the admonition of all kings and rulers who should come after him, and especially those upon whom the ends of the world are come.

April 19, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. How to Live" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , p. 121.

AS we can live only by breathing, it certainly follows that we can live rightly only when we breathe rightly; our physical life will be full, bright, and strong only when we breathe fully, brightly, and strongly. And when, physically, we live fully, brightly, and strongly, we can also live a spiritual life that is full, bright, and strong. Read this:–

"By giving heed to proper instruction, by following health principles in regard to the expansion of the lungs and the culture of the voice, our young men and women may become speakers that can be heard, and the exercise necessary to this accomplishment will prolong life."–"Christian Education," page 132.

This touches the point; yea, it tells the whole story. And again we may say, It is not enough simply to expand the lungs. You can expand the lungs in such a way as to make them only an invitation to consumption; yet in the right way, you can also expand the lungs so that it will be impossible for consumption to get hold of you. When this is done, then even if you should take cold, and it should even reach and settle upon your lungs or in your throat, you need not be afraid; it cannot stay, neither can it stop you in your work. The life and living vigor of the whole system will drive it speedily away. O, the Lord wants us to live!

"There is need that among our ministers careful attention should be given to the culture of the voice, or many will lie down in untimely graves. The Lord is not glorified by the reflections that are cast upon him, when men attribute to him their sufferings; for the Lord has no pleasure in the suffering and death of his people. He would have them pursue a right course of action, carefully looking after their bodies that they may be in health, and know how to keep the habitation in order."–Id., page 133.

Now, do not get the idea that this is an intricate thing, hard to understand, and difficult to get hold of, so that you must have a whole lot of unscientific instruction to get it. It is not that at all. It is all as simple as any other part of the religion of Christ. Listen to this:–

"If we neglect to heed the simple laws by which we may preserve health, and fail to cultivate right habits, the Lord will not work a miracle to heal our disorders, while we continue to transgress his laws. Men are sleeping in their graves that the Lord would have had live. They destroyed themselves through lack of knowledge."–Id., page 133.

What kind of laws are these?–Simple laws. That is just what they are. Do not allow yourself, nor allow anybody else for you, to make them anything else than simple. You will see this more fully as we follow this subject further:–

"Some of our most talented ministers are doing themselves great injury by their defective manner of speaking. While teaching the people their duty to obey God's moral law, they should not be found violating his physical laws. Ministers should stand erect, and speak slowly, firmly, and distinctly, taking a full inspiration of air at every sentence, and throwing out the words by exercising the abdominal muscles. If they will observe this simple rule, giving attention to the laws of health in other respects, they may preserve their life and usefulness much longer than men in any other profession."–"Gospel Workers," page 147.

Well, then, is it not almost a disgrace for any Seventh-day Adventist minister, except the oldest, to die, especially to die of lung or throat troubles? and he professing to be a health reformer, too! If we did not have these things, if God had not spoken on these subjects, and set them so plainly before us, and so repeatedly, too, it would not be so bad. But with all these things made so plain, and these good wishes of the Lord so fully expressed, it is awful to have our ministers dying, when to take the Lord's way, the ministers may "preserve their life and usefulness much longer than men in any other profession." Then let us quit dying. This expression is not out of place, either; for men often think they are all right, and not dying, when the truth is that they are dying all the time. Read again:–

"The chest will become broader."

What! the chest become broader by exercising the abdominal muscles?–Yes, of course. That is the only way the chest can become broader in the right way, in the way to have health. Now there is no contradiction nor inconsistency here. I am not explaining, yet, just how this will be. It is all true, though. You believe it, and practise it, and you will find it so. However, we are searching now for what is the right way to breathe; how to practise it we whall study afterward.

"The chest will become broader, and by educating the voice, the speaker need seldom become hoarse, even by constant speaking."–Id.

The throat is the last place in the body to become weary from speaking; the lungs, never. The abdominal muscles may become tired sometimes, and the back also, and even other parts of the body, with long or strong speaking, but the lungs and throat will be all right. Only use them as God intended them to be used, and they will outlast all the rest of the system.

"Instead of becoming consumptives by speaking, our ministers may, by care, overcome all tendency to consumption."–Id.

Good. Then why should any Seventh-day Adventist minister have any tendency to consumption, much less have consumption itself? And even some of our doctors have tendency to consumption; yea, some have actually died of consumption, in the face of this direct instruction from the Lord, too! How long shall these things be? Instead of being delicate, and sunken-chested, and weak-lunged, the Lord wants us to be healthy, full-chested, strong-lunged, and proof against disease instead of being subject to it. And why is not this true of all the people as well as of the ministeres? Why should our sisters be sunken-chested, stoop-shouldered, and weak-lunged, and subject to lung troubles, any more than our brethren or our ministers?–They should not. The Lord wants women to have as good health as he wants men to have. And these excellent things that we have been reading are just as much for women as for men, and are just as true of women as they are of men. Then, sisters, you stand erect, and use the abdominal muscles in deep breathing and in expanding the chest. You, too, can throw out your words by exercising the abdominal muscles. Then, if you have any tendency to consumption, you will soon be all right,–in more ways than simply your lung troubles, too,–you will "overcome all tendency to consumption." That is a great deal; it is a blessed promise.

"I would say to my ministering brethren, Unless you educate yourselves to speak according to physical law, you will sacrifice life, and many will mourn the loss of "those martyrs to the cause of truth," when the facts in the case are, that by indulging in wrong habits you did injustice to yourselves and to the truth which you represented, and robbed God and the world of the service you might have rendered. God would have been pleased to have you live, but you slowly committed suicide."–Id.

That is to Seventh-day Adventists who die of consumption. It is an awful thing when a person, in very desperation, commits suicide by a sudden act. But how much more awful it is for a person–and of all people a Seventh-day Adventist, too–slowly to commit suicide,–to keep it up, and follow it up persistently for years, till it is finally accomplished! That is terrible. Who, then, will continue to do it? O, rather, who will not cease entirely to do it, by choosing now, and diligently following, the right way?

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , p. 252.

IT is as easy to "live in the Spirit" as it is to live at all, because it is impossible to find a place where the Spirit is not an all-pervading presence.

If any one does not live in the Spirit, it is not because the Spirit is not where he is; but solely because he will not receive the Spirit, he will not choose the way of the Spirit, he will not believe.

We cannot find a place to live where the Spirit is not. Then as we must live anyhow, why not live in the Spirit? why not live the right way, instead of the wrong way?

Come, then, every soul; let us live in the Spirit.

Then, upon this, the exhortation is, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

The Spirit being everywhere, it being impossible to flee from his presence, surely it is just as easy to walk in the Spirit as it is to walk at all.

We cannot find any place to walk where the Spirit is not. Then as we must walk anyhow, why not walk in the Spirit? why not walk the right way, instead of the wrong way?

And, indeed, this is even the promise of God. Read it: "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." What a joyful promise!

Blessed be God for the unspeakable gift of his Spirit in such measure as to reach and surround every soul wherever he may be!

Praise the Lord that he ever longingly woos us by his Spirit, to live in the Spirit, that we may walk in the Spirit, that we shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh!

"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"How Shall We?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , p. 252.

"HOW shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

How shall we? Can you tell?

Can a man live in what he dies of? When any person dies of any disease, can he live any longer in it?–No; that is why he died–he could not live any longer in it.

Having died of that disease, and were he even brought back from the dead into that very disease, could he live any longer in it?–No; he would certainly and immediately die again. A person simply cannot live any longer in the thing of which he has died. This is perfectly plain to everybody.

Very well, then: Have you died to sin? Have you grown so sick of sin that you died of it? Have you grown so sick of it that you could live no longer in it, and so died to it?

If you have, do not be afraid; you cannot live any longer therein. Were you even taken back from that death, and put once more in the presence of sin, you would certainly and immediately die again. You could not live any longer in it when you were there before; and because you could not live any longer in it, you died; and if you were brought back to it again, you could not live any longer in it any more than you did before.

Remember, this is being sick unto death, of sin; not sick of a few, or even many, particular sins, while at the same time you choose others, because you are pleasing to you, and become fat and flourishing on them. In this way you can live in sin forever, and then die in it, and then die the second death for it.

No; it is not sins, so that we can die to one and live to another, that are contemplated in the Scripture: it is sin,–sin in the essence,–so that when you die to it, it is a death indeed to sin in every phase and of every sort. Then, being thus dead to sin, you simply cannot live any longer therein. The very presence of the thing, the very suggestion of it, is death to you.

And being thus dead to sin, the Lord intends that we shall not live any longer in it. And intending that we shall not live any longer in it, he intends that we shall live ever longer without sinning.

There is power in Jesus Christ to keep the believer from sinning. There is virtue in the grace of God to hold back the believer in Jesus from serving the sinful propensities and passions that dwell in the human flesh. Praise his holy name forever and ever.

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

Are you dead to sin? Then how shall you live any longer therein?

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , pp. 252, 253.

GOD had exposed to Nebuchadnezzar the impotent nature and fraudulent character of all the gods of Babylon, and had brought the king to the knowledge of the true God. And this instruction was given in such a way that it reached all the people as instruction also.

The Lord next taught the king that however great was the power of kings over people and nations, yet they could of right have no power at all over the religion or worship of those whom they ruled. God showed him that the edicts of rulers must yield, that the words of kings must change, in the presence of the right of the individual to worship according to the dictates of his own conscience. This also was taught in such a way as to make it instruction to "all people, nations, and languages" in all the wide extended empire of Babylon.

Finally the Lord taught the great king that it is the Most High who rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will; that though Nebuchadnezzar had made the conquest of all the nations, and had become ruler over them all, yet it was the God of heaven who had given all these nations into his hand, and had made him ruler over them all. This great truth, too, was taught not only to Nebuchadnezzar direct, but through him, by official proclamation, to "all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth."

Though all this was known by the princes, and the lords of all the realm, yet at the death of Nebuchadnezzar, his son and successor made himself so profligate and so altogether vicious that his own relatives put him to death at the end of his second year's reign. This man's successor held the power only four years, three of which were busily employed in preparation for the war that came in the fourth year, and in the first battle of which he was killed. He was in turn succeeded by a king who so "let himself loose in the utmost excess, without any manner of restraint whatever," that it was only nine months before his excesses became so unbearable that "his own people conspired against him, and slew him." And this man was succeeded by a king who at last actually associated with himself upon the throne his son, the outbreaking Belshazzar, in whose riotous excesses in debauchery and blasphemy the Babylonian iniquity culminated, and brought upon the wicked city the swift judgment of God in the very night of this king's greatest drunken, lascivious, and blasphemous feast.

"Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another." Dan. 5:1-6.

The conscience-cowardly king, in his frenzy, "cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers;" and promised great rewards and the highest honor, next to the king, to whomsoever would explain the terrible writing. None could do it until the holy Daniel was brought. "Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation." Verse 17.

"O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: and he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will." Verses 18-21.

"And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all

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this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written." Verses 22-24.

And now every one who reads these lines likewise knows "all this." It has been told to you. It has been written in the holy Book and preserved to you by the Lord, "in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways." You have read it many a time; and it has been brought to your attention many more times. And what are you doing with it all?

Knowing "all this," have you humbled your heart? or are you, like Belshazzar, going on, with a heedless heart and a high head, to swift destruction?

This was not made known to Belshazzar in his time in vain: no more in vain is it made known to you in this time of all the world in which it most applies. Knowing "all this," are you lifting up your heart "against the Lord of heaven"? Is it now true of you, as of him, that knowing "all this," "the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified"?

Take heed; for the writing that night was that once written for all time"?

Take heed lest you, too, knowing "all this," shall, when "weighed in the balances," be "found wanting."

For "this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN."

And "this is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Verses 26-28.

"In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. Verses 30, 31.

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 16 , p. 253.

WHEN Paul was at Athens, he seemed to the Athenians to be "a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection." Now if Paul had preached Jesus and the immortality of the soul, would he have seemed to them to be a setter forth of "strange gods"?–Not for a moment. With men and the immortality of the soul, they were perfectly familiar; indeed, such was their whole thought. Of the immortality of the soul, many of their gods were made. Paul could have preached to them forever Jesus and the immortality of the soul, without once being thought to be a setter forth of strange gods; such would have been precisely in the channel of their thought from ancient time. But Jesus and the resurrection was to them altogether new and strange. That the dead should be awakened, and rise up, and stand alive again, was so utterly foreign to all their ideas that to them such preaching was only the setting forth of strange gods; and as it was always feared of new gods that they might supplant the old, they at once brought Paul to the highest court for examination. From this whole record it is perfectly certain that Paul never preached Jesus and the immortality of the soul.

April 26, 1898

"The Sermon. Christian Manliness ²1" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17 , p. 265.

ALONZO T. JONES

TEXT: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." 1 Cor. 16:13.

That is Christianity. That verse is all there is of Christianity, and Christianity is all of that verse.

There are other scriptures that express the same thought in another way. In the fourteenth chapter and twentieth verse of this same book, I read: "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." Again, in chapter 13:11, I read: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

The one thought in all three of these verses is that Christians are to be men,–are to act like men, not like children, and much less like babies. The object of Christianity is to make people strong, manly men.

In this world, as the world goes, the tendency is, and always has been, to unman men,–to make them weaklings, dependent really upon nothing, yet upon what they think is something. There is no harm in a man's depending upon something or somebody besides himself. That is in him, and belongs to him. He is not God, and is not capable of depending altogether upon himself alone.

It is in man always to be dependent on something or somebody; and when this is not God, it always weakens the man. But when man recognizes this need in himself, and then puts his dependence altogether upon God, that makes a man of him; that will always strengthen him in every way and in everything.

When a man puts his dependence in anything or anybody except God, he loses everything, even the manliness that is in him. It was so in the apostle's day. The Roman Empire is recognized, by all who ever knew anything about it, as the mightiest representation of power among men that the world ever knew; yet the only tendency of that greatest manifestation of this evil that there has ever been in the world. It was that which made governments possible in the first place. Nimrod, seeing this, took advantage of it to exalt himself. And from the days of Nimrod to the present time, men, in organized forms called governments, have exalted themselves upon the weakening and unmanning of the people.

In the apostle's days the world had reached the point where men could not continue any longer in the way they were going. When Christianity was sent into the world by means of the preaching of the apostles, the world stood on the very brink of falling into ruins by the weight of its own helplessness, and the most helpless were those who were possessors of most of this governmental power. The mighty mass that had been builded together as a government was ready to perish because of the corruption which it had accumulated upon itself, and had fastened upon multitudes of others. Thus ruin was the only thing that stood before the world when Christianity started: and this was so palpable that even the men who themselves stood at the head of the world were dreading the inevitable ruin that they saw must come.

But Christianity was put into the world just then, and proclaimed to a world of unmanned people. And that little seed of manliness which, in Christianity, was planted there, and which was spread by the apostles among men in that day,–it was that which saved the world from ruin then, and it is that which has kept it in existence until now.

But now, in spite of Christianity, the world is coming to that same point again. It went there without Christianity once. When it goes there the second time, against Christianity, it will certainly perish; for there is no kind of salvation for anybody or anything outside of genuine Christianity.

When Christianity, preached and accepted in its sincerity, had saved the Roman Empire from perishing, then against Christianity, under the false profession of it, the professedly Christian empire went absolutely to pieces.

True Christianity spread through an empire of pagan wickedness, bringing multitudes to its saving light; and, by restoring the integrity of the individual, building up the manliness of men, it was also the preservation of the Roman state. But when, by apostasy, the gospel was robbed of its purity and power in those who professed it, and when the profession of Christianity was used only as a cloak to cover the repetition of the same old pagan wickedness, the form being held without the power, men were not only deprived of the only means of true manliness, but this apostate Christianity was obliged to put its dependence upon the state, and to teach the people to do so. and though the church and the state were united for mutual support, this only increased the evil that was afflicting each.

Thus, against Christianity, the Roman world was brought to the very condition from which Christianity had saved it. And when thus the only means which it was possible for the Lord himself to employ to purify the people and restore them to genuine manliness, had been taken and made the cloak under which to increase unto more ungodliness, there was no other remedy; destruction must come. And the Roman Empire–human society as it then existed in the principal part of the world–was literally annihilated.

Upon this subject, Dr. Schaff has well remarked that "nothing but the divine judgment of destruction upon this nominally Christian, but essentially heathen, world, could open the way for the moral regeneration of society. There must be new, fresh nations, if the Christian civilization, prepared in the old Roman Empire, was to take firm root and bear ripe fruit."

These new, fresh nations came, and planted themselves upon the ruins of the old. Among these Christianity again found a place to manifest its virtue, and to produce the Christian manliness that preserved truth and integrity in the world through the times of papal terrorism in the Dark Ages. And when the despotic power of the papacy had completely unmanned men, and had dragged down the nations once more to the brink of ruin, then once more also, in the Reformation, Christianity shined out brightly, restoring manliness to men, and lifting up the nations into a vigor that has sustained them hitherto.

But now, in this our day, in spite of true Protestantism, in spite of the Christianity that is true Protestantism, the church itself, and the world because of the church, is again going swiftly over this same course of evil. And when this is all done again, in spite of Protestantism, in spite of Christianity,–when, in spite of all that God has ever done, and all that he ever could do in all the world,–the church and the world reach that point, it will be final: the destruction that then falls will engulf the world. That is why we are now so near the end of the world.

You know that I am calling attention to actual facts: there has been for years, and there is now, a powerful movement on the part of professed Protestantism, even in the United States, to form a union of religion and the state, which is church and state. And that means only corruption worse corrupted; for no nation can be as bad without a nation of church and state as every nation must be with it.

Accordingly, the people are to-day being taught that they must depend upon the government for their religion; that they cannot succeed in the Christianity which they profess, and that the Christianity which they profess cannot maintain itself in the world, without having the government to unite with it and support it. The government must "make it easy for them to do right"!

Now religion is the one thing, above all things, for which men cannot depend upon anybody or anything but God. And when people's minds are turned away from absolute and unquestioning dependence upon God for their religion in every phase, and are taught to put their dependence upon a government for the maintenance of themselves in their religion in the world,–than it is impossible for anything to be invented that will more weaken or unman men. Whoever accepts it unmans himself the moment he does it. He puts a figment–not even something, but a mere figment–in the place of God, who alone can satisfy him in that of which he is in need. And when men are taught, in the things alone in which God can satisfy, to put a figment in the place of God, what could more unman them? What could make men weaker, or tend to make them more of weaklings?

Along with this, following only the example of the professed leaders of the world, men who are not Christians are taught to depend on the government for support. They are taught that the government can make enough money to supply them with the money that they need.

Thus the people both religiously and civilly, are being taught to-day, and are imbibing the notion, that the government should support them. But what, in fact, is the government? Apart from the people, it is absolutely nothing. Take out of the territory of the United States all the people of the United States, and where would be the government of the United States?–Certainly nowhere; there would be no such thing. The government is simply the people: and of the people, each one is simply himself. When anybody expects the government to supply him with religion or money, he is really expecting other men, just like himself, and himself among them, to do it. Yet this is not what is meant in this idea of government supplies of religion, money, etc. To those who entertain that notion, the government is an imaginary, indefinable something up at Washington City. So that in literal truth such teaching causes men to put their dependence upon a sheer figment. And the effect of this course is utterly to unman them, and make them worse than babies. I say worse than babies, because for a baby to be a baby is all right; but for a man to be a baby is infinitely bad.

That is largely the situation of things to-day, and you know it. consequently, you can see how altogether apt it is, how altogether essential it is, that there should go forth to the world, in mighty power, as it stands in the Scriptures, the message of "the everlasting gospel" to be preached "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," calling them to depend upon God,–to accept Christianity and be men and not babies.

(To be continued.)

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17 , p. 268.

"HE that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith."

Seven times this command is given in only two cchapters of the Bible.

All people have ears, but not all have ears to hear. And of all who have ears to hear, not all have ears to hear what the Spirit saith.

Have you ears to hear what the Spirit saith?

This hearing by which we recognize what the Spirit saith, is the hearing of faith.

There is a hearing of faith, as well as a seeing of faith, a walking of faith, and a living of faith.

Therefore it is written, "Receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith."

Receiving the Spirit by the hearing of faith, the hearing of what the Spirit saith, is only by faith.

We are commanded these seven times not only to hear what the Spirit saith, but also to hear what the Spirit saith "unto the churches."

When the Spirit has spoken distinctly seven times to the churches, and when He who is the head of the church has commanded seven times that we hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches, then how can we prosper spiritually unless we do hear this?

But how shall they hear without a preacher? Is it not, then, perfectly plain that both preachers and people shall carefully consider what the Spirit saith unto the churches, in order that we all may indeed hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches?

"Free from the Service of Sin" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17 , p. 268.

"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."

Plainly, therefore, the Lord intends that we shall not serve sin, and, accordingly, has made provision that this intention shall be fulfilled.

"The body of sin" must be "destroyed," in order that henceforth we shall "not serve sin." If the body of sin is not destroyed, if sin is not taken up by the root, we shall certainly still serve sin, whatever our profession or desire.

Indeed, if I desire not to serve sin, if I desire to live without sinning, and yet do not desire it enough to have the body of sin destroyed, to have sin completely uprooted, whatever the cost, or however painful the process, then my desire is not sincere, and cannot possibly be realized. I am simply tickling my fancy with a mirage.

No; the body of sin must be destroyed,–nothing short of destruction will do,–in order that we shall not serve sin. See, too, what "destroy" means: "To pull down; unbuild; demolish; to overthrow; lay waste; ruin; make desolate; to kill; slay; extirpate; to bring to naught; put an end to; annihilate; obliterate entirely; cause to cease, or cease to be."

The Lord has made full provision for this destruction of the body of sin; it must be accomplished by crucifixion. "Our old man is crucified," "that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." That is the straight, sure course to freedom from the service of sin.

But thank the Lord, we do not have to go this way alone. "Our old man is crucified with him." He was made "in the likeness of sinful flesh" for us. He was "in all things made like unto his brethren." He "was in all points tempted like as we are." "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." And he was crucified. He was crucified for us. He was crucified as us. He was "the last Adam." He was humanity. And in him the old Adam–the old, sinful humanity–was crucified. And "our old man is crucified with him," in order "that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."

Are you indeed crucified with him? Have you given up yourself to crucifixion, do you give yourself up to destruction, that you may be delivered from the service of sin? Is your desire to be freed from sinning so sincere that you freely give yourself up to crucifixion,–that you abandon yourself to destruction? If it is, then you can easily know the triumph that there is in knowing that the body of sin is destroyed, and that henceforth you shall not serve sin.

Why is this verse of scripture written, if it is not intended that you shall not serve sin? And when it is written to show you this the Lord's intention, then of what good is that to you, what good can it ever be to you, if that intention is not fulfilled in you, and you are not kept from the service of sin?

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17 , p. 268.

CHRISTIANITY is a living, vital entity, that has in it the power to transform a man completely,–make him a new creature. The individual who has named the name of Christ, and does not know experimentally what it is to be "born again," is robbing himself of the sweetest blessing that Heaven can bestow upon him.

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 17 , pp. 268, 269.

THE book of Daniel is a book for young people, and especially for young men.

Daniel and his three brethren were but youth, of eighteen years or less, when they were taken captives to Babylon.

On the other hand, Belshazzar was also a young man of only eighteen or twenty years.

Thus at two great crises in the history of the kingdom of Babylon,–one at the beginning, the other at the end,–the chief interests of that great kingdom hung upon the conduct of young men of from eighteen to twenty, or perhaps twenty-one, years.

This book of Daniel was written to tell what should come to pass in the latter days, and therefore especially "for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." And the lesson to be drawn from the characters of these two sorts of young men are of special importance in the last days.

Babylon itself was a picture of the last days; and the fall of Babylon was a representation of the fall of the whole earth. The last message heard from heaven before the end of all things is: "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. . . . Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

It was the corruption of Babylon in all sorts of iniquity that caused her fall. And the wild rout in that drunken and lascivious feast of Belshazzar, was the culmination of a long and popular course of intemperance and iniquity.

Yet for sixty-nine years Daniel, as one of the chief men of the kingdom, had lived in the very center of this sea of intemperance and iniquity; he had daily passed in and out among the chief actors in it; and had kept himself pure from any taint of any of the abounding vices.

Called to that placed when he was but eighteen; honored at the very first with provision from the dainties of the king's table, and from the store of royal wines; promoted at the age of twenty-one to the position of personal attendant in the presence of the king; at the age of twenty-two made one of the greatest men of the empire by being further promoted to the threefold honor of "ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon," and given a seat in the council of the king; and with all this made the recipient of "many great gifts,"–this young man, so honored and flattered and courted in such a place as that, and in such society as was there, steadily maintained through his whole life absolute integrity of character, perfect propriety of conduct, and complete control of every appetite and every passion. This was Daniel; and his three brethren were not far unlike him.

There was another young man in the center of society in Babylon. He also was prominent in the king's court. He, too, was promoted to a high place in the kingdom; he was asso-

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ciated with the king himself in the rulership of the kingdom. He knew the right way. He had the best of examples before him. He knew the purport of all these things. Yet he despised all instruction, disregarded all admonition, and indulged every appetite and every passion; and so reached at last the point where he recognized no bounds of propriety in conduct, was destitute of principle, and thought of no such thing as integrity of character. At the age of twenty-one, or younger, he had run his course, had been weighed in the balances and found utterly wanting, and had perished in his outbreaking iniquity. This was Belshazzar.

To-day the world is fast running in the way of Babylon. The intemperance and other vices of Babylon are prevalent everywhere. To-day every young man is practically in the society of Babylon. To-day these characters from Babylon, portrayed in the book of Daniel, are living examples; they are living illustrations of the choices that will be made, and, indeed, that are being made, by young men in the Babylon of to-day.

To-day there are before every young man the two ways,–the way of Daniel and the way of Belshazzar. To-day every young man has the opportunity to choose which of these ways he will take. To-day, indeed, every young man is choosing either the way of Daniel or the way of Belshazzar; for not to choose the way of Daniel is to choose the way of Belshazzar. There is no middle ground.

There is no middle ground because it is solely a question of principles. That you would not go to-day the whole length to which Belshazzar went at the end of his career, is no security to you; for to-day, and in this matter, the end is in the beginning. He who to-day despises the instruction given, and disregards the admonition written, on this subject for this time, chooses the way of belshazzar, and will reach the end of that way as Belshazzar did; for there is no other ending to it. Belshazzar knew the right way, but he would not humble his heart to choose that way. He knew of the Lord of heaven and his obligations to him; but he lifted up himself against the Lord of heaven, and would not glorify him.

It is perfectly certain that there are to-day scores of young men in the families of Seventh-day Adventists, as well as of others, who are choosing the way of Belshazzar. They have been taught, they have read, so that they know, for themselves, the lessons of the book of Daniel. They know the principles and the career of Daniel. They know that these principles are of God. Yet they disregard it all, they repudiate it all, and choose the way of Belshazzar; so that the words are as true to them to-day as to him that night: "Thou, . . . Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven: . . . and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified."

To-day the message goes forth: "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. . . . Come out of her, my people, that ye be no partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Soon "great Babylon" will come "in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." To-day, while it is called to-day, the representative characters of the book of Daniel are living characters. There are two of them–Daniel and Belshazzar. These are the two ways to-day, and there is no other way. The way of Daniel, or the way of Belshazzar–which do you choose to-day? Not to choose the way of Daniel is to choose the way of Belshazzar. Choose the way of Daniel to-day, now, and forever.

May 3, 1898

"The Sermon. Christian Manliness. (Continued.) ³1" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , p. 281.

ALONZO T. JONES

(Continued.)

THE third angel's message, that mighty threefold message of the everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6-12), is the only salvation for men that there is in this world. That is the only thing that can save men from the evil tide, which, under the very profession of Christianity, is against Christianity,–which, under the profession of Protestantism, is against Protestantism,–the evil tide that is sweeping the world into the vortex of wickedness and weakness, where, knowing their wickedness, they are so unmanned that they have not the ability to stand up and oppose their own wickedness, but depend upon a figment to save them.

The third angel's message is to be given with a loud voice to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people in the world, to convey to them the only genuine principle of manliness that there is, and to "establish Christianity upon an eternal basis." It is to persuade men everywhere to accept that principle of manliness, and by it to stand up in the midst of the wickedness of the world, and conquer it, however deeply they may have gone into it themselves. It is to bring to men this principle of Christian manliness that will cause them to stand up face to face with themselves, and put underfoot the weakness that is in themselves, and make them strong, manly men. That is what the third angel's message is put into the world to do, and that is what it will do.

Now, this third angel's message, this message of Christianity for this day, which is needed in this day, and which alone can meet the issue in this day, is to be preached to just this kind of people,–to people who have been taught to look to, and to trust in, a figment. Of course when the everlasting gospel is preached to them, many of them will see the principle involved, they will see the tide that is running the wrong way, and what it is doing for themselves and everybody who has paid any attention to it, and they will accept this call to Christianity, and will turn away from that evil thing.

Then when they have accepted this call to Christianity, it is essential that they be taught to allow that principle of Christianity to be their life all the way that they are to go. They must be taught to depend upon Jesus Christ, that manliest of men, to make, and to keep, them manly men. They must not be babied nor allowed to become weaklings, but must be taught to depend upon God alone. It is just as essential to teach them this after they have turned away from the other, as it is to teach them the true principle to get them to turn away from the other; because people whose lives and minds have been molded upon that false model must, when they turn away from it, be built up, educated, and caused to grow according to the right Model. If this is not done, they will become formal Christians; they will be Seventh-day Adventists by name and profession, but will be just as babyish Seventh-day Adventists as they ever were any other kind of people. If this true Christianity, this true Christian manliness, is taught to them in the beginning, and kept before them all the way along, so that this shall be the only kind of Christianity they will adopt, they will develop into real Christian, manly men. They will despise the very idea of depending upon anything or anybody but Christ, and he will be in themselves the hope of glory.

Now nine tenths of the brethren of the ministry, if not all, will recognize as the truth what I am going to tell you,–that many times–not every time–when the third angel's message is first preached to the people, and they are convinced by it of what they should do, about the first thing they say is: "I know that I ought to serve the Lord; I ought to be a Christian; I ought to keep the Sabbath. But if I do, I shall lose my place; I shall be thrown out of work. If I shut up shop on the Sabbath, I shall lose my business. Do you know of any place where I can get a position, or a place for my business, so that I can be a Christian, and keep the Sabbath?" You know this is so. And the answer to it is, and always should be: "No; there is no place in this world where you can get a position so you can be a Christian. You are to be a Christian, anyhow. Your Christianity is not to depend upon position, but upon Christ. Your Christianity is not to depend upon your position; your position is to depend upon your Christianity. And what I mean by Christianity is Sabbath-keeping Christianity. Your Sabbath-keeping is not to depend upon position nor upon work, but upon Christ. Your Sabbath-keeping must not depend upon position; but your position must depend upon Sabbath-keeping. If you cannot be a Christian where you are, you cannot be a Christian anywhere else."

I am not saying that when people do lose their situations,–as many times they do when they accept the third angel's message,–no care should ever be taken to put them in the way of work, if it is possible to do so; but I am saying that until they have Christian manliness enough to be Christians, work or no work, position or no position, they are not manly enough to be Christians when they have work, upon that issue. In that case their Christianity–their Sabbath-keeping–depends upon their having work, and then when their work is gone, their Christianity is gone. Therefore, the only answer we can make to these persons–these weaklings–is: "No; there is no place in this world where you can secure work so that you can be a Christian. Be a Christian, and keep the Sabbath; then there will be plenty of work for you. And if somebody else does not furnish it, you yourself will make it."

It is Christianity itself–it is the very property, and power of life, of Christianity itself–to take people who are unable to make a living in this world, and make them such independent, free, manly, Christian men that they will make a living right along anywhere. We are not to judge Christianity by the people who profess it: we are to measure the people who profess it by Christianity. There are many people who cannot make a living any better after they have accepted Christianity than they did before; but this shows that with them Christianity is only a profession. But any profession of Christianity that does not make a man more than he was before he made it, is a fraud. He may have it professionally, but he has not the real thing. What he has is a fraud, by which he is deceiving, not others, but himself. I know this is so. Christianity, when a man really gets it, is able to take him and make him such a manly man in the world that he can make his way in spite of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Such a Christian never goes around complaining that he cannot get work. If he cannot get it, he will bestir himself and make it. That is Christianity.

"But stop," says one; "have you considered this point? Does not the Bible say that the gospel is to be preached to the poor?"–Of course it does; but it does not say that they shall forever remain poor. Listen: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." It is equally true, though, that while they will never be poor as the world regards poverty, they will never be rich as the world regards riches.

Yes, Christianity is preached to the poor,–to those who are in poverty because they have been so weakened and unmanned by the evil tendencies and teachings of the world that they have not been able to hold their own against the world. And because of their unfortunate position, the Lord singles them out first; he looks upon them in pity, and says, "Join yourselves to me, and win against the world." And there is nobody who has any respect for God or Christianity, who will for a moment think that when such a one joins himself to God, he is not stronger than ever he was before, and stronger than he ever could be without joining himself to God. If I have been robbed of my manliness, so that I cannot hold my own against the world, and my children are in want, and I am in absolute need of help from others, I want to know what kind of God that would be who would call me to himself, and yet give me no more than I had before. No, sir; I will not disgrace the Lord by any such way of thinking.

God has chosen the poor of this world, that is true. He sees them beaten back, and cast off, and unable to make their way; and in his loving manliness he wants them to have a chance. He therefore calls them to join him. And he does so for a purpose. That purpose is that he may implant and cultivate in them that genuine principle and power of manliness that will enable them to go through the world dependent upon no man, but depending altogether upon God.

Understand, again, that this is not to say that all poverty will be done away with,–that there will be no such thing as a poor man any longer, among Christians. No; for constantly the gospel will be preached to the poor, and they will be coming in. But it is to say that after the poor who have joined themselves to Christ have learned how to make a living for themselves, they will help others who are still coming in to do as they have done. All will be constantly growing from helplessness to helpfulness. Whether you believe that or not, it is everlastingly true. It is a basic principle of Christianity.

(Concluded next week.)

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , p. 284.

THE "Holy Spirit of promise" "is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession."

An "earnest" is "a part paid beforehand on a contract, as security for the whole."

God in Christ has contracted to give us an eternal inheritance in "a better country" than this, "that is, an heavenly," having for its capital a glorious city, "whose builder and maker is God."

This inheritance is all bought and all paid for, for us. But the time has not yet fully come for the full redemption of the purchased possession.

But he who has contracted to give it to us when it shall have been fully redeemed, pays us a part beforehand, gives us an earnest, as security for the whole eternal possession.

The earnest, that part paid beforehand on the contract, is the Holy Spirit. That security for the eternal possession is the eternal Spirit.

If you have that Spirit, and as long as you have him, you are sure of that eternal inheritance. If you have not that Spirit, you have no surety at all of the inheritance.

But the inheritance is a free gift to all; and so is the earnest, the surety, for it, a free gift to all. And that security is "that Holy Spirit of promise."

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Are You Dead?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , p. 284.

"HE that is dead is freed from sin."

Are you freed from sin? If not, do you not see exactly where the difficulty lies?

There stands the truth of God, that "he that is dead is freed from sin." Then if you are not freed from sin, the only cause of it is that you are not dead.

Jesus says, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but it if die, it bringeth forth much fruit."

Again he says, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit."

As the Father is glorified in your bearing much fruit, and as it is only "if it die," that it "bringeth forth much fruit," it certainly follows that herein is the Father glorified, that ye die.

Are you dead? Are you freed from sin? Will you glorify the Lord by bearing much fruit? Will you die?

"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone."

Do you want forever to abide alone? "Without me ye can do nothing."

Without him you can do nothing; without him you abide alone: "except it . . . die, it abideth alone;" except you die, you can do nothing.

But, bless the Lord, "if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."

In being dead, then, there is freedom from sin; there is abiding with the Lord; there is the bearing of much fruit to the glory of God; and the end, eternal life.

In not being dead, there is bondage to sin; there is abiding alone; and the end, eternal death.

Thus he that will save his life shall lose it; but he that will lose his life for Christ's sake shall keep it unto life eternal.

Will you lose your life and save it? or will you save your life and lose it?

"It is appointed unto me once to die." And in the gospel, God has fixed it so that every man can die that "once," so as to live forevermore.

Except it die, it abideth alone; but when we choose to die that we may bring forth much fruit, he does not leave us alone, nor ask us to die alone. He only asks us to die with him. Bless his name!

Then "if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." He does not live in sin. And living with him, we shall not live in sin.

Are you freed from sin? Are you dead? Are you dead with Christ, so that you live with Christ?

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , pp. 284, 285.

SOCIETY in Babylon and the characteristics of that last night of Belshazzar and of the kingdom of Babylon, are representative of society and its practises in the last days. This would be plain, if from nothing else, from the fact that the term "Babylon" is used to describe the society and the practises of the last days. And the practises of Babylonian society that night were feasting, and drunkenness, and loose relations between the sexes.

And such is precisely the description which Jesus gives of things in the last days. He says they will be "eating and drinking," and "eating and drinking with the drunken;" there will be "surfeiting and drunkenness;" and like as it was in the day when Lot went out of Sodom, "even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 18:30.

If these things were only confined to the confessedly wicked world, it would all be bad enough; but the faithful Word certifies that that these things are practised by, and among, those who profess to be the servants and people of God. "In the last days," men will have "a form of godliness," but will deny the power, and will be "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." 2 Tim. 3:4, 5. It is even these who will be surfeiting and drinking. It is even the professed servant of the Lord, though an "evil servant," who says "in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming," and begins "to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken." Matt. 24:48, 49. It is even professed churches, "mother" and daughters, that are designated in the Scriptures as "Babylon."

And to-day it is sorrowfully a matter of serious consideration with the most spiritually minded in the churches, how much further the churches can go in their feasting and festivity; their fish-ponds, grab-bags, and kissing-bees; their auction sales–at "foot socials" and "ankle auctions"–of the young women of the congregation, the price invited by sensual suggestion,–before they arrive at the point where, like Babylon indeed, they, too, shall be weighed in the balances, and, because utterly wanton, found utterly wanting. Such proceedings cannot possibly have any other effect than to destroy in men that properly chivalrous and manly respect for women, and for themselves with women, that is the honor of a man; and to break down in woman that womanly modesty and reserve that everywhere are the perfect defense of a woman; and so to produce a looseness of relations between the sexes such as characterized Babylon itself.

Such is the inevitable tendency in society to-day, both in the church and in the world,–altogether toward Babylon, as portrayed in the book of Daniel the night of her dreadful fall. Yet as, in that ancient Babylon, people were scattered whom God recognized as his, and to whom, just before her destruction, he called, "My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord" (Jer. 51:45); so now, in these last days, there are people scattered in this Babylon whom God recognizes as his, and to whom, just before her destruction, he calls: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:4.

And now God sends forth that call. Those by whose voices it is sounded forth must go everywhere, among all people, to find them, so that they can hear "the voice from heaven," ringing with the sweet tones of the voice of the Good Shepherd. These messengers must go into the very streets and alleys of the "high-viced cities," into the highways and hedges of the country places,–everywhere,–to save people "with fear, pulling them out of the fire." Jude 23.

And of all things, those who go thus everywhere among Babylonian evils, must themselves be spiritual, must themselves be pure, must themselves be strong. They must so truly know the way of true holiness that, while loving the lost sinner overwhelmed in the lusts of the flesh, and in compassion pulling him out of the fire, they will so hate sin as to hate "even the garment spotted by the flesh." "Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord."

All this can be done. In Christ, men can find perfect temperance; that perfect purity that will enable them to walk in white wherever they may go; and that manly integrity that will protect every woman in the world,–protect her even from herself, if need be. In Christ every woman can find perfect temperance, and also can find and preserve that genuine womanly modesty that is her full protection and sure defense everywhere she may be called to go. And thus Christian men and Christian women can live as did Daniel and his companions, not as Belshazzar and his crowd, and can and will preserve propriety of personal conduct and the proper relations between the sexes, wherever they may be called of Christ to go, even amid the corruptions of this last-day Babylon, and even to her last day of grace.

"Come out of her, my people." "Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord." "Dare to be a Daniel."

May 10, 1898

"The Sermon. Christian Manliness" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , pp. 296, 297.

ALONZO T. JONES

(Concluded).

IN that passage where Christians are spoken of as poor (2 Cor. 6:8-10), it is said that they are chastened and not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; "as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." George M¸ller was more than a seven-times millionaire, yet he possessed nothing. That is just what the genuine Christian experience is.

Read the first psalm. There it is said of the godly man, "And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." He will be a prosperous man in business, in work, everywhere. Of course it will take time, because his former training has been the other way; he must grow into the true way. We are to be merciful and kind to him,

297

because he is poor. But at the same time we must be sure that he gets true Christianity in his soul. And when he has that grace, he will soon grow into a prosperous man; for "whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Now let me read from Job 22:21-25: "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver."

In these times of controversy over the question of money,–whether it shall be gold or silver,–you see that Christianity is what the people need. Whether the money shall be gold or silver is neither here nor there. Get genuine Christianity, and then the other will come; you will "lay up gold" and "have plenty of silver." The message for Seventh-day Adventists to preach is neither gold nor silver, but Christianity, which means both gold and silver. All must be taught, however, and must be trained in, this kind of Christianity. Now do not get a wrong idea here of what is "plenty." If I need nothing, even though I have nothing, I have plenty. If I need what costs a nickel, and have the nickel, have not I plenty? So it is with that which costs a dollar, or any amount. There is a misconception and a wrong education as to what is plenty, which comes from depending upon what is of the world. People of this world think that a certain amount is a plenty; but when they get that, they have not even enough,–they must have more and yet more, until the amount reaches thousands, and even millions, and yet they are not satisfied. The Christian has a plenty all the time, because his dependence is upon God. God is with him,–he is one with him,–they are joined together. God knows what his need it; and when his dependence is upon God, and his energies are springing from God, he will work the works of God, and the fruit will be to the glory of God. And though as poor, he will be making many rich; though as having nothing, he will be possessing all things. That is true prosperity. Again read the Word: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Prov. 3:5-10.

What are all these verses in the Bible for?–They are there to tell to you and me that the man who is a Christian is all right. They are not intended to tell that he will be rich as the world calls rich, but he will have plenty, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. That is Christianity.

The whole philosophy of Christianity is God manifest in the flesh. God says that he is our strength, he is our wisdom, his Spirit guides the mind. He himself is there. He is all in all to the Christian. When a man who has gone all his life without God, joins himself to God, and God's life becomes his life, God's strength becomes his strength, God's wisdom becomes his wisdom, then has not he ability that he did not have before? and is not this ability given to him to use? When he has received God, and has Christ dwelling within, the very life of his life, his strength, his wisdom, has not he a power, a wisdom, an intellect,–ability of every sort,–that will make him more than he ever could have been without Christ? Then do you not see–it is as plain as A B C–that the man who professes to be a Christian, and does not make a better success in this life than before, has not Christianity? He is cheating himself by a mere outward profession of the thing, and is simply robbing himself of what belongs to him in this world and in the next.

It is proper now to treat a matter of fact respecting the point I mentioned as to those people who say, "Well, if I can get a situation where I can keep the Sabbath, I will do so." Just as certainly as they do that in order to be Christians, they will be babies right along. They will simply be baby Seventh-day Adventists. If one of them should get a position in the Review and Herald Office, or the Pacific Press, or the Conference, he would go to it because the institution or the Conference wants Sabbath-keepers or course forever; and as his Sabbath-keeping depends upon his having a position, it follows, logically enough, that he must have that place forever, as if it were an infirmary, and expect to remain there forever. And going there expecting that he will remain forever, and being a baby anyhow, his Christianity being only a form, he does not put forth divine energy so that his work is efficient, and does not pay for his keeping in whatever position he may be placed. It is a dead loss to keep him: and when the Conference or the institution decides that because of the loss, it can not keep him any longer, and finds a man who can work, and who has divine energy and application, and will put them into his work, and is a man who amounts to something,–when such a man is employed in the place of the other one, then the man who is dismissed is a bigger baby than ever; and he will make war against the institution and against the Conference, and enlist all his cousins and aunts and his first wife's relations, and have them buzzing around the manager with the cry, "Why did you discharge such and such a one? Why should you throw him out of his employment? How is he to make a living, now that you have thrown him out? He will have to give up the truth, in order to make a living, and you will be responsible," etc.

That is just the way it works. And right here in Battle Creek this doctrine of Christian manliness needs to be preached, because here are situated these vast institutions that employ so many hands. Here is where there are more of our people than anywhere else, and in the very nature of the case, it is here that these baby Seventh-day Adventists are most likely to come.

Now, these babyish people, when they see the truth and want to accept it, think if they can only get to Battle Creek, where they can get a position, or where they can mek a living off the rest, so that they "can keep the Sabbath," they will accept it. That is so, and you know it. This present week I received a letter from a man who said he had a shoe store in which was a $5,000 stock of goods. He said he had heard the message preached last year, and said he was converted, but that he could not keep the Sabbath and carry on his business where he is, because he is obliged to keep his store open on the Sabbath. And he wanted to find a place where he could shut his store on the Sabbath, and "so keep the Sabbath." He wanted to know if there was not an opening for a shoe store in the part of Battle Creek where the Adventists live, also what was the prospect for success with a grocery. I was obliged to tell him that in this part of town, there are two shoe stores; that between the Office and my home, four blocks away, there are six groceries, and that in a radius of five blocks there are six other groceries, making at least twelve groceries in a radius of five blocks; and therefore he might judge for himself as to the openings for either the shoe or the grocery business.

And I told him more than this. I told him what I would tell to everybody,–that his whole idea as a mistaken one. I told him that if he could not keep the Sabbath where he is, he could not keep it if he were in Battle Creek; that if he should come here as he proposed, and set up a business, so that he "could keep the Sabbath," he would not be keeping the Sabbath when it was done. His religion would be only a form, and his "Sabbath-keeping" only Saturday-keeping, with no Christianity and no virtue of any kind in it.

I told him yet more than this, and still what I would tell to everybody of that kind,–that his letter showed that he was mistaken about his conversion. I told him that if he had been really converted last year, he would have closed his store rightly the first Sabbath after he was converted, and that it would have been closed every Sabbath since. I told him that if he was really converted, he would be keeping the Sabbath just where he is, and would not be looking around for some other place where he "could kept it;" and he would make his Sabbath-keeping regulate his business, and not his business regulate his "Sabbath-keeping," which in that case would not be Sabbath-keeping at all.

When people of this kind come to Battle Creek, or any other Seventh-day Adventist center, in order to keep the Sabbath, they come as babies, and they will remain babies as long as they stay. A good many of this class of people are here and at other centers already. Therefore I say that it is essential that this kind of Christianity–this true Christian manliness–be preached right here in Battle Creek.

I state as a vital principle that no man is qualified for any position of any kind in any Conference or institution of Seventh-day Adventists until he is able to make his way prosperously outside ot it. when he can do that, he does not care whether he gets a position in Seventh-day Adventist institutions or not: he is independent of them,–he is independent of everybody and everything but Christ; and Christ within himself is his life, his strength, his wisdom, his all in all. He does not have to fawn and palaver, for fear he may not have the favor of the president of the Conference, and so lose his "place." If he works in the office of publication, he will not always have his eye on the foreman, and swing this way or that way, in order to keep his favor, for fear of being discharged. No; he is there, and expects to remain there, solely because of the value of his services. He is just as independent of that place after he gets it as he was before, and just as independent out of it as in it. He does not care whether the president of the Conference, or the foreman, or the general manager looks askance at him or not. He is not working for the president of the Conference, nor for the foreman, nor for the general manager. He is working only for God, with the eye of God upon him. And he cares not whose eye may inspect is work. He will not be so jealous of his "place" that he is constantly apprehensive that some one else will get his "place." The man who puts his dependence only in God, and serves God, and goes into Christianity because God is in it,–that man is never afraid of losing his place. His place is with God, and no man can take it. He is not afraid of losing his place; for wherever he is, he is with God, and that is his place. If God calls him to another part of his great workshop, and gives him another piece of work, he still has his place. He is where God has called him, he is where God wants him, and he can not lose his place. He does not get his place from any man, and no man can take it away from Him.

Therefore, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, BE STRONG."

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , p. 300.

GOD paid a mighty price for sinners. He paid the greatest price that could possibly be paid, even by him.

"He gave his only begotten Son;" and "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

Now why did he pay that awful price?

Was it because man, of himself, was worth the price? or was it because that which man had lost was worth the price?

It was not because man, in himself, was worth it; for "they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

It could be, then, only because what man had lost was of such inestimable value that it was worth all it cost to restore it to him.

Men are apt either to think that because they are worth nothing in themselves, the Lord could not have givfen so much for them, or else to think that in themselves they are worth all that the Lord paid for them, and therefore they are sufficient of themselves, without God. And Satan does not care which of these views is adopted, as either is effective for his purpose; that is, that they shall not accept the Price.

But while it is true that men, in themselves, are not worth the price that God paid for them, that which man had lost is worth, to men, all that it cost; and God is so abundantly good, so perfectly generous, that he gave all that is is worth, which is the greatest possible price, in order to make it forever sure to men who, of themselves, are worth nothing.

Therefore for men to accept the Price in all its fulness, that they may enjoy, in all its fulness, all that the Price has brought to them, is to do the greatest honor to God,–and the greatest honor to themselves by doing the greatest honor to God.

O, "the love of God is broader

Than the measure of man's mind.

And the heart of the Eternal

Is most wonderfully kind!"

"He hath chosen us."

He hath chosen us in Christ.

"He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world."

"He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you."

He has chosen all; for it is written, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."

He chose all, simply because he wants all to have what is infinitely better than is this world, or anything that is of this world.

And the only purpose for which God ever chooses anybody is that he should be holy and without blame before him in love.

He has never chosen some to salvation and the rest to destruction.

He has never chosen many to salvation and the rest to destruction.

He has never chosen anybody for anything but salvation, for anything else than that he should be holy and without blame before him in love.

He has said that this is what he chose us for, and it is eternally so. What blindness of unbelief it is, then, that men will not let the Lord have them, when he has chosen them for so good a purpose as that–and for no other purpose whatever! "Yield yourselves unto God."

"'Sin Shall Not Have Dominion'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , p. 300.

"SIN shall not have dominion over you."

That is the faithful word of God, and it is the eternal truth.

What is that promise worth to you? Is it worth its face value to you? or are you obliged to discount it?

If sin does have dominion over you, then of what benefit is that word to you? And if that word is of no benefit to you, then, so far as you are concerned, why should it be in the Bible?

And if sin does have dominion over you, then of what use is any part of the Bible, what use if the Bible itself, to you? In reality, what is salvation itself, what is Christ, to you, so long as sin has dominion over you?

No, no! salvation is deliverance from the dominion of sin.

Christ breaks the cruel power of sin, and sets the prisoner free.

Christ, and in Christ, is the FULL-fill-ment of that glorious promise, "Sin shall not have dominion over you."

And that promise is worth its full face value, every hour of the day, to every believer in Jesus.

Sin shall not have dominion over you, because you "are not under the law, but under grace."

Grace is able to deliver you from the dominion of sin, both because it is stronger than sin, and because there is much more of it than there is of sin.

Grace is of God; sin is of the devil. Grace is therefore as much stronger than sin as God is stronger than the devil.

Grace being of God, and sin being of the devil, there is as much more of grace than there is of sin as there is more of God than of the devil and all his works.

Therefore "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

Grace much more abounds in order that "as sin hath reigned," "even so might grace reign."

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." But let grace reign.

If sin has the dominion, change sovereigns and realms this instant. Give grace the dominion. Then "sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

God does not want sin to have dominion over you. He wants grace to have the dominion. Will you let him have what he wants, to-day–even while it is called to-day?

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 18 , pp. 300, 301.

"IN that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom."

Belshazzar had been associated with his father, Nabonadius, in the rulership of the kingdom. This is why it was that when Belshazzar would offer the highest possible position and reward to whoever would read for him the terrible writing on the wall, he could bestow only the position of "the third ruler in the kingdom."

This was next to the king himself. And if there had been but one king, Daniel, in the position to which he was raised, would have been the second ruler in the kingdom. Having been by the king exalted to the highest position, next to the throne, he was accordingly clothed "with scarlet," and they "put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom."

And now the two kings being out of the way, when Darius the Median, and Cyrus the Persian, his general, came to inquire into the affairs of Babylon with respect to establishing order and reorganizing the realm, they found Daniel in his royal robe and the insignia of the highest office. And when they asked him about the affairs of the kingdom, its revenues, etc., they found him to be so thoroughly informed, and so able, that they took him into their council, and gave him the chief place in the reorganization of the kingdom.

"It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm." Dan. 6:1-3.

This arrangement of three chief officers, of whom one of the three was chief, corresponded to the governmental system established by David,–as any one can see by reading 1 Chron. 11:6, 11, 12, 21,–and plainly could have been adopted only at the suggestion of Daniel himself.

A new people had now come upon the scene of action. Another kingdom and other rulers were now called by the Most High, and given a charge concerning the world. These must be taught the knowledge of the true God and the principles of his truth. God would now further use his captive people to extend the knowledge of God and the principles of his truth to all peoples, nations, and languages. And he would make the wrath of man to praise him.

When the other presidents and princes saw Daniel preferred before themselves, they were, like all politicians, dissatisfied. And when they saw that he was likely to be yet further promoted, they determined to break him down utterly. Accordingly, the whole company of them formed a conspiracy, and diligently "sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom." But with all their diligence, and with all their suspicious and prejudiced care, "they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him."

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What a commendation is that for a man of business in public affairs! Think what a test it was that was put upon Daniel. Everything that occurred in his daily business was watched and spied upon with the closest possible scrutiny, and with the definite purpose to find every fault that could be found. Every document that passed his hand, every item of business that arose in connection with his office, every direction that he gave, even the most jealous and suspicious prejudice. Yet these envious men exhausted every device and every means of information, only in vain. And such men were compelled to confess their complete failure. No fault, and not even an error, could be found in Daniel's conduct of the business of the empire.

There was, however, one last resource which, by a trick, they might employ. They knew that he feared God. They knew that his service of the Lord was actuated by such firm principle that, in rendering that service, he would not dodge, nor compromise, nor swerve one hair's-breadth, upon any issue that might be raised. "Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God."

But even in this, there was nothing upon which they might base an "occasion." In order to find it, they would have to create it; and create it they did. Pretending to be great lovers of their country, and to have much and sincere concern for the honor of the king and the preservation of the state, they "assembled together to the king," and proposed "to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree" that whosoever should ask any petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of King Darius, should be cast into the den of lions.

They presented the matter in such a plausible way, and with such evident "care for the public good," that Darius was completely deceived, and "signed the writing and the decree."

Daniel knew that the writing was signed. He knew that it was now the law,–and the law of the Medes and Persians, too, which altered not. Yet, knowing all this, "he went into his house," and "kneeled upon his needs three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." He knew perfectly that no law of the Medes and Persians, nor of any other earthly power, could ever of right have anything to say or do with any man's service to God. He went on just as he did aforetime, because, practically and in principle, all things were just as aforetime: so far as concerned the conduct of the man who feared God, any law on that subject was no more than no law at all on that subject.

"Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God." Of course they found him doing so. They expected to find him doing so. That was precisely what they "assembled" for. And Daniel was not afraid that they would find him doing so. He did not go out and advertise that he would do so; neither did he dodge it when his regular time came to pray. He simply proceeded "as he did aforetime."

Then these men hurried away to the king, and asked him: "Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day."

Then the king awoke to the fact that he had been trapped, and he "was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him." But the conspirators were persistent to defeat every effort which the king could make. And they had a ready and unanswerable argument against everything that might be proposed. That argument was, The law, the law. "Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed."

There was no remedy; the law must be enforced. Daniel was cast to the lions. The king gave him the parting word of faith, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee," and went to his palace, and passed the night in fasting and sleeplessness.

"Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions," and "cried with a lamentable voice," "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?"

And to the delight of the king, Daniel answered: "O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." That is divine testimony that innocency before God is found in the man who disregards any law touching his service to God. It is also divine testimony that the man who disregards such laws, in doing so does "no hurt" to the king, to the state, or to the government.

"Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." Dan. 6:25-27.

May 17, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. 'Touch Not, Taste Not, Handle Not'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 19 , p. 315.

I

THE Lord wants his people to have the best of everything. He therefore wants us to have the best of health. We have studied something about the place that right breathing occupies in our having the best of health. Now we take up the consideration of food. This will be considered in three divisions:–

1. What is not food at all, and is therefore not to be used.

2. What is not good food, and is therefore not to be used if it can be avoided.

3. What is the best food, and is therefore to be used freely.

In the present lesson we shall study–

WHAT IS NOT FOOD

One way of defining what is not food is: "Whatever does not either build up tissue or minister to animal heat, can not be a food."

Another definition is this: "Whatever gets strength out of a man without first putting it into him, is not food."

Yet another way of stating it is: "Whatever affects the nerves only, is not food."

The last two of these statements are also definitions of a stimulant. Stimulants affect only the nerves, and get strength out of a person, without putting it into him. Therefore, anything that stimulates is not food, and is not to be used. In other words, our lesson at this time is a study of what things are stimulants.

I shall quote from the Testimonies and from standard scientific authority. I do not cite the scientific authority to prove that the statements of the Testimonies are sound and trustworthy, nor to support the Testimonies, but that you may see how the Testimonies, while making no pretensions to scientific instruction, as such, are thoroughly scientific and more. Making no pretensions to being scientific, they tell scientific truth in the name of the Lord, and as the truth of God, witnessed by his sanctifying Spirit.

That this may be seen in the best way, I shall cite the scientific authority first, as the Testimonies make plainer the statements from this source. This authority is the "Encyclopedia Britannica," the latest edition; and under the headings of "Drunkenness," "Coffee," "Tea," and "Narcotics," you can find for yourselves all that I shall quote.

First, from the article on "Drunkenness," we read as follows:–

"From tea to hashish we have, through hops, alcohol, tobacco, and opium, a sort of graduated scale of intoxicants, which stimulate in small doses and narcotize in larger. The physiological action of all these agents gradually shades into each other, all producing, or being capable of producing, consecutive paralysis of the various parts of the nervous system."

"Consecutive" means "uninterrupted succession." That is to say, then, that the effect of all these things, from tea to hashish, is to produce successive paralysis of the various parts of the nervous system. This shows that the effect of all these things is upon the nerves only, that this effect is only to paralyze the nerves, and that each repetition of the drink or dose only increases the paralysis. This "consecutive paralysis" is produced by the use of tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, opium, and hashish. And not only does each of these increase the evil effect which proceeds from itself, but each one gradually leads on toward, and shades into, the one next above it in the intoxicating and paralyzing scale.

Again, we read, from the same place:–

"Even the cup so often said to 'cheer, but not inebriate' [tea], can not be regarded as altogether free from the last-named effect."

What is that last-named effect?–Why, "consecutive paralysis of various parts of the nervous system." Thus tea, although the lowest in the scale, is yet an intoxicant and a narcotic, producing paralysis of the various parts of the nervous system. And that even this effect is not slight, as might be hastily concluded from its holding the lowest place in the scale, is made clear by the next sentence:–

"Tea sots are well known to be affected with palpitation and irregularity of the heart, as well as with more or less sleeplessness, mental irritability, and muscular tremors, which in some culminate in paralysis; while positive intoxication has been known to be the result of excessive use of strong tea."

So much, then, for this mischievous stuff which is the lowest in the list. What, then, about coffee, which stands above it?–Here is the word as to that. We read still from the "Britannica," under the article "Coffee:"–

"Coffee belongs to the medicinal, or auxiliary, class of food substances, being solely valuable for its stimulant effect upon the nervous and vascular systems. It produces a feeling of buoyancy and exhilaration, comparable to a certain stage of alcoholic intoxication."

And under "Tea" we read further:–

"Theine of tea is an alkaloid identical with the caffeine that is obtained from coffee."

Thus, tea being akin to coffee, its effect shades into that of coffee; and coffee, in its turn, having solely a stimulant effect aking to that of alcohol, shades into that, and leads on to an appetite for it.

Nor is this all. Coffee is not only akin to alcohol in its effects, but it is akin to tobacco in both its nature and its effects.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 19 , p. 316.

GOD chose us in Christ "before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Eph. 1:4.

But "all we like sheep have gone astray." "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

But when we were thus enemies and alienated in our minds by wicked works, when we had altogether missed that for which God chose us, he reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death, to present us holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight. Col. 1:21, 22.

It is his, not ours, to present us thus. It cost "all the fulness of God" to do this; and only he who could pay that price could have the power, and obtain the right, to do it. And for any one but him to undertake to "present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight," is to attempt the impossible.

No, no! none but he can do it. But bless the Lord, he has the power, and has purchased the right by paying the fulness of the price. The Lord has laid "help upon one that is mighty;" and he "is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."

He can do it.

He will do it for you, if only you will let him.

Let him.

The number seven is used in the Bible to represent fulness, completeness.

The expression, "the seven spirits of God," therefore, that is used several times in the Bible, signifies the fulness, the completeness, of the Spirit of God.

In other words, it represents the full and complete manifestation of the Holy Spirit in all his characteristics,–in all phases of the diversities of his operations.

What, then, are these seven characteristics of the Spirit of God? If we can know how the Spirit was manifested in Christ, we shall know what are these characteristics; for he was filled with all the fulness of God.

Can we know this of Christ?–Read this: "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." Isa. 11:2.

There are just seven: count them:–

1. The Spirit of the Lord; that is, the spirit of mercy, and grace, and long-suffering, and abundance of goodness and truth, and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; for that is the Lord. Ex. 34:5-7.

2. "The spirit of wisdom.

3. The spirit of "understanding."

4. "The spirit of counsel."

5. The spirit of "might."

6. "The spirit of knowledge."

7. The spirit of "the fear of the Lord."

The gift of the Holy Ghost, therefore, is the bestowal of the disposition, the character, of the Lord; it is the bestowal of wisdom, of understanding, or counsel, of might, of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord, upon all who receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And as with Jesus, it will make the receiver "of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord."

In the manifestation of the fulness of the Spirit in the church, he divides to every man severally as he will; for "to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit," etc. 1 Cor. 12:8.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

Let him divide to you as he will. Do not ask him to do it as you will.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 19 , p. 316.

"SHALL we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?"

The answer to this question in the Scriptures, and the answer which every one will give who has read the Scriptures, is, "God forbid."

The law itself forbids sin; it is the voice of God forbidding sin. Shall we sin, then when we are under the law? The answer is, "God forbid."

The whole law itself is the word of God spoken from heaven the law from Sinai, the word is: "God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not."

Therefore, if the question were, "Shall we sin, because we are under the law?" the answer would ever be, "God forbid."

"What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?" And ever the answer is, "God forbid."

Grace brings salvation; and salvation is salvation from sin. The very object of grace is to save from sin, to reign against sin.

Therefore when the question is asked, "Shall we sin, because we are. . . under grace?" the answer forever is, "God forbid."

Very well then, as we must not sin under the law, and are not to sin under grace, the question remains, Shall we sin at all? and the answer is ever and forever, "God forbid."

Thank the Lord, he has made abundant provision that we shall not sin at all. For "by grace are ye saved;" and in such as are saved, grace reigns; and grace reigns only "through righteousness;" and "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ;" and the only measure of the gift of Christ is "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

"It is appointed unto me once to die."

And only "once" is it so "appointed;" if anybody dies more than once, it is not because of God's appointing, but because of his own choosing.

The wages of sin is death. All have sinned. And so it is appointed unto men once to die.

And Jesus died "once for all." "In that he died, he died unto sin once." "Once" "hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."

As God has appointed that men shall die but once, it is impossible that he could appoint Jesus to die more than once. But having appointed unto all men once to die, and having given his dear Son to die for all men once, he has wholly cleared the way for all men.

Then after that, and against all that, if men die again, it will be only because they persistently choose the way of sin, which causes them to die again, and so deliberately choose to die again. God did not appoint it, and he is wholly free from all shade of responsibility for it.

Therefore, "turn ye, turn ye; . . . for why will ye die?"

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 19 , pp. 316, 317.

DARIUS the Mede reigned two years, and was succeeded by Cyrus the Persian.

The angel of the Lord had stood by Darius the Mede "to confirm and to strengthen him" (Dan. 11:1) in executing the purpose of God upon Babylon. Jer. 51:11-14. And through the faithfulness of Daniel, Darius had been brought to the knowledge of the true God.

The Lord would do the same for Cyrus also; for there is no respect of persons with God. Indeed, the Lord's dealings with Cyrus began more than a hundred years before Cyrus was born. As early as 712 B.C., the Lord, by Isaiah, wrote thus of Cyrus: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." Isa. 45:1-5.

This told how the Lord would hole Cyrus's hand, and lead him in the capture of Babylon, with its two-leaved gates of brass and bars of iron. Cyrus captured Babylon in the year 538 B.C. From 712 to 538 B.C. was 174 years. Cyrus was about sixty years old when he took Babylon. Sixty from one hundred and fourteen; therefore, this was written of Cyrus, and he was called by name in the Scriptures of truth, one hundred and fourteen years before he was born.

Thus, when that passage was written by Isaiah, Cyrus did not know the Lord; first, because he was not then born. But there was a further reason why Cyrus did not know the Lord, even when he had come to the taking of Babylon. Cyrus was a Persian, and so had been born, had grown up, and had been taught, among people who were heathen.

The Persians in their religious system recognized two great principles,–Good and Evil. This conception of good and evil, however, did not rise to the height of moral and spiritual good and evil, or righteousness and sin, as is inculcated by the Lord; but rather, what would be counted by men as good and evil in prosperity and adversity, tranquility and disturb-

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ance. Accordingly, when the Lord revealed himself to Cyrus as the only true God, he said to him: "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me. . . . I am the Lord, and there is none else. . . . I make peace, and create evil." I make tranquility and create disturbance; I give prosperity and send adversity.

Again: the good principle was represented in the light, and the evil principle in the darkness. Accordingly, when the Lord revealed himself to Cyrus as the only true God, he said to him, "I am the Lord, and there is none else. . . . I form the light, and create darkness." Verses 5-7.

This good principle was personified under the name of "Ormuzd," and the evil principle under the name of "Ahriman." Later, the sun was adopted into the worship as the embodiment of the good principle, or light; and when the sun had set, and the darkness of night came on, fire was used as representing the good principle. Thus the people came at last to be sun-worshipers and fire-worshipers.

When Cyrus had become king of Babylon, if not before, the scriptures relating to himself were showed to him by Daniel, and he read them himself. In these scriptures he found the Lord God of heaven speaking personally to Him: "Thus said the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus," "I will go before thee;" "I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, Jehovah, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am Jehovah, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known 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." Verses 1-12.

This revelation of the Lord to Cyrus was so personal, so plain, and so direct, that Cyrus accepted it, acknowledged him as "the Lord God of heaven," and declared, "He is the God." Ezra 1:3.

Then when Cyrus read the further word of God to himself,–"that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid;" "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts" (Isa. 44:26; 45:13),–he accepted that word, and did at once, in his very first year, what the word said.

Accordingly: "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." Ezra 1:1-4.

"Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods; even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah." Verses 7, 8.

What a blessing to the world it would be to-day if even those who belong to the church, and profess to have known God for years, were as prompt to acknowledge the word of God and God in his word, and to obey that word, as was Cyrus the Persian when that word came to him.

"Hearing Complaints" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 19 , p. 318.

WHEN the apostle Paul was sent by Lysias to Felix, the record says that the Roman governor declared, "I will hear thee. . . when thine accusers are also come." In this is an example that many Christians could follow with profit,–to hear no complaint against a brother only as he stands face to face with his accusers. If this plan were followed, "many false judgments, evil surmises, and uncharitable censures" would be avoided. Try it.

May 24, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. 'Touch Not, Taste Not, Handle Not'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 20 , p. 329.

THE same deadly poison that is in tobacco smoke is in coffee. It is not nicotine: it is, if possible, a more virulent poison, even, than that. It is not obtained directly from the tobacco itself, but from the smoke. It is obtained by distillation both from coffee and from tobacco smoke. The simplest, most common way of extracting this poison from tobacco smoke is to take a tumbler, put in it some little pieces of ice, and then take a pipe of tobacco, draw the smoke from it, and puff it into the tumbler. The warm smoke, striking the ice, is chilled; and by being thus condensed, there is extracted from it this poison, which adheres to the sides of the tumbler. Then drink from the tumbler, and you get the poison. Enough poison can thus be taken from a few puffs of tobacco smoke to kill a man. In fact, this is one of the means frequently employed for drugging and robbing men who drink.

At a camp-meeting, I stated this process and the effect of the poison. In the audience was a stranger from New Orleans, who, after the sermon, told me that he had been a member of a jury in the trial of three men for killing a man in precisely this way. I asked him to tell the circumstances to the audience at the next meeting, and he did.

He said that three men planned to play a practical joke on another by first making him insensible, and then painting and marking him in as many grotesque ways as possible, so that when he came to, everybody would be laughing at him, and he would not know why. And the way they planned to make him insensible was to puff tobacco smoke into an iced tumbler and then have him take a drink of liquor from the tumbler. Accordingly, they so doctored the glass, and got their victim to drink from it, when lo! it not only made him insensible, but it killed him. The three men were there for prosecuted for murder. In the trial, however, they frankly told just what they have done, and that they intended nothing more than two stupefy the man and have some fun, and were as surprised and sorry as anybody could be a He was killed. They were convicted of manslaughter, and sent to the penitentiary for two years. The gentleman stated, further, that in the expert testimony given in the trial, it was repeatedly stated that this same poison is in coffee.

I had known for fifteen years of this poison, its effects, how it is obtained, and that it is in coffee; but I was glad to learn of this case of actual experience, and especially glad to get it thus directly from one who was a juror in the trial of the case.

The name of this poison is "empyreumatic oil." How is it extracted from coffee?–Bear in mind that it is obtained by distillation, and you will have no difficulty in understanding the process as I describe it. Many a time when you have lifted the lid of the coffee-pot, you have seen the underside of it covered with large drops of water, which would roll down and fall into the pot. The air outside been cooler, the steam from the boiling coffee, when it strikes the lid, is cooled, and thus, by distillation, those drops of water are formed; they are distilled water. But the steam, having risen from boiling coffee, contains this poison; and when the steam is thus condensed and these drops are distilled, this poison–empyreumatic oil–is extracted from the coffee. In fact, in hotels, restaurants, and in many families, coffee is made nowadays by suspending the ground coffee above the water in the boiler, so that the liquid is extracted wholly by steaming instead of by boiling. This process is adopted because coffee thus made is stronger, and is counted much better, than when made in the old way.

Yes; in it is much stronger, and to the taste of the coffee-drinker is much "better," than when it is made by boiling, because there is so much more of the strong poison in it, and so it takes a much "better" hold on the taste. You know how utterly "flat, stale, and profitable" in the coffee would be counted that was made in an open vessel entirely. This is because the strength and chief "value" of coffee is obtained largely by distillation, which is precisely the process by which this deadly poison is obtained from tobacco smoke and coffee.

This poison is not only an intoxicant and a narcotic, acting upon and paralyzing the nerves, but it retards digestion as well. Of course there is not as much of this poison in a given quantity of coffee as there is in the same quantity of tobacco; but is the same terrible poison, and that is enough for any one to know who would be free from its ruinous effects. This also further illustrates the principle that from tea to hashish, through alcohol, tobacco, and opium, there is a graduated scale of intoxicants (poisons) which, in their action upon the system, gradually shade into one another, all producing, or being capable of producing, consecutive paralysis of the various parts of the nervous system.

Now we read another passage from the "Britannica," under "Narcotics," which clearly describes the course of this consecutive paralysis:–

"All these substances act on the nervous system; and although the physiological action of each is characteristic, as there are many symptoms common to the whole of the group. Indeed, the course of action of all these shows three well-defined stages.

"First, there is a period of apparent exaltation of function."

That is, the system is excited, stirred up, stimulated to increased action, without first receiving strength to perform the increased action. In other words, strength is taken from the person without first putting it into him. In short, the system is robbed of strength and life.

"Second, this is followed by a diminution and perversion of functional activity."

That is, the nerves of organs thus excited to increased and unwonted action are less able to perform their usual function, after this excitement is over, than they were before, or than they would have been if they had not been so stimulated. And more than this, the nerves and organs so excited are, by the stimulant, perverted from their natural condition and office, and turned into the channel of disease and death. And in the very nature of the case, this is followed by–

"Third, a total loss of function, in which there is profound coma and paralysis."

And that means the utter ruin of those organs so far as any purpose for which God created them is concerned, and the complete enslavement of the individual to an ever-increasing appetite and an ever-strengthening habit.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 20 , p. 330.

THE Lord desires that he "may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."

The Spirit of wisdom is the Spirit of Christ; for he "is made unto us wisdom."

The Spirit of wisdom is the Spirit of God; for it is one of the characteristics of the manifestation of "the seven Spirits of God."

The Spirit of wisdom is the very Spirit which Christ had; for the Spirit of wisdom rested–remained, abode–upon him. The Spirit descended "from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him."

The Spirit of revelation in the knowledge of him is clearly the Spirit by whom came the revelation of the things of God; and that is plainly the Spirit of God,–the Eternal Spirit,–by whom "God hath revealed" to us the deep things of God, which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man."

The Spirit of revelation is the Spirit by whom the word of God, the Scriptures, came "in old time." For "the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

The Lord's expressed desire, therefore, is, that he "may give unto you," and that you may have, the Spirit of God,–the very Spirit that Jesus had, and the very Spirit by whom the Scriptures were given. O, he desires that you may have–yes, that you may be filled with–the Holy Ghost!

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 20 , p. 330.

GOD'S purpose is that "in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in One all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth."

This purpose is "according to his good pleasure," and is that "which he hath purposed in himself."

Having purposed this in himself, and he being the eternal God, it is "his eternal purpose."

And he has "made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself;" "even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ."

And the "intent" of all this "that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by [through, by means of] the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."

Thanks be unto God for this eternal and unspeakable gift.

"The Servants of Righteousness" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 20 , p. 330.

"BEING then made free from sin, ye become the servants of righteousness."

We can be made free from sin, then: the word of God says so. "Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." "He that is dead is dead from sin."

But our blessedness does not stop with being made free from sin: "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."

We can not be the servants of sin and the servants of righteousness, both at the same time; for "when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness."

We must be freed from sin before we can become the servants of righteousness. And "he that is dead is freed from sin."

We must be "dead with Christ" before we can "live with him." "For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God."

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." And just as Christ lives unto God since his death to sin, so we live unto God when we are dead with him. When we are "dead with him" "unto sin," we "live with him" "unto God."

Have you been made free from sin? If not, why not?

Have you become the servant of righteousness? If not, it is because you have not been made free from sin.

Have you been trying, and failing, to be the servant of righteousness? Have you grieved over failures until you were almost, if not entirely, ready to think that there is no such thing in this world as being indeed a servant of righteousness?

O toiling, discouraged soul, "be of good cheer; I have overcome the world"! There is, in truth, in this world, in Him, the service of righteousness. But it comes only through "being made free from sin;" and only "he that is dead is freed from sin."

Have you "endured the cross" of Christ with Christ? Are you crucified with him? Have you given up to destruction the body of sin, in order that henceforth you should not serve sin? Are you dead with him, and, so, freed from sin?

Be sure that all this is accomplished with you: then, and so, being "made free from sin," you will become the servant of righteousness as surely as the Lord has spoken that glorious promise.

"If we would serve Christ acceptably, we must serve him supremely."

May 31, 1898

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 21 , pp. 348, 349.

THE key-note of the book of Daniel is the great truth that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." This was the great culminating lesson in the instruction to Nebuchadnezzar. It was the disregarding of this great lesson by Belshazzar, that caused to be written the terrible handwriting on the wall, announcing the doom of Belshazzar and of Babylon, which fell upon both "that night." That great truth was acknowledged, and its lesson was learned, by Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. And by prophetic sketches in the seventh, eighth, and eleventh chapters of the book, that great truth is so fully and so clearly illustrated that no one, whether the ruler of a world's empire, or a poor peasant, can be without excuse in ignorance of it.

In the seventh chapter of Daniel, the course of the kingdom of men is outlined from the days of Babylon to the end of the world, by four great beasts, representing the four great world-empires; then ten horns on the head of the fourth, representing ten kingdoms, into which the fourth would be divided; and finally, another one, arising among the ten, uprooting three of them, and continuing until "the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end;" and then "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

In the eighth chapter of Daniel the course of the kingdom of men is again outlined, from the rise of "Media and Persia," through the domination of "the king of Grecia" and the four divisions of his empire, to and through the rising and working of another power, of "fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences," whose power would "be mighty;" which would "destroy wonderfully, and pros-

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per and practise;" which, "through his policy also," would "cause craft to prosper in his hand;" which would "magnify himself in his heart," and even "by peace" would "destroy many;" which would set itself up to reign in place of "the Prince of princes," the Lord Jesus himself; and which, at the last, would be "broken without hand" in the mighty breaking caused by that "stone cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces," when "the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold" are all "broken to pieces together, and become like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carries them away, that no place is found for them."

In the eleventh chapter of Daniel the course of the kingdom of men is yet again outlined from the "third year of Cyrus," through the reigns of his "three" successors, and even of "the fourth," who was "far riches than they all," and who, "by his strength through his riches," would "stir up all against the realm of Grecia;" then through the reign of the "mighty king" of Grecia, who would "rule with great dominion, and do according to his will;" then through the breaking of his kingdom, and its dividing "toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion which he ruled," but it would be "plucked up, even for others beside those;" then through the reigns of six kings "of the north" and six kings "of the south;" then through the exalting of the "children of robbers" "to establish the vision;" then through the reign of the children of robbers themselves, and their successors down to the "king of the north," who "shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain," and "come to his end," with none to help him,–to "that time" when Michael shall "stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

Thus fully, and thus specifically, is sketched in the book of Daniel, and by the hand of Daniel, five hundred and thirty-four years before Christ, the history of the kingdom of men from that day to the end of the world. And all this was so fully and so specifically written, "to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." And this is the key-note, and the one great lesson, of the book of Daniel.

Next week we purpose to go over this ground again, and put the names of the empires, kingdoms, and kings in place of the symbols.

June 7, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. What Is Not Good Food" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 22 , p. 363.

I

WE have already studied what is not food at all; that is, those things which have only a stimulating effect upon the system. We found that "from tea to hashish, we have, through hops, alcohol, tobacco, and opium, a sort of graduated scale of intoxicants, which stimulate in small doses and narcotize in larger." We studied the effect of these things, particularly tea and coffee, because they are so largely used by people who profess to be strict temperance reformers.

All these things having only a stimulating, narcotizing, intoxicating effect upon the human system, it follows that they are not foods in any sense, and therefore are never to be used at all by those who would present their bodies "holy, acceptable unto God," and who are preparing to be translated at the soon coming of the Lord.

Having found, then, what is not food at all, we will now study–

WHAT IS NOT GOOD FOOD

It is proper, indeed, to study not only what is not good food, but what is not the best food; for the Lord wants his people to have the best of everything. He has given us the best Gift in his possession. In this he has given us the best religion in the universe. And he wants his people to have the best health, so that we can enjoy, in the best way, the religion which he has given. And that we may have the best health, he wants us to live on that which is best. On this subject the Testimonies use the expression that such and such "is not the best" many more times than the expression, "is not good." This simply illustrates the thought that the Lord wants us to use that which is the best.

Having shown the injurious effects of tea and coffee, and that those things have no other than injurious effects, the questions have been asked: "What about cocoa?" and, "When we leave off tea and coffee, is not cocoa a good substitute for them?"

If we use the word "substitute" in the sense of doing the same thing that tea and coffee would do, then cocoa is a perfect substitute for them. But if we use the word "substitute" in the sense that is evidently here intended, of using cocoa with the expectation of its doing good where tea and coffee do only evil, then it is not a substitute at all.

We have seen that the evil effects of tea and coffee come altogether from the theine and caffeine that they respectively contain–theine and caffeine, however, being but different names for the same identical thing. Now the truth is that a given amount of cocoa always contains nearly as much, and often more, of the same identical poison that is found in the same quantity of tea, and one-and-one-fifth times as much as is found in the same quantity of coffee. The active principle of tea is theine; the active principel of cocoa is theobromine. And all three of these words are simply three different names for the same thing. Theine and caffeine and theobromine are identical. Perhaps we had better give the proof of this; so here it is:–

"Theine is an alkaloid identical with the caffeine obtained from coffee. . . . Theine is precisely the characteristic constituent of coffee."–"Encyclopedia Britannica," art. "Tea."

"The constituent upon which the peculiar value of cocoa depends is the theobromine, an alkaloid substance which, till recently, was supposed to be distinct from, though closely allied to, the theine of tea and coffee. It is now, however, known that the alkaloid in these and two or three other substances similarly used is identical, and their physiological value is consequently the same".–Id., art. "Cocoa."

"The physiological and dietetic value of coffee depends principally upon the alkaloid caffeine, which it contains in common with tea; cocoa; mate, or Paraguay tea; guarana; and African cola-nut."–Id. art. "Coffee," also under "Tea."

The proportion of this constituent that is identical in tea, coffee, and cocoa is as follows: tea, 1.8 to 3 per cent.; average, 2.4; cocoa, 2 percent.; coffee, .8 per cent.

Now when you leave off coffee because of the evil effects of four fifths of one per cent. of stimulant, and take in its place cocoa, which has in it two and one-half times as much of the same identical stimulant, it is evident enough that that is not exactly health reform. Indeed, it is not reform of any kind; it is only to make the matter worse than it was before. And when you leave off tea because of the injurious effects of two-and-two-fifths per cent. of stimulant, and "substitute" for it cocoa, which has almost as much, and in many cases more, of the same identical stimulant, it is evident that this is also just as far from being true health reform as the other.

This only illustrates the necessity of our using thought and judgment in all this work of health reform. It is not acting, sensibly to leave off a thing that we have learned is bad, and then blindly take up, simply because it tastes good, something that is as bad, or perhaps worse, or is the same identical thing under another name or in another form. This is not health reform. We need to think on all these things, and act upon a thoughtful, well-formed, and well-balanced judgment. Of all things, this is one in which haphazard action is not allowable. Every one needs to learn, and never to forget, that health reform does not consist in simply leaving off what we have learned is not good, but in using that which is food, or even the best. When we use only what is good or the best, all those things that are injurious will drop away like dead leaves from a tree, and will simply be left behind and never missed.

There is a difference, however, between cocoa and tea and coffee. That is, whereas tea and coffee have a very small proportion of food elements, or none at all, cocoa has a large proportion. More than four fifths of the constituents of cocoa–82 per cent–are food elements; while in coffee less than one fifth is food, and in tea there are practically no food elements at all. From tea and coffee, therefore, practically nothing is obtained but the stimulants, which are only injurious; while from coca the same, or a greater amount of the same, stimulant is obtained, yet along with it there is more than forty times as much of food elements. The proportion is: theobromine, 2 per cent.; food elements, 82 per cent. fat, 20 percent. Nitrogenous compounds, and 10 per cent. starch. The effect of the stimulant is the same, whether taken with the larger proportion of food elements in cocoa, or with very little, or none, in tea and coffee. It is better to do without the food elements as found in cocoa, and thus escape the stimulant, than to take the stimulant with the food elements. In other words, it is far better to use that which contains only food than to use what contains both food and stimulant.

This brings us to another principle of health reform. It is this: As anything, the effect of which is only to stimulate, is not food, and therefore is not to be used at all, so also anything that carries with it any stimulant is not good food, and is therefore not to be used if it is possible to avoid it.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 22 , p. 364.

THE Lord is coming.

And without holiness, no man can see him in peace.

Have you holiness?

How can anybody have holiness without "the Spirit of holiness"?

And how can anybody have the Spirit of holiness without the Holy Spirit?

Have you the Holy Spirit?

"Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?"

Then surely, with such a spirit as that, no man can see the Lord in peace.

But he says, "A new Spirit will I put within you," and "he shall . . . abide with you forever."

He does not want the spirit that lusteth to envy to abide with you forever. Do you?

He wants his own Spirit–the Holy Spirit–to abide with you forever. Do you?

Having thus the Spirit of holiness abiding with you, forever, you will have holiness.

And, having holiness, you can see the Lord in peace when he comes.

And he is coming soon. "Get ready, get ready, get ready."

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 22 , p. 364.

WHEN it is known that we were predestinated to be gathered together with all things in heaven and on earth, in Christ, into glorious and eternal harmony in God, it is easy to see that the Lord's predestination is a glorious thing. Eph. 1:9-11.

When it is known that according to this glorious purpose, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be wholly and without blame before him in love, it is easy to see that the Lord's predestination is a glorious thing. Eph. 1:3, 4.

When it is known that Jesus, the Lamb without blemish and without spot, was foreordained before the foundation of the world, that we might believe in God, and so attain to this position and condition of holiness and eternal harmony in God, then it is easy to see that the Lord's foreordination is a glorious thing. 1 Peter 1:20, 21.

When it is known that in order that all this glorious destiny might be attained by us, even though we are sunken in sin, God predestination did us unto the adoption of children, by Jesus Christ, unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, then it is easy to see that the Lord's predestination is a glorious thing. Eph. 1:5.

When it is known that, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children of Jesus Christ unto himself, in this he also predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son, because that in all things that Son is the example of what all his children are to be, with God and in God, then it is easy to see that the Lord's predestination is a glorious thing. Rom. 8:29.

When it is known that, to make all this glorious destiny sure to all, unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, for the perfecting of the saints, for the building up of the body of Christ, will we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, then it is easy to see that the Lord's predestination is a glorious thing. Eph. 4:7-12. 13.

And when it is seen that this glorious destiny is eternally fixed for every creature in heaven and on earth, and that it is worth all that it cost to make it sure to all, then it is easy to see that the Lord's predestination is the most glorious thing in the universe of God. glory to his name!

And by all this it is easy to see what a fearful thing it is for any soul to question, to criticize, and to reject, the Lord's glorious predestination: he is rejecting all the good that there is in the universe, and for nothing.

"Unto Holiness" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 22 , p. 364.

EIGHT times in immediate succession in these columns, we have quoted, from the word of God, his longing desire, and faithful promise, that you shall be freed from sin and kept from sinning.

All these eight quotations were from a single chapter of the Bible; and surely no one will for a moment claim that this one chapter contains all that there is in the Bible to that blessed purpose.

We have taken all these quotations from only one chapter, expressly that all might see how rich the Bible is in promises of the great blessing of deliverance from sin and from sinning; for when only one chapter contains so many, what must the whole Bible contain!

Let it not be forgotten, either, that with these promises of deliverance from sin and from sinning, there are given promises of the service of righteousness. For Christianity is not a mere negation, but a mighty affirmation, it is not simply the absence of sin; it is decidedly the presence of righteousness.

Only, as sin and righteousness can not occupy the same field, as they are diametrically antagonistic forces, the service of righteousness can be maintained only by a persistent fight: and in order to begin this fight with certainty of success, the decks must be cleared for action; and all impedimenta must be put away, and left behind for ever; we must be freed from sin.

Then, "being made freed from sin," we become "the servants of righteousness." And having become "the servants of righteousness," under "the Captain of our salvation" we "fight the good fight of faith," quitting ourselves like men, ever, in all things, to "please him who have chosen us to be soldiers."

But the blessing does not end here. No, no! not by a long way. It is a great blessing to be freed from sin; but that is not enough of a blessing to us to satisfy the Lord–we must have the blessing of the service of righteousness.

But that is not enough yet. It is, indeed, a wonderful blessing to be made a servant to righteousness. Yet even such a blessing upon us is not enough to satisfy the Lord; for it is said that "being made free from sin, and become the servants of righteousness," "ye have your FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS."

But even this is not the end. Freedom from sin and from sinning, the service of righteousness, and to holiness,–all this wonderful blessing upon us is not enough to satisfy the Lord. No, no! For when you have been "made free from sin, and become the servants of righteousness," "ye have YOUR FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS, and the end EVERLASTING LIFE."

And everlasting life has no end.

Bless the Lord!

"To the Critics" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 24 , pp. 366, 367.

WE offer no criticism of the critics: we have no return criticism to make. We constantly endeavor to profit by every criticism that comes to us, of which there are many. We intend only to offer a few simple suggestions, which we are sure will be of value to the critics in their work.

First of all, it is well for the critic to remember that he is not the only subscriber that there is to the REVIEW AND HERALD,–that, as a matter of fact, there are more than fourteen thousand of these besides himself.

Along with that, it is well for him to remember that each one of these thousands possesses

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all rights that the critic possesses, and has an individuality and a preference of his own, that is entitled to all the respect which that of the critic is entitled.

Upon this it will occur to any critic who thinks, that there is a possibility that among all these thousands there may be some who may not be of exactly the same mind with himself in all things; and that therefore there is a possibility that there may be some who are pleased with the very thing that he criticizes, and who approved the very thing which he condemns.

Then just at this point it may occur to the critic that some of these who approve the thing which he condemns may write to the editor their quiet, kindly approval, just as he writes his scorching disapproval. And lest it might not occur to the critic, we will whisper, for his information, that it actually occurs sometimes that these letters of quiet, kindly approval come in the very small mail with his letter of scorching disapproval. And, as a matter of fact, there are more of them than there are of his. We do not say this to boast,–far be it: We simply call attention to it as a point that may help the critics.

When a person recognizes, and has well fixed his mind, the great truth that there are thousands of other people who have precisely the same rights as himself, and whose individuality and preferences are entitled to precisely the same respect as his own; that these people think for themselves as well as he for himself; and that these people may approve the very thing that he disapproves, it is a great help to him when he would engage in the blessed work of criticizing.

When there are more than fourteen thousand people, all possessing rights absolutely equal, and each one having an individuality inalienably his own, and preferences which are entitled to all the respect to which those of any of the others are entitled, is it exactly fair, is its right, for one person to insist that all that belongs jointly to all shall exactly meet his unqualified approval and every point?

The REVIEW AND HERALD contains sixteen pages, composed of matter on many subjects, fifty-two times in a year. The editor is bound to render the best possible service to the whole number of subscribers; for all have equal rights, and individuality is entitled to equal respect. He can not, he dare not, attempt suit the paper, or even any single copy of it, to the mind of any particular subscriber.

Let us say, again, that we are not complaining of the critics. However, we would suggest that suggestion is far better than criticism. Anybody can find fault with what is done; but not everybody is able to suggest where in improvement can be made. The editors of the REVIEW AND HERALD sincerely aim at constant improvement. We want each number of the paper to be better than the one before it. And we desire the co-operation of every subscriber to this end. Now, finding fault does not help us at all; the calling attention to mistakes and the making suggestion where improvement can be made, do help.

For illustration we may mention that not long ago a brother suggested that shorter notes on the last page would be an improvement. We knew this all the time, and we wanted it so, and put it into practise. Then after a little while, the same brother wrote to was that to have so many news notes on the last page was not good, and was not what he meant; that what he meant was that there should be shorter notes, giving the developments of the cause up to date. Yet that brother, so far as at present known, never in his life sent a single note, item, or pointer on the development of the cause up to date. Now if he had sent, or if he would send, to us some such notes as he wants to see on the last page of the REVIEW, that would be worth something. But what he said is worth nothing. We aim to do just that thing on the last page, but we do not know everything all are self; we are obliged to learn some things. And not being on the present, we cannot learn what is beyond our reach. And in fairness we should not be blamed for not telling what we do not know. Let this brother tell us all that he knows, and surely we can do better. And so with all the other critics.

June 14, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. What Is Not Good Food" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 25 , p. 377.

II

IN last week's article the principle was stated that anything, the effect of which is only to stimulate, is not food, and therefore is not to be used all; and its correlative, that anything that carries with it any stimulant is not good food, and is therefore not to be used if it is possible to avoid it.

This is one of the reasons that flesh-meats are not good food. Flesh-meats have in them stimulating properties akin to those in tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. Perhaps we had better have the proofs of this statement, too, so here they are. The "Encyclopedia Britannica," in discussing tea and its kindred stimulants, says:–

"The theobromine of cocoa is closely allied to theine, and the characteristic components of the extract of meat shows certain points of contact with these stimulant bodies."

And Dr. Foote rights on this point as follows:–

"All flesh contains excrementitious products, upon which depend its so-called stimulating properties, as well as the strong or distinct flavors which may take the flesh of the feeders. Those who are unaccustomed to the use of meat are, by its occasional use, noticeably stimulated by the so-called 'extractive matters'–so-called because they can be extracted in the laboratory, though it is not possible to eliminate them from the butcher's meat. The Abyssinians other tribes addicted to occasional gluttonous sprees, when they consume immense quantities of raw meat, have been observed to exhibit signs of intoxication, as if stimulated with wine. . . . It is a common observation that children are made restless, irrigable, and quarrelsome by much meat-eating, due to the fact that they are very susceptible to it stimulating properties. . . . The origin, nature, and effects of. . . these extractive matters . . . are analogous to those of alcohol and ammonia. Every drop of venous blood is laden with them, so much so that if an animal is not well bled it is killed, the meat is rendered quickly putrescent, and is not a safe food. All waste products of living tissues, when applied to other living tissues, produce the effects which are called stimulating. To the hungry stomach and faint heart these affects give a sort of quick satisfaction, and this is soon followed by the more staying gratification of the real food properties of the meat. . . . Meat-eaters are generally impatient of any delay of their meals beyond the usual hours; they miss their accustomed stimulus at the expected time. The stimulating effects of meat are probably the cause of that habit of the system which makes it seem sometimes unwise as well as difficult to do without it. Those who are prompted by their finer feelings to rid themselves of what they have come to regard as a savage propensity, are often held in the strong bonds of appetite and habit, and reluctantly conclude that it will be 'unnatural' for them to do without it."–"Food: What's Best to Eat," pages 18, 19.

After these plain statements of scientific authorities as to the stimulating properties of flesh-meats, perhaps I may be allowed to present, without being counted an extremist on health reform or the Testimonies, the statement the Lord made to us thirty years ago, that "meat stimulates."–"Testimonies for the Church," Vol. II, page 486. And in view of the fact that so "high" and authority as the "Britannica" shows the stimulating effects of the extract of meat to be akin to the stimulating effects of tea and coffee, it may not be to "strong meat" to present a statement to the same effect upon the authority of the Lord from the Testimonies:–

"We do not hesitate to say that flesh meat is not necessary for health or strength. If used it is because a depraved appetite craves it. Its use excites the animal propensities to increased activity and strengthens the animal passions. When the animal propensities are increased, the intellectual and moral powers are decreased. The use of the flesh of animals tends to cause a grossness of body and benumbs the fine sensibilities of the mind."–Id., page 63.

This and other statements concerning the injury is the effects of flesh-meats are followed immediately with the statement of the injury is effects of tea and coffee. Thus these things are classed together in the Testimonies, just as they are by the scientific authority. And this was done for us thirty years ago. Shall we, then, allow the evil effects of the stimulant in flesh-meats to hold us "in the strong bonds of appetite and habit," any more than we shall allow the kindred stimulants in tea and coffee and cocoa to hold and injure us?–Not if we are to be temperance in all things; not if we are to practise temperance–self-control–indeed.

There is another thing which should be mentioned in this connection before we close,–a thing that makes me much more injuries than it would otherwise be, and much more injuries than it was in olden times. That is the way in which it is killed, and the length of time between the killing and the eating of it. The way that animals are taken to market, the way that they are killed, the way that the meat is handled, and the length of time that it is kept after the animal is killed before the meat is sold,–all these things are only direct and positive means of manufacturing those "extractive matters" in which lie the stimulating properties. Besides, such usage puts the meat in a condition where the fiber of the meat itself begins to break down in the first stages of putrefaction; and to eat such meat is to take into the system that which can only loaded with deadly humors. And this is the kind of meat that nine tenths of the people use meat, buy and eat.

"Those who subsist largely upon flesh cannot avoid eating the meat of animals which are to a greater or less degree diseased. The process of fitting the animals for market produces in them disease; and fitted in as healthful a manner as they can be, they become heated and diseased by driving before they reach the market. The fluids and flesh of these diseased animals are received directly into the blood, and pass into the circulation of the human body, becoming fluids and flesh of the same. Thus humors are introduced into the system. And if the person already has impure blood, it is greatly aggravated by eating of the flesh of these animals. The liability to take disease is increased tenfold by meat-eating."–Id., page 64.

"Could you know just the nature of the meat you eat, could you see the animals when living from which the flesh is taken when dead, you would turn with loathing from your flesh meats. The very animals whose flesh you eat are frequently so diseased that, if left alone, they would die of themselves; but while the breath of life is in them, they are killed and brought to market. You take directly into your system humors and poison of the worst kind, and yet you realize it not."–Id., pages 404, 405.

These statements could be abundantly corroborated from the writings of others; but what is the use of it? If a person will disregard the evidence is here presented on this subject, he would disregard all the evidence is that could possibly be brought together. The evidence is here given clearly show that flesh-meats, cocoa, tea, and coffee form but a graduated scale of stimulants and intoxicants, and that flesh-meats, as they are to-day, are not the least injury is in the scale.

As true temperance is not to use any stimulant at all, it therefore excludes all foods which contain stimulants; consequently, true temperance excludes flesh-meats from dietetics.

"Will the people who are preparing to become wholly, pure, and refined, that they may be introduced into the society of heavenly angels, continue to take the life of God's creatures, and subsist on their flesh, and enjoy it as a luxury? From what God is shown me, this order of things will be changed, and God's peculiar people will exercise temperance and all things."

There are other things yet to be named that are not good food; but we shall consider them later. In the meantime, be sure that in leaving off these things that are injurious, you do it by taking that which is good, and only good, and good for you.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 25 , p. 380.

THE Lord is coming.

He is coming in glory.

He is coming "to be glorified in his saints."

He is coming that his saints may be glorified in him.

And so, coming "to be glorified in his saints," and that his saints may be glorified in him, he is coming that "we may be glorified together."

In order to be glorified with him, we must be "joint heirs with him."

In order to be joint heirs with him, we must be "heirs of God."

In order to be heirs of God, we must be "sons of God."

And in order to be sons of God, we must be "led by the Spirit of God."

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

In order to be led by the Spirit of God, we must have the Spirit of God.

In order to have the Spirit of God, the Spirit itself must "bear witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joined heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

"The wise shall inherit glory."

And it is "eternal glory."

Glory!

"Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 25 , p. 380.

WHEN God had created man "in his own image," then "God bless them." This was on the sixth day.

Then came the seventh: "and God blessed the seventh day."

God blessed the man, and God bless the seventh day.

That blessing upon man was a reality. It was a substantial thing which was put upon the man by the Lord for the benefit of the man.

That blessing upon the seventh day was likewise, and just as certainly, a reality. That, too, was a substantial thing which was put upon that day by the Lord.

That blessing upon the seventh day was also for the benefit of man; because the seventh day is the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for man, and that blessing is one of the things that made the seventh day the Sabbath for man.

No one who knows that there is such a thing as the blessing of God, can deny that the blessing with which God blessed the man was a reality. No one who knows what God's blessing is can deny that when he blessed the man, there entered the life of the man a substantial good,–one which the man could not possibly disregard without substantial loss.

And the blessing with which God blessed the seventh day was just as real, just as substantial, and just as much for the good of man, as was the blessing with which he blessed the man. This can not possibly be denied.

In that blessing which God put upon the seventh day, there was a substantial good for the man, which the man could not possibly disregard or forfeit, any more than he could the blessing upon himself; and forfeited also the blessing of the seventh day, because only the blessed man can share the blessing of the blessed day.

Yet the Lord did not leave the man in his lost condition. He creates him new in Christ Jesus again, "after the image of him that created him." And man, being again "in the image of God," is blessed of God. Acts 3:26; Eph. 1:3.

And the blessed day "remaineth" for this blessed man. Heb. 4:3-9. The blessed man can enjoy the blessed day. And only the blessed man can enjoy the blessed day, because that blessed day "remaineth" "to the people of God."

Yet said it is that so many people who claim to be, and who indeed are, such blessed men, and to enjoy the blessings of the blessed man, utterly disregard, and even reject, the blessed day, which was made, and which "remaineth," for these very blessed men. They wholly lose, and seem content, and even determined, to lose, the blessing of the blessed day, which was made, and which "remaineth," especially for blessed men. Surely, they know not what they do. They know not what they are losing.

Why will blessed people, why will any people, reject the blessing of God because he placed it for them upon the seventh day?

"Studies in the Book of Daniel" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 25 , pp. 380, 381.

THE Babylon of the days of Daniel did certainly fall. Those days, too, were the days of Babylon highest splendor and greatest glory. Yet that was the time she fell.

This fall was foretold over and over in the word of the Lord by his prophets; it was proclaimed in Babylon by the public reading their of the word of the Lord concerning Babylon; all who were the Lord's people, or who would be the Lord's people, were called to leave Babylon, that they might not be taken in her fall; signs were given by which all might certainly know when to forsake her, and how she would be overthrown. All this was made plain to all by the word of the Lord.

Isaiah proclaimed the message of a vision declared unto him, in which Elam and Media were to go up and the siege; and in a "night of pleasure," of eating and drinking, the watchman would cry, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground." Isa. 21:1-10.

The same prophet also wrote to her of her pride and her wickedness, saying: "Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee: thou shall not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee, which thou shalt not know." Isa. 47:11. He wrote plainly the name of the man–Cyrus–who would lead the forces in the overthrow of the city. Isa. 45:1-7. He also wrote, "Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed the servant Jacob." Isa. 48:20.

In Jeremiah 50 and 51 is written "the word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet." Jer. 50:1. In these two chapters there is given an account, even to particular, of the fall of Babylon written more than half a century before the time. This account was sent to Babylon by a prince of Judah, who, when he arrived there, was to stand in the broad street of Babylon by the river Euphrates, and "read all these words." And when he had read the words, he was to exclaimed, "O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever."

And when he had spoken these words, he was to bind a stone to the manuscript, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates, and say, "Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her." Jer. 51:64.

And all that the Lord had spoken, and that the prophets had written, came upon Babylon. Babylon did fall. In her iniquity she fell, and because of her iniquity she fell. And this, not because it could not have been otherwise, but because she would not have it otherwise. For the Lord would have healed Babylon; but she would not be healed. His people there for that very purpose; but when she would that be healed, they were obliged to forsake her, and go everyone to his own country; for her judgment reached and the heaven, and was lifted up even to the skies. Jer. 51:9. So Babylon was left to her fate, and sank to rise no more at all.

So much for the Babylon of the book of Daniel and of the days of Daniel.

But now there is a Babylon of the book of Revelation, and of our days–the last days.

What means the word concerning a Babylon of the last book of the Bible and of the last days? What does it mean unless it be that the world of the last times is to become like the Babylon of those other days, and is to come to the same end as did the Babylon of those other days? If that is not the lesson in it, then there is no lesson in it. The term "Babylon," written so often in the book of Revelation, and of the last times, is meaningless if it does not mean that the last days, and the world of the last days, will be such as was Babylon in her last days.

Why was the fall Babylon proclaimed in old time? and why is the fall Babylon proclaimed in the last times? Isa. 21:9; Jer. 51:8, 47, 49, 58; Rev. 14:8; 18:2. Why, unless there is to be a Babylon to fall in the last times as certainly as there was a Babylon in old time to fall?

Why was the judgment of God to be visited upon Babylon in old time? and why is the judgment of God to be visited upon a Babylon of the last times? Isa. 13:1, 19; 14:22; 47:5, 7-11; Jer. 50:9-16, 28, 29; Rev. 17:1, 16, 17; 18:6-10. Why, unless there is to be a Babylon in the last times as certainly as there was a Babylon in old time?

Why were the Lord's people called out of the Babylon of old time? and why are the Lord's people called out of the Babylon of the

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last times? Jer. 51:6, 45; Rev. 18:4. Why, unless the Babylon of the last times terms herself in iniquity as did the Babylon of old time?

Why was it that the messenger in Babylon of old time it ended his message by casting a stone into the midst of Euphrates, and exclaiming, "Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her"? And why is it that, at the close of the message concerning the Babylon of the last times, a mighty angel takes up "a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall the great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." Jer. 51:61-64; Rev. 18:21. Why, unless there is to be a Babylon in the last times to sink, and that will sink, as certainly as there was a Babylon of old time to sink, and that did sink?

Why was it that, at the noise of the fall of the Babylon of old time, the earth was moved, and the cry was heard among the nations? And why is it that, at the fall of the Babylon of the last times, "the kings of the earth. . . bewail her, and lament for her," and that their cry is heard among the nations? Jer. 50:46; Rev. 18:9, 10, 15-19. Why, unless the judgment upon the Babylon of the last times is just as real as and as terrible as was that upon the Babylon of old time?

Why was it that when the Babylon of old time fell, so at Babylon there fell also the slain of all the earth? And why is it that when the Babylon of the last times falls, there is found in her "the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth"? Jer. 51:49; Rev. 18:24. Why, unless the Babylon of the last times is just as wicked, just as cruel, and just as impressive, as was the Babylon of old time?

Why was it that when Babylon of old time fell, the heaven and earth, and all that was therein, were called to "sing for Babylon"? And why is it that when the Babylon of the last times shall fall, the word will be, "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets"? Jer. 51:48; Rev. 18:20. Why, unless it is a thing to rejoice heaven and earth to be freed from the curse of the Babylon of the last times as readily as it was of the Babylon of old time?

But what I call attention to any more parallels? Is it not perfectly plain that there is a Babylon of the last times that is a complete repetition of the Babylon of old time? Is there not a Babylon of the book of Revelation has really as there is a Babylon of the book of Daniel? Is there not a Babylon of our days as really as there was of the days of Daniel? And is not this Babylon of the last days to sink under the judgments of the Lord as really as did the Babylon of old? When that judgment was written for the Babylon of old, was it not at the same time written: "This is the purpose that is purposed upon the earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed and to shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and to shall turn it back?" Isa. 14:26, 27.

Why talked, then, about a millennium–unless, indeed, it be a millennium of ruin and waste in this and desolation? Did Babylon of old have a millennium of any other kind than of ruin and waste this and desolation, swept "with the besom of destruction," "a possession for the bittern and pools of water," "as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah"? Rev. 13:19; 14:22, 23; Jer. 50:40.

Why talked, then, about the conversion of the world? Was the Babylonish world of old time converted? Did she sink because she was converted?–She would not be converted. She sank because she was overwhelmingly wicked. And the Babylon of the last times is just like her. And thus with violence shall Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached and the heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."

"Who Authorized It?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 25 , p. 382.

IN the recent past, I have been the recipient of a number of envelopes containing a certain circular letter. This circular letter came as endorsed by a number of my esteemed and beloved minister in brethren. Every copy came in the same kind of envelope, and with the address written in the same hand. All were directed to me at Battle Creek, although I was at work in Wisconsin. Of course it was necessary to forward the letters to me.

The following is a copy of the circular letter:–

"To the Board of Trustees, Seventh-day Adventist Educational Society, Battle Creek, Mich.

"DEAR BRETHREN AND FRIENDS: We think the mortgaging and sale of any of our denominational institutions is not right; for it deprives us stockholders of our money and our rights, as protected by the laws of the State of Michigan; hence we AT ONCE hereby respectfully ask you to PETITION the proper court of equity and chancery to AT ONCE set aside said mortgage, and leave the College free from sale, and you brethren free to manage the College as it is to the best interests of stockholders and students, according to the wisdom the Lord will give you.

"Signed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Post-office. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."

I should like to know who had a moral right to send out such a letter, in the way this was sent. Was sent with the letter a leaflet, which told some things about a mortgage been placed upon the College at Battle Creek. But it told these things and a way to mislead the reader. The whole scheme was evidently intended to make my brethren believe that I, Wm. Covert, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Seventh-day Adventist Educational Society, was in Battle Creek, waiting for them to tell me to institute court proceedings for the purpose of setting aside the said mortgage. This thing is a misrepresentation of my attitude in the matter. I have favored the mortgage, and have not, at any time, wanted it set aside. I have approved of it as a member of the board, and also as a stockholder.

The brethren who sign with me to do hereby certify that they were, by the manner in which the matter was sent them, made to believe I was anxious for them to endorse the above letter or petition. They further say that if they had not been deceived, their signatures certainly would not have been given.
WM. COVERT.
J. C. MIKKELSEN,
Signed also by Elders T. B. SNOW, SWIN SWINSON.

The foregoing communication was sent to the REVIEW AND HERALD for publication. It is not the first letter to the same affect that has been written, though it is the first one written directly for publication. It truly says that the misleading letter that was sent out "as endorsed by a number of esteemed and beloved minister in brethren." But the truth also is that at least two of these names were put on there, and sent out, without the knowledge of those brethren themselves; and that these names would not have been there at all if those brethren had known of it. And those brethren have been obliged to write letters, and do whatever else they might, to correct the false impression given by this on authorized use of their names.

The method employed was to send out to the brethren, for them to sign, this blank request "to the Board of Trustees." Accompanying it was the endorsement of certain names, two at least of which we personally and positively know knew nothing of it, and would not have consented to it if they had known it. In the same envelope with these papers, was sent an envelope already addressed to some member of the board, as related by Brother Covert. Of course the persons receiving the papers with the addressed envelope would suppose that the papers were sent by the person whose name was on the of envelope, as Brother Covert states; whereas, the truth is, as in the case of Brother Covert and others of whom we know, the person to whom the enclosed envelope was addressed new nothing whatever about it, and would have had nothing to do with it if he had known it, and is now compelled to write and even published, letters of protest and explanation to deliver himself from the false attitude into which he has been thrown by this piece of hocus-pocus.

The mortgage referred to is simply a trust mortgage; that is, a mortgage which places the College property in the hands of three responsible brethren in trust, so that all the creditors shall be perfectly secure while the reorganization of the institution is being accomplished, and so that when reorganization is accomplished, the title shall be perfect, and all creditors absolutely secure.

This plan was adopted because, for these purposes, it is perfect; and because it is the least expensive, easiest, and most direct: in short, because, in every way, it is the best plan. And it has been undertaken now because now the College needs to be helped, in order that it may securely and a factually do the work that was designed for it in the beginning. We are perfectly sure that no person who is a friend of the principles of education designed from the first four Battle Creek College, will oppose this plan when he understands it.

No stockholder will be deprived of either his money or his rights, and no creditor will lose a cent of what is owed to him by the College, by the carrying through of the plan now inaugurated, of which this simple and innocent trust mortgage is an essential part. Every stockholder who can possibly be found has been furnished with a complete copy of the proposed plan of reorganization, for his examination, criticism, and suggestion. Thus every stockholder will have full opportunity to consider it, and to express himself upon it. There is no secrecy about it, and there will be none. The Board of Trustees, the Reorganization Committee, and the General Conference Committee are all working together, and doing the very best we can, and the best thing we can, under all the circumstances, in the interests of the, as the Lord has designed it from the beginning.

We trust the brethren will not allow themselves to be deceived by this thing exposed by Brother Covert. And we hope those who may have been deceived by it will deliver themselves as a bird from the snare of the fowler.

June 21, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. What Is Not Good Food" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 26 , p. 392.

III

OUR previous lesson closed with a statement of the fact that the stimulating properties in flesh-meats cause them to be not the best food; and that these stimulating properties are greatly increased by the multiplication of impurities in them. The fewer impurities, therefore, the less of a stimulant.

There was a time when some flesh-meets were eaten without special harm. At the same time there were, and are yet, certain flesh-meats which were not, and are not, to be eaten at all, because they were not, and are not, fit to be eaten.

This distinction between flesh-meats which might be eaten and those which must not be eaten, is laid down in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. The distinction is made so clear, and by tests so easy to be applied, that everyone who can get hold of the Bible is without excuse in not understanding the subject. As to beasts, the rule is: Whatever is cloven-footed and choose the cut in be eaten. But they must have both of these requirements. Anything that choose the cut only, or is cloven-footed only, or that goes on its paws, is not to be eaten, and never was fit to eat. As to things that are in the sea, the rule is: Whatever has both fins and scales may be eaten. If it has not bowfins and scales, it is not, and never was, good for food. Of winged creatures those that are not good are named, and all others may be eaten.

Yet the fact that these things were once eatable does not prove that in all times, and under all circumstances, the same things are good for food. The truth is that the time will come when not a single earthly thing will be good to eat. When the plagues of the wrath of God are poured out upon the earth, and the curse is devouring the earth, death will be in everything that is in the earth; and to eat of any earthly thing then will be only to partake of the elements of death. At that time the Lord himself will supply is people with bread and water, as he did Elijah when he was persecuted and had to flee for his life.

As we come nearer to that time, the people of God, under his guidance and instruction, will drawn nearer to the original diet of man. And before probation closes, we shall exclude from our dietary everything that has come into the dietary of man sin entered. And under the influence of this way of living, this people will reach the point, before probation closes, at which, when every earthly thing becomes tainted with death, all can be dropped, and the change made, without inconvenience, to that which the Lord himself will supply.

God now gives us instruction and opportunity by which we can fully prepare for this time which we all professed to believe is coming soon, and which is coming soon, whether we profess it or not. Many, at least, of the children of Israel were not prepared for the change from their regular diet in Egypt to that which God supplied in the wilderness. They therefore lusted for the flesh-pots of the Egypt, grew impatient with what they decided was a hard way, murmured against the Lord, and destroyed by the destroyer. And this was written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. Those who will not disregard, all through this time a preparation, the careful instruction that the Lord has so long and so patiently set before us, to fit us for this all-important time that is now so near,–those who will disregard all this, and live on just what they please, expecting to continue so through the plagues, or expecting suddenly to drop it all, and change to the other in a day or an hour, will, as surely as did the children of Israel, long for the flesh-pots of the former time, grow impatient with "the hard way," murmur against the way in which the Lord is leading and at what he is giving, and will, as certainly as were they, be destroyed by the destroyer, and that irrecoverably.

If beef were as nearly pure as it was in the time when it could be taken quietly, and fresh from the herd, as by Abraham, as recorded in Gen. 18:7, 8, it would now, in itself, be no more objectionable than it was then. But this can not be so now with one person in a hundred of those who eat it. On the contrary, the beef that is used, except in very few instances, is put through the market in the way, and with the results, described in a previous article. The Testimony says even as much. Here are the words:–

"Could we know that animals were in perfect health, I would recommend that people eat flesh-meats sooner than larger quantities of milk and sugar. It would not do the injury that milk and sugar do."–"Testimonies for the Church," Vol. II, page 369.

Instead of meat being of this character, however, it is the opposite. The animal creation is diseased. Flesh-meat is diseased. And even though it was not diseased when in the herd in the field, by the time it has been put through the course of the market, it is laden with impurities. And the nearer we come to the end, the nearer we come to the time when none of it will be eatable, because of the impure and injurious properties that will abound in it. For this reason, and for the further reason that a change will have to be made, and that suddenly, at the beginning of the plagues, it is now time to take up the instruction that the Lord has given in this matter, and apply it faithfully; that is, in a way full of faith.

When the Lord tells us a thing is not good now, and that he does not want us to eat it now, it is not a sufficient answer to say, as many do, "It was eatable once, and was allowed in the Bible, and why is it not now?" This is no answer at all, for the simple reason that what was eatable and allowable once may not be so now; and what is now good will not be eatable in the time of the plagues; in fact, can not then be eaten at all.

Whether we can see why these things are not good, or whether the Lord ever tells us why, can have no proper bearing in the case. The Lord says such and such things are not good food in this time; and if we are willing to allow that he knows more than we do, we shall be willing to take his word for it, and drop the use of that which he says is not good, taking, in its place, that which he says is not only good, but the best.

And where the reason is given as to why certain things are not good food, do not try to offset it by saying, "If that is so, why does such and such a person use it?" Just leave out all that part of it, and accept it or reject it for yourself alone. Do not try to regulate what the Lord would have you do, by citing what somebody else does. Do not forget that the health reform work is an individual work, and each one is to apply it in his own case, for himself alone. This is what you and I are to do; and whether other people do it or not is for them, not for us, to decide.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 26 , p. 396.

OF the angels it is written, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

Yet in this ministration the angels go only as they are directed by the Spirit of God; for it is written, "Whither the Spirit was to go, they went."

Now to men is written, "As every man hath received the gift, and even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Thus men who are partakers of the grace of God, which brings salvation, are engaged in the same ministration has are the angels.

And as the angels engaged in this ministration only as they are directed by the Spirit of God, then how can any human being engage in it, except as he is directed by the Spirit of God?

As the angels, to perform this ministration according to the will of God, must be directed by the Spirit of God, how much more must we, who are so far less in power, in might, and in holiness, conveyed to perform the like ministration according to will of God,–how much more must be the directed by the Spirit of God!

How all-important, then, it is that all who profess to be God's people shall receive, shall be baptized with, the Holy Spirit!

Without this what can we do? How all-important the message which now the Lord sends to is people, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost"!

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 26 , p. 396.

IT is promised, "They shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy."

And this promise is just as good for us now, just as true to us to-day, as it ever will be.

For "all the promises of God in him are Yea, and in him Amen," and "now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

Now, therefore, is the time to walk with him in white.

And why not now?

Is it not written, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow"? And is not this now?–Yes, bless the Lord!

Is it not written, "He hath clothed the with the garments of salvation; he hath covered me with the robe righteousness"? and is not "the righteousness of saints" declared to be as "fine linen, clean and white"? And does he not cover us with this robe of righteousness now?–Yes, blessed be the name of the Lord!

Then is not now the time to walk with him in white?–Yes, glory be to God!

Come along, then.

Let him just not make your sins as white as snow, that you may walk with him in white.

Let him just now wash you so that you shall be whiter than snow, so then you can walk with him in white.

Let him just now put upon you the robe of righteousness, as of fine linen, clean and white, that you may walk with him in white.

"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."

If we do not walk with him and white now, when shall we ever?

If we do walk with him in white here, how shall we hereafter?

No, no; now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. And now it is that we must walk with him in white.

"They shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy."

Bless the Lord, and "blessed be his glorious name for ever and ever"!

He says it. And it is so.

"Passing Events" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 26 , p. 396.

IN connection with the present difficulty between Spain and the United States, there are matters of greater interest than the war itself. There are incidents of the controversy, developments from the main issue, which really mean more, and which, in the end, will be found of greater moment, than the main question, in itself.

Already there have been developments which, to the student of the third angel's message, are deep interest; and others of no less importance may be expected. It is our province to call attention to these, and to the best of our ability we shall do so, and so keep our readers informed upon the matters which really most concern the people of God, who are looking for the coming of the Lord.

Every one acquainted with third angel's message, with the truth of God for the last times, knows that the papacy is to perform no small part in the affairs of the United States. And every one knows that in this direction great strides in and made both by the nation and by the papacy in a few years past, especially in the World's Fair times. And now, and this time, scarcely had the question between Spain and the United States become really serious before the papacy appeared upon the saloon, and executed a stroke which she has had steadily in view for years. This movement is an interesting study.

It will be remembered by all that early in May a message was expected from the president of Congress and the country, that would mark the crisis on the Spanish-Cuban question. It will be also remembered by all this expected message was promised and postponed several times. And it will be remembered that at last that expected, and promised, and postponed message was promised certainly on a certain day; that Congress assembled in full expectation of receiving the message, the galleries also being packed in expectation; and that Congress sat there in silence and in a strained expectation that was almost unbearable, and in which the whole country joined, for a full hour or more of, only to be informed, finally, the message with and be presented that day.

The explanation that was offered in behalf of this most remarkable performance was that at the last moment General Lee in Havana had requested that the message be delayed, because the presentation of it would endanger the lives of American citizens in Havana.

But in the United States Senate, only a few days afterward, Senator Turner, of Washington, standing in his place, "charged that the delay was not due to the request of General Lee, but to the fact that Archbishop Ireland had cabled to the Vatican in the hope that the holy father might be able to bring about a peaceful solution of the difficulty. The President was waiting upon the pope to secure that which American diplomacy had failed to obtain."

That a United States senator, speaking upon a question so grave as to be known by all to involve war between nations, would say such a thing as this at random, is not to be believed.

The truth of the charge is favored by the fact that though the message was withheld professedly because the publication of it that day "would endanger the lives of American citizens in Cuba," yet when it was made public, unaltered, a week later, there was not in it a single sentence that could, by any conceivable construction, stir up any spirit that would in any way endanger the life of any American citizen. The World asked the President or anybody else to point out in that message any single sentence that would have endangered the lives of Americans in Cuba had it been published the day it was promised, and Congress and the country sat in suspense waiting for it.

Another pointer in favor of Senator Turner's charge is the statement of the Washington correspondent of the Chicago Times-Herald, April 14, that "Archbishop Ireland was again active to-day in the cause of peace, rushing from one embassy to another and from legation to legation, spending much time at the French minister's house, and an hour with the envoy of Austria-Hungary, in one last effort to preserve peace."

Another strong point in favor of the truth of Senator Turner's charge is the fact that no denial of it was made at the time, nor has there been since.

It is well known that no effort was ever made by either the pope or Archbishop Ireland to secure peace between Spain and the Cubans: and also that there would have been no such effort at this time were it not for the strong prospect of Cuba's being lost to Spain. Under Spanish rule, the Church of Rome has governmental support and a practical monopoly in Cuba. The moment Cuba is lost to Spain, and is free,–that moment Rome finds her governmental power there vanished.

Thus it was not peace for the sake of peace, but peace for the sake of power and revenue, that Archbishop Ireland and the pope were so busily working for just as Cuba was about to be free.

That, through the President, Archbishop Ireland and the pope should, in such a cause, or in any other, be able to play pitch and toss and peek-a-boo with the Congress and people of the United States, is sufficiently suggestive to cause any thinking person most seriously to think.

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There is much more to this: but one thing more just now is that it can be remembered in this connection that Archbishop Ireland dictated to the St. Louis Convention, two years ago.

And all this shows the power of Rome in the United States.

June 28, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. What Is Not Good Food" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 27 , p. 408.

IV

IF, in reading up on this important subject, you find yourself using some of the things that are named as injurious, do not fly to the other extreme, and go to starving yourself by dropping everything at once, without putting that which is better in its place. To do that is only to perpetuate the evil; for an impoverished diet will produce the same results as flesh-meats and rich food,–it will create a poor quality of blood. See "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. II, page 368.

"We would not recommend an impoverished diet. I have been shown that many take a wrong view of the health reform, and adopt too poor a diet. They subsist upon a cheap, poor quality of food, prepared without care or reference to the nourishment of the system. It is important that the food should be prepared with care, that the appetite, when not perverted, can relish it. Because we from principle discard the use of meat, butter, mince pies, spices, lard and that which irritates the stomach and destroys health, the idea should never be given that it is of but little consequence what we eat. There are some who go to extremes. They must eat just such an amount and just such a quality, and confine themselves to two or three things. They allow only a few things to be placed before them or their families to eat. In eating a small amount of food, and that not of the best quality, they do not take into the stomach that which will suitably nourish the system. Poor food can not be converted into good blood. An impoverished diet will impoverish the blood."–Id., page 367.

"These changes should be made cautiously, and the subject should be treated in a manner not calculated to disgust and prejudice those whom we would teach and help."–Id., page 370.

Let us turn, then, to the consideration of–

WHAT IS GOOD FOOD

Yes, let us find what is the best food, and enjoy ourselves to the full on that, in order that we may have the best of health, and enjoy ourselves in every other right way. what, then, is good? What shall we find to put in the place of all these things that are not good to eat in this time? Here is is:–

"Grains and fruits prepared free from grease, and in as natural a condition as possible, should be the food for the tables of all who claim to be preparing for translation to heaven."–Id., page 352.

"Fruits and grains, prepared in the most simple form, are the most healthful, and will impart the greatest amount of nourishment to the body, and, at the same time, not impair the intellect."–Id., page 400.

Those who discard meat "need to supply its place with the best fruits and vegetables, prepared in the most natural state, free from grease and spices. If they would only skillfully arrange the bounties with which the Creator has surrounded them, parents and children with a clear conscience unitedly engaging in the work, they would enjoy simple food, and would then be able to speak understandingly of health reform."–Id., page 486.

"God has furnished man with abundant means for the gratification of natural appetite. He has spread before him, in the products of the earth, a bountiful variety of food that is palatable to the taste and nutritious to the system. Of these our benevolent heavenly Father says that we may 'freely eat.' We may enjoy the fruits, the vegetables, the grains, without doing violence to the laws of our being. These articles, prepared in the most simple and natural manner, will nourish the body, and preserve its natural vigor without the use of flesh meats."–Id., Vol. III, page 50.

Adopt the free use of these things, and you will find that all those other things will drop away and never be missed. Then health, such as the Lord desires that you shall have, enjoyment of life, and prosperity in all the things of God, will be yours. For "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereith."

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 27 , p. 410.

"AT that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you."

At what day?–The day the Comforter would come; the day that he himself, by the Comforter, would come.

For he said, "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you;" and, "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you."

Do you know this? Do you know that he is in his Father, and you in him, and he in you?

If you do not know it, why do you not?–There can be but one reason for any one's not knowing this; that is, he has not received the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit.

For "hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."

Then when he has promised that we "shall know," and has abundantly and freely supplied the means by which we shall know, that "we dwell in him, and he in us," why should any one go a single hour without that blessed knowledge?

"Ye shall know." "Hereby know we." Blessed, blessed knowledge! Thank the Lord!

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Places to Walk" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 27 , p. 410.

IN the third chapter of Zechariah, one was seen who was "clothed with filthy garments."

To those who stood before him it was said, "Take away the filthy garments from him."

Then to him it was said, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."

Then the prophet said, "Let them set a fair miter upon his head."

Then "they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments."

"And the angel of the Lord stood by."

Then said the Lord to the one who had been clothed with the garments, "If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then. . . I will give thee places to walk among these THAT STAND BY."

As it was the angel of the Lord that stood by, this is but to say that to all such he will give places to walk among the angels of the Lord.

And this is not only to be so in the world to come; it is so now.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 27 , p. 410.

SEE here: to every one who is reconciled to God, there is given "the ministry of reconciliation;" "as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

Thus to every Christian there is given the ministry of salvation.

The angels also are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

And this is true not only of some of the angels, but of all the angels of the Lord. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth?" etc.

And how many are there of the angels?–There are "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." There is "an innumerable company" of them.

There are certainly many times more of the angels of the Lord than there are of the inhabitants of the earth.

And as they are all sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation, it is certain that there are many of the angels where there is one individual who is an heir of salvation; there was a "mountain full" of them round about Elisha. And did not Jesus say of his little ones, "Their angels do always behold the face of my Father"?

Therefore, when we are ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation, and the angels of the Lord–all–are ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation, and when there are many more of them than there are of us, then are we not walking among them EVEN NOW?

Certainly we are; that is just as plain as that two and two make four.

That we do not see them with our natural eyes, as we walk and work among them, is nothing against the fact.

Elisha's servant did not see them until his eyes were opened. But they were there just as really before his eyes were opened, as they were afterward. And he was among them, he was walking among them, and did not know it.

Elisha was walking among them, too, and knew it. He saw them, though they were invisible.

Therefore it is true that as certainly as we are ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation, so certainly we are walking among the angels of the Lord; for they "all," "an innumerable company," are also ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

This is true, whether we recognize it or not.

Then let us have the benefit of this blessed truth as we walk and work among the angels of the Lord. Let us not be as Elisha's servant, who walked among them and did not know it. Let us rather be as Elisha, the servant of the Lord, who walked among them, and knew it.

We do know it; for the Lord says it, and it is so. Then let us enjoy it as we go.

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 27 , p. 410.

THE students of Chicago University were told the other day,–by their president, too,–that in order to be loyal to God, "first of all be loyal to yourself." Of course this puts self first. But the Lord Jesus says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself." The Lord Jesus himself, in order to be loyal to God, "emptied himself," becoming "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." This puts God first. This is Christianity; the other isn't.

"Passing Events. Archbishop Ireland Is Going to Explain" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 27 , pp. 410, 411.

ARCHBISHOP IRELAND has publicly announced that he is going to "make a public reply to the attacks made upon him." By "the attacks made upon" him, he means what has been said upon his and the pope's meddling with the affairs of the Untied States, and their manipulating the President, and making a Punch-and-Judy show of Congress. He says that when he does come out, the publication of his letter "will be timely."

Yet, with this preliminary announcement merely of what he is going to do, he takes occasion to explain at considerable length why he did what he has already done, and to tell a good deal of what he expects to do. And in this there are some points worth considering.

He says that when the pope wanted to use his "good offices for the preservation of peace, it became necessary that some one in Washington should be in a position to send him hourly bulletins, if necessary, of the attitude of the administration."

Of course for anybody to do that, he would have to be in the very inner circles of the councils of the administration. He says that the papal delegate "Martinelli was first elected for this place," but that "he declined to act, upon the ground that he could not possibly have any standing at the White House, being merely as an ecclesiastical representative of the Vatican." And lo! when one who was "merely an ecclesiastical representative of the Vatican," could not act, because he was that, then one who was an ecclesiastical representative of the Vatican was chosen to act because he was that–and more.

Martinelli could not act because, being "merely an ecclesiastical representative of the Vatican," he could not possibly have any standing at the White House. Then the thing is shifted, and an merely an ecclesiastical representative of the Vatican is chosen who can have such standing at the White House as to be able to send hourly bulletins of the administration. In other words, in order to get in his work, the pope must have an agent, a representative, in the inner circle of the administration. Martinelli did not have the qualifications, and Archbishop Ireland did have the qualifications; therefore Archbishop Ireland was chosen.

But what were these qualifications that adapted Archbishop Ireland for a position that the apostolic delegate could not fill?–The archbishop tells us; and here they are: "It was then determined that the close and cordial friendship which existed between Archbishop Ireland and President McKinley and his whole cabinet, joined to the fact that he is an eminent American citizen, made him a fit instrument through which negotiations could be conducted."

Now, ecclesiastically, President McKinley is a Methodist. How is it that such a "close and cordial friendship" exists between a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic and him, as to gain for that ecclesiastic a position and knowledge that would enable him to send "hourly bulletins of the attitude of the administration"? How is this, when it is perfectly certain that there is not a Methodist bishop in all the United States, between whom and President McKinley there is such a "close and cordial friendship" as to

411

gain for said Methodist bishop a position or knowledge that would enable him to send "hourly bulletins," or perhaps any bulletins at all, of the attitude of the administration? How is it that, ecclesiastically or otherwise, there is a more "close and cordial friendship" between a Methodist and a Roman Catholic archbishop, than there is between that same Methodist and any Methodist bishop?

Of course everybody knows that this "close and cordial friendship" of the archbishop's is altogether political, and solely because of political advantage. Everybody knows that it is the archbishop's political power which was exerted at the St. Louis convention and through the campaign of 1896, that makes "the close and cordial friendship" between him and "President McKinley and his whole cabinet," and which made him "a fit instrument through which negotiations could be conducted" that could not be conducted at all by Martinelli, as Martinelli is an Italian, and has no standing in American politics yet; all of which demonstrates that the greatest Roman Catholic official in the United States, out of politics, has not the power to be, and, therefore, is not, so dangerous to the United States as was, and is, a subordinate Roman Catholic official who is in politics. And this is equally true of every other ecclesiastical connection in the United States. No ecclesiastic or religionist of any kind can do the mischief, out of politics, that any one can do in politics. Therefore the eternal principle is,–and this papal trick lately played is a forcible illustration of it,–that ecclesiastics and religionists of every sort should forever keep out of politics.

And when it had been "determined that the close and cordial friendship which existed," etc., "made him a fit instrument," etc., the result was the "in view of this he received a formal letter from Cardinal Rampolla, papal secretary of state, authorizing him to represent the pope. This was presented to Judge Day, and semi-official relations began."

It is, then, a fact that the Secretary of State of the United States has formally received "a formal letter" from the "papal secretary of state," appointing a representative of the pope, "through which negotiations could be conducted" with the government of the United States in an affair with another nation. Accordingly, the archbishop's statement proceeds: "Since that time, Archbishop Ireland has been in communication with Europe. Through him the official texts of the concessions which Spain was willing to make for the sake of peace, have been laid before this government, and before the European ambassadors. The composite news of the situation has been cabled to him, and by him disseminated."

The pope and his representative to the United States government did not succeed in securing a peace to perpetuate the papal power and revenue in Spanish-enslaved Cuba. But they did succeed in getting what the papacy for years has been working for,–the formal receiving of a representative of the pope TO THIS GOVERNMENT, upon a formal letter from the papal secretary of state. And thus has been established this act and the precedent of formal official relations between the papacy and this government.

This much has been gained already. And much more is planned, of whom we shall have occasion to speak. Just now, however, the report says that when the archbishop shall have made "public his reply to the attacks upon him," in which he "will go into details," "he will proceed to Rome."

Of course he must hurry off now to Rome and the pope, to report in full the progress made, and laugh with him while they map out their program for further official recognition when the time comes to settle the terms of peace between Spain and the United States.

We hope he will go into details, and give the whole story exactly as it is. And then we wish he would go to Rome at once, and, for the good of the United States, stay there forever. And then let all other ecclesiastics and religionists in the United States keep out of politics here forever.

July 5, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. Importance of Good Cooking" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 28 , p. 425.

I

WE have found that one of the vital principles of true health reform is to eat that which is good, rather than merely to do without that which is not good,–that it is not health reform to stop the use of what is not good, unless that which is good is put in its place. And that is because an impoverished diet, even of things that are no injurious in themselves, has the same effect as a diet of those things that are, of themselves, not good. And it is but proper to say that good cooking of the things that are good in themselves is an essential in the carrying out of this principle.

In putting into the dietary what is good in the place of what is not good, the attempt is a failure if that which is good in itself it not well cooked, or otherwise well prepared if it does not need to be cooked. That which is good in itself may be so poorly prepared as to cause it to be really injurious. And material that, in itself, is not good, may be so well prepared as to be really better food than material that, in itself, is far better, but is poorly prepared.

For instance, fine-flour bread is not so good as graham or whole-wheat bread; yet light, well-baked, fine-flour bread is far better than heavy, poorly baked graham or whole-wheat bread. Yet it is a fact that too many people who could make good, light, fine-flour bread have attempted to be health reformers, and to make their families health reformers, by leaving off the use of this fine-flour bread, and proposing to put in its place graham bread or "gems," so heavy, and many times even so sour, as to be unfit for any use in the world. And all this because "the Testimonies say" that "fine-flour bread can not impart to the system the nourishment that you will find in unbolted wheat bread."

But this is not health reform in any sense. Light, well-baked, fine-flour bread is far better than is heavy, poorly baked bread of graham or any other kind of flour. And bread that is sour should never be put on the table in any form or for any purpose. The only thing to do with sour bread is to throw it away. Nor is it any waste to throw it away. The eating of sour bread is the greatest possible waste that there can be about it. yea, that is worse than waste–it is injury. No bread at all is better than sour bread. It is much the same, also, with that stuff (probably we have all seen it) which is called graham bread, or "gems," and which, though not exactly sour, is so heavy as to be turned back to dough, rather than to anything else, by eating.

It is true that the Testimonies say that "fine-flour bread can not impart to the system the nourishment that you will fin in the unbolted wheat bread," and that "the common use of bolted wheat bread can not keep the system in a healthy condition."–Testimonies for the Church," Vol. II, page 68. And they say a good deal more than this. It may be well to set down here some of the main points in this matter, in addition to what is so often quoted in justification of the use of graham bread of the sort we have mentioned. Here it is:–

"Because it is wrong to cook merely to please the taste, or to suit the appetite, no one should entertain the idea that an impoverished diet is right. Many are debilitated with disease, and need a nourishing, plentiful, well-cooked diet. We frequently find graham bread heavy, sour, and but partially baked. This is for want of interest to learn, and care to perform, the important duty of cook. Sometimes we find gem cakes, or soft biscuit, dried, not baked, and other things after the same order. And then cooks will tell you they can do very well in the old style of cooking, but, to tell the truth, their families do not like graham bread; that they would starve to live in this way.

"I have said to myself, I do not wonder at it. It is your manner of preparing food that makes it so unpalatable. To eat such food would certainly give one the dyspepsia. These poor cooks, and those who have to eat their food, will gravely tell you that the health reform does not agree with them. The stomach has not power to convert poor, heavy, sour bread into good; but this poor bread will convert a healthy stomach into a diseased one. Those who eat such food know that they are failing in strength. Is there not a cause? Some of these persons call themselves health reformers, but they are not. They do not know how to cook. They prepare cakes, potatoes, and graham bread, but there is the same round, with scarcely a variation, and the system is not strengthened. They seem to think the time wasted which is devoted to obtaining a thorough experience in the preparation of healthful, palatable food.

"Some act as though that which they eat were lost, and anything they could toss into the stomach to fill it would do as well as food prepared with so much painstaking. It is important that we relish the food we eat. If we cannot do this, but eat mechanically, we fail to be nourished and built up as we would be if we could enjoy the food we take into the stomach. We are composed of what we eat. In order to make a good quality of blood, we must have the right kind of food, prepared in a right manner.

"It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in different ways, so that it may be eaten with enjoyment. Mothers should teach their children how to cook. What branch of the education of a young lady can be so important as this? The eating has to do with the life. Scanty, impoverished, ill-cooked food is constantly depraving the blood by weakening the blood-making organs.

"It is highly essential that the art of cookery be considered one of the most important branches of education. There are but few good cooks. Young ladies consider that it is stooping to a menial office to become a cook. This is not the case. They do not view the subject from a right standpoint. Knowledge of how to prepare food healthfully, especially bread, is no mean science.

"In many families we find dyspeptics, and frequently the reason of this is the poor bread. The mistress of the house decides that it must not be thrown away, and they eat it. Is this the way to dispose of poor bread? Will you put it into the stomach to be converted into blood? Has the stomach power to make sour bread sweet? heavy bread light? moldy bread fresh? . . . Many a wife and mother who has not had the right education and lacks skill in the cooking department is daily presenting her family with ill-prepared food which is steadily and surely destroying the digestive organs, making a poor quality of blood, and frequently bringing on acute attacks of inflammatory disease and causing premature death. Many have been brought to their death by eating heavy, sour bread. An instance was related to me of a hired girl who made a batch of sour, heavy bread. In order to get rid of it and conceal the matter, she threw it to a couple of very large hogs. Next morning the man of the house found his swine dead, and, upon examining the trough, found pieces of this heavy bread. He made inquiries, and the girl acknowledged what she had done. She had not a thought of the effect of such bread upon the swine. If heavy, sour bread will kill swine, which can devour rattlesnakes and almost every detestable thing, what effect will it have upon that tender organ, the human stomach?

"It is a religious duty for every Christian girl and woman to learn at once to make good, sweet, light bread from unbolted wheat flour."–Id., Vol. I, pages 681, 682, 684. See also Vol. II, pages 369, 373, 537, 638.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 28 , p. 428.

"THE joy of the Lord is your strength."

Did you know that there is real reviving strength in the joy of the Lord?

It is really so, as every one can certify from experience, who knows the joy of the Lord.

How could it be otherwise? Is there not reviving and strength in mere human joy? How much more, then, in divine joy,–in joy that is the Lord's, and that comes direct from him to the believer!

When a person is worn, and weary, and ready to faint, and just then receives a bit of joyful news, is not all his thought of faintness at once dissipated by the joy? and is not all his weariness supplanted by freshness and strength, which the joy has brought?

And when that is true in affairs altogether human, how much more must it be true in affairs divine! It is so, as every one knows who know the joy of the Lord.

But how shall we be partakers of the joy of the Lord?

The joy of the Lord in human life is the fruit of the Spirit of God. "The fruit of the Spirit is. . . joy." And we can not have the fruit without the root.

"The kingdom of God is. . . joy in the Holy Ghost;" and "the kingdom of God is within you."

Therefore, the joy of the Lord in human life is only by the Holy Ghost. And "the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Is the joy of the Lord your strength?

Are you worn, and weary, and ready to faint? "The joy of the Lord is your strength;" and this comes only by the Holy Spirit. Have you received the Holy Ghost? "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 28 , p. 428.

HOW many times in the life of every one there come disappointments because some cherished plan or idea fails to carry. Particularly is this true in church matters, in the election of officers to carry on the Sabbath-school and church work, especially when there is present more of self than of Christianity. We think that if only this or that one had been given charge of the work, how much better it would have been. Perhaps so; yet it should not be forgotten that all are brethren; that each has a right to his personal opinion, the same as ourselves; and, obviously, that what would please us would not be likely to satisfy those who think differently.

But suppose things have not gone as they really should, what ought to be the attitude of us who have been disappointed? Self suggests, "I will do nothing; let those who have the work in charge conduct it as they please." Of course, single-handed, or with opposing elements, there may be a failure, and then out come the words, "I told you so."

How much better it is when we accept the situation and make the best of it, trusting to the future to right any errors that may be committed. A poor leader, with the co-operation and sympathy of his brethren, can accomplish more than a good leader without this co-operation and sympathy. If any member of the human body, because of physical weakness, is unable to perform its legitimate function, the other members assume additional responsibility; and what the weaker one is unable to perform, the others do, and the burden is equalized. So it should be in the Master's service: we are exhorted, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." When people who are disqualified are given charge of work in the cause, and that work is not a success, it is the cause that suffers, not particularly those who have failed. Can any one who loves the cause stand by and see it suffer for want of assistance that he could render?–Surely not.

A. T. Jones, "The Bible the Leading Educational Book," The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 28 (July 5, 1898), pp. 428, 429.

FOR anybody to profess to believe the Bible for what it is,–the word of God,–and at the same time not to allow that the Bible must be the leading book in all education, are two things that will not hold together at all.

The Bible claims for itself that it is the word of God. It comes to men as the word of God. If it is not accepted and held as the word of God, it is no more than any other peculiarly national book. To believe the Bible, is to accept it as the word of God; for that is the only claim that the Bible makes for itself. Not to except the Bible as the word of God, is not to believe the Bible at all.

The Bible, then, being the word of God, is supreme knowledge and supreme authority upon every subject that is true. There can not be any truer knowledge than that of God: there can not be any higher authority than that of the word of God. As certainly, therefore, as the Bible is an educational book at all, so certainly is it the supreme educational book.

Is the Bible, then, an educational book? Is it given to instruct, to educate?–For what other purpose could it possibly have been given, since it is given in written language? The Author of it says, "Learn of me." "I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit." And, "Who teacheth like him?"

The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father sends, "shall teach you all things,"–not all things good, bad, and indifferent; not all things speculative, conjectural, and false, but all things that are true; not false science, but true science; not false philosophy, but true philosophy. For he is the Spirit only of truth. He is a guide only into truth. And in this "he will guide you into all truth."

He, being God and being a teacher, is the supreme Teacher. His words are supreme instruction. Instruction is the only means to education; and his instruction, being supreme, the education accomplished through this instruction is likewise supreme. And that which is supreme is, in the very nature of the case, of the very first consideration. To the Bible, therefore, being the word of God and being instruction from the Lord, belongs, by divine right, the place of first consideration in all education.

Therefore it is perfectly plain that any teacher in any Christian school who would lead any student into any study before the study of the Bible, does not really hold the Bible to be the word of God, and, therefore, supreme. And it is just as plain that any teacher in any Christian school, who, in any study, uses any other book before the Bible, or in preference to the Bible, does not really hold the Bible to be the word of God; he does not count is supreme knowledge; he does not acknowledge it to be the supreme authority. He may profess to hold the Bible as the word of God; but such action shows that it is not really that to him; some other book is more to him than is the Bible.

It may be, indeed, that he thinks he holds the Bible to be the word of God, but uses some other book in preference to the Bible, because he is better acquainted with that book than he is with the Bible. But this does not relieve him; because if he is better acquainted with this other book than he is with the Bible, it is simply because he has studied that book more than he has the Bible: and the very fact of his studying that book more than he has studied the Bible, is proof positive that that book is more to him than is the Bible. And that being so, the Bible is not really the word of God to him: for the Bible is not the word of God to a man when, to that man, another book stands ahead of the Bible.

More than this, the teacher to whom any other book is more than the Bible, or is preferred to the Bible, is not prepared to teach in any Christian school; for he will certainly, even though not consciously, put the word of man before the word of God. And that is not Christian teaching.

This is not in any sense to say that no book but the Bible can be used in teaching. Other books can be used,–yes, in a number of studies other books must be used,–but they will always be used only with the Bible. And when these books are used with the Bible, they will always be used in subordination to the Bible; in each particular study the Bible will lead, and the other book will follow. No other book can ever lead, and the Bible follow, in any Christian school, nor with any teacher in a Christian school.

We have much more to say in illustration of this great and vital principle. But all that we shall say more just now is that no person is qualified as a teacher in any Christian school until he is so acquainted with the Bible that in anything which he undertakes to teach, he can make the Bible the leading book.

But let not this truth discourage any one. If you are not so acquainted with the Bible now, go to work, and become so acquainted with it. And this is simply asking you to become acquainted with God, with his wisdom, and with his power.

A. T. Jones, "Editorial Notes," The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 28 (July 5, 1898), pp. 428, 429.

IT is said by a no less trustworthy authority than Harper's Weekly, that only lately France and England have been on the very eve of war. It says: "Very few persons outside of officials circles in France and England know how near to war the two nations were. The tactics of the fleets had been arranged, and those who were in the secret were keeping watch on the movements of the English Channel squadron. . . . So complete were the preparations, that France had made ready ships for cutting England Cable communications with the world, while England had fitted out vessels

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for relaying them." Happily, this crisis is past, and a peaceful status now prevails. But how true it is that "the nations are angry," and that the angels are holding the four winds!

"Passing Events. That Papal Scheme" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 28 , p. 429.

ARCHBISHOP IRELAND has not yet published his promised "reply to the attacks made upon him," in which he is to "go into details" about his and the pope's manipulating the government of the United States. However, in his explanation to the effect that he is going to explain, there are statements sufficiently suggestive to cause serious thinking and careful watching on the part of all who would discern the signs of the times, or who care for true American liberty and independence.

Having failed to preserve peace in the interests of papal power and revenue, his plan is next to make the war turned to the credit of the papacy--and especially to the promoting of the power of the papacy over the United States. The scheme announced in behalf of the Archbishop, and endorsed by "one high diplomat," even before the war had actually been begun, is as follows:–

He [Archbishop Ireland] expects to bring about a Congress of nations. If this is considered in impracticable, such a concert will be arranged that the impossible elements and factors in the situation may be eliminated by friendly pressure upon Spain and upon the United States.

It is possible and probable that a congress of nations will be called immediately after a positive declaration of hostilities.

The whole matter will then be taken up and adjusted. Spain will receive some adequate compensation for loss of the island of Cuba, if the experiment now on trial fails, through war; and at the same time, Cuba will be put under stable rule and government, probably under the protectorate of the United States.

In doing this the wisdom of the Monroe doctrine will be acknowledged, but the incidental responsibility of the United States thereunder will be defined and demonstrated. This will work greatly for the preservation of the peace of the world. As matters stand now, there is constant danger that some puny nation may, through braggadocio or truculence, involves some great powers.

Thus the papacy is determined to make herself felt, and will force herself in to recognition, in the affairs of the United States. Having failed to hold her power and revenue in Cuba by holding that suffering people under Spanish despotism, she now proposes to accomplish that purpose, and a great deal more, by engineering a settlement in which she will have to be recognized as a chief party to be reckoned with.

And notice how coolly her arrogant position is assumed. See with what an air of superiority it is that she announces that "friendly pressure" will be put "upon the United States" as "upon Spain,"–as if the United States were subject, as Spain has always been.

Notice, also, and inwardly digest, the deep and sinister meaning of it,–how self-confidently it is declared that by this "congress," or "concert," of her calling, "the whole matter will be taken up and adjusted." See the assumption of supremacy displayed in telling just how the parties interested will be dealt with: "Spain will receive some adequate compensation;" "Cuba will be put under stable rule and government;" and "probably" this will be "under the protectorate of the United States." Cuba declared, and made, "free and independent" by the United States; and the United States, professedly at least, the free and independent in her own right, are to be taken charge of by the papacy and her "concert," and are to be dealt with as she decides, as if they were her absolute subjects, to be placed and moved like "men" on a chess-board! And then, to cap it all, "the incidental responsibility of the United States," under the Monroe doctrine, "will be defined and demonstrated" for the United States.

There can not be the least doubt that the papacy will do every possible thing to carry out this program announced by Archbishop Ireland.

And who is prepared to say that she will not succeed in having this program carried out according to her own ideas and wishes,–if not in every detail, largely in very substance? Especially who is prepared to say that she will not succeed in it, when at her very first move, she has been successful in gaining official recognition from the government of the United States,–when at her very first that, she succeeded in having an official communication from her "secretary of state" officially received by the Secretary of State of the United States, and her "representative" recommended in this official communication, also officially received, through whom, afterward, "the official texts of the concessions which Spain was willing to make for the sake of peace" were "laid before this government." When she can do all that at the very beginning of difficulties what will she not do before the difficulties are in did?

And when it is understood that the Philippines and San Juan are solidly Catholic, and Cuba almost so, and when it is understood that in all three of these places the papacy has immense vested interests, who can doubt that when the time comes for settlement of the pending difficulties, the papacy will be sure so insinuate herself as to secure recognition as one of the parties entitled to consideration with the other "powers,"–especially when she proposes, even now, to take the initiative in calling the congress of nations that shall "adjust" matters?

Another thing that just now makes all this worthy of only the more careful consideration, is the movement to have the United States enter the lists as one of "the powers" in the affairs of the whole world.

Just now is a time for deep study in careful thinking.

"Worldly Fame and Church Membership" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 28 , p. 429.

DURING late years there appears to be a disposition on the part of the churches to claim, as a church-members, men prominently before the public in an official capacity, whether they give any evidence of making a profession of Christianity, or not. Nearly all the leading religious journals have published portraits of Admiral Dewey. The Protestant Episcopal church claims that he belongs to it, because, when a boy, he was confirmed by one of their bishops. The Catholics, through an editorial in the Cleveland Universe, a Catholic paper, have announced, in a confident tone, that he is a convert to that church. The United Presbyterian of June 16 asserts that he is one of the ruling elder's and the Presbyterian church. Now it transpires that he is neither Protestant or Catholic, but a Jew; for the American Hebrew comes forward with a claim that " unless Admiral Dewey's mother renounced her faith before his birth, she was a Jewess; and under Jewish law and custom, the child follows the religion of the mother."

One near him in his every-day life has said, "If Dewey is a religious man, I have yet to discover it." But whether he is, or is not, religious, why didn't these churches claim him before the battle of Manila? And why should they be so anxious to claim him now, unless it be that worldly fame is the principal element in prominence of membership in those churches? And when that is the case, those churches themselves are essentially worldly, and value worldly fame far more than the value Christian character.

Whether Admiral Dewey is religious or not, is altogether a matter of his own individual concerned. But that any professed Christian church should think it a feather in her hat to claim him as a member, just because of his fame, however well merited, shows that that church's idea of the qualifications to church membership are far more earthly than heavenly.

July 12, 1898

"Evangelistic Temperance. Importance of Good Cooking" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 29 , p. 441.

II

THE point in all this is: Do not try to make health-reform foods take the place of the old until they are at least as well prepared as the old. If the old were well prepared, and the new are as well prepared, the new will always be better than the old. It is true, and experience will demonstrate it every time, that when the health-reform dietary is as well prepared as the old, it will always be not only accepted, but freely chosen, instead of the old. I have seen families who despised the thought of Seventh-day Adventists, and hated the name of health reform, won to a full health-reform dietary, simply by the wisdom and tact of the faithful wife in putting on the table, along with the other foods, the health foods brightly prepared. In a little while the health foods were so freely chosen that the old kinds were not wanted at all, and so found no place.

"These changes should be made cautiously, and the subject should be treated in a manner not calculated to discussed and prejudice those whom we would teach and help."–"Testimonies for the Church," Vol. II, page 370.

Having found in the list of what is good, that which is good for you, and having prepared it in a healthful and infighting manner, then think the Lord for it, cast off all care and anxious thought, and eat with a cheerful heart; and then, having so eaten it, let it alone. For if you do not let it alone, it will hurt you. Of all the times that food should be let alone, it is after is eaten. On this point I can do no better than to quote the words of the Testimonies. So here they are:–

"Exercise will aid the work of digestion. To walk out after a meal, hold the head erect, put back the shoulders, and exercise moderately, will be a great benefit. The mind will be diverted from self to the beauties of nature. The less the attention is called to the stomach after a meal, the better. If you are in constant fear that your food will hurt you, it most assuredly will. Forget self, and think of something cheerful."–Id., page 530.

And again we read:–

"You. . . keep thinking on what you eat and drink. Just eat that which is for the best, and go right away, feeling clear in the sight of Heaven, and not having remorse of conscience."–Id., page 374.

This closes the series of lessons on health and temperance, that we have been studying together. There has been no effort to treat the subject exhaustively, or even fully. All that has been attempted is simply to set forth the principles, with sufficient other matter to make clear the application of the principles, in order that all may see that the health reform is as simple as any other of the Christian principles. I know that if these principles are studied, and carefully applied by faith in Jesus Christ, who is the Author of all right principles, nothing but the best of health can possibly follow. And thus will be fulfilled in all the "wish" that, "above all things, thou mayest prosper in be in health."

So we may close were we began, with the statement that all health reform, with all good health, is contained in this simple statement: Find out all that you can as to what is good food. Then find in this list what is good food for you, then cook it well, or otherwise prepare it in and in fighting form. Then thank the Lord for it, and ask him to bless it to your good. Then eat it with a glad heart. Then let it alone. And breathe right.

Do these things by true faith in Jesus, and you will be all right. Let us all do these things by true faith in Jesus,–"for whatsoever is not of faith is sin,"–and we shall all be all right. Then we shall be healthy and temperate indeed, and so be true health reformers.

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 29 , p. 444.

"PEACE I leave with you, My peace I give unto you."

Where does he leave his peace?–"With you."

Then when he leaves his peace with you, isn't it with you?

Whether you accept it or not, is another question: but where is the peace of Christ, the peace of God? He says he leaves it "with you."

When you leave a thing with a person, isn't that thing there? Whether that person ever uses it, or pays any attention to it, yet isn't it there?–You know that it is.

Very well: when the Lord says, "Peace I leave with you," then is not that peace just where he leaves it? He says that he leaves it with you; then it is with you. Whether you use it or not, it is there, it is with you.

Then since he leaves it with you; and since it is with you anyhow, not because you are so good that you deserve it, not because you have earned it, but it is with you simply because he leaves it with you, take it, and enjoy it.

Yet more than this: he says, "My peace I give unto you."

When he gives it to you, doesn't it belong to you? Isn't it, then, yours?

When you give something to a person, do you not count that the thing belongs to that person? And if he doubts that it does belong to him, and treats both you and it as if it does not belong to him, then are you not disappointed and grieved?–You know you are.

Yet the Lord says, and for O so long has said, "My peace I give unto you."

Then when he has given it to you, doesn't it belong to you? Assuredly it does.

Yet have you gone on all these days and years without it? And do you still go on without it? Do you doubt that it really belongs to you? Do you treat both the Lord and his gift as if the gift did not belong to you? Why will you so disappoint and grieve him?

"My peace I give unto you." It belongs to you, then. Why not, then, accept it, thank him for it, and enjoy it?

"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts." Do not try to make it rule: let it. Do not try to let it rule: simply let it.

The peace of God wants to rule in your heart and life. It will rule if you will only let it: let it.

And when you let it, then "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

It will keep both your heart and your mind: you yourself can do neither. Let the peace of God rule and keep.

It will, if only you will let it: let it.

Then, too, the Spirit of God will rule in your heart, and keep your mind; for the peace of God in the life is the fruit of the Spirit. "The fruit of the Spirit is. . . peace."

"Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him." "The fruit of the Spirit is. . . peace."

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"The Bible First" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 29 , p. 444.

THE principle in the Bible's being the leading book in all education, is the simple one that "first impressions are most lasting."

As first impressions are most lasting, it is all-important that the first impressions shall be the best that can possibly be made. And as it is impossible that better impressions can be made than those which are made by the word of God, it follows inevitably that the first impressions made upon the mind, both in the very beginning of the child's thinking, and at the beginning of every subject that comes before the student, should be those made by the word of God.

Is it not a familiar fact that very aged people remember clearly the times of their childhood, and yet can not remember ten minutes what you tell them to-day? Why is this?–Simply because the first impressions are most lasting.

Sometimes it is said of very aged persons that they have their second childhood. If people were only considerate, they would know that in a beautiful sense this is true: they have, indeed, their second childhood; because their minds have failed for the things of to-day, and they live once more only amid the scenes of their childhood. And they live amid the scenes of their childhood because those scenes, having been the first impressed upon their minds, are the last to fade. What a blessed and beautiful thing it is when such minds can dwell amid scenes of the word of God, as the consequence of that word's having been the means of instruction in their childhood!

Now, every person, whatever may be his age, is practically only a child when he enters a new field of study. On that particular subject he has everything to learn, every thought must be acquired. It is, therefore, all-important that his first thoughts, the first impressions upon his mind, shall be the best and the truest. Therefore, the very fundamental principle of the education demands that the word of God shall be given the first place in every study.

"The Second Coming" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 29 , p. 444.

FOR nearly half a century, this people have been looking for the personal coming of Christ. This hope has actuated all the Holy desires, and stimulated the self-sacrifice, that Seventh-day Adventists have ever possessed. When the work began, none thought the time of its completion would be so long delayed; neither did the children of Israel, as they left Egypt, think it would be forty years before they would reach the promised land. In that long march, many grew discouraged, and gave up in despair. But the time came when the Israelites were ready to cross over Jordan, and then their entry was a triumphal one. The tokens of Christ's coming certainly indicate that we are "nearer than when we [first] believed." What was seen in the beginning only by faith, is now literally fulfilled before our eyes. It is only because the work of the Lord in the earth is not finished that he has not come sooner; and he has declared that this work itself will be "cut short in righteousness." How this blessed thought should thrill every lover of the Savior's return.

"'A Novel Christian Duty'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 29 , pp. 444, 445.

IN connection with the war that is now been waged with Spain, there is one amusing thing; and that is the efforts of the pulpits and the religious press to make it appear Christian,–to make it fit with the sermon on the mount.

Recognizing the Spaniards as their enemies,–they call them "our enemies,"–and been forced to recognize that there has been, that there is yet, and that there is likely to be, considerable killing of them, these good "Christian" preachers and editors find considerable difficulty in making all this harmonize with the Lord's direction, "Love your enemies."

The Independent maintains that when the war is over, "we" will love the Spaniards just as much as ever, and will do only good to them. But Jesus did not say, When you have killed all the enemies you can kill, then love all the rest. The love of Christ–that love alone which can love enemies–is a love that will not allow us to kill any of them. This love loves them so that it will not do anything that would even lead to the killing of them. Christian love loves all enemies long before the war is over, long before those professing it have killed all they can of them; it loves them so that there can be no war against them at all.

A doctor of divinity publishes an article on this subject, under the text, "I say unto you, Love your enemies;" and his first sentence is, "Americans are confronted to-day with an entirely novel Christian duty." And this "novel Christian duty" is the duty of loving their enemies while they are fighting them, and doing everything possible to kill all of them they possibly can! or else it is the duty of fighting and killing all of their enemies they possibly can, while loving them! it is not decidedly clear which. However, either way, the "duty" is sufficiently novel to deserve notice.

We should say that in either case that is decidedly a novel Christian duty,–so novel, indeed, that it is difficult to conceive how anybody who understands the first principle of Christianity could ever be "confront" with it, or think that anybody could ever be confronted with it.

This doctor of divinity fears that such a novel situation threatens the "demoralization of our Christian consciousness." But any Christian consciousness that will allow the possessor of it to kill his enemies, even going across seas to hunt them down and kill them,–such a Christian consciousness as that is already absolutely demoralized.

Again, he says: "To love our 'enemies' is intelligently and actively to pity them. This we do. But American would stay his hand from ministering to the man wounded and suffering, because he is a Spaniard? Rather, we would help him the more promptly and joyfully. This much of Christ spirit we have thoroughly learned. There is no fear that Spanish prisoners of war will be starved for harshly treated, or even taunted."

With a beautifully active Christian pity that is, indeed, that will allow the possessor of it to do his best to kill an "enemy," and having suc-

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ceeded in only wounding him, and so causing him to suffer, then stays not the hand from ministering to him! only then becomes at all active!

But the true question here is not, "What American would stay his hand from ministering to the man wounded in suffering because he is a Spaniard?" but, What Christian would wound a man, and cause him to suffer, and that in a direct effort to kill him because he is a Spaniard, or any other "enemy"?

How much of Christ. Has any man even partially, much less "thoroughly," learned who will do everything he can to kill his "enemies," and will wound and make prisoners of war all that he cannot kill? We were Christ's enemies; and instead of doing his best to kill us, he suffered us to kill him. We were enemies; but instead of wounding us, "he was wounded for our transgressions." We were enemies; but instead of causing us to suffer, he suffered for us; he "endured the cross," "the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God."

Again, this doctor of divinity says that "Christian love does not demand that we make war feebly." No; Christian love demands that its possessor shall not make war at all. "Put up again thy sword into his place," is the word of the Author of Christianity, the embodiment of Christian love.

So long as men think they can be Christians, and at the same time be a part of worldly governments,–a part of nations which do fight and will fight; which do make war, and kill all the enemies they can, and wound and make prisoners of war all the others,–just so long will they be confronted with that "novel Christian duty" which is so entirely novel that it works the absolute "demoralization of Christian consciousness" in every one who occupies such an attitude.

But just as soon as men recognize the truth Christians are not of this world, but are chosen out of the world; that Christians are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, seeking a country, even a heavenly; that no Christian can make war,–that no Christian can kill even his enemies, even in war,–just so soon will they be easily rid of the inconsistency of the "novel Christian duty" of doing their best to kill the "enemies" whom they "love," and of exercising active Christian pity toward them only when, having failed to kill them, they are wounded in suffering.

When men will hold Christianity as that which separates from this world, and all that is of this world; as that which joins them to heaven; as that which empties men altogether of the Spirit of this world, and fills them with the Spirit of heaven and of God, then this world will have a chance to know that God has sent Jesus Christ into the world, and has loved us as he loves Jesus Christ.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 29 , p. 444.

THE poor of the world are the ones the Lord has ever chosen to show forth what true sacrifice means. The story of the widow's two mites will always stand out on the pages of inspiration as a wonderful example of giving. But examples of the spirit are not lacking, even in our day. As is well known, Booker T. Washington is doing his best to elevate his race. At the Tuskegee Negro Conference, held last February, at which two thousand farmers were present, he said to his people: "Get land; get a decent home; raise something to eat, improve your schoolhouses, and give the rising generation a chance." Then he told this story:–

One day a lame black woman, seventy years old, who was born in slavery, hobbled into my office, holding something in her patched apron. "Mr. Washington," she said, "I's ignorant and poor, but I know you is tryin' to make better men and women at dis school. I knows you are tryin' to make a better country for us. Mr. Washington, I ain't got no money, but I want you to take dese six, and put to 'em into de eddication of one of dese boys or girls."

"Passing Events. The 'New World-Power'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 29 , pp. 444, 445.

BETWEEN Spain and the United States there exists, and there has existed for some time, a state of war. And though the actual war has but little more than fairly begun, there have already sprung prospects of possibilities that are of most profound interest to every soul in the United States, whatever his view or his attitude concerning it.

As a matter of fact, the incidents of this controversy are of far more importance to the country than all the actualities put together, so far. It is these things that we are watching and studying with most absorbing interest. We are not, in these things, criticizing; we are simply calling attention to important developments.

One of these, which we have pointed out, is the distinctive advance made, and point gained, by the papacy and her designs with regard to the United States. More will be heard from that before the controversy shall be ended.

Another is the proposal and prospect of an alliance between Britain and the United States.

And now a third is the proposal and serious prospect of a world career to be seized and followed by the United States all on her part. This prospect has already become so tangible as to excite the serious attention of leading and thinking men both for it and against it. The most calm and considerate view of the situation as it is, that has yet appeared, is set forth by Colonel T. W. Higginson, in Harper's Bazar of June 11, under the title, "A New World-Power," the substance of which is as follows:–

It startles one a little to turn back to Bacon's Essays, and read their the quiet remark, made three hundred years ago (in the essay on the "Greatness of Kingdoms"), that the only two nations of Europe which excelled in arms with the Spaniards and Turks; though he admits "great declination" as to the latter race. He little dreamed that a few hours in the Bay of Manila were to reveal the existence of a wholly new power, which in his day had not even been born on the planet; and before which the Spanish race should apparently be destined to yield. It has been given to few men and to few events to construct so much of human history as was accomplished in those few hours by Admiral Dewey. Not only did it seal the downfall of one great world-power, but the arrival of another; and it will cost all the power of resistance on the part of moderate men to keep this country from following the steps of England into an imperial position on the globe. It is a curious fact that the Monroe doctrine–"let the western hemisphere alone, and we will let the eastern hemisphere alone"–was the attitude held to be radical only so long ago as the days of Cleveland and Olney. Yet those who now hold that same Monroe doctrine, and propose to abide by it, are taunted as conservatives. There have been, in political history, few greater and more sudden transformations of public opinion.

When the Athenian general Themistocles was asked to touch a lute at a feast, he said that he could not play on that instrument, yet he could make a small town into a great city. No matter how large the country, the temptation to make it larger is just as strong. Rome means to us the Roman Empire, and England the British Empire. There are none now living who can personally recall the excitement provoked when Jefferson bought the vast Louisiana Territory in 1803; but although it was a direct violation of all his political theories, and perhaps actually unconstitutional, it evidently swept the nation, and practically annihilated the opposing party. There are many living who uttered the threat, "Texas and disunion;" yet who would now be willing to forego the national possession of Texas? It would certainly be the same with the much-distrusted Alaska. It is inevitable that those who have seen, again and again, these successive steps in its enlargement of our territory, should be tempted to raise the cry of "manifest destiny." It is as inevitable as the temptation, when a man has already enlarged his farm by buying an adjoining lot on the northeast, that he should look with increased favor on the offer of another adjoining strip on the southwest, and so on indefinitely.

Yet the farmer who yields much to such temptations is pretty sure to come to grief sooner or later; and it is the severest test of the judgment and self-control of a nation when it knows how to stop. Practically, this nation holds Alaska by the grace of England, just as England holds Canada by the grace of this country; and perhaps this recognized interchange of hostages is a sufficient guaranty. The case is very different when we plan to go far from home, and to become occupants of islands which may involve us with all the leading powers of the world. All the entanglements of the older nations become partly ours when we once set foot on their very ground. What is worse, all the safeguard of the Monroe doctrine vanishes; for there is no reason that those nations should not proceed to parcel out South America as they have Africa, the moment we depart from the traditions of Monroe. All this is to bequeath to our children a wholly different world of policy from that which their parents have dwelt in,–a formidable result to follow from a few hours of target-practise at Manila.

There will be involved, also, the enormous expense and labor of keeping up an army and navy on the scale of European nations. And this, with our vast scale and the payment of pensions–and expense far exceeding that of European nations–will affect all taxation, and consequently our whole habits of living. Nothing that we can do in any foreign waters will be worth half so much to the world as to perpetuate a successful republic on this continent; and to endanger that is to forfeit our chief mission on this planet.

The only republic that ever went over this ground before was the republic of Rome. And when Rome once became imperial in territory, it was but a little while before she became both imperial and imperious in spirit, and then it was but a little while before she became imperial in government.

Anybody who is really acquainted with the course of Rome, can readily appreciate the wisdom of the following words from Harper's Weekly of June 11:–

The sound American believes in the genius of the republic and in the virtue of its institutions. His government was founded for the benefit of the individual citizen. Its task is the most innocent of all the tasks performed by government the world over. Its burdens rest so lightly upon its citizens that they hardly realize its existence. It makes mistakes; it is sometimes ignorant; it is often awkward; it exasperates us; it is frequently inefficient as it is; it would be always inefficient if the burdens of large military establishments and of colonial government were imposed upon its executive power. Its virtues live very largely in this executive weakness. But awkward and mistaken, inefficient and exasperating, as it often is, it has worked more last-

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ing good in the world than all the other governments combined. It does not govern colonies. It governs no man against his will, or without his consent expressed as to the smallest detail. Its accomplishments for the human race and its virtues are the consequences of its differences from other governments. Other governments can manage colonies, because they possess the machinery for ruling men against their wills, for levying taxes without the consent of those who pay them. In the elements and features of our government, which differ from those of Europe, lies its Americanism; and those who wish to maintain the government as it was framed, and as it has existed until now, are the true Americans; all those who want to go abroad in distant oceans for new territory thus express their distrust in our institutions, and their longing for a return to the flesh-pots of Egypt.

July 19, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 460.

THE Book of Acts is the record of the work of the Holy Ghost in the time of "the early rain."

The first thing in the book is that Jesus "was taken up," but that it was "after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen."

Next, the day on which he was taken up, he "commanded them, that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father; for. . . . ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."

And next, the same day, he said, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me."

Now we are in "the time of the latter rain," just as truly as they were in the time of "the early rain."

Through the Holy Ghost, he has now given commandment unto us to receive "the promise of the Father" and "be baptized with the Holy Ghost," not many days hence, but just now, to-day, while it is called to-day.

It is true now and forever that "ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."

Have you power? If now, you know why: it is because the Holy Ghost has not come upon you.

And if the Holy Ghost has not come upon you, it is because you will not receive him.

And without him, you can not be "witnesses unto" Christ.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 460.

IN bestowing the talents, the Lord gives "to every man according to his several ability." He gives to each one according to the individual ability of that particular one to use what is entrusted to him. To the one he gives ten talents, because the "several ability" of that one is sufficient successfully to use ten talents. The one to whom are given five has ability to use five, but not ten. And the one to whom is given one has the "several ability" to use one.

And the one to whom is given one is under just as much obligation to use with all his might that one as is the one to whom are given ten, to use the ten. As Success well remarks: "It is not a question of how many talents you have, but have you doubled what you have? A man who has doubled his one talent does infinitely better than he who merely preserves his ten.

"How near do you come to doubling your talents, and makinmg the most out of the stuff that is in you? Are you improving your opportunities to the utmost? How near do you come to equaling your possibilities? How does what you are compare to what you might be?

"You are a failure if what you might be is . . . a failure if you are not doubling your talent or talents, whether at a cobbler's bench or in Congress. A good farmer is more useful than a bad governor, a good private than a bad general."

"The Bible First in Language" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , pp. 460, 461.

IN learning a new language, the only proper way is, first of all, to learn from the Bible in that language.

As to a strange language, the mind is absolutely a blank; and the first impressions made upon it, the first thoughts that enter it, will irresistibly color all associate thoughts or impressions that ever come afterward.

It is therefore infinitely better that the thoughts of God in the new language shall be the first that enter the mind, and so throw their pure light upon all other thoughts that enter the mind, than to begin with fairy tales, trifling stories, pagan notions, or records of war, and so have these to cast their dark shadow upon the thoughts of God when his word is read.

To illustrate: suppose you would learn the German language, and that the first words you ever learn are these: "Im anfang war das Wort." Then the first thought which ever enters your mind in the German language is, "In the beginning was the Word." Then, having learned this, whatever after that, as long as you live, you meet the word anfang, that word will unfailingly recall the expression, "Im anfang war das Wort," and the thought, "In the beginning was the Word."

Or suppose the Greek, and the first words that you ever learn in it are, "En arch en ho Logos;" and therefore the first thought in a Greek that ever enters your mind is, "In the beginning was the Word." Then, having learned this, wherever you meet either the word arche or Logos, instantly occurs the thought first lodged in your mind with the passage, "In the beginning was the Word."

But suppose you unfortunately fall into the hands of a teacher with whom the Bible is not supreme, and therefore is not the first and most important book in every line of study; suppose the first words and language that he gives you are from some fairy story, some fable, some novel, some play, or from any other source than the Bible. When you learn those words, you receive the thought expressed by the words. It having learned that, then afterward, when you meet those same words in the Bible, instantly and irresistibly your mind will refer to the first thought in those words, and the clear rays of light and truth and the words of the Bible will be clouded and confused by being mixed up with that fairy scene, or whatever it was that was first associated in your mind with those words. Then your very study of the Bible will be hindered, and you will be crippled, by such a bad beginning in the new language. On the other hand, when you begin right, with the words of the Bible and the thoughts of God first, then if, for any purpose, you should find it necessary to read those other books, you will find the precious light and wisdom and strength of the thoughts of God constantly recurring and abiding with you, guiding you in the way of truth, and guarding you against that which is false.

It is so, also, in the study of Greek or Latin or any language whatever.

What a lasting injury, then, it is to students, and especially the young,–what an imposition upon them, and what an abomination altogether,–when they are kept a year, two years, or even more, in the wild, foolish, false, and wicked mouthings of pagan poets, philosophers or actors, or even the writings of historians before they are qualified to read New Testament Greek or Bible Latin. Is a mind whose whole warp and woof in Greek is pagan the better qualified to understand and appreciate Christian Greek? Is a mind that has grown from one to three years all over Gaul, amid the barbarities of Cesar and the Gauls, or that has dwelt all its Latin life in the pagan miasma of Virgil,–is such a mind the better prepared to read in Latin, to Christian profit, the Gospel of John or the epistles of Paul? Are paganism and barbarism an essential basis for Christianity? Are pagan thoughts and heathen conceptions an essential antecedent to Christian thoughts and divine conceptions?

If not, why do teachers who consider themselves, and expect others to consider them, Christians, cause their students of Greek, or Latin, or any other language, to build up their minds in that language wholly of pagan material, and that from one to three years, before they are expected, or given any chance, to form their minds of the Lord's thoughts–the perfectly good, the perfectly pure, the perfectly true?

For all practical purposes, the mind is composed of thoughts. The object of study is to obtain thoughts–knowledge. The object of study is to build up the mind; the mind is built of thoughts, and thoughts are obtained by study. What, then, is the object of professed Christian teachers in having students study pagan Greek and pagan Latin first of all? What can be their object, other than to build up the minds of the students in paganism and of paganism? In plain words, What can be their object other than to make pagans of the youth who are under their instruction? For what the mind is, the man is. And if the mind is pagan, the man is pagan; and if the mind is mostly, or even partly, pagan, the man is mostly or partly pagan.

But is it the God-given task, or responsibility, of Seventh-day Adventist teachers to cause students to become even partly, nay, even in any degree whatever, pagan? The only possible answer is, No. Then what Christian–Seventh-day Adventist–teacher can ever put any pagan book into the hands of any student as a text-book, or as a book for study at all? What Christian teacher can put any book but the Bible first of all, into the hands of any student; and other books only when the thoughts of God from the Bible have formed and fashioned the mind, and made it capable of testing the value of what may be found in the human book?

And if, by any mishap, there should be found in any Seventh-day Adventist school, or anywhere else among Seventh-day Adventists, a teacher who cannot teach from the Bible the language which he proposes to teach, but must teach it from pagan authors,–Cesar, Virgil, Homer, or who not,–then the students who are so unfortunate as to fall to that teacher for instruction should refuse to take a single lesson from him in that language; that is, in short, they should refuse to submit themselves to

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that teacher, to be made pagans of to any extent whatever.

This is not to say that no other book but the Bible can ever be read or studied in a foreign language; but it is to say that no other book should ever be read or studied in a foreign language until that language has been learned from the Bible, and until the Bible can readily be read at sight in that language. With this has been, and can be, done by a person, then that person can read with perfect safety, and to profit, any other book in that language which he may find it necessary to consult.

The Bible must be first, and the original text-book, in every line of language study.

"They Are Dead" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 461.

THAT Prof. Charles A. Briggs, D.D., of Union Theological Seminary, whose extravagance in "higher criticism" and "salvation after death" have caused much discussion in the last three or four years, is now advocating prayers and sacrifices for the dead. Not only this; but he declares that he finds "a considerable amount of such prayer for the dead unconsciously, yet logically and no less truly, offered in funeral addresses and prayers by the most radical Protestants." He says:–

A Christian who thinks that the initial stage of salvation must begin in this world before death, will limit his prayers for the dead to their growth in grace and holiness; but a Christian who thinks that salvation may begin after death, will naturally extend his prayers so as to include the conversion and regeneration of the dead. In his prayers for the dead, each Christian will make his practise of prayer conform, in a measure at least, to his theory of salvation. Thus, prayer for the dead is a privilege and duty for all who practise prayer for the living; and sacrifice for the dead is the duty for all who practise sacrifice for the living. The dead saints and the living saints are so united in one holy communion that in all religious activities all saints share alike.

But where is the sense of talking about these "dead saints" who are said to be so much alive that they can be converted, and can pray in return to those who pray for them? If all that is true, they are not dead at all; but are more alive than they ever were before. To such nonsense and inconsistency are those led who respect the doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

No; "the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything." Eccl. 9:5. The living know something; but the dead know nothing. The living are alive; the dead are not alive–they are dead. "Thou shalt die, and not live," says the word of God; but behold, these moderns will have it that people die and live both at once. It is sheer paganism; and paganism is sheer deviltry.

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 461.

FREDERICK W. FARRAR is Dean of Canterbury, and the author of a "Life of Christ," a "Life of St. Paul," and of several other most scholarly works; he is a master of Greek and Latin and a philologist; he was a master of Harrow, and for thirteen years a successful teacher; and of classical education he says:–

I must avow my distinct conviction that our present system of exclusively classical education, as a whole, and, carried on as we do carry it on, is a deplorable failure. I say it, knowing that the words are strong, but not without having considered them well. I say it because that system has been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. It is no epigram, but a simple fact, to say that classical education neglects the powers of some minds and some of the powers of all minds.

A good many admirers of the classics are prompt to say that the man who speaks disparagingly of classical education "does not know what he is talking about." But the person who would say that, on this subject, Dead Farrar "does not know what he is talking about," would give the best of evidence that he himself did not know what he was talking about. In this thing, Dr. Farrar does know what he is talking about. And what he has said on this subject is the truth.

"Editorials" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 461.

ONE of the most eminent men that America has produced, wrote to his son this perfect piece of Christian advice:–

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. demand more of yourself than anybody expects of you. keep your own standard high. Never excuse yourself to yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself, but lenient to everybody else.

Only by so doing can any one answer the Christian call, "Let us go on unto perfection." He who so does, he who thus puts himself under discipline to God, will attain to perfection in Christ Jesus in whatsoever he puts his hand unto. Do it.

"Passing Events. 'Imperial America'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , pp. 461, 462.

"IMPERIAL AMERICA" is a term now seriously proposed and actually used to suggest the "manifest destiny" of the United States in the "enlarged sphere" opened to her by the guns directed by Dewey on the morning of May-day at Manila. This sentiment is fast growing. In a speech at a dinner tendered to him before leaving San Francisco to govern the Philippine Islands, Major-General Merritt said:–

I believe in the new national policy of the United States, which looks to the acquisition of additional territory represented in outlying islands that are requisite for the development of national strength and growth. The war was begun for the enforcement of the idea of human liberty, and with no thought of national aggrandizement; but the logic of events has brought about an unexpected result, and the government has taken the Philippines by right of conquest. What the navy has won the army will hold. The strong hand of the government on those islands ought never to be loosened. This great people is in need of room in which to spread. The people feel this; and the government will never be able to let go of the islands that have been won by American prowess.

The Chicago Times-Herald is almost strictly an administration paper. With General Merritt's words–"What the navy has won the army will hold"–for a text, the Washington correspondent of the Times-Herald tells what he finds at the national capital, as follows:–

"What the navy conquers the army must hold." So said Major-general Wesley Merritt, prospective military governor of the first colony of the United States; and his sentiment has awakened a responsible echo from the nation.

Admiral Dewey's victory at Manila has filled the American blood with the fever of conquest. Conservatives may "preach on the policy of the fathers," but they can not hold the ears of the masses while the fever is on. The cooler judgment of the sober second thought may quiet the public pulse, but there is abundant evidence that for the time being the sentiment of the nation is against the surrender of any territory wrenched from the grasp of . . . .

The writer then spoke of the prospective annexation of Hawaii as a part of this new national program, and assured the public that that would certainly come to pass. Hawaii has not been annexed; the Ladrone Islands have been taken from Spain, and the American flag floats there. So that so much of the program has already been performed. The writer proceeds:–

But it is the jewels of Alfonso's crown at which the new-bogus lust of conquest aims. It is the Spanish isles of the Orient and Occident that have challenged American prowess. It is the idea of empire that has filled the American soul with world-wide ambitions. These aspirations are a new force in American life; and, sooner or later, the guiding statement must face that force. Washington is the nerve-center of the country, and the new sentiment is surging to this center with such intensity as to command earnest attention.

SPAIN'S ISLAND POSSESSIONS

Already the cry is that Spain must be stripped of all her island possessions in America and Asiatic seas. Let the figures tell the price of that stubborn quality termed "Spanish honor." This is the list of the principal islands, with their area and population, according to the latest statistics:–

AMERICAN

Square Miles. Population.

Cuba . . . . . . . . . . 41,255 1,631,687

Porto Rica. . . . . . 3,670 806,768

ASIASTIC

Philippines. . . . . 111,436 7,000,000

Sulus. . . . . . . . . 550 75,000

Carolines and Pelows550 36,000

Ladrones, or Marianos420 16,172

Total. . . . 161,581 9,550,567

MERRITT HITS POPULAR CHORD

Unused to the possession of insular colonies, taught by a hundred years of precept and example to avoid it, the first thought of Americans, on learning of the triumph of Admiral Dewey, was that Spain should not be punished by the loss of the Philippines. American sentiment has changed. It has become familiar with the thought of "colonial empire," and there is something in the sonorous term that appeals to the imagination. Advocates of colonial expansion have sprung up on every hand. The disease is contagious, and the masses have caught the fever.

General Merritt not only touched a popular chord, or at least awakened a dormant chord to responsive rhythm, but his phrase has furnished the country with a telling shibboleth. Statesmen may make the laws, but greater than they is he who turns the sentiment or passion of a nation into a pat epigram. General Merritt has made the epigram; and if he were a younger man, it might make him president of the United States and its dependencies.

NEW NATIONAL DESTINY

By one of the accidents with which all history is strewn, the American people have a new destiny opened before them. One need not be for or against a policy of colonial expansion to recognize the fact that the nation is at the parting of the way, nor should one be blind to the wonderful possibilities and the grave responsibilities presented to the United States for its choosing; but a calm survey of the field from Washington is calculated to convince one that there has been a remarkable transformation in the American habit of thought. It has been revolutionized, apparently, within a few weeks. The change is reflected in Congress; for the representatives of the people are quick to catch the public pulse.

The American government entered on this war to free Cuba, and hand it over to the Cubans, but the American people may change their mind. Influences are at work that may ultimately force the retention of the Pearl of the Antilles, though this government would be quick to discover such a possibility. It is concluded that a protectorate will probably be established over Cuba for a time, only the Cubans shall have organized a competent government of their own, and from a protectorate it . . . . possession. There

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new sentiment for the retention of Cuba, and the government may have to face a tidal wave when the war is over, and the cost is counted.

In a sermon only a few days ago, President Patton, of Princeton, said:–

History knows not what it is to retreat. Every step we take shuts a door behind us. The boom of Admiral Dewey's cannon across the Pacific made us forget Washington's farewell address and throw the Monroe doctrine for a time into the background. It is impossible, some one says, for a nation to secede from the family of nations, and if it stays in the family, it is going to have family complications.

All these things are worthy of thoughtful consideration; for no one knows what "manifest destiny" may produce. And if we mark events as they pass, we shall be able better to understand each new phase that may open to the world. These are times in which the world moves rapidly, and much may occur in a day. And all these events are laden with solemn meaning to every one who is waiting and watching for the coming of the Lord. "Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments."

"Just What Could Be Expected" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , pp. 462, 463.

PRESIDENT WASHBURN of Robert College, the American college at Constantinople, writing of the jealousy with which Europe regards both England and the Untied States, says:–

We can never get back to the position which we occupied before this war, whether we desire to do so or not. Henceforth, in self-defense we must share the burdens of Europe, and have a navy and an army strong enough, at least, to defend our liberty and our rights.

These words, which have been widely quoted, were spoken a number of weeks ago, and they are of peculiar interest at this time. It will be remembered that when the war with Spain was declared, it was not for conquest, but wholly to the interest of humanity. But now, when that nations is conquered, or nearly so, Germany sends some war-ships to the Philippines Islands, ostensibly to protect German interests. Immediately the order is given for another fleet of American war vessels to proceed there at once,–and for what purpose?–"To defend our rights"? The statement is made that ". . . many will be forced to prove her case;" still further, that "if she (Germany) sends battle-

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ships for the arbitrament of the question, the United States will be prepared."

And the way is specially preparing for what can easily develop into the great Armageddon; indeed, one European writer has prophesied that the Spanish-American war is the beginning of this "time of trouble." O that people everywhere might see, in these events, tokens of the setting up of God's everlasting kingdom, and that those who do understand these things would awake to a realization of their real importance.

"'They Can Be Trusted Anywhere'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 463.

A BROTHER recently related to us an incident which came under his notice, and which, for the moral it contains, is worth repeating. In a certain town a little company of Seventh-day Adventists had established so good a reputation for truthfulness, honesty, and faithfulness in meeting financial obligations, that they could secure credit anywhere as soon as it was known who they were. One day there drove into one of the lumber-yards of the town a man who told the proprietor that he was a stranger, a Seventh-day Adventist; that he had lately bought a farm out in the country, and desired a load of lumber for which he did not just then have the money. The reply was, "IF you are an Adventist, that is all I want to know. They can be trusted anywhere." The lumber was measured up, and the man loaded it on his wagon, but as he was about to drive away, he took a chew of tobacco. The proprietor just then coming out of his office, saw this, when, without a moment's hesitation, he said; "Stop! You can't have that lumber. You have deceived me. You said you were an Adventist. You have lied to me–I know you have; for no Seventh-day Adventist chews tobacco, as I see you do. Unload that lumber from your wagon at once, unless you have the money to pay for it on the spot." The deceiver's fraud was discovered: he could only do as commanded; and he went away probably a wiser man than when he came.

That lumber merchant was right: no Seventh-day Adventist chews tobacco. Some frauds, who try to pass themselves off as Seventh-day Adventists, chew tobacco; but their deception will soon be discovered, and just what they are will be know by all. And all who are indeed Seventh-day Adventists–may the Lord preserve them forever in such honesty and faithfulness that "they can be trusted anywhere."

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 468.

ON the prospect before this nation in connection with the Philippines, Harper's Weekly says: "If we keep the Philippines, our frontiers will touch the frontiers of Europe at the point where there is at present most likelihood of the breaking out of war." Thus "the kings of the East" are preparing. The next thing in order will be the preparing of "the way of the kings of the East" by the drying up of "the waters of the river Euphrates." And when this way is prepared, and "the kings of the East" come up to the battle of Armageddon, they will be composed of all the nations,–this farthest west with all the others; for the kings of the West now are the only kings of the East. "Get ready, get ready, get ready."

Are you keeping in close touch with the message, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost"? read the report in this issue of what was done for those who accepted it at the St. Helena (Cal.) camp-meeting; then turn and read the first-page article carefully, and see how the Spirit is calling upon his people to know practically what they have long professed theoretically. Never has what this article contains been so emphatically given to this people, for the reason that they were not ready for it. Christ's promises are indeed just as fresh and strong for his people right now as they were in the days of the apostles. The seed has been planted, it has germinated–will you nourish it till it becomes a healthy plant? Brethren, let is grow.

We read in the Word that the Virgin Mary's Son should be called JESUS because "he shall save his people from their sins." Then, again, of Jesus it is said that "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Yet in the face of this positive testimony, Romanism has turned this squarely about. Doctor Pierson, of the Missionary Review, relates that while in Dublin, Ireland, he read on one Roman Catholic church this inscription: Maria Peccatorum refugio ("To Mary, the refuge of sinners"). Thus Romanism puts the Virgin between Christ and the soul, and makes Mary, instead of Christ, the mediator.

The work of the third angel's message is onward. It began in obscurity; and form the day it was first proclaimed, giants have appeared in the way to hinder its progress. Obstacles have been encountered that would naturally discourage the stoutest heart. Yet in spite of all these,–in spite of the weakness, the mistakes, and the failures of those to whom it has been committed,–the message has never taken one backward step, but has continued to grow in power. Men are everywhere accepting. . . translation. Not every one who accepts it is thus transformed, made a new creature, but that is not the fault of the message. There is power in the Word to cleanse men from every taint of sin, if they will only let it. the message is designed to prepare a people who will stand before the judgment bar "without fault." The serious question with each one should be, Is the message doing that work for me? If not, why not?

July 26, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 474.

THE Book of Acts is the record of the work of the Holy Spirit in the line of "the early rain." And we are "in the time of the latter rain;" therefore, the Book of Acts is the record of what we may all have, only in greater abundance and power.

Then they were told to "wait for the promise," and that they should "be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." They waited. And as they waited, they asked. And as they asked, they received. "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."

In this time, just now, "in the time of the latter rain," we are told to ask for rain. And "every one that asketh receiveth."

In the time of "the early rain," on that great day of wondrous filling and of power, all the multitude were told, "The promise is unto you, and to your children." "Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

In this "time of the latter rain" this "promise" is to us and to our children, to the whole multitude, as certainly as it was then to them; yes, even "to all that are afar off."

None are excluded. The promise is to all, far and near. We are in the time of the promise. We are told by the Lord himself to "ask" in this time. And we are told by him that "every one at asketh receiveth."

O, will you not ask? "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Present-Day Theological Teaching" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 310 , p. 474.

IN a note a week or two ago we mentioned the rejection of a candidate for the ministry at North Cambridge, Mass., by a Congregational council, on account of his views of salvation, and of the inspiration of the scriptures. Fuller reports, strictly authentic, show that he rejected "the idea of an equally perfect and authoritative inspiration of all the books of the Bible, insisting that some parts are to be regarded as purely legendary or mythical. He affirmed categorically, in reply to a question, his belief in the salvation of all men, which he regarded as a logical necessity from belief in the immortality of the soul and the love of God. What he regarded as the only possible alternative–the annihilation of the wicked, or conditional immortality–He rejected."

And such views as this he holds after having spent "fourteen years of study in preparation for the ministry." And that such should have been the result will not be so surprising in view of the startling statement of the Outlook, that "similar views are taught in several, if not in a majority, of the Congregational Theological seminaries in the United States. His view respecting the Bible has been publicly, and in printed utterances, taught by such well-known Congregational clergymen as Lyman Abbott, of New York; Washington Gladden, of Ohio; and William Rader, of California, not to mention a host of others. His view respecting future salvation has been recently expressed quite as explicitly by Dr. George A. Gordon, of Boston."

When theological seminaries and "hosts" of pulpits teach that parts of the Bible are "legendary or mythical,"–and the Congregational Church is not exceptional in this,–then what kind of Bible, what kind of word of God, have they? When the only "word of God" that they have is such as they themselves select and frame, then who is their god? and whose word is it that they preach?

Is it not high time that there should be schools in which the Bible shall be the word of God, and in which it shall have the full place that belongs to it as the word of God?

"Believing the Word of God" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 474.

ONE of the leading preachers of the United States has published a book on the "puzzling" books of the Bible, of which he has found seven. This book is written not so much to tell how puzzling these Bible books are to him, nor why their puzzling to him, as it is to make it appear to other people that these Bible books are puzzling books to them. Another thing that may be noted is that in this book he has dealt only with the books–old books–that are puzzling to him, and therefore, as a matter of course, are, or ought to be, puzzling to everybody else; he has not touched the particular passages or verses of the Bible, outside of the special books, which are puzzling.

But why should even a preacher think that because certain books of the Bible are puzzling to him, this fact can be of so much importance to other people as to call for the publication of a book on it? Does it certainly follow that because something is puzzling to him, it must be puzzling to everybody else–especially as soon as it is known that it is puzzling to him?

Now the only possible way that any book, or any passage, of the Bible can be puzzling to anybody, is by his not believing it. And there are many things, even outside of the Bible, that puzzling to the person who does not believe them. The A B C's are exceedingly puzzling to any man who does not believe them. And neither the Bible, nor any book or passage in the Bible, is any more puzzling to the person who believes it, than are the A B C's to the person who believes them.

But that is just the trouble with all these "critics,"–they do not believe the Bible, they do not accept it as the word of God. They are critics of the word of God, not believers of the word of God. They do not receive the word of God for what "it is in truth, the word of God." They hold it off, and criticize it, and puzzle over it; and so it can not work effectually in them, because they do not believe it.

That they do not accept it as the word of God, even when they believe it to be true, is clear from this: Ever since 677 B.C. the Bible has said that "the captains of the host of the king of Assyria took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon." One of the critics have said that until lately "this passage have always been a stumbling-block to the critics." And the only means by which it was ever a stumbling-block to the critics was solely because they did not believe it.

The stumbling-block that they found in this passage was in that it says that the Assyrians brought Manasseh to Babylon; while it was known that Nineveh was the capital of the kingdom of Assyria. The critics thought that it should have said that they brought Manasseh to Nineveh; and because it did not say what they thought, it was a stumbling-block.

But what caused this passage to cease to be a stumbling-block?–Why, the records of Esar-haddon, who was then king of Assyria, were discovered; and these records told that Babylon was subdued and possessed by Assyria, and that Babylon was his residence in those years.

But now the point,–they did not believe, before, that the passage told the truth, and of course did not believe it to be the word of God. Now, however, they admit that the passage tells, and always did tell, the exact truth; but why do they believe this now?–Not because it is the word of God, but only because of what Esar-haddon said. If they had not yet found these words of Esar-haddon, or others to the same effect, they would not yet believe that the passage tells the truth; it would still be to them a stumbling-block. Therefore, as they believed it now only on the authority of Esar-haddon, and not on the authority of God, it is perfectly plain that though they now believe it to be true, they do not so believe it because it is the word of God. The authority which they accept rest upon for the truth of the passage is the authority of a man, not of God.

And whoever accepts the word of God on the authority of a man, has only the word of the man; to him the word of God is only the word of the man: the word of the man is put above the word of God; the man is put in the place of God.

To the person who accepts the Bible as the word of God, that passage never was, and never could be, a stumbling-block. It was the truth. And it was the truth because it was the word of God. True, he might not be able to explain it to the critics, or even to himself; nevertheless, he knew that it was the truth; and he rested there. And now he is no more sure of the truth of that passage than he was before. Now he knows exactly how it was done; but that it was done, he knew as well before as now or ever, because he had the word of God for it, and "the word of our God shall stand forever."

"Please Rise and Explain" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , pp. 474, 475.

IT will be recalled that just as the war was declared between Spain and the United States, the self-appointed guardians of Sunday sacredness petitioned the President "to have as little army work done on the Sabbath [Sunday] as possible," and even asked that no fight be begun on Sunday, presumably because they believe that such an engagement would prove disastrous. We have not heard that the President ever offered any of these suggestions to the army officers; but we call attention to an interesting fact or two:–

We know that Admiral Dewey met the Spanish squadron at Manila, and utterly destroyed it, without the loss of a single man; and he did it on Sunday.

We know that on the morning of July 3, Admiral Cervera attempted to escape from Santiago harbor; and his fleet of six powerful

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war vessels was annihilated, and seventeen hundred men were killed or taken prisoners in two hours' time, with a loss of only one man on the American side; and that was also on Sunday.

We know, further, that on July 17, Toral and all his forces surrendered Santiago, and marched as prisoners of war from the city, which they were compelled to do on threat of bombardment; and this was likewise on Sunday.

These are not all the successes that have attended the American army, the climax of which took place on Sunday; but they are sufficient to raise the query whether the success of the American so far in this war has been materially injured by "Sabbath fighting." Rather, has not the success been due to the superior ability of the commanding officers and men behind the guns? Will Mr. Crafts and others who have made such dire predictions please rise and explain?

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 476.

WE have long maintained that there was much in our school system that might be improved; that there should be less "cramming" and more practical work, even in the lower grades. We are heartily glad that some of our teachers are awake to the situation, and are adopting advanced methods. As an illustration, we give an extract from a letter received this week from a teacher who is conducting a select school in the vicinity of one of our churches. She says:–

My school is closed, and the last-day exercises were pronounced a success. Instead of the old way of having dialogues, we had recitations that were all on the order of creating a sympathy for the poor, the outcasts, and the downtrodden,–the objects of Christian Help work and love. We also had samples of our every-day work in school. The two physiological classes gave a drill, showing what to do in emergencies. One boy was "crowned;" a girl "had her clothes on fire;" one young lady "had a broken arm," which was bandaged and put in a sling; one "fainted;" one had a "cut artery;" another had a "bad case neuralgia," etc. In each instance the pupils went through the drill without a break. Within a minute after the crew began, every visitor was on his feet, anxious to watch every move. It was better than any dialogue I ever saw. Then we had exhibitions of kindergarten work, which displayed so much skill and taste that some of the parents could hardly believe their children did the work over their signature. Following this, a short Bible exercise was conducted, to give an idea of our work in that direction. I am persuaded that the light that has come regarding church schools, and what should be taught in them, is opportune, and if heeded, will result in great good.

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 30 , p. 484.

HOW often, when success crowns our efforts in carrying out a cherished plan, we are inclined to say, "Surely the Lord's hand was in that." Perhaps so; but do we think the same when reverses come?–We ought to, if we have truly given up to do his will, for "all things [good or bad] work together for good to them that love God." Then if we really love God, all his dealings with us are but the working, out of his eternal purpose; and all that is necessary for this purpose to be fulfilled in us is to give him a chance to work. Do it.

In a late editorial in the Independent it is claimed that English freedom and English conscience had their grandest assertion in the wars of the commonwealth. In support of this view the editor quotes a noted historian, who said: "What made Calvinism so much better able to hold its ground than Lutheranism, for example, was its attitude toward war, or, in other words, its recognition of war as the awful instrument of righteousness in the world." We leave it with our readers to judge how much of the religion of Jesus Christ there is in that doctrine.

August 2, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 31 , p. 490.

IN the time of the "early rain" of the gospel year, the believers were more than once "filled with the Holy Ghost."

On Pentecost "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."

There was in Jerusalem much, and powerful, opposition to the gospel and to the preaching ot it.

Therefore "the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees" arrested Peter and John, and "put them in hold."

The next day Peter and John were brought before the national council, and were questioned as to what they had done.

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel," etc.

However, the council, after inquiry and answer and consultation, let them go.

"And being let go, they went to their own company," and prayed. "And when they had prayed, . . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."

We are in the "time of the latter rain," when we are to ask for rain. The message of God now is, therefore, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost;" "Be filled with the Spirit."

Have you received the Holy Ghost? Have you been filled with the Spirit? If not, you are losing everything.

But even thou you have received the Holy Ghost, even though you have been filled with the Spirit, please do not think for a moment that that is the end and all. Please do not settle back contentedly folding your hands and saying, Now I have got it, and that is all.

No; even to you the message still is, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit." There is more than one filling with the Spirit. Go on unto perfection.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"How Shall We Know that the Bible Is the Word of God?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 31 , p. 490.

THE Bible comes to men as the word of God. In every part it speaks to men as from God and upon the authority of God.

But how shall men who do not know God know that it is the word of God? This is the question that thousands of people ask. They ask, "What proof is there, where is the evidence, that it is the word of God?"

There is evidence,–evidence that is convincing and satisfactory. Where is it, then? Let us see.

Being the word of God, where could evidence be found that it is such? Where should we expect to find such evidence?

Is there any one of greater knowledge than God, or of greater authority than he, of whom we may inquire?–Certainly not. For whoever God may be, there can be no higher authority, there can be none of greater knowledge.

Suppose, then, we were to ask God whether this is his word, and suppose he should tell us, in so many words, "The Bible is my word," we should then have only his word for it.

But we have already, over and over; so that even then we have no more evidence than we now have in abundance: and the evidence would be in nowise different; for it would be the evidence of his word, and that we already have.

The word of God bears in itself the evidence that it is the word of God.

It is impossible that it could be otherwise.

If God had never yet spoken a word to the human family, and should this day send a message to all people at once, and in their own native tongues, that word, being the word of God, would have to bear in itself the evidence of its being the word of God; for the people could not possibly inquire of any other, because there is no person whose knowledge or authority is equal to this. That word, though, bearing in itself the evidence of its being the word of God, all the people could obtain this evidence by accepting it as the word of God. Each one who did this would know that it was the word of God; for he would have the evidence in the word, and by accepting it, also in himself.

This is precisely the position that the Bible occupies toward the people of this world. It comes as the word of God. As such, it must bear the evidence in itself; for there can be no higher, no better, evidence. Whoever receives it as the word of God receives in it and in himself the evidence that it is the word of God. And so it is written, "When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thess. 2:13; Acts 17:12.

And again: "A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you." 1 John 2:8.

And again: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will [is willing to] do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John 7:16, 17.

Thus he who accepts the Word as the word of God has the evidence that it is the word of God. He who will not accept the Word can not have the evidence. In rejecting the Word, he rejects the evidences, because the evidence is in the Word.

To make this yet plainer, if possible, especially to those who do not know that the Bible is the word of God, we may, for the sake of the case, suppose that the Bible were not the word of God, and that the God of the Bible were not the true God. Suppose, then, that we should find the true God, and ask him whether the Bible is the word of God; and suppose he should say, "It is not the word of God." We should then have only his word; and the only way that we could know whether or not this answer were true would be by believing it, by accepting it as the word of God.

So, then, the only possible way in which any person could surely know that the Bible is not the word of God would be by the word of God. And even though he had the word of God to this effect, the only way that he could be sure of it–the only evidence he could have–would be by believing that Word.

But there is no word of God that the Scriptures are not the word of God, while there is the word of God that the Scriptures are the word of God. That word of God bears in itself the evidence that it is the word of God; and every soul who will receive it as it is, will have the evidence. The evidence will be plain to him who believes the Word.

"Passing Events. A Little Ancient History, Which Is Also Modern" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 31 , p. 491.

IN considering the new and "imperial" career that is opening before the United States, and being sanctioned by so many in high positions, we have remarked that there was one republic that passed over this ground once before in the history of the world. That republic was Rome. It is interesting to read the statements made to-day concerning this "colonial policy" and "colonial career" that is opening up before "Imperial America," and compare it with what has long been written of the course of Rome as she passed over the same ground. It is not claimed, on behalf of the new, "Imperial America," that she must accept this great responsibility that has fallen upon her of extending the blessings of liberty to the world, and that she must discharge this sacred office by beginning to deliver from the oppressive rule of Spain the people of the Philippines, San Juan, Cuba, perhaps the Carolines, and so on to the other oppressed peoples of the world. It is said that America will thus extend the blessing of liberty, just because of the blessing of liberty; she will bestow freedom entirely from love of human freedom, as far as possible to all the world.

All this is precisely what Rome proposed to do. Rome claimed that she never wished to make any conquests of any people, nor to control any territory, outside of her own boundaries of Italy. All that she ever did outside of Italy was altogether out of pure benevolence, and solely to extend to oppressed peoples the blessings of liberty, of which the Romans were the exemplars before the world, and in behalf of the world, and which they so sincerely loved that they couldn't be content at all so long as any other people were not enjoying this wonderful liberty. Therefore they would man fleets and raise armies, send them over seas at great sacrifice and immense expense to fight battles for strange peoples, only that those peoples might have the blessing of liberty, of which Rome was the world's conservator.

One example will illustrate this whole subject. The Romans had sent an army into Macedonia to fight against Philip the Fifth in behalf of the states of Greece and to save them from being oppressed by Philip. The Roman army was successful, Philip was thoroughly conquered, and a treaty of peace was concluded; but "all Greece was in uncertainty" as to what should be their fate, now that the Roman power was predominant in both Greece and Macedonia. It was the time when the Isthmian games were celebrated, in which all Greece participated, and where vast crowds were assembled to witness the contests; then, "the multitude being assembled in the stadium to see the games, a herald came forward, and published with a loud voice" the following proclamation:–

"The senate and people of Rome, and Titus Quintius, their general, having overcome Philip and the Macedonians, ease and deliver from all garrisons, taxes, and imposts, the Corinthians, the Loerians, the Phocians, the Euboeans, the Phthiot Acheans, the Magnesians, the Thessalians, and the Perrhúbians; declare them free, and ordain that they shall be governed by their respective laws and usages."

At these words, which many heard but imperfectly because of the noise that interrupted them, all the spectators were filled with excess of joy. They gazed upon and questioned one another with astonishment, and could not believe either their eyes or ears, so like a dream was what they then saw and heard. It was thought necessary for the herald to repeat the proclamation, which was now listened to with the most profound silence, so that not a single word of the decree was lost. But now, fully assured of their happiness, they abandoned themselves again to the highest transport of joy, and broke into such loud and repeated acclamations that the sea resounded them to a great distance, and some ravens which happened to fly at that instant over the assembly fell down in the stadium; fo true it is that of all the blessings of this life, none are so dear to mankind as liberty! The games and sports were hurried over with neglect and disregard; for so great was the general joy upon this occasion that it extinguished every other thought.

The games being ended, all the people ran in crowds to the Roman general; and every one being eager to see his deliverer, to salute him, to kiss his hand, and to throw crowns and festoons of flowers over him, he would have run the hazard of being pressed to death by the crowd had not the vigor of his years,–for he was not above thirty-three years old,–and the joy which so glorious a day gave him, sustained and enabled him to undergo the fatigue.

The remembrance of so delightful a day and of the invaluable blessing then bestowed, was forever renewing, and for a long time the only subject of conversation at all times and in all places. Every one cried in the highest transports of admiration and a kind of enthusiasm, that there was a people in the world who, at their own expense and the hazard of their lives, engage in a war for the liberty of other nations; and that not for their neighbors, or people situated on the same continent, but who crossed seas, and sailed to distant climes, to destroy and extirpate unjust power from the earth, and to establish, universally, law, equity, and justice: that by a single word and the voice of a herald, liberty had been restored to all the cities of Greece and Asia: that only a great soul could have formed such a design; but to execute it was the effect at once of the highest good fortune and the most consummate virtue.

They called to mind all the great battles which Greece had fought for the sake of liberty. "After sustaining so many wars," said they, "never was its valor crowned with so blessed a reward as when strangers came and too up arms in its defense. It was then that, almost without shedding a drop of blood, or losing one man, it acquired the greatest and noblest of all prizes for which mankind can contend. Valor and prudence are rare at all times; but of all virtues, justice is most rare. Agesilaus, Lysander, Nicias, and Alcibiades had great abilities for carrying on war, and gained battles both by sea and land; but it was for themselves and for their country, not for strangers and foreigners, they fought. That height of glory was reserved for the Romans."

The sequel to this greatness of soul of the Romans will be given next week. But for the present we may inquire, When two things are so precisely alike in their beginnings as are this course of Rome and that proposed for the United States, can there be much likelihood that the endings will be any less alike, whatever may be the sequel of the Roman story?

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 31 , p. 500.

"WE shall reap, if we faint not." When the children of Israel were right on the borders of the promised land, they grew faint, and turned back into the wilderness. If there is anything true, it is that the coming of the Lord is "near, even at the doors." Are any discouraged, and tempted to turn back? Take courage. "Cast not away therefore your confidence." "Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come." It is now that "the just shall live by faith." "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." Be courageous, be strong, be faithful; and the crown is yours only a little in the future.

WHAT the world wants to see to-day in those who profess conversion is not talk, but changed lives. Of all people, Seventh-day Adventists ought to stand before the world as an example of what the transforming power of God can do for the human heart. Then, through them, Christ would be "lifted up," and all men would be drawn to him. "Ye are the light of the world." Are you that in your community? If not, why not?

FOUR hundred years ago Spain by Torquemada and the Inquisition inflicted horrible cruelties upon the Jews in compelling them to become Catholics or leave the realm. The other day in the largest synagogue in Jerusalem the congregation prayed, "Let thy face shine, O God, on the young men and their leaders who risk their lives for a just cause to save the oppressed from their oppressors. But on their adversaries show thy might. Avenge the blood of thy servants that has been shed by a cruel nation, and crush thine enemies for aye."

August 9, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32 , p. 508.

WE are invited by the Lord to "recognize," as well as to receive, the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit can be properly recognized only by those who have received him.

In the time of the "early rain" the Holy Spirit was recognized by those who received him; and it must be so in this "time of the latter rain."

Whether Ananias and Sapphira had received the Holy Spirit, may be questioned; but it is certain that they did not recognize him, and therefore they thought they could render service to the Lord under false pretenses.

But the apostles did recognize the Holy Spirit. Therefore when Ananias and Sapphira acted upon the false pretense which they had concerted, the apostles recognized it, not as an attempt to deceive them or the church, nor as only a wrong act in themselves, but as an attempt to deceive the Holy Ghost.

The apostle left themselves, the church, and everything else, entirely out of the question, and recognized the reign of the Holy Spirit. they recognized the Holy Spirit as the great living presence and power presiding in the church and over the church. Accordingly they brought the offenders face to face with this mighty fact, and in this, with the fact that they had lied to the Holy Ghost.

This is written to show what it is to recognize the Holy Spirit; and how the Holy Spirit will vindicate his own honor, when he is recognized.

It shows that the Holy Spirit is able to take care of the credit of the church when he is recognized and given the chance to do it.

But from the days of the apostles until now the great evil has been, and it is yet, that men insist on putting themselves forward, and undertaking to do things themselves, and making themselves the guardians of the truth and of the credit of the church; and when false pretenses were played, and lies told, it was they who were deceived and lied to.

That time, however, is now past and must be past. The time is now here when the Holy Spirit must be "recognized and received>'

The time is now come when the Holy Spirit must be recognized as the all in all, in honor, place, and authority, in the church.

And when he is so recognized, and the people are held face to face with this mighty fact, he will be found vindicating the honor of the Christian faith and maintaining the credit of the church.

Thus it will be again, as at the first, that "great favor came upon all the church and as many as feared these things;" the false pretenders and lairs will be cleansed out of the church, "believers" will be "the more added to the Lord;" and "of the rest durst no man join himself to them."

Thank the Lord, this time has come, and it . . . . well as received, and he will speedily purify the church. For it is written, and the time is now, that "the Son of man shall send forth his angels [who are the ministers of the Holy Spirit, Eze. 1:20; Heb. 1:7], and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity."

Note, in this gathering they do not gather out for his kingdom all things that shall be holy and righteous: they "gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity"–all the liars, all the false pretenders, all who by their formalism without the power, are stumbling-blocks and offenders.

The harvest is at hand: but before the wheat can be gathered into the heavenly garner, the tares must be gathered out; for though "both grow together until the harvest" they are not harvested together. Before the righteous can "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father," there must be gathered "out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity."

The cleansing of the church can not be "by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts." It can not be by the machinery and working of men; but "by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning."

And "when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning," then "the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon ["above"] all the glory shall be a defense ["a covering"]."

This time is now. Bless the Lord! And this blessed work of preparation will be made for the church to meet the Lord, when the Holy Spirit shall be recognized as all in all, in and to the church.

And when this blessed work is done, "it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living ["registered and appointed for life"] in Jerusalem."

When thus the angels as the ministers of the Holy Spirit shall have gathered out of his kingdom "all things that offend, and them which do iniquity," "THEN shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Praise the Lord!

"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." And this is what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Have you an ear to hear what the Spirit saith?–If not, why? Is it possible that you are "uncircumcised in heart and ears," so that you do not hear what the Spirit saith?

O, "ask, and it shall be give you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

And "recognize" the Holy Spirit.

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Our needs are to be supplied, but there is nothing said about our wants. One has truly . . . . A need is one thing; a want is another thing. "We want a great many more things than we need." If we would spend more time seeking the Lord to learn what we need, we would be more contented with what he sends us. We ask him for things we want, and do not stop to think whether we really need them or not.

"'Loose Preaching'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32 , pp. 508, 509.

IN a recent number of the Herald of the Coming One, Sam Jones is criticized severely because in one of his sermons he said: "God teaches us in his word that he is no respecter of persons. God loves the meanest man in the world as much as he does the best man. God loves the abandoned, wicked sinner as well as the best Christian in Nashville."

The writer who takes exceptions to this statement, says:–

This is terribly loose preaching. What Universalist is there who would not gladly accept such notions? The serious thing about it is, it is not the truth. The Bible most decidedly teaches that God does love his trustful, obedient people a great deal more than he loves the ungodly ones who persist in disobeying him. There is a sense in which God does love all men, and that sense is a love of pity, a love which yearns to save every sinner from his sins; but such a love is far from being one of pleasure, of delight, of joy, such as God has toward those who obey, honor, and love him.

God is a respecter of persons in a most important sense. His very character is such that he must respect his own dutiful, loving people much more than he does disobedient and wicked rebels. It is as plain as the brightest day, that Christ had far greater respect for his devoted and endeared disciples than he had for those hypocritical Pharisees who opposed him on every hand. Christ never put a premium on hypocrisy and unbelief and stubborn rebellioin.

If it were true that God loves "the abandoned, wicked sinner as well as the best Christian," then what inducement has the most wicked man to become a loving, pure, and obedient Christian? And if God loves a rebellious sinner as greatly as he loves a true Christian, then why will not God give the wicked one as much benefit and blessing as he does his loving child, who gives himself fully to God? O, it is arrant folly to suppose that God loves ungodly men with the same kind and degree of love that he feels and exhibits toward those who have penitently accepted Christ.

This criticism it is that contains the loose preaching, not the words criticized. "God is love." It is not, God loves; but "God is love." That is what he is. And he is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. He can not be anything else and be God. but he is "the eternal God"–with him to all eternity, past and future, there "is no variableness neither shadow of turning." He can not love one person more than another. He is the same to all people, because he is God, the eternal God–ever the same. And being ever the same, he is ever the same to all. The sinner does not know him, and does not know his love, and so loses everything in abusing his love. The only inducement the wicked sinner needs is this very fact of the love of God, because he is love.

When God says he is not a respecter of persons, why should mortal man say that God is a respecter of persons? God does not love sin, but he does love the sinner. Jesus was just as willing to help the Pharisee as he was to help the beloved John. He loved them as much, for he came to die for them. He denounced their hypocrisy, because he loved them.

Why were the parables of the prodigal son, the lost sheep, and the lost piece of money

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given, if not to teach that God loves the sinner as much as the ninety and nine that are in the fold.

This nineteenth-century idea that a church-member is more precious in the sight of God than other people is pharisaical, and tends to discourage those who want to be saved.

It is the spirit of "come not near to me; for I am holier than thou." We church members, we Christians,–we are good. The Lord loves us more than he loves you; because we are so nice. You bad, low-down, "fallen," wicked sinners,–you become nice like we are, then the Lord will love you as he now does us. But you are too bad now for him to love you very much. This is the same old pharisaical spirit, that thinks God altogether such a one as themselves. It will never do. Christians are no better than other people, except for the love, the character, of God that is in them, and abides with them. God so loved the world of sinners, lost, fallen, wicked,–us, our individual selves,–God so loved, because he is love, and because of that only. that he is love is the only reason for his loving sinners; and that he is love is the only inducement for the winning of sinners.

It may be that Sam Jones is sometimes loose in his preaching; but if he never misses the mark any farther than he did in the statement so criticized, his preaching will be the very message of salvation. Let us have more of this very sort of "loose preaching." It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is love, and certainly showed it when he willingly gave the choicest gift of heaven, yea, when he gave himself, to save sinners. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

"'When's' and 'Why's'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32 , p. 509.

WHEN Christ has said, "The Sabbath was made for man," WHY should any of his professed followers contend that it was made for the Jews only?

WHEN the Sabbath was made, it was to be a memorial of God's creative work (Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:8-11); then WHY should it cease to exist as long as his creative works remain? See Ps. 135:13.

WHEN the Lord wished to impress upon man the difference between himself and the heathen gods, he always referred to the fact that he is the One that made the heavens and the earth (Isa. 42:5; 48:12, 13; Acts 17:24; Rev. 14:7), thus giving the facts on which the Sabbath commandment was based. WHY, then, should the memorial be abolished while the facts still continued?

WHEN the Israelites came out of bondage, and before they received the ten commandments at Sinai, they were told that the seventh day "is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord;" that "this is that which the Lord hath said;" and they were required to "keep" it (Ex. 16:22-30); WHY did the Lord tell them that it was the Sabbath, and require them to keep it, if it did not exist before the law was spoken at Sinai?

WHEN the ten commandments were given, WHY should nine of them be of perpetual obligation upon all the nations of the earth, . . . . only to the Jews, and this only from Sinai to Calvary?

WHEN the Scriptures plainly teach us that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things (John 1:3; Col. 1:16); the Deliverer of Israel from Egyptian bondage (Ex. 23:20-23; 1 Cor. 10:4); the same One who spoke the law from Sinai, (Ex. 20:2); and the Redeemer of the world (Isa. 43:7, 11; 44:6); WHY should not we honor him by keeping as the memorial of his creative work, the Sabbath which he made blessed, sanctified, and KEPT?

"Chain Letters" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32 , p. 510.

RECENTLY a chain letter was started by a lady on Long Island, asking for money to purchase ice for an ambulance ship. The chain is formed as follows: The first person writes four letters to four friends asking each to send ten cents to purchase ice, and also write four letters to four friends asking each of them to do the same. Each of these letters is to be a copy of the original, and each person who receives such a letter is earnestly enjoined to prevent the breaking of the chain by complying with the request; or it not, to notify the friend making the request.

The first four letters are each numbered "1." Each person who receives one of these is expected to write four letters, and all of these sixteen are to be numbered "2." The next series of sixty-four letters is to be known as "No. 2," and so on.

Now that we have the scheme, let us consider the results of it. are they good or are they evil? Not what but good people have a part in this work, for sometimes good people do not see the results of a scheme they are asked to enter into.

Though this particular enterprise was good, the great majority of the persons who are asked to write such letters, have no way of knowing the character of the enterprise to which they are asked to contribute. By sending these letters to their friends, they become responsible for recommending the person or enterprise to which they ask contributions. They endorse an enterprise they know but little or nothing about, which is morally wrong.

One particularly notable thing about it is that it is a most extravagant way of collecting funds. Every person who sends ten cents is expected to spend ten cents on postage, and not less than two cents more for stationary. Thus it costs at least twelve cents to collect ten cents for the enterprise.

None of the people who assist in sending these letters have the least idea of what they are attempting to do. They have no conception of the vastness of the scheme. If they had, it is safe to say that but few of them would have anything to do with it.

Usually the letter requests that the chain be continued until the hundredth series. Any one who will think a moment will be astonished at the result of the scheme. When only the twentieth series is reached, the number of letters written would be 1,090,921,693,184. This would make one letter each for every man, woman, and child, in seven hundred worlds, each with a population as numerous as that of our world, and yet only the twentieth series has been reached. If each letter contained the ten cents asked for, this twentieth series would bring in $109,092,169,318.40; and would pay out $111,274,012,705.20 for postage and stationary to bring in the other.

Without making any further calculations on the remaining eighty in the series of the one hundred, it is safe to say that when the ten-cent contributions should reach that series, the person who started it would be prepared to offer the full value of a world of gold like ours for every lump of ice that any soldier could possibly use.

We have said enough to show that it is never safe to take for granted that seemingly the most trival things are really insignificant. We may also get a suggestion of the tremendous power of the chain of human influences and example, and what marvelous results may be attained by the multiplication of trifles.

Should any of our readers receive one of these chain letters, you will do the person who started them a favor by breaking the chain. The paper that makes a note of the ice fund says that the lady has received the results from only a few of the first series, and it amounts to more than $5,000. She did not realize what she was starting, and is now kept very busy opening the letters that are coming to her. She is more anxious to have the "chain" broken than she was to start it.

If you have a chain of thought or habit which draws you in the wrong direction, do not pass it on to others to help multiply it, but break it at once. Break every chain that would bind you, and be free in Christ.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 32 , p. 510.

CAPTAIN PEARY speaks of the distance sound can be heard during intense cold. He says: "In the artic regions we often heard people converse in a common tone at a distance of a mile." If the human ear can hear at that distance when the surroundings are favorable, why should we not believe that the Creator who made both the circumstances and the ear, ear, hear our voices when we come to him in prayer, though that prayer may not be heard by the human ear. Then he also can hear those foolish words we speak, those bitter expressions that give pain to our fellow men. If he hears if all, should we not take heed to our words that they be words that we will want to meet in the judgment?

August 16, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 33 , p. 524.

"YE are my witnesses, saith the Lord."

Before he left them, Jesus said to his disciples that they should be witnesses unto him "both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

And this was spoken to his disciples for all time; he intended that, in each generation, his disciples should bear witness unto him, even unto the uttermost part of the earth.

His disciples of that time did this in their generation: their faith was spoken, and spoken of, "throughout the whole world;" the gospel which they preached "was preached to every creature under heaven."

The reason of this was that they had the power to do it. Jesus said to them, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me. . . unto the uttermost part of the earth."

The Holy Ghost did come upon them; they did receive power. And having power to be witnesses unto the uttermost part of the earth, it was easy so to witness.

And that is true yet. Any church that has the power to witness unto Christ to the uttermost part of the earth can witness unto the uttermost part of the earth. It will not be difficult to do what she has the power to do.

The only reason that the church in any age has not witnesses in that age to the uttermost part of the earth, is simply because she did not have the power to do it. That is what she existed for; but she could not do it, because she did not have the power. And she did not have the power because she would not have the Holy Ghost to come upon her.

Now, in this day and age, the church must witness unto Christ unto the uttermost part of the earth. That is solely what she exists for. But she can not do it without the power. Men may talk and plan and work till doomsday; but the thing can never be done without the power to do it. And the power to do it lies solely in having the Holy Ghost come upon the disciples.

And when the Holy Ghost does come upon us, making us witnesses, then he also himself is a witness with us.

We are to witness unto Jesus Christ risen from the dead, and alive now, though once dead.

This is that to which the disciples then witnessed, and to which the Holy Ghost witnessed; and this is that to which the disciples must always witness,–a risen, living Saviour.

They said, "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." "The Prince of Life" "God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses." "We are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."

The Holy Ghost witnesses with the believer who witnesses that Christ is risen from the dead, and is alive and at the right hand of God, to shed forth repentance, forgiveness, and power.

It is a great and mischievous mistake to think that those disciples who were then in Jerusalem, and who saw him with their natural eyes, were the only ones who could, or were expected to, witness to the resurrection of Christ.

We to-day are expected to witness to this same thing. We must witness that he is risen, and is alive to-day. We must witness that he is at the right hand of God, exalted to be a prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. We can do it.

We can do it because we know him, the living Saviour, with whom we live. We can do it because he lives with us. We can do it because we know that he is in us, and we in him; and this we know by the Holy Ghost, which is given us. We can do it because he has given us the power, in giving us the Holy Ghost.

Do you know that the Holy Ghost is with you to witness unto the things which you testify of Christ? Can you cite the Holy Ghost as witness with you in what you witness unto Christ? If not, why not?

And if you can not, then is it not because you are not, and are conscious that you are not, a true witness? And if you are not a true witness, then you are not a witness at all for Christ.

A witness is to testify to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; he himself is to be true. "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." Are you?

Are you true? You can know. Here is the test: "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him."

And we are witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost. Will you be a true witness? Will you recognize the Holy Ghost as a witness also with you?

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Recognize the Holy Spirit.

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." The kingdom is not to be gained by our efforts. It is to be given to them that "fear not." Let your mind dwell in prayerful meditation upon the infinite love of God toward you in Christ Jesus. Think of the exceeding great and precious promises, of the Holy Spirit, which dwells in you, of the holy angels that are encamped about you; think of all these blessings and "fear not." Fear not the want of temporal good. He who feeds the ravens, the sparrows, and the beasts, will feed you. "The Lord will provide," is a motto which you may write on every necessary want in life. Fear not the power of Satan. Greater is he that is for you than all that are against you. The mighty God fights our battles; then why should we fear? Fear not that the Lord will forsake you. His love is an everlasting love. He is married to you in Christ. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Having loved you, he will love you "to the end."

"'When's' and 'Why's'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 33 , p. 524.

WHEN the Saviour came to this world, he said, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:18, 19. He makes it plain which commandments he refers to, by quoting two of them. See verses 21, 27.

A jot, or iota (the Hebrew Yod), is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. A "tittle" is a little horn, or point of a Hebrew letter. WHEN Jesus has said that not one letter, or part of a letter, should pass from that law which contains the commandments, "Thou shalt not kill," and, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," WHY do men presume to teach that the whole fourth commandment, containing more than three hundred letters, or jots, has been abolished?

WHEN Jesus was here on the earth, he kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16); and during his ministry he honored that day by tearing down the traditions the Jews had put upon it. WHY did he do this, if it was soon to be abolished?

WHEN the prophet Isaiah spoke of Christ's ministry, he said, "The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable." (Magnify,–"To increase the apparent size of; to exalt in description or praise.") WHY did the prophet say this, if Christ was to destroy at least one tenth of that law on the cross?

WHEN Christ was taken down from the cross (after he had said, "It is finished"), he was laid in the tomb before the Sabbath; and his disciples "rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." WHY did they do this, if the Sabbath was abolished while Jesus was on the cross? If he changed the Sabbath before or at his crucifixion, WHY would not his disciples know as much about this change as would his followers nineteen hundred years later?

WHEN the apostle Paul was called to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, he taught that the law, of which the fourth commandment is a part, is not made void by faith. Rom. 3:3. He preached to both Jews and Gentiles on the Sabbath day. Acts 13:14-16, 42-44; 16:11-13; 17:2; 18:1-11. WHY did he do this, and say nothing about a new Sabbath, if there had been a change?

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 33 , p. 524.

IT is said of one of the Catos that in his old age he withdrew himself from Rome to a country house, that he might spend his last days free from care and trouble. How many since Cato have done the same thing, with the same purpose in view! Cato did not succeed, neither have any of the thousands this side of him made a success of finding a place on this earth where there is no care. There is no asylum from care within the whole compass of sublunary things. benevolence has built asylums for mental and bodily diseases, but it has built none for this. Not in the city, not in the country, no in wealth, not in power, not in pleasures, not in company, not in solitude, will you find freedom from care. In Jesus Christ alone you will find it. "Come unto me, ALL ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 33 , p. 525.

IN an exchange the question is asked, "How long shall we wait for an answer to prayer before it is clear that the petition is not granted?" What is the promise?–"If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it." Our part of the work is not to set a time for the petition to run out. God does not put a limit to his promises in that way. "Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises as some men count slackness." IF we ask in the way the Lord has told us o ask, the answer is sure to come; but we need the Holy Spirit to teach us to ask in the right way.

"Local Elders" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 33 , p. 525.

THOSE servants of the Lord who are set apart for their work by prayer and the laying on of hands, hold an important position in the church. They are to have the "oversight" of the flock. They are to "feed the flock of God." One writer, speaking of the work of elders in the early church, says:–

These men assisted by deacons and deaconesses who were servants of the church for the performance of the needful duties in it, had the care and oversight of local flocks or churches where they dwelt. They fed the flock of God. feeding a flock in this case did not mean shutting them up in a pen, and dealing out dry beans and cut feed once or twice a day, as men do in this country: but in feeding their flocks, the Eastern shepherds went before them, and led them forth into green pastures and by the side of still waters. So these shepherds fed their flocks, guiding them in all their course of life; teaching them the words of God; presiding in their assemblies for worship and fellowship; having a care over the sick and weak and feeble and unwary; and watching against grievous wolves that were to enter in, not sparing the flock, and against men that were to arise speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20:29, 30. . . .

In such churches as these, where people met, not merely to listen to empty harangues, nor elaborate essays prepared by ministers who must say something, whether they have anything to say or not, but rather to hear the stated and protracted reading of the Scriptures of truth, with such exhortations as were suggested by them or by the necessities of the flock, delivered by men of sound speech, who were apt to teach, though perhaps not always of eloquent lips; and also to listen to those words which any Christian, prompted by the Holy Ghost, might utter for the edification and exhortation and comfort of the people of God, joined with the breaking of bread in memory of the Lord, who died to save his people,–in such churches, in upper chambers, in catacombs and caves, was the light of the gospel preserved, and perpetuated, and scattered abroad by the personal contact of Christians with their fellows and neighbors, until it pervaded communities, subverted religions, revolutionized empires, and changed the face of the world.

If our elders would study how they might get their flocks to feed on the living Word, rather than try to preach to them about what good food there is for them, a new life would spring up in all our churches. Twenty years ago our churches did not have nearly so many ministerial visits as they have now; nor did their elders think themselves so much preachers that the Sabbath meeting was spoiled by an effort to present some great theme that the speaker had heard at some general meeting. Then the brethren and sisters were more ready, with Bible in hand, to present some thought that was a real experience to them. These short experiences, founded on the living Word, were food for the whole congregation.

The elder did not hold himself so much responsible for entertaining the congregation as for the exercise of that oversight of the flock by which he led them into the green pastures where they themselves could feed upon, rather than hear about, the good food.

The Testimony of the Lord has for years been calling for this work to be done again in the churches. It calls the ministers to go out where the message has not been heard; and it calls upon the churches to say to the ministers, "Go and preach the Lord's message to those who have not heard it; we will meet together, and built up ourselves on our most holy faith, while you tell to others the truth which we love." When shall the Testimony be heeded?–It will be heeded when the Holy Spirit is recognized, and received, and allowed to reign.

"Sharp Letters" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 33 , p. 526.

MEN and women in places of responsibility, where there is a large correspondence, often have to deal with circumstances that have a tendency to stir up their feelings. When the brain is tired, and the serves are unsettled, the mistakes of those under their direction look more grievous than at other times. Besides, they are away from the offender, and do not have to meet him face to face, and hear any explanations he might make.

It is at such times that these are apt to write to the "offender" a letter of a nature to "shake him up." With nervous hand the pen is taken up, to let the wicked thoughts run on the paper, never heeding that the letter may be the means of so wounding the poor soul that all they may do afterward will never heal the wound. The letter is written; and, too tired even to read it over before sending, the writer hastens it off to the mail, with a sense of relief after the blast he has given, which, he tells himself, will make the offender "tremble," and "teach him a lesson."

How often ministers of the gospel, who are holding an official position which gives them some dignity before their fellow ministers, allow themselves to write words that they would never think of putting on paper if they but waited until the tired brain was rested. The offense that seems most aggravated at first, would appear so different, after time had been taken to consider the circumstances, that there would be no need of writing a "sharp letter." The following interesting sketch, though printed once in these columns, may be read again with much profit by those who sometimes think it advisable to write a sarcastic letter to some "subordinate:"–

It is said that Secretary Stanton was once greatly vexed because an officer had refused to understand an order, or, at all events, had not obeyed.

"I believe I'll sit down," said Stanton, "and give that man a piece of my mind."

"Do so," said Mr. Lincoln: "write it now, while you have it on your mind. Make it sharp; cut him all up."

Stanton did not need a second invitation. It was a bone-crusher that he read to the president.

"That's right," said Lincoln: "that's a good one."

"Whom can I get to send it by?" mused the secretary.

"Send it!" replied Lincoln, "send it! Why, don't sent it at all. tear it up. You have freed your mind on the subject, and that is all that is necessary. Tear it up. You never want to send such letters; I never do."

How many heartaches would be avoided if we would take Lincoln's advice when we write cutting letters. When the mind is freed, tear up the letter, and thus avoid giving pain to another. Then, still better even than this, is to cultivate and acquire so much of the grace and Spirit of Christ that we shall never see any subordinates, but only superiors; and so shall never have any sharp letters to write, no "shaking up" to do, nor any such "lessons" to teach.

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 33 , p. 532.

DO not spend your time brooding over sins that are past. Be thankful that they are past; but do not call them back to the present, and look at them in a way to produce despondency or discouragement. If your past sins have been forgiven, pardoned, they should never be recalled, unless it be in the form of a fact in the history of God's dealings with you to excite your gratitude and praise. It is bad enough that you ever sinned and contracted guilt; why should you, then, make it worse by dwelling upon your sin in a melancholy state of mind?

IN the perilous times of the these last days, when men have a form of godliness and deny the power thereof, efforts are being made to force religion upon all, from the children in the school, up to the men who sit in our legislative halls. In all these efforts there is a compromise between truth and error. The tendency is to lower the standard of piety so that it will be so near the world's standard that it will be popular and easy to be a Christian.

Temperance principles are to be so modified that people can be good temperance people and indulge occasionally, if they are only educated to govern themselves so they will not become intoxicated. There is now on foot an effort to have temperance instruction in our public schools that will teach "the pupils to use alcoholic drinks reasonably." But there is no way to use these alcoholic poisons reasonably. Our youth need to be educated to know that the true principles of health entirely discard the use of these poisons: that the very tasting of them is unreasonable.

Let us have the principle of true temperance, which entirely abstains from everything that has a tendency to tear down the system, and makes a proper use of those things that will build up the human organization. Let us have a religion that will spurn sin of every form, and surrender the life to the leadings of the Holy Spirit.

"SELF-MASTER is the basis of sanity." Then how important it is that we have a complete mastery over self. This is true temperance. If we know for what purpose we are created, and live to fill that station in life to which we are called, we need to be well balanced. To have a well-balanced mind, and to keep it so indicates that we have power over every faculty, and have a complete mastery over self. This can not be without a strong mind. This we can have by having the "mind of Christ."

August 23, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 34 , p. 538.

IN the time of the early rain, when they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, there was great unity among the believers. The whole "multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul."

This unity stood the test of practical things, too; for "neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."

Accordingly, "neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."

Presently, however, it occurred that the widows of the Grecians were neglected in the daily distribution of the funds and provisions that were common to all. And because of this, the Grecians murmured against the Hebrews.

Then the apostles "called the multitudes of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." This pleased the brethren all, and action was taken accordingly.

The record of this occurrence was made for us. This is true, simply because it is Scripture. But further than this, we are directed especially to study this particular part of the sixth chapter of Acts. Therefore let us study it a little moment:–

1. The apostles said, and it is written for our instruction, that it was not reason that they should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

2. This serving of tables was the ministration, to widows and others, of the things to which they were entitled.

3. It involved the handling of money, the dealing in provisions, and the distribution of money or provisions of all sorts to the disciples. It was, therefore, very aptly designated by the apostles as "business."

Then, as this "serving tables" was the engaging in "business," when the apostles said, "It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables," they said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and engage in business.

Inspiration says that it is not reason that ministers of the gospel should leave the word of God and attend to business. In the time of the early rain, this was accepted and acted upon. How long shall we continue "in the time of the latter rain" before it shall be accepted and acted upon?

Bear in mind, too, that this was not a question of really quitting the ministry of the word, and engaging in business as a separate thing. It was simply a question of ministers of the gospel being occupied with the legitimate business of the church,–such strictly legitimate and sacred business as is connected with distributing provisions to widows.

Inspiration says that it is not reason that ministers of the gospel should leave the word of God and serve business, even such as that. And the record shows that to serve business, even such as that, is to "leave the word of God."

For the apostles, the only ministers of the gospel at that time, to serve that "business" was to leave the word of God. They said so, and said that "it is not reason" that it should be so. And when inspiration has endorsed that, and repeated to us that it "is not reason," then why should it not be so, and how long shall it be before it shall be so, that ministers of the everlasting gospel now may leave business and serve the word of God, rather than leave the word of God and serve business, as so many now do?

When the word of God says that a thing is not reason, no amount of "reasoning" can make it reasonable. The word of God does say that it is not reason that ministers of the gospel should leave the word of God and serve business–even the legitimate business of the church and cause of God. And no amount of "reasoning" can make such a course reasonable. All such reasoning is simply setting up personal opinions and selfish preferences against the word of God. this is not Christianity: it is Christianity to cast "down reasonings, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

In the time of the early rain, when they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, the ministers of the gospel said that "it is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve business." At that time, also, the saying pleased the whole multitude. And now, in the time of the latter rain, if the ministers of the gospel would say this very same thing, the saying would again please the whole multitude.

And why should not the ministers of the gospel say it now? Indeed, why do they not all say it? Is it because they are not all filled with the Holy Ghost, as those were who did say it for our instruction? What other cause can there be? And in this time of the latter rain, when all are to be filled with the Holy Ghost as at the first, how can this thing continue against divine, true reason, unless it be that ministers of the gospel would rather leave the word of God and serve business than to seek to be so filled with the Holy Ghost that they would see and say that it is reason to leave business and serve the word of God?

"Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Let the ministers of the gospel receive the Holy Ghost. Let all the multitude of the believers receive the Holy Ghost. Let all, both ministers and the multitude, "be filled with the Spirit." Then the ministers will call the disciples unto them, and say: "It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."

Then it will be again as it was before. The saying will please the whole multitude; they will choose men "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," whom they will set before the ministers, who will pray, and lay their hands upon them. Then, too, as before, the word of God will increase; the number of the disciples will multiply greatly, and a great company of the priests will be obedient to the faith: the office and work of the minister of the gospel will be honored as it should be, and as it is not now; and there will not be the dearth of ministers that there is now.

The Book of Acts is a record of the working of the Holy Spirit, when he had his way in the church. The sixth chapter of Acts is a part of that record, and this is what it says. With special reference to this subject, we are directed by the Spirit to "study the sixth chapter of Acts." Will you study it wit the Spirit? Will you hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches? Will you follow the way that he leads? Will you receive the Holy Ghost? Will you be filled with the Spirit?

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Recognize the Holy Spirit.

"Passing Events. A Little Ancient History, Which Is Also Modern" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 34 , pp. 538, 539.

THE conquests of the Roman Republic were made in the name of liberty, to deliver peoples from oppression. But after these conquests had been made, and the immediate question settled, there was a different story to tell.

Honest old Rollin's "reflections" upon the course of the Roman Republic are important to-day, as the republic of the United States has started in this identical path. These reflections run thus:–

The reader may perceive, in the events related, one of the principal characteristics of the Romans, which will soon determine the fate of all the states of Greece, and produce an almost general change in the universe,–I mean a spirit of sovereignty and dominion. This characteristic does not display itself at first in its full extent. It reveals itself by degrees; and it is only by insensible progress, which at the same time is sufficiently rapid, that we see it carried at last to its greatest height.

It must be confessed that this people, on some occasions, show a moderation and disinterestedness, which, from a superficial view, seem to exceed everything we meet with in history, and which we feel it incumbent on us to praise.

Was there ever a more glorious day than that in which the Romans, after having carried on a long and dangerous war, after crossing seas and exhausting their treasures, caused a herald to proclaim, in a general assembly, that the Roman people restored all the cities to their liberty, and desired to reap no other fruits by their victory than the noble pleasure of doing good to nations, the bare remembrance of whose ancient glory sufficed to endear them to the Romans?

Had this deliverance of the Grecian states proceeded merely from a spirit of generosity, void of all interested motives; had the whole tenor of the conduct of the Romans been of the same nature, with such exalted sentiments, nothing could possibly have been more august, or more capable of doing honor to a nation. But if we penetrate ever so little beyond this glaring outside, we soon perceive

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that this specious moderation of the Romans was entirely founded on a profound policy; wise, indeed, and prudent, according to the ordinary rules of government, but at the same time very remote from that noble disinterestedness so highly extolled on the present occasion. It may be affirmed that the Grecians then abandoned themselves to a stupid joy, fondly imagining that they were really free because the Romans declared them so.

The Romans declared loudly in favor of those republics [of Greece]; made it their glory to take them under their protection, and that with no other design in outward appearance; than to defend them against their oppressors; and further to attach them by a still stronger tie, they hung out to them a specious bait, as a reward for their fidelity–I mean liberty, of which all the republics in question were inexpressibly jealous, and which the Macedonian monarchs had perpetually disputed with them.

The bait was artfully prepared, and was eagerly swallowed by the generality of the Greeks, whose views penetrated no further. But the most judicious and most clear-sighted among them discovered the danger that lay concealed beneath this charming bait; and, accordingly, they exhorted the people from time to time, in their public assemblies, to beware of this cloud that was gathering in the west; and which, changing on a sudden into a dreadful tempest, would break like thunder over their heads to their utter destruction.

Nothing could be more gentle and equitable than the conduct of the Romans in the beginning. They acted with the utmost moderation toward such states and nations as addressed them for protection; they succored them against their enemies; took the utmost pains in terminating their differences, and in suppressing all trouble the least recompense for all these services done for their allies. By these means, their authority gained strength daily, and prepared the nation for entire subjection.

Under the pretense of manifesting their good will, of entering into their interests, and of reconciling them, they rendered themselves as the sovereign arbiters of those whom they had restored to liberty, and whom they now considered in some measure as their freedmen. They used to depute commissioners to them to inquire into their complaints, to weight and examine the reasons on both sides, and to decide their quarrels; but when the articles were of such a nature that there was no possibility of reconciling them on the spot, they invited them to send their deputies to Rome, but afterward they used to summon those who refused to be reconciled; obliged them to plead their cause before the senate, and even to appear in person there. From arbiters and mediators, having become supreme judges, they soon assumed a magisterial tone, looked upon their decrees as irrevocable decisions, were greatly offended when the most implicit obedience was not paid to them, and gave the name of rebellion to a second resistance. Thus there arose in the Roman senate a tribunal which judged all nations and kings, and from which there was no appeal.

We see by the event to what this so-much-boasted lenity and moderation of the Romans was confined. Enemies to the liberty of all nations, having the utmost contempt for kings and monarchy, looking upon the whole universe as their prey, they grasped with insatiable ambition the conquest of the whole world. They seized indiscriminately all provinces and kingdoms, and extended their empire over all nations; in a word, they prescribed no other limits to their vast projects than those which deserts and seas made it impossible to pass.

This extract will be good to keep, and to read along with much spread-eagleism that has been, and that will be, manifested upon "Imperial America," "our colonial policy," and "our obligations to extend the blessings of liberty to oppressed peoples" and "to all the world."

"When's and Why's" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 34 , p. 539.

WHEN the word of God speaks of the resurrection day as "the first day of the week," and says that WHEN that day came, "the Sabbath day according to the commandment" "was past," WHY should anybody who has any respect for the word of God call that day the Sabbath? Luke 23:56; 24:1; Mark 16:1, 2.

WHEN the word of God says that "the Sabbath day according to the commandment" was past before the resurrection day, the first day of the week, came at all, WHY should anybody who has any respect for the word of God say that the Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week?

By reading Luke 24:1-37 and Mark 16:9-14, we learn that the disciples did not believe that Jesus had risen on that First-day, WHEN the day was almost gone. It was nearly ten days later before Thomas was convinced that Jesus was indeed risen. John 20:24-28. Then WHY should Christian people say the disciples kept the First-day "from the resurrection of Christ"?

WHEN Paul held his meeting at Troas (Acts 20:7), on a First-day evening (corresponding to our Saturday night), WHY did Luke and his companions put in their time sailing the vessel to Assos, if the first day of the week had become a sacred day?

WHEN there is not one command in the New Testament to regard the first day of the week as a sacred day, WHY do Christians observe it in the place of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment?

WHEN there is not one passage of Scripture in the whole New Testament that in any way mentions the first day of the week as the Sabbath in the Christian dispensation, WHY should the followers of Jesus call it a holy day?

The majority of Christians who observe Sunday as a holy day keep it as a memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. WHY should they do so WHEN Bible baptism (immersion) was instituted as a memorial of that event? See Rom. 6:1-3; Col. 2:12.

In Rev. 1:10 John speaks of being "in the Spirit of the Lord's day." WHY should any one assume that this was the first day of the week, WHEN there is no scripture in the whole Bible that speaks of that day as the Lord's day, and WHEN there are passages that speak of the Sabbath–the seventh day–by that term? See Ex. 20:8-11; Isa. 56:13; Mark 2:27, 28.

WHEN the Sabbath command is just as plain as any other commandment in the Bible, WHY should we not receive it just as we do the others? See Matt. 5:17-20.

WHEN there is no record of a change of the Sabbath by Christ, who made the Sabbath, WHY should Christians seek to find a record of the change in early church history?

WHEN the church at the time of the apostles had no more authority to change God's law than at the present time, WHY should people say that the church of that time changed the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, and deny the right of the church of this time to change any other commandment of God?

WHEN Protestants claim that "the primitive church" could and did of right change the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, and WHEN the church at Rome was of that primitive church, WHY should they (and how can they) deny the right of the later church, of which the church at Rome is a part, to change any part of the word of God that she may choose to change, WHEN they admit that the church at Rome is still "a part of the true church," and especially WHEN the church at Rome can show a direct descent from primitive time?

In short, WHEN Protestants plant themselves on papal ground at the beginning, WHY should they not stay on it at the end?

"Two Charities" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 34 , p. 540.

SATAN would have us be very charitable toward men's opinions. We are fallible creatures, he suggests, and fall into many errors. We must not condemn men because they differ with us in opinion.

All this is true; but it is one thing to condemn men for differing and testify against their rejecting the truth of God. Satan would try to blind our eyes to this distinction. He would have us think that a man is no more to blame for believing that the word of God is a lie than for differing with us in regard to any secular matter.

Satan's favorite maxim is that it does not matter what a man believes, provided his practise is right. He would have us think that there is little or no connection between belief and practise. He would fain conceal the truth that a man's practise can not be right unless his principles are right.

It is said that while Mr. Gladstone was severe in his denunciation of the wrong principles held by his opponents, he never attacked the individual who held the erroneous views. Yet he never allowed his friendship feeling toward the individual to compromise a principle.

This is the principle that Jesus acted upon when here on the earth. He was friendly to publicans, lepers, and harlots; yet he never failed to denounce their sins, nor to make an effort to turn the individual from his sin. He had charity toward the individual, but none for his sins.

"Saul's Armor" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 34 , p. 540.

"AND David said unto Saul, I can not go with these; for I have not proved them." Saul was a large man, and his armor had been fitted to him, so that he could use it. David was young and inexperienced in army drill. He could not handle a sword nor use a shield; and the weighty helmet and coat of mail were hindrances to him. He may have looked soldier-like in them; and had there been no foes to fight, he might have amused his friends by parading up and down through the camp with Saul's armor on.

But David realized that he was called of God to that conflict, and that there was earnest work to do. He that had called him had given him skill with the sling and the smooth pebbles from the brook. He needed no shield; for the Lord God was his shield. He needed no sword; for he would not come within sword's distance of Goliath until the giant lay at his feet. Then a sword was furnished with which to sever the giant's head from his body. David was to go out in the strength of the Lord, not in the wisdom and power of military men. He went that way and was victorious.

There are too many efforts made against sin, with another's armor. If a man gains a wonderful victory in the conflict with sin, others run after him, to borrow his armor, so they may get a similar victory. Many have never put on any armor, because they are not yet satisfied in their own minds after what fashion to make it. They are watching their brethren that are having some success, to see which one will be the most victorious. They never think of the experience that God has given them with the sling and the pebbles from the brook. While waiting to be fitted with another's armor, they are losing the skill God has given them.

If the Christian that has been trying to imitate the Keswick movement, the Salvation Army movement, or aspiring to be a Moody, a Meyer, or some other successful laborer, would go to the Lord for direction, as did Daniel, he would be able to do more with his little sling than with all the methods of the best men on earth. A man's methods are never considered of any special value until he has made them work successfully. Often it is not a man's methods that give him success, but the power of God that enables the man to produce successful methods. Those who study that man's methods, and do not know his power, fail to realize satisfactory results.

"Michigan Camp-meeting Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 34 , p. 548.

THE meeting began Thursday, August 18.

Friday the 19th there were about two thousand people in camp.

The meeting began with respect to the Spirit, and so everything has gone along smoothly and pleasantly.

The tents were pitched, the grounds were all cleared up, and the camp was all ready, when the time came for the meeting regularly to begin.

The work of the auditing committee was all finished and out of the way when the time came for the meeting to begin; so the members of this committee could, at the beginning, fully enter into the services.

The principal thought among the people seems to be: "Dead to sin through the cross of Jesus Christ: and alive unto God through the power of the Spirit of God." The Spirit is therefore present to witness, to instruct, and to guide. His gentle, peaceful presence is discernible not only in all the services, but in all the camp.

Whoever in Michigan can possibly come to this meeting, and yet does not come, will lose more than he can afford.

Come. The meeting is only half gone when you read this. Come.

Some may be inclined to be skeptical over Brother Falconer's statements concerning the weather in winter in Manitoba. They may wonder how people can travel, and move about generally, with more comfort in Manitoba when the cold is forty-eight degrees below zero, than farther south, where the thermometer stands not nearly so low. Yet no one need doubt this fact: it is the truth. I have experienced it a number of times,–not, indeed, in Manitoba, but in Wshington. The reason of it is that the air is clear and dry and perfectly still. When the weather is so cold, the air is so still that smoke from the chimney drifts straight upward, undisturbed, till it vanishes entirely. With such conditions, forty-eight degrees below zero is not so cold as is weather even above zero, with the air chilly, damp, and foggy, or with a fierce wind blowing. . Don't hesitate to go to Manitoba, if Providence indicates that you should. It is a good country. I have been there, and can certify. And the people are as good as anywhere in the world.
A. T. J.

August 30, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , p. 556.

AFTER the apostles had said to the multitude of the disciples that it was not reason that they should leave the word of God and attend to "business" affairs; and after the seven were chosen, among whom was Stephen, and were set over the "business," not only did the word of God greatly increase under the ministry of the apostles, but the power of God was greatly magnified in the work of the business men who were chosen.

For Stephen, "a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," preached Christ to the council; and in resisting his words they "resisted the Holy Ghost." "But he being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God." Acts 7.

Then Philip, one of these seven, preached with great power in Samaria; and Peter and John went over and joined him: and the apostles laid "their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."

Then "the angel of the Lord" sent Philip down to the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza; and when he arrived at that road, he saw a chariot passing, in which was a man of Ethiopia; and "the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot." Philip did so, preached unto him Jesus, and baptized him; "and when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip." Acts 8.

And Saul, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," near Damascus was overtaken by the Lord," and was led blind into Damascus, where Ananias was sent to him to say, "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." "Then had the churches rest," "and were edified, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost." Acts 9.

Then the Lord had Cornelius send for Peter, who came to him and preached Christ; and while Peter was speaking, "the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." Acts 10.

The gospel spread to Antioch "unto the Grecians," which, when it came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, "they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch." "For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith; and much people was added unto the Lord." Acts 11.

In the church that was at Antioch there were "certain prophets and teachers;" and "as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them, and they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed." "And Saul (who also is called Paul), filled with the Holy Ghost, . . . said," etc. "And the disciples were filled with you, and with the Holy Ghost." Acts 13.

In the council of the apostles and elders that was held at Jerusalem, the conclusive proof that God would have the gospel preached to the Gentiles was the he was "giving them the Holy Ghost," even as to the apostles and elders from the Jews. And when the conclusion of the council was formulated, it read: "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us." Acts 15.

When Paul had gone "through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches," and had come to Derbe and Lystra, and "had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia," he was "forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia." And "after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not." Then, passing by Mysia, Paul came to Troas. And now, being at the sea, as far as he could go forward by land, and forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the word anywhere in the region behind him, there the Spirit opened the way before him. "A vision appeared to Paul in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us." Acts 16.

When Paul came to Ephesus, and there found certain disciples, the first question that he asked them–the first thing he said to them after the customary greeting–was, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" Acts 19:2. They had not heard of the Holy Ghost, knowing only John's baptism. Paul explained that there was something beyond John's baptism,–that the object of John's baptism had come in the Lord Jesus, who had ascended again to heaven, and had sent the Holy Ghost to baptize all believers in Jesus, buried and risen from the dead. And "when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them."

Thus in the time of the early rain, the first inquiry of disciples was, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost?" and the first work of the visiting minister was to see that they had received the Holy Ghost. We are "in the time of the latter rain," which is to be more abundant than was the former. How much more abundantly, then, is it now the proper inquiry of disciples everywhere, first of all, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" and the first thing of all in the work of the ministry to see that they have received the Holy Ghost. These things were all written for us. Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Recognize the Holy Spirit.

"Passing Events. A Quiet Revolution" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , pp. 556, 557.

AT Saratoga, N.Y., last week, there was held a great convention discuss matters of national interests, particularly what would be the best thing for the United States to do with respect to Porto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippine Islands.

Upon this particular question the chief interest was centered in the speeches of Carl Schurz, of New York, and Judge Grosscup, of Chicago. Mr. Schurz insisted that according to the Declaration of Independence, the life principle of the government of the United States, this nation could not rule subject peoples; that as "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed," for the United States to undertake to govern the people of these places, without their consent, or against their expressed wish, would be to repudiate the fundamental principle of the government of the United States; and this nation would therefore ceased to be a free republic. He argued that for the United States to treat these people in any other way than as "created equal," and as "endowed by their Creator with" the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, would be to renounce the living principle of American Republicanism; and that by pursuing such a course, the American Republic would fail and cease to be such.

Judge Grosscup did not attempt any direct answer to these points; but he dwelt on what the nation should do,–how she should not only retain the power over the whole Philippine group, but should even extend it into China,–and all for wealth and glory: principle was not considered.

And the report of the convention, while admitting that Mr. Schurz had the force of the argument, makes it plain that the weight of sentiment was with Judge Grosscup.

This occurrence is only an illustration of the situation all over the country. And by this is perfectly plain that there is a great and most dangerous revolution going on before the very eyes of the American people; and they are even helping it on, while they do not discerned it.

Under the false impression that revolutions can be accomplished only by violence invisible upheaval, the American people are even now passing through a revolution, and are in danger of finding themselves in the clutches of a new and strange power before they realize that any such thing is going on at all.

We have already shown the course of the Roman Republic, and how the American Republic is going over the same ground precisely. And just now it should not be forgotten by any member of the American Republic, that the Roman Republic passed through the despotism of two triumvirates, the second far worse than the first, each ending in the despotism of one man, and then passed into the "furious and crushing despotism" of the Roman monarchy, all in the name of the republic. All this occurred inside of forty years, before the eyes of all the people, while they were pleasing themselves with the fancy and the name that they were still a republic.

Even when Augustus had become emperor, this fiction was played by him before the eyes of the people; and the people were pleased

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with it. For, as Gibbon most pointedly remarks: "Augustus was sensible that mankind is governed by names; nor was he deceived in his expectation that the senate and people would submit to slavery, provided they were respectfully assured that they still enjoyed their ancient freedom." Upon this safe assumption, he accordingly deceived "the people by an image of civil liberty, and the armies by an image of civil government." He was eminently successful, and both people and armies congratulated themselves upon the greatness, and the new and wonderful career, of the Roman Republic!

With these facts in mind, the following extract from the speech of ex-Attorney-general Harmon, to the Ohio Bar Association at Putin-Bay, Ohio, July 12, are intensely suggestive to citizens of the American Republic:–

Mere expansion is not growth; it is only swelling. We may push across the seas, but we can not grow there. Elephantiasis is not an unknown form of national malady, and has always proved fatal. There are still chapters of English history to be written.

We should have to change both the name and the nature of our nation to admit any State out of America, especially if it be populated by alien races. Few, if any, are now bold enough to advocate this. To get dominion over strange peoples for the mere purpose of governing them, not admitting into permanency for that purpose a power meant to be temporary and occasional only, and for that reason left unrestricted, is rightly called an "imperial policy." It would belie and discredit the Declaration of Independence, and convict us of hypocrisy. We can not, under our system, govern us. The reaction would be swift and sure. We should see what Patrick Henry meant when he said, in his famous resolutions of 1765, that such government of the colonies by Great Britain "has a manifest tendency to destroy British as well as American freedom."

An imperial policy will as surely some day lead to an emperor. He may assume some softer name if our sensitiveness survive, as is often the case. But an imperial policy and a republic make a contradiction in terms. The policy must go, or the emperor in some new form must come.

It is not pleasant to play Cassandra. It is easier to join in the shouting and the dancing of those who seem to think the past is dead and the future assured. But one's duty to his countrymen is to give warning of evil when he believes he detects its approach.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , p. 557.

THE Episcopal Recorder of August 11 has the following to say in regard to the progress of ritualism in England at the present time:–

Churchmen in Liverpool have at last become thoroughly roused against the extreme ritualism so openly practised in some churches in the city. A densely packed meeting was held in St. George's Hall last Friday to protest against ritualism. Thousands of churchmen enthusiastically greeted every sentence against the "lawlessness" in the church, and it is quite evident that the matter has reached an acute stage, which will demand that the bishop shall do something. So strong has the feeling become that the service at St. Catherine's church last Sunday had to be held with closed doors, and the curate was much hustled in making his way to the church through a dense crowd. It is to be hoped that the Evangelicals will keep within the law, and so not only add strength to the "cause," but to every good work.

It is strange that the churchmen can not see that it is better to teach the people the truth of God's word than to appeal to their feelings to suppress the inroads of Romanism.

"'When's' and 'Why's'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , p. 557.

WHEN during the first century of the Christian era, the first day of the week was not observed as the Sabbath, WHY should anybody so observe it at any time afterward?

The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intention of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect,–far from them, and far from the early apostolic church, to transfer the law of the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of the second century a false application of this kind had begun to take place; for men appear by that time to have considered laboring on Sunday as a sin.–Neander's "Church History," translated by J. H. Rose.

WHEN there is no Scriptural nor historical evidence that the apostolic church observed the first day of the week as the Sabbath, WHY should the followers of Christ in the nineteenth century continue to observe it?

It was Constantine the Great who first made a law for the proper observance of Sunday; and who, according to Eusebius, appointed it should be regularly celebrated throughout the Roman Empire. Before him, and even in his time, they observed the Jewish Sabbath, as well as Sunday, both to satisfy the law of Moses and to imitate the apostles, who used to meet together on the first day. By Constantine's law, promulgated in 321, it was decreed that for the future the Sunday should be kept as a day of rest in all cities and towns; but he allowed the country people to follow their work.–"Encyclopedia Britannica," art. "Sunday," second edition, 1842.

WHEN testimony so strong, from authority so reliable, can be produced to show that, prior to A.D. 321, Sunday was not regarded as a sacred day by the early Christians, WHY should Christians of to-day accept it as the Sabbath, or Lord's day?

WHY should we regard a "festival," which can claim nothing higher than a human origin, in the place of one of God's commands, WHEN that command is given just as plainly as any of the other nine precepts?

WHEN the Methodist Discipline plainly says, "No Christian whatever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral;" and WHEN the Baptist Manual says, "We believe that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of his moral government;" and WHEN the Presbyterian Confession of Faith declares, "The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof. . . . Neither doth Christ in the gospel in any way dissolve, but much strengthen, this obligation,"–WHY should the members of all these denominations disregard the fourth commandment, by working on the seventh day of the week, and keeping another day, that is only of "human origin"? WHY should they do as they do, WHEN their adopted articles of faith require them to observe every precept of the ten commandments?

Buck's "Theological Dictionary," a Methodist work, says:–

"Sabbath" in the Hebrew language signifies "rest," and is the seventh day of the week; . . . and it must be confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first day.

The Watchman, a Baptist paper, says, in reply to a correspondent:–

The Scripture nowhere calls the first day of the week the Sabbath. . . . There is no Scriptural authority for so doing, nor, of course, any Scriptural obligation.

Dwight's "Theology," Vol. IV, page 401, says:–

The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scripture, and was not by the primitive church called the Sabbath.

Rev. George Hodges, who preaches in one of the largest churches in Pittsburg, Pa., writing for the Pittsburg, Dispatch, says:–

The seventh day, the commandment says, is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. No kind of arithmetic, no kind of almanac, can make seven equal to one, nor the seventh mean the first, nor Saturday mean Sunday. . . . The fact is that we are all Sabbath-breakers, every one of us.

WHEN leading men of the strongest and oldest denominations since the Reformation, plainly tell us that they do not pretend to give any Scripture for observing Sunday as the Sabbath, WHY do they and their followers insist on keeping a counterfeit Sabbath? WHY do they not accept God's word, instead of acknowledging that "we are all Sabbath-breakers, every one of us," and continuing to disobey?

It must be admitted that WHEN Sunday is proved to be of only human origin, all those who willingly accept that day instead of the day God and Christ blessed and sanctified, do, in that, accept and hold human authority as being greater than the authority of the Creator and Redeemer.

There is a church that claims to have the authority to change what the Lord has said, and that offers as evidence of that authority the fact that she has changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. WHEN you read what that church says about the change of the Sabbath, please tell us WHY you will not obey God rather than man.

The following letter was written to Mr. John R. Ashley, of Rock Hall, Md.:–

CARDINAL'S RESIDENCE, BALTIMORE, MD.,

Feb. 25, 1892.

JOHN R. ASHLEY, ESQ.–Dear Sir: In answer to your question, directed by the cardinal to reply to your letter, I will say:–

1. Who changed the Sabbath?

Answer–The holy Catholic Church.

2. Are Protestants following the Bible or the holy Catholic Church in keeping Sunday?

Ans.–The Protestants are following the custom introduced by the Holy Catholic Church.

3. The Protestants do contradict themselves by keeping Sunday, and at the same time to profess to be guided by the Bible only.

I am faithfully yours,

C. F. THOMAS, Chancellor.

The following letter from Cardinal Gibbons to Elder E. E. Franke shows the authority claimed by the Roman Catholic Church, which that church bases on the power she had to change the Sabbath:–

CARDINAL'S RESIDENCE, 408 N. CHARLES ST.

BALTIMORE, MD., Oct. 3, 1889.

DEAR MR. FRANKE: At the request of His Eminence, the cardinal, I write to assure you that you are correct in your assertion that Protestants, in observing the Sunday, are following, not the Bible, which they take as their only rule of action, but the tradition of the church. I defy them to point out to me the word "Sunday" in the Bible; if it is not to be found there,–and it can not be,–then it is not the Bible which they follow in this particular instance, but tradition; and in this they flatly contradict themselves.

The Catholic Church changed the day of rest from the last to the first day of the week, because the most memorable of Christ's works were accomplished on Sunday. It is needless for me to enter

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into any elaborate proof of the matter. They can not prove their point from Scripture; therefore, if sincere, they must acknowledge that they draw their observance of the Sunday from tradition, and are therefore weekly contradicting themselves.

Yours very sincerely,

W. A. REARDON.

Reader, are you a Protestant? WHEN the Catholic Church tells you that you contradict yourself by keeping Sunday, while at the same time you profess to be guided by the Bible only. WHY do you not arise and show chapter and verse for your practise? WHEN you can not find the Scripture for your practise, WHY do you not change your practise, and act in harmony with the Bible.

Are you a Baptist? Then WHY do you hold that immersion is the only Scriptural baptism, WHEN you observe Sunday to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which event should be commemorated in Bible baptism? WHEN there is just as much Scriptural authority for accepting sprinkling for baptism as for accepting Sunday for the Sabbath, WHY do you reject one error of the apostasy and not reject another?

Whoever you are, and to whatever denomination you belong, WHY do you accept the teachings of men in the place of the Scriptures of truth, WHEN God has said, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them"?

WHEN God says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," WHY do you not keep it?

WHEN men tell you that one day is just as acceptable as another, WHY not choose the day the Lord has said is the Sabbath, even though all men may scoff at you? WHY?

"Meditation" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , p. 558.

"MEDITATING on wickedness is one way of falling in love with it." And the only way not to meditate on wickedness is to have the mind filled with that which is good, with thoughts of righteousness. The Scripture says of the man who walks in the path of truth, "In his law doth he meditate day and night." "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , p. 558.

THE following from the Baptist Standard expresses a truth worthy of wide circulation:–

The Scriptures abound in injunctions to worship God. We are nowhere commanded to worship a pastor. Many of our people forget this, and if the pastor happens to be absent for a Sunday or two, they lose their hold on religion, and take a vacation. Let the church and the world learn that you do not go to the house of God to worship the pastor, but that your mission is the far higher one of worshiping God. a real Christian can worship God, even if the sermon is poor.

We wish to emphasize the last sentence. The way to get a good sermon from a poor preacher is not to pick up a book or paper, and begin to read; neither is it to pull out your watch, and before him slowly open it and mark the time. The good sermons do not come form man. They are the words of the Lord, through poor human lips, to a people that need a message. Instead of looking disappointed when an inexperienced preacher is standing in the pulpit, begin to pray that the Lord will raise the man above himself, and give the bread of life to his hearers. Then you will have a good sermon.

"Why He Failed" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , p. 558.

MANY persons who go out as workers for the Lord fail, and wonder why they are not successful. Men who have the ability to present excellent thoughts, women who are earnest and want to save souls, find their efforts crowned with but little success. And why?

The following paragraph from the Sabbath Recorder so fully answers the question that we give it:–

It is said that a minister who could not get a church implored Dr. Parker, of London, to explain the reason. The doctor told him to stand up in the corner of his study, and preach his best sermon. At the end of the performance, Dr. Parker said: "I can tell you why you can not get a church. For the last half-hour you have not been trying to get something into my mind, but something off yours." Not a few cases wherein sermons "fall flat" are to be explained on the same grounds. The man who preaches only for the sake of telling his opinions, is a failure. On the other hand, he who has a message for men, and who is determined that they shall be moved to thought and action by his message, will not lack hearers. Talking, even noisily, about something, is not preaching.

"The Past Life" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , pp. 558, 559.

WHEN men and women rise to some height of greatness, and become popular, their past acts of goodness are hunted up and magnified before the world. Even little incidents, which otherwise would be unnoticed, are brought forward as evidences of their inherent goodness.

On the other hand, when a man or a woman is so unfortunate as to fall, according to the standard of society, every little thing that has occurred in the life, which would otherwise be forgotten, is caught up to be used as stones and mud wherewith to pelt the unfortunate one. Surmisings and questionings furnish many of these incidents; and they are placed in the hands of those who are ready to use them to drive the poor sinner down to destruction.

If Jesus now walked among men in the flesh, as he did less than two thousand years ago, he would say to-day, as he said then, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone." The apostle says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." When a man is down, don't crush him by saying, "I expected as much, from what I knew of his past conduct." Rather, forget the past, and help the wounded, fallen soul up into the light.

It is not our work to condemn. We are not yet the judges of our fellow men. We shall never be fit to sit on the judgment-throne until our own names have passed the test of the judgment above. Even then we shall need the record made by heavenly intelligences to aid us in understanding the motives of sinners.

The time has come when we may expect many surprising things to occur. Those in whom we have had the greatest confidence may stumble. We ourselves may be more responsible for this than we imagine. We may be unconsciously trusting in the human instead of the divine, and the only way in which God can save us and the one in whom we trust is to let a severe trial come, which will show us how weak is man without God. A man who stands high in the estimation of his brethren, and in whom they have confidence, often trusts in his own popularity, and thinks he must stand as high in the estimation of heavenly intelligences as he does before man. To such God has said, "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand."

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When we see a brother cast down, we should not search his past history to ascertain the quality of the stock from which he came, before we try to help him. Neither should we spend time in inquiring into the details of his sin before we decide to pray for him. Sin is sin, exceeding sinful, but Christ came to "save sinners." While some sins may be regarded of greater magnitude than others in the sight of God, we are not able to measure them; so we would better leave the details alone, and make an earnest effort to restore the one in fault, considering ourselves, lest we also fall. However trifling a wrong act may appear in our sight, we must remember that "no sin is small in the sight of God."

When we hear that a brother or a sister has fallen, it should be our first thought to ask the Lord to rescue the tempted one. Men and women who depart from the right are deceived. They know not where they are treading. Those who have known the Lord do not want deliberately to leave him, and go hopelessly into sin. Satan has blinded their minds; and we, who may never have been in their places, can not understand how they were led in that way. We should not care to know; rather, we should seek the Lord that we may never know.

Satan will do everything he can to put us on the judgment-seat, that we may spend the time in which we ought to be praying for ourselves and the fallen ones, in studying for ourselves and the fallen ones, in studying out the why and wherefore of the lives of those who have fallen. Even when sinners make an attempt to come back, Satan's influence over us often leads us to act as judges, to decide whether they make "proper" confessions, or appear sufficiently humbled to assure us that their confession is genuine.

We should be glad that they have the spirit of confession, and that they manifest it; and we should give them full credit for that, rather than take the judgment-seat, and decide whether the confession is full enough or sincere enough. Even though the spoken words of the confession are not so full and broad as we might wish, how do we know the measure of the humiliation and pressure of soul that is endured in that which is done? No, no; be pitiful, show mercy upon what is done in confession, and leave the remainder, if there be any, with God. How do we know what kind of confession God accepts? He looks where we can not see–into the heart.

Let us, in this trying time, when men and women are stumbling on every hand, be true servants of Jesus Christ, and study to know how he would do. Let us study mercy; for "mercy rejoiceth against judgment." Let us work to encourage and save souls, rather than to discourage and destroy them. "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."

"God Saves Sinners" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 35 , p. 559.

THE pain of one wrong may be eased by doing another wrong. The oftener sin is committed, the less it hurts. So the less our sins trouble us, the more danger we are in. When we are bowed down by the pangs of sin, we may take courage: for this is an evidence that there is power to turn from the evil. So long as we feel under condemnation, we need not despair. God never convicts of sin without standing ready to save the sinner if he will but look to the cross.

September 6, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , p. 570.

AS PAUL was on a journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem, he paused at Miletus, and "sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church."

To these elders he said words which have been preserved by inspiration for the instruction of the church, and of the elders of the church, for all time.

Among these words to the elders of the church are these: "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers."

Elders of the churches to-day, do you know that the Holy Ghost has made you overseers of the flock of God? If you did not know it before, there stands the word of God, and there is has stood all the time, telling you that it is so.

When the Holy Ghost has placed you in the responsible position of overseers of the flock of God, how are you discharging your responsibility to him who "hath made you overseers"?

Do you constantly recognize, and live in the presence of, the fact that the Holy Ghost has made you overseers? Do you constantly recognize your responsibility to the Holy Ghost? Do you constantly seek to discharge that responsibility under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and acceptably to him?

If not, then what are you doing in that position? Is it possible that any elder of a church will say that the Holy Ghost has not made him an overseer of the flock? If such a thing be possible, then the question recurs. What can a man be doing in a position which is under the direct supervision of the Holy Ghost, while saying that the Holy Ghost has not called him to that position? If such an attitude would not be lying to the Holy Ghost, or else entirely usurping the place of the Holy Ghost, it would certainly be perilously near it.

The church is "builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." The church is under the special care of the Holy Spirit. The eldership is under the direct supervision of the Holy Ghost. And the man who occupies the position of elder stands in that relationship to the Holy Ghost, whether or not that man recognizes the fact. It is a dangerous, yes, a perilous, thing to occupy a position which is under the direct jurisdiction of the Holy Spirit, and at the same time not recognize his jurisdiction.

Surely, then, it could never be that any elder of a church would say that the Holy Ghost has not made him an overseer of the flock.

Very well, then, brethren, elders of the churches, as the word of God says that "the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers," do you recognize that fact? Do you constantly live and work in the presence of that solemn and thrice-blessed fact? Do you pray in the Holy Ghost? Do you recognize the Holy Spirit in . . . oversee the flock with eyes anointed with the Holy Ghost? Do you "feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood"–do you feed the church with the Bread which came down from heaven, through the power and presence of the Holy Ghost?

Elders of the churches, wherever you are, whoever you are, never forget that the word of God says that "the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers" of the flock of God. Acknowledge it. Court it. Live in the presence of it. Receive that word; receive the truth expressed in that word; and receive ye the Holy Ghost, which has given the word in which is expressed the truth that "the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers."

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"The Time Is at Hand" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , p. 570.

WHEN Daniel came to tell to Nebuchadnezzar the thing which the king had dreamed, and the meaning of it, he said that in all this, God was making known to the king "what shall be in the latter days."

What the Lord showed was a great image, in the shape of a man, composed in different parts of gold, silver, brass, iron, and iron and clay together. Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were represented by the head of gold. The empires that would succeed Babylon were represented by the breast and arms of silver, the sides of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet of iron and clay. Then a stone was cut out "without hands," which smote the image upon his feet; "then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them."

When the whole image is to be broken all to pieces, from head to feet, it is smitten upon the feet, and so is broken all to pieces, from feet to head. This shows that the seat of life of all the kingdoms that were represented in that image is in the feet and toes.

In the time of the iron of the image, the kingdom represented by the iron was to be "divided." And it is "the toes of the feet," which "were part of iron and part of clay." The prophecy in the seventh chapter of Daniel says that it would be divided into ten kingdoms, represented by ten horns on a great and terrible beast. And these ten horns correspond to the toes of the image, which, as the image was that of a man, were ten.

The smiting of the image on the feet, to break it all to pieces, shows that the seat of life and strength of the kingdoms represented by the image are in the feet. "The feet and toes" of the image represented the divisions of the kingdom of iron. These divisions are represented in the modern nations of Western Europe, the great power of the present day. And it is a fact that all the life and strength of what was Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, lie to-day in these powers, which compose "the feet and toes" of the image. Therefore, when the image shall be smitten on the feet, it will be the smiting of these powers.

And when these shall be smitten, it will be not only the breaking to pieces of these powers and kings, but also the breaking to pieces of all that was "the brass, the silver, and the gold," as well as of what is the iron and the clay. All are to be broken to pieces together. All are to become as the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. All are to be carried away by the wind, and "no place found" for any of them. When that smiting comes, no empire, kingdom, nor government of this world will exist any more; but the kingdom of God, which breaks in pieces and consumes "all these kingdoms," will fill "the whole earth," and stand forever.

Until the last four months, however, that image could have been smitten upon the feet and toes, and all those powers could have been broken to pieces together, and still have left intact a great nation. Until the last four months there was, away on this western side of the world, a great nation, standing utterly apart from all the powers of the world, in what was appropriately styled a "splendid isolation."

But not, in these short months, this "splendid isolation" has vanished. The nation has become one of the great world-powers. From being entirely separated from all the other powers of the world, it has suddenly become essentially one of them. Instead of being utterly excluded from all their councils and calculations concerning the world, it has become so wrapped up in them all that it is confessed by all the other great powers that henceforth all their councils and calculations must be made with the United States as an essential element.

Therefore, whereas four months ago that image could have been smitten upon his feet, and all broken to pieces together, without affecting this far-off western nation, now and henceforth it can not be so.

Now this great, far-off nation has become one of these world-powers, essentially wrapped up with them in all their world-affairs. These nations count this nation as one of them and one with them. This nation itself counts this so. Now, therefore, that image can not be smitten upon the feet without smiting this nation with all the rest of them.

Now, therefore, all things are ready for that smiting. The events of the past four months have made all things ready for the last feature of this great prophecy that was given to show "what shall be in the latter days." Now that smiting can not take place without including all nations of the earth: and when it does take place, all nations being essentially included, all will be broken to pieces together, and become "like the chaff of the summer threshing floors," and "the wind" will carry them away, that "no place" will be found for them; and the kingdom of God alone will "fill the whole earth."

This is the next feature of that great prophecy, and it is the last. All things are now ready, and the world waits for the fulfilment of this last feature of the prophecy.

Are you ready? Are you waiting? Time now is closing. "The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." "All things are ready; come unto the marriage."

The Lord is coming. "Get ready, get ready, get ready."

"The powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."

"Heroism" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , p. 571.

IN the days of battles, when men are brought face to face with the deadly instruments of modern warfare, some get a name that, otherwise, they would never have. If a man shows pluck in some trying place, he is honored, promoted, spoken of as a hero, and his name becomes familiar throughout the nation. While such men may deserve all the honor they receive, it is proper to inquire, Are those who go to battle the only heroes?

What is a hero? This question is so well answered by the editor of the Sunday-School Times that we give his answer in full:–

All men admire a hero. Most men would like to be heroic. But only now and then is there a man who realizes what it is to be a hero, and how simple a thing is heroism. What is a hero? What is heroism?–The primitive meaning of the Greek word "hero" is "a man." Heroism is acting like a hero,–like a man is a man, or that a real man–a real hero–shows himself fully competent to his position in an emergency, that men of old came to look at a real man, a real hero, as something more than a simple man, more than a simple hero; and so men came to think that a real hero was godlike, and finally to count him partly divine. Yet, after all, a real hero is only a real man. Even to this day we speak of an exceptional human personality as "a manly man," or as "a womanly woman;" and in thus speaking, we practically assert that a hero of either set is a God-inspired, a God-helped, a God-like man or woman. We need not be more than God made us to be; we need not expect more power than God gave us, and that he will inspire and enable us to be, if we would be true heroes. It is a great thing, it is a heroic thing, for any man to do as well as he can do, to do as well as he ought to do, in an emergency. Any man who does that is a hero in God's sight, and he ought to be so in man's sight.

When to be a man, such as God intended a man to be, is heroism, why may not everybody be a hero? Every individual in this world has to struggle with sin. To meet sin in every form, and not say Yes to any of its seductive invitations, requires more bravery than to meet the worst human enemy the world knows anything about. To "stand like the brave, with our face to the foe," seven days in the week and fifty-two weeks in the year, requires a resolute will, directed by the Spirit of God. Human nerve and judgment may lead a Dewey or a Hobson to deeds of valor, that win the applause of men; but neither a Dewey nor a Hobson can meet the sins in his own heart, and come off victor, without divine power. With this power, the weakest soul may be a hero, and win words of praise from all heavenly intelligences.

In his promises in Christ Jesus, God has made provision that we may be partakers of the divine nature. Therefore, when to be a hero is to be "partly divine," God has thus made provision that every person may be a hero. And nobody can be a true hero any other way.

The union of the divine and the human is to be a true man; to be a true man is to be a true hero. Jesus Christ is the one perfect example of the union of the divine and the human; he is the one perfect example of the true hero.

In his grace, God has made provision that we all may "come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," that we may all be true heroes. And in these days, when the mystery of God–God manifest in the flesh–. . . be in the world one hundred and forty-four thousand true heroes. The third angel's message is to develop them, and nothing else can.

"Jehovah or Baal–Which?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , pp. 571, 572.

THE International Sunday-school lesson for July 17, 1898, was "Elijah on Carmel." The M. E. Church South publishes a weekly Illustrated Lesson Paper, devoted largely to the lesson for each successive Sunday.

In this Lesson Paper, concerning "Elijah on Carmel" we find the following, which we copy exactly as it was there printed:–

CATECHISM LESSON

Question 81.–What is the fourth commandment?

Answer.–The fourth commandment is: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

Ques. 82.–What does the fourth commandment forbid?

Ans.–The fourth commandment forbids us to work on the Sabbath day.

Ques. 83.–What day is the Sabbath?

Ans.–Sunday is the Sabbath.

That is precisely the way that the Baalites talked and taught in Elijah's time. See here:–

CATECHISM LESSON

Question.–What is the first commandment?

Answer.–The first commandment is: "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Ques.–What does the first commandment forbid?

Ans.–The first commandment forbids us to have any god but the true God.

Ques.–What God is the true God.

Ans.–Baal is the true God.

That is a catechism lesson such as was taught by the priests of Baal in Elijah's time. And no man can fairly deny that it is parallel in every respect with the catechism lesson here quoted bodily from the Lesson Paper of the M. E. Church South.

The word of God in the fourth commandment, as printed in this catechism lesson of July 17, A.D. 1898, says, plainly, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Yet directly in the face of this word, a man, or a set of men, sets up the word, "Sunday is the Sabbath;" while these men themselves know that Sunday is the first day, and not the seventh day at all.

Just so in the lesson of July 17, B.C., 1898; the word of God in the first commandment said plainly that the true God was he who had brought the children of Israel "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Yet directly in the face of this word of God, men set up the word, "Baal is God;" while these men themselves knew that Baal was not he who had brought them out of Egypt.

O, yes, we know full well that those who got up this catechism lesson of July 17, A.D., 1898, say that the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh day to Sunday; this, too, in the face of the plain word of God, and of their own contradictory action in printing, in that very lesson, this: "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."

Just so those who got up the catechism lesson of July 17, B.C., 898, said that the God of Israel had been changed to Baal; this, too, in the face of the plain word of God that the God os Israel was he who had created the heavens and the earth, and had brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage; and that he can not change.

True, those who got up this catechism lesson of July 17, A.D., 1898, can and do cite the "Fathers," and the "saints" of the apostate church to sustain their contradiction of the word of God that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."

Just so those who got up the catechism lesson of July 17, B.C. 898, could cite the chief father of their apostasy to sustain them in their contradictions of the word of God. Jeroboam was the chief in that apostasy; and when he began it with the setting up of the golden calves, he said to all the people, "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." This itself was a form of sun-worship; but when Jezebel came in, she gave the apostasy a further and fuller turn to sun-worship in making the sun in Baal the chief god. And the priests of the apostasy in Elijah's day could cite, against the first commandment, the chief father of that apostasy, just as readily and as truly as the priests of the apostasy in our day can cite, against the fourth commandment, the chief Fathers of the later apostasy. The priests back there were supporting and defending Jezebel in their setting up Baal as the God of the first commandment, just as those down here are supporting and defending "that woman Jezebel" (Rev. 2:20) in their setting up Sunday as the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.

It is remarkable that in the lesson of July 17, B.C. 898, and in the lesson of July 17, A.D. 1898, the sun should be held up as the object of worship, as the true god in the place of Jehovah, who alone is the true God. There it was done through the images of the sun-god, by the influence of Jezebel; here it is done through the day of the sun-god,–Sun-day,–by the influence of "that woman Jezebel."

It was against such wickedness that Elijah in that day, on behalf of Jehovah lifted up his voice; and it is against that same wickedness in this day that those who are imbued with the spirit and power of Elijah (Mal. 4:5), on behalf of Jehovah lift up their voices.

The word of God by Elijah for that time is the word of God in the spirit and power of Elijah now: "If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." Sunday is not the Sabbath any more than Baal is Jehovah. Sunday owes its place among those who profess to be the Lord's people to the influence of "that woman Jezebel," of Rev. 2:20, just as truly as Baal owed his place among those of Elijah's time who professed to be the Lord's people, to the original Jezebel of 1 Kings 14:31.

Elijah in his day was counted a troubler of Israel because he told the people that Baal was not God, and that in following Baal they had "forsaken the commandments of the Lord." And those who now, in the spirit and power of Elijah, tell the people that Sunday is not the Sabbath, and that in observing Sunday they

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have "forsaken the commandments of the Lord,"–these now are counted troublers of Israel, just as Elijah was.

But at that time God vindicated Elijah, and sustained him in all the contest in that day; and the same God will vindicate those of the spirit and power of Elijah, and will sustain them in all the contest in this our day. And when the contest was over, and his work done, Elijah was translated. And now when this contest is over, and our work is done, "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."

"Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." "How long halt ye between two opinions? if Jehovah be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him."

"Philips and Evans" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , p. 572.

THE papers, both religious and secular, have had much to say in praise of Captain Philip, of the "Texas," on account of his public prayer on the deck of his ship, just after the destruction of Cervera's fleet. If Captain Philip was acting in harmony with his faith in the Almighty, he has no doubt been much mortified at the reports that have gone out in regard to this matter.

One paper, wishing to make this act especially noticeable, draws a contrast between Captain Philip's action, and what it calls the "frequently published profanity" of Captain Evans of the "Iowa." When Captain Evans's attention was called to the matter, he wrote a letter in reply. As he wrote some sensible things on the subject, we give the following extract from his letter:–

I have never considered it necessary, and I am sure that a great majority of officers in the navy do not consider it necessary, to announce to the ship's crew a belief in Almighty God. I think that goes without saying. We, each of us, have the right to show by our acts how much we are imbued with this belief. Captain Philip had a perfect right to show this to his men as he did; it was simply a matter of taste.

Now, for myself, shortly after the Spanish cruiser "Vizcaya" had struck her colors, and my crew had secured the guns, the chaplain of the ship, an excellent man, came to me and said: "Captain, shall I say a few words of thanks to Almighty God for our victory?" I replied, "By all means do so; I will have the men sent aft for that purpose," and was on the point of sending them when it was reported to me that a Spanish battle-ship was standing toward us from the eastward. My first duty to God and my country was to sink that Spanish battle-ship, and I immediately made preparations to do so.

When it was discovered that the ship was an Austrian, I found my ship surrounded by boats carrying dying and wounded prisoners, and others of the crew of the "Vizcaya" to the number of two hundred and fifty. To have these men to suffer for want of food and clothing while I called my men aft to offer prayers, was not my idea of either Christianity or religion. I preferred to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and care for the sick, and I am strongly of the opinion that Almighty God has not put a black mark against me on account of it.

. . . have this to say in conclusion. Every drop of blood in my body on the afternoon of July 3 was singing thanks to Almighty God for the victory we had won.

Whether Captain Evans is a Christian or not, we do not know; neither do we know whether Captain Philip is a Christian. We do not suppose Captain Philip ever thought that so much would be said of that act of his,–we are certain he did not if he is a Christian. But there is an especial watchfulness of the church-and-state clergy of the United States, to ring religion into national affairs on every possible occasion, so as to make it appear that God has a special care over this nation, because it professes to be Christian.

In times of war, when men bearing official responsibilities are compelled to act quickly, it is no time to judge of a man's piety by some act like that of Captain Philip at the close of that engagement. It is the every-day life that tells to the world that a man trusts his God. admiral Farragut, in the crisis of his career, prayed one moment and swore the next. And from his account of the matter, we believe the prayer was heard–as probably was also the swear. But whether Admiral Farragut was a Christian is altogether another question. Consciousness of the existence and presence of God is in men; and in a criss, unless a man is utterly hardened, it will manifest itself. But whether, in the quiet routine of daily life, men are, by choice, decided Christians, is altogether a different story.

There are times when action is better pleasing to Jehovah than saying prayers. In the judgment day it will be said: "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: . . . naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. . . . Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Captain Evans may not be a Christian; but there can be no manner of doubt that his kindness in turning his whole ship's force to rescuing the wounded and drowning men around him, was more acceptable to God than would have been, at such a time, all the prayers of all the officers, men, and chaplains of the whole fleet. And as his purpose to have prayers was already formed, and the order was on the very point of being given when it was interrupted and forestalled by this other good work, if the supersensitive church-and-state clergy can not be satisfied with that, as some are not, it certainly can be only because the forms of religion weight far more with them than does the substance. That, however, is exactly the characteristic of church-and-state religionists–that is, of the mere public religionists–always.

"Loyalty and Freedom" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , p. 572.

THE following paragraph from the Sunday-School Times sets forth a truth that should be emphasized in every church:–

Loyalty is the service of freemen. It is not the blind allegiance of the paid attacks; it is the hearty service of one whose eyes are ever open to the best interests of that to which he is devoted. Loyalty never requires one to do wrong; it requires one to do right, for it is only by doing right that one can serve the real interests of the objects of his allegiance. A loyal citizen will die for his country, but he will not lie for it. A loyal church-member clings . . . but he does not feel under obligations to . . . church . . . matter which he believes to be wrong. To be loyal is to be true, to be true, one must be free to know the truth.

This is the very teaching of Christ when he said, "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." If every church-member would follow this teaching, there would not be any cause for grievances in the church. If the members of one church would follow this teaching with the members of Christ that are not members of the church they belong to, there would not be half so much difficulty over disputed points as there is at present. But when people get the idea that loyalty to their church demands that they defend it in its teaching, whether right or wrong, Satan gets in, and hides much truth from those that else might walk in the light.

"Vacation Schools" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , pp. 572, 573.

IN the June number of the Review of Reviews there is an interesting article on "Vacation Schools in the United States." While the whole article is valuable, there are some points that are of especial interest to Seventh-day Adventists at this time.

An important feature of these "vacation schools"–so called because they are held when the public schools are closed–is the manual training. Both boys and girls are encouraged to learn some trade that will enable them to care for themselves when they are thrown out on the world. The writer has visited several of these schools, and investigated the methods employed and the results attained. In most of the schools visited the children were gathered in from the street, where they soon become acquainted with all manner of evil, and taught those things that will develop the mind and lead them to engage in useful pursuits.

An extract from the article already referred to will give some idea of the success of the kind of work. Referring to one of these schools in Chicago, the writer says:–

A large share of the success of the school came from the . . . ; boys came in the beginning attracted by the carpenter shop, and boys and girls alike took the work. From the day the school opened, and a bright-haired, squint-eyed boy almost three feet high came up to his teacher with the . . . of building a church if only he were furnished tools, and said, "Teacher, when are we goin' to begin to make things?" to the final day, when they willingly stayed to help put away the loved tools, the interest never flagged. The worst boys were good boys here. . . . The principal, Mr. Waterman, said, in his report of the school, "This department clearly demonstrates that it is possible to obtain a strong hold on troublesome and unruly boys by means of manual training."

For the elementary housework a large class room was divided by screens into kitchen, dining room and bedroom. Beyond this there was no make-believe about it. A sure-enough bed, with white . . .terpane and pillows, wash-stand, chairs, and rugs fitted out the bedroom. A dining-table and a . . .-board filled with dishes completed the furnishing of the dining-room. Each little girl had her work-apron, and very great was her satisfaction in the work she could do. All had become in sweeping, dusting, dishwashing, arranging flowers, making the bed, and all the rest. A mother came . . . to make the bed, leaving her little daughter . . . told her that she did not know how.

The staging was closely . . . efforts, and helped to unify them. It. . . industrial, patriot's nature, yet it. . . Miss Hofer told the children. . .

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. . . or woods or work; and when their interest was . . ., she taught them a song about the same thing.

The nature work, carefully taught, was supplemented and enlarged by excursions into the country. Twice during the term of six weeks each class had an excursion day. The ignorance of these poor little mites regarding the most common things of country life might be amusing were it not so profoundly pathetic. It was a little Italian who fell on his face to kiss the grass in his delight at the wonder of it all.

Within the past winter the settlement sent some flowers to a sick boy, who had been one of their problems the summer before. "Ain't they nice?" he said. "I like 'em so! Do you know, I didn't used to care anything about 'em, and how they grew till we went to the woods last summer and dug 'em up."

One afternoon the fathers and mothers, one hundred and fifty of them, came by special invitation to visit the school and talk it all over. Miss McDowell spoke to them in English. Mr. Waterman in Germany, and one of the parents in Bohemian; the janitor, too, made a speech, and as a result of it all they sent a petition to the board of education for manual training in the Seward school. The petition was granted.

The teachers, from the principal, Mr. Richard Waterman, Jr., and his admirable assistant. Mrs. Lizzie T. Hart, through the corpse of twenty-one department workers, were not only trained specialists, but teachers who gave themselves generously to the improvement of the pupils. The management was not willing to take tired-out teachers, who had already worked ten months during the year. They wanted enthusiastic specialists, and had them; and much of the success was due to just this enthusiasm.

Seventh-day received light on the manual training work years ago, and ought to be where they would have godly teachers, capable of filling places in these schools that are being started in the cities. The Lord is opening the way for the truth to enter the cities through another channel.

But we are in danger of being so far behind that the world will take up the work that the Lord gave us to do, and carry it forward in a worldly way. Why should not this people be a light to the world in education as well as in other things?

"New Ten Commandments!" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 36 , p. 573.

THOSE who have held that the ten commandments, spoken at Sinai, were abolished at the cross, have often endeavored to work up a new code from the New Testament, with but little success. Most of these new codes have only nine precepts, because the human compilers do not want any command included which in any way refers to the Sabbath of the Lord, and there are no commands in the New Testament that refer at all to the first day of the week.

Recently, however, some one has discovered that the ten commandments are not exactly adapted for missionary meetings, so a new code has been compiled! No reason is given to explain why the ten precepts which Jehovah spoke and recorded are not sufficient at the present time for missionary work. It is suggested that the new code "teaches the people to confess that they have been guilty of failure, and to pray for grace to amend." Certainly such a law is a good one, and it would be well to read it; so we will give it.

1. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matt. 5:16.

2. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." Matt. 6:19, 20.

3. ""But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33.

4. "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Matt. 7:1.

5. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another: as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34.

6. "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39.

7. "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." John 4:35.

8. "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few." Matt. 9:36, 37.

9. "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he ad supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." 1 Cor. 11:23-25.

10. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matt. 28:19, 20.

Nothing can be said against these commandments on the ground that they are not the words of Scripture. They contain words of truth that should be studied and accepted by every follower of Jesus Christ. But there is danger when the human mind seeks to set aside God's holy, just, and good law, which "is perfect," and to put in its place other words, even of the same author. When the human mind seeks to invent something that will improve on God's plan of supporting his work in the mission field, the Holy Spirit will surely be displeased.

If the original ten commandments, pressed home to the heart by the Spirit of God, will not lead men to confess their sins, and make amends, even in supporting the missionary work, only utter failure can result from an attempt to do this work by man's wisdom.

There is not too much giving, but there is too much giving that is prompted by some exciting appeal. This kind of benevolence soon dries up, unless new devices are frequently invented to appeal to the appetites and emotions. Any law, even that of Jehovah, with none but human persuasion to press it home to the conscience, does nothing more than to lead the sinner to compare his life with others that are worse than his; then he feels fairly com. . . .

God's law, as spoken from Sinai, when applied by the Holy Spirit, will do all that is necessary to induce men to give all that God wants them to give. Man would be in better harmony with his Creator if he spent the time it takes to collect ten new commandments, in meditating upon those the Lord has already given. "His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." We do not need more lawmakers, but more law meditators.

September 13, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , p. 586.

WHEN Paul and his company had sailed away from Miletus, by Coos, and Rhodes, and Patara, and had come to Tyre, there they found disciples, and remained with them a week. And these disciples "said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem."

When they had gone from Tyre, and had met the brethren at Ptolemais and stayed with them one day, they came to Cesarea, where they tarried many days. While they were at Cesarea, there came from Judea a prophet, who took Paul's girdle, and, binding his own hands and feet, said, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."

After all this had come to pass, with many other vicissitudes, Paul was finally brought to Rome. At Rome he called the chief of the Jews together, and told them how it was that he had been brought thither. Then they appointed him a day; and "there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening." "Some believed, . . . and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet," etc.

Thus the book of Acts begins and ends with the mention of the Holy Ghost; and all the way between the beginning and the end, the Holy Ghost is recognized and received. He is constantly deferred to; he is ever and everywhere recognized as being present as witness, counselor, and guide.

That was the time of the early rain. The book of Acts is the inspired record of that time. It is the record of the working of the Holy Spirit in the time when he was recognized and allowed to reign. It was written for our instruction. And now, in "the time of the latter rain," when again the Holy Spirit is to be recognized and allowed to reign, the book of Acts is especially present truth.

The message of God to-day is, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." But the Holy Spirit is to be received only for service; only for guidance into a deeper, more thorough, and more stable experience; only unto sanctification: never for self-gratulation. And in this time the book of Acts should be carefully, diligently, and reverently studied, that we may know the way of the Spirit in his wonderful working.

Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? If not, why? He is freely given; you are urged by the Lord to receive him; why do you not receive the Holy Ghost, and be filled with the Spirit?

Do you say that you do not know how? Do you know how to receive the forgiveness of sins? If you do, you know how to receive the Holy Ghost. The Lord tells you to confess your sins, and that he is faithful and just to forgive you. You confess your sins, accept his forgiveness, and then thank him for it. You know you are forgiven, for he says so.

Do you know how to receive the righteousness of God? If so, you know how to receive the Holy Ghost. Righteousness is the free gift of God, and is received by believing God. It is received by faith. So, also, is the promise of the Spirit received by faith. The Holy Spirit is received precisely as any other gift is received from God.

He tells you, Ask for the Holy Spirit, and he shall be given you. "If we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, . . . we know that we have the petitions that we dired of him."

Ask for the Spirit: by so doing, you ask according to his will. Then, having asked, you know you have received, because he says so. Then thank him, and continue to thank him, that you have received the Holy Spirit. How you may feel has nothing to do with it. It is not how you feel; it is what he says.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"The Kings of the East" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , p. 586.

THE water of "the great river Euphrates" is to be dried up, "that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared."

This way of the kings of the East is to be prepared, that they may come up to "the battle of that great day of God Almighty."

To that battle all nations, "the kings of the earth and the whole world," are gathered and come up, when the time comes that the way of the kings of the East is "prepared."

That time is to be the culmination of the plagues of the wrath of God poured out upon all nations, upon "all the kingdoms of the world, upon the face of the earth;" for when these are all gathered unto Armageddon, "the seventh angel" pours out his vial "into the air," and then comes "a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done."

Until this present season of 1898, however, all the "kings of the East" could have been mustered, and could have come up,–could have fought, and have been blotted out,–and still have left a mighty nation on the earth untouched, and, materially, unconcerned.

Until this present season, the United States stood here, away in the extreme West, in a "splendid isolation" from all the nations and kings of the East; unconnected with their national interests, unconcerned with their national affairs.

Now, however, this is not longer so. This present season of 1898, the "splendid isolation" of this great nation has been swept away, and this nation has become one of the world-powers. This extreme Western nation has become one of the powers of the extreme East. Now, this nation of the farthest West has itself become one of "the kings of the East."

Now when the way of the kings of the East shall be prepared, it will be prepared for this nation with all the others; for this nation is now one of the kings of the East.

Now when the way of the kings of the East shall have been prepared, and when the kings of the East come up in the way prepared, this nation will come among them; for this nation is now one of the kings of the East.

Now when the kings of the East shall be gathered to "the battle of that great day of God Almighty," this great nation must be gathered among them; for this nation is now one of the kings of the East with the others.

Now the interests, the controversies, and the entanglements of the Eastern question include all the kingdoms of the world that are upon the face of the earth; and when the crisis comes, and the wrath of God is poured out, all nations drink it, all nations come up to Armageddon, all nations join in the battle of the great day.

And now all things are ready for the drying up of the "great river Euphrates;" all things are ready for the way of the kings of the East to be prepared.

On the other hand, "the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." And now the proclamation goes forth, "All things are ready: come unto the marriage." "Come; for all things are now ready."

The Lord cometh. Are you ready? "Get ready, get ready, get ready."

"'Give Ye Them to Eat'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , p. 587.

THE question is asked, in one of our exchanges, "Are we drifting away from the word of God, its truths and its requirements?" This is just what the nineteenth-century church has done and is doing. Wealth and show are thought too much of at a time when men and women are perishing all around. Do the finest churches contain the largest congregations of those who need and wish to hear the gospel? Does that mode of worship which embodies the most ritualistic forms evince the most spiritual power? Do the ministers who receive the largest salaries, and live in the highest style, accomplish nost for Christ, and move on the highest plane of godly living?

Churches are becoming too much like what the Jewish church was when Christ came to this world. They are burdened with priests, laws, rites, and ceremonies. They are weighed down under ponderous systems of orders, officialism, aristocracies, taxations, and such like things. Everywhere there are hungry souls, who want something to satisfy the desire of their hearts; but those who ought to be where they could tell of God's wonderful power to save, depend upon forms, which only lull to sleep.

Of the possibilities of the church, a writer in the Baptist Standard says:–

Never have ministers had such possibilities as at the present time. Sinners everywhere are hungry for the bread of life. I do not say they know just what their hunger craves. It may be they think it is pleasure, a church entertainment, some worldly device, wealth of earthly goods, the friendship of the world, or worldly fame. But when all these have been tried, and have failed to satisfy the soul's longing, they are still left hungry, dark, and blinded by sin. They know not the way of life, and know not where to find it. They look on formal professors, and see little evidence that their souls are feasting on heavenly manna, and hear little testimony to indicate that Christ is enthroned in their hearts.

How many there are in every vicinity who are longing for the gospel as they heard it in their childhood days, or as the read of it in the New Testament! God would have it so. He is doing all he can to preserve a people who will accept the responsibility of being light-bearers to the world. When a church so far departs from his truth that he can not show the power of the gospel through it, he raises up others, who will go out with his message. Churches that, less than a century ago, had a ministry blessed with a simplicity, a purity, a power, and a poverty, which would compare with the ministry of apostolic days, have so far departed from their simplicity as to feel the ease, the quiet, and the comfort, which wealth and popularity produce. More pay and less work; and the less work, the more pay. The result is the loss of the church's apostolic simplicity, zeal, and influence.

That God has raised up a people who are expected to do the work that the writer in the Standard inquires for, can not be denied; but it is also true that this people are as much in danger of pandering to the world as others have been. With the light that the Lord has revealed for the world in this time, and his willingness to pour out his Holy Spirit upon us, we may go forth in the power that crowned the preaching of the apostles. If we step in at this time, and give the gospel to hungry souls as God would have it given, we shall have all that we can do; and it will not be long before the people who are now wondering if the gospel has lost its power will "take knowledge" of us, that we have "been with Jesus." Souls will be converted, because the hear the testimony of sins forgiven.

It is not enough to be able to tell the people the theory of salvation. We must know salvation for ourselves, before others can receive it by our ministry. Conversion follows heartfelt repentance. If we do not know this ourselves, we shall not be able to help others to that point. What is needed in order to see pentecostal revivals is a pentecostal baptism of the Holy Spirit. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"Prosperity" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , p. 588.

NOW that the war with Spain is over, the press is devoting much space to a discussion of the prospects of a time of great prosperity. We are told that the farmers will have good prices for their produce, and a market that will take all they can raise. The manufacturers are encouraged to believe that the prosperous period on which we are entering will cause millions of spindles to fly, and the blast of the forge to be heard from every part of the land. Great stress is laid upon the new relations between the United States and the new territory with which it has become so closely allied by the recent war with Spain. We are to have new markets for our produce, and, in return, be able to get tropical products at greatly reduced prices.

There is danger that a short period of prosperity, such as is portrayed in many of the papers of the day, will be the precursor of a time of adversity that will be more fatal in its results than that through which this country has just passed. When the prospects are flattering, and prices are good for labor and produce, men become careless in regard to investments and expenses. High salaries usually encourage extravagant expenditures and many holidays. All these things prepare the way for a crisis, when many, who have spent all their income as fast as they earned it, must come to want.

If prosperity does come, and it may, those who fear God should improve the time by studying how to make the "years of plenty" provide for the years of distress that will surely follow. If everybody in Egypt had done as Joseph did, none would have needed to part with their stock, and even their families, to provide food to sustain life when the famine came. Seven years of abundant increase in everything the land could produce was ample to supply present wants and provide a surplus for the years of famine.

The Lord has told us that we are living in perilous times, when one prominent characteristic of human nature is selfishness. It is not God's plan that his people should be either selfish or extravagant; but he urges his people to be industrious, economical, and liberal. It is not a sin for a man to make money. It is not wrong for a farmer so to till his land that it will bring forth a hundredfold, nor for the mechanic so to manage his business that he shall receive the highest possible wages for his services. Professional men and women have a right to a good salary if they are industrious in their profession. Even the minister and Bible worker should be liberally paid for faithful work. The sin does not consist in receiving a large income, but in the way in which it is used.

A time of prosperity is the best time to study economy, and learn how to lay by something for future use. If we acknowledge that all we have and all that we receive belongs to the Lord, and we stand ready, as his stewards, to distribute where he directs, we may be Christians, even if we are millionaires. On the other hand, the smallest pittance, kept only to gratify self, is the riches that will keep a man out of the kingdom.

"The Glory of a Naval Officer" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , pp. 588, 589.

WHEN some great victory, like that gained by Admiral Dewey or by the fleet at Santiago, is gained, men are apt to look upon the commander as one who was born "lucky." The cheers that go up from every public assembly where his name is mentioned create a spirit of envy in the hearts of those who aspire to great honors.

The people hunt up everything in such a man's past life that in any way shows superior intellect and tact. All his defects are buried by his great achievements. Even things that might have been considered against him when they occurred, such as "boy-fights," are looked upon with favor, and published as showing the original make-up that finally resulted in such wonderful achievements. Every little incident is called up, and commented on in a way that would impress a stranger with the idea that the man who led a fleet to victory had lived a life of victories from his boyhood up.

But the naval officer knows that things are far different than reports would make them. No doubt he is amused at the reports that he reads of himself in the journals and magazines. He knows what it has cost to gain the victory that puts his name on the list ofheroes, to be preserved in history as long as time shall last.

The following from the August number of the Review of Reviews gives some idea of the assiduous study and practise required to fit men for the position of naval officers:–

The naval profession, if properly followed,–and our naval men have so followed it,–may well be said to be the most exacting and inclusive of any. A naval officer must be an expert in half a dozen branches of science, any one of which, in civil life, is deemed sufficient for one man. His work is never done. In order to pass his examinations at every grade, he must keep up with the advance in steam-engineering, gunnery, electricity, and modern ship-building, and in much else. He must have international law at his fingers' ends, and he must be able to think and decide quickly in the most trying situations. If he makes a false step, he is court-martialed. It is not all dancing o'nights. There is the ceaseless round of target-practise, which has done more than anything else to win this war,–for the United States has believed in target-practise above any other nation,–and of drills afloat and ashore besides, only meaningless rumors of which reach the ear of the citizen.

In every station in life, energy and push, combined with good common sense, are required to give success. The better a man understands the work in which he is engaged, the more success he will have. It is not fine uniform that brings a man to the front, but a

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thorough acquaintance with the work he has to do, and an energy that enables him to meet every obstacle in a way to make things move.

This principle is just as true in religious work as in any other. God wants men and women who are not afraid to study. He wants those who will not dare to go forth in his work until they understand what they are called to do, and are thoroughly fitted for their work. He wants leaders who have good judgment, and are not afraid of obstacles. These he will trust, because they trust him. With these he will go forth to gain great victories for his truth. And these shall have their names entered on the roll of honor,–not for all time, but for all eternity.

"Empty Seats" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , p. 589.

FREQUENT complaints are made by ministers that they are obliged to preach to "empty seats." Pastor do not like to take a charge when they learn that both congregation and contributions are small. Having but little confidence in their ability to fill the pews, they prefer to go where there are larger congregations.

It is said of Archibald G. Brown, of London, that he once went to a new church, where the deacons met him with the words, "We have a chapel and hundreds of empty seats." His reply was, "That's a great attraction, and that has brought me." Such men are sure to win, because they trust not in special attractions to build up a congregation, but upon hard work and much prayer.

In every city, town, and village, as well as in the country, there are hundreds of people who are anxious to hear the gospel. Many have heard preaching, but they have not been fed. They have heard sensational sermons until they are sick and tired. They look upon theological lectures as a mockery, and wonder if there is any such power in religion to-day as they read about in the New Testament. The following words from a churchgoer to his pastor express the feelings of many who attend the services in the large churches:–

I can hardly express the pain I have felt lately in observing, even in so-called evangelical sermons of really true men of God, the absence of the gospel,–the omission of the atonement, and of the substitutional work of the Lord Jesus.

Your sermon to-night, though perfectly true so far as it went, failed in this particular also. The mercy of God, in the gift of the Lord Jesus, was not mentioned. Though you urged the need of salvation, the unconverted man left the church as ignorant of the way of salvation as when he entered it. O, do forgive me for writing with so little reserve! but seeing, as I do every day, how much the Lord owns the simple proclamation of the full gospel, I feel constrained to press upon you the importance of preaching in ever sermon that which, by the grace of God and the teaching of the Holy Spirit, can and will make your hearers wise unto salvation. In every sermon tell of sin and its consequences; tell of what Christ has done for the sinner; of the punishment laid on him, of the atonement made–the righteousness imputed, and the peace and good works that follow the simple acceptance of the salvation thus provided.

Your subject this evening was "Mercy." For years I longed for mercy, not knowing that God had already shown mercy, and that I had only to accept it. It may be your rule to tell how, in Jesus, "mercy and truth are met together;" but if there were any in the church this evening, who were in my former state, did you not lose an opportunity, which you may never have again, of telling them how Christ has made peace for them by the sacrifice of himself?

This shows how the people feel about the popular preaching, and the causes that lead them to vacate their pews, and spend the time at home or at some place of amusement. They want to heart the gospel with power in it. They do not want long, doctrinal dissertations; but they want to know of the power of God to save men from their sins, and keep them from sinning. There are hundreds who have ceased to attend church on account of disappointment over this very thing. The pews they formerly occupied are now empty, and are echoing the voice of some giant mind, who wonders why his intellectual powers do not draw the people. The people will be drawn to pews where Christ is lifted up; for the Bible says so. When formalism is dropped, and Christ is lifted up as a sure remedy for sin, the pews will be filled. When the preacher is willing to go out on the street corner, or in the dark shops, and tell of the power of Jesus Christ, men will follow him into the church, because they will see Jesus lifted up, and in him they find all their need.

"And I, if I be lifted up, . . . will draw all men unto me." Life him up

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , p. 589.

THE people of Ann Arbor, Mich., are discussing the question of opening the university library, museum, and art gallery on Sundays. Somebody wrote a communication favoring the proposition, and signed himself "A Workingman." This communication was printed in the Evening Times of Ann Arbor. Promptly there appeared, in the same paper, another communication on the subject, of which the following is a material part:–

I read that vulgar workingman's plea with amazement, sadness, and a very proper sense of alarm, such as I think any American citizen would experience in the face of the hidden dangers that threaten our noble republic, and are but thinly veiled in his anarchistic communication. . . . To say nothing of the downright sinfulness of opening the university library, art gallery, and museums on Sunday, just think for a moment of the persons who would avail themselves of this sacrilegious opportunity! And think, too, of the audacity that could suggest such a ridiculous proposition as that of throwing open an art gallery–to whom?–Why, to workingmen and their families! What on earth, pray, would a workingman do in an art gallery? Have workingmen the proper culture for the esthetic enjoyment of art? And what, indeed, is art, if it does not speak in language that workingmen can never understand? I do wish the workingmen would learn their proper place and keep in it. If they do not, I am afraid it will create trouble between the upper and the lower classes of society. I do not image the regents will give the least attention to this vulgar, impudent, and irreligious "please."
(Signed) MRS. PROFESSOR––.

There are some people in the world who will fully expose themselves, as certainly as they get a chance. If ever there should be trouble between "the upper and the lower classes of society," it will be caused by just such people as this; because, except for such people as this, there never would be any upper classes of society.

"Edward White" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 37 , p. 589.

EDWARD WHITE, of England, well known as a forcible writer on the subject of conditional immortality, died at his home in England, August 8. His last ministerial charge was Hawley Road Chapel, Camden Town, England, where he had labored for thirty-six years. He was the author of the following interesting works: "Life in Christ," "Conditional Immortality," "Mystery of Growth," "Certainty in Religion," and "Genesis 3: History, not Fable." Mr. White had not been an active laborer in the ministry for some years before his death. While he was ready, with his pen, to present his views on the question of immortality, he would not allow himself to be drawn into public discussions over them.

September 20, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 38 , p. 604.

THERE is a difference between "the gift of the Holy Ghost" and "the gifts of the Holy Ghost;" between the gift of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is the gift of his Spirit bestowed by the Lord upon those who believe and are baptized in his name.

The gifts of the Holy Ghost are certain powers and operations imparted by the Holy Spirit himself to those who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Plainly enough, the gifts of the Holy Ghost can be manifested only in those who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

All the gifts of the Spirit–wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, teaching, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, helps, governments–belong in the church now.

The Lord longs to see all these gifts and powers manifested in the church now. Many people, also, long to see all these gifts manifested in the church now: some, indeed, desire this more out of curiosity, or to benefit themselves, than for anything else; yet they do desire to see it.

But how can there be manifestations of the Spirit where there is not the Spirit? How can the gifts of the Spirit be imparted, where the gift of the Spirit has not been allowed to be bestowed? How can the gifts of the Holy Ghost be manifested where the gift of the Holy Ghost has not been received?

How can the church have the gifts of the Spirit, which belong in the church, until the church has first received the gift of the Spirit? And since the church is but the collection of the individuals who belong to the church, how can the church receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until the individuals who compose the church have received the gift of the Holy Ghost?

Then is it not perfectly plain that, of all things, the one essential thing–first, last, and all the time–is that each and every individual member of the church receive the Holy Spirit?

And now the Lord has sent, and is sending, to all the church throughout the whole land, the gracious essential message, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." O, who can fail to respond to the gracious call? "Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain." Let every soul ask.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 38 , p. 604.

DID you ever see a farmer trying to grow a crop in an impoverished soil? It took a great effort to get a little. So it is when we make an effort to get money from cold professors for missionary purposes. The heart must first be warmed by the Sun of Righteousness and watered by the Holy Spirit, before we can expect to get any fruit. Then giving is a privilege rather than a duty.

"The Two Republics" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 38 , p. 604.

IN several articles we have called attention to the course of the Roman Republic from plain republicanism to the most gorgeous imperialism; from simple self-government to the most extremely tyrannical government of others; from individual freedom to the most completely centralized despotism in the world.

Every one who has read those articles, or who has read the history to which the articles refer, has readily recognized, in the career of this American Republic of the United States the past summer and at present, the perfect parallel to that of Rome at the beginning of her "progress" toward imperialism.

Is this parallel a mere incident? or is it the repetition in history of the working of a principle of deepest meaning and vast concern to the world?

No one can say but that in the original instance,–that of the Roman Republic,–the principle involved was of the deepest meaning and of vast concern to the world. No one can say but that in the original instance, the history wrought out meant so much to the world that it was, in fact, the history of the world at the time.

This was so entirely true that the Lord, sketching in prophecy the successive great powers of the world, made Rome one of his subjects: "In the latter time of their [the four divisions of the Grecian] kingdom, . . . a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." Dan. 8:23-25.

This is the history of Rome in all her phases from her rise to the end of the world. The history on each point drops into its place in perfect fulfilment of the prophecy. The first stages of the history occurred two thousand years ago, and others followed through the ages. This history was sketched in the prophecy twenty-four hundred years ago.

But mark: the history that was sketched in the prophecy was not sketched for the time in which that original history occurred. It was sketched, and then was "closed up and sealed till the time of the end." It was therefore sketched, not for that time, but for this time.

Therefore, as certainly as that history of two thousand years ago was sketched twenty-four hundred years ago, and was then closed up and sealed until the time of the end, so certainly the principles and the lessons of that history are for the instruction and the warning of the people who live in the time of the end.'

As the first stages in the history of that ancient great republic, which history was sketched in the prophecy and was then "closed up and sealed till the time of the end," find their perfect parallel in the present-year history of this present-day great republic, this shows plainly that we are now in the time of the end.

As the principles and the lessons of that history that was sketched, and then "closed up and sealed till the time of the end," were for "the time of the end;" and as we are now in the time when that history finds its parallel, and so are in the time of the end; so the principles and the lessons of that history are for the people who live in this time, even for those who live this present year.

As, in the original instance, the history wrought out by the ancient great republic meant so much as vitally to concern the whole world of that time; and as that history was sketched, and closed up and sealed until this time,–so in the present instance the history wrought by this present-day great republic means so much as vitally to concern the whole world of this time.

Therefore it is certain that the history that was made by this present-day great republic the past summer, and that is still being made, in parallel with that of that ancient great republic, is laden with meaning for the whole world.

Let every one study carefully the characteristics of the history of that ancient great republic, which was sketched in prophecy, and was closed up and sealed till this time; then let him watch the unfolding of events in the history of the present-day great republic, in parallel with that; and so, by these lessons, admonitions, and signs, let him be prepared to escape all these things that are certainly coming to pass, and to stand before the Son of man, whose coming is the ending of the history of all the nations, in that breaking "without hand" which marks the setting up of the kingdom of God, which shall never be destroyed, and which shall not be left to other people, but which breaks in pieces and consumes all these kingdoms, and stands forever.

These are days of mighty events. Watch! and be ready.

"The Older Brothers of Jesus" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 38 , pp. 605, 606.

SINCE issue of the August SUPPLEMENT to the REVIEW AND HERALD, we have received a daily shower of letters making inquiry concerning a certain passage therein quoted from the forthcoming book, "The Desire of Ages." The passage relates to Jesus, and reads as follows:–

"All this displeased his brothers. Being older than Jesus, they felt that he should be under their dictation. They charged him with thinking himself superior to them," etc.

All these inquirers want to know how this can be. None of them believe it. Some want to know if it is not a misprint. Others suggest something else; and yet others, still something else.

The point in this quotation at which all these folks stumble, is where it is said that "his brothers, being older than Jesus," etc. By not believing it they "can no understand" how this could possibly be, when the Bible says always that Jesus was Mary's first-born son.

We suppose these inquiries are sent to us under the impression that perhaps we may have access to other writings from the same author on the same subject, that might make the matter plain to those who are disturbed over it. For surely this matter, being the statement of the Spirit of prophecy, no one would suppose that any but the Spirit of prophecy could explain it, provided it needs explaining at all.

We are not at all displeased at receiving so many letters; we enjoy it; besides, it shows that not only is the REVIEW read, but its supplements also. So we shall do our best to help our inquiring friends.

First, we do not see how there can be any misprint in the sentence. Of course misprints do occur sometimes; but in such cases the mistake is always in misprinting a word, which changes the sense of the sentence. It is not possible that that could be the case here. The word here upon which the whole subject turns, and where the misprint would have to be if there were any, is the word "older." But to say that this should be printed "younger" instead of "older" would take all the substance out of the subject as it is in the two sentences.

If it were printed "younger" instead of "older," it would present the incongruous and even unnatural situation of his younger brothers feeling "that he should be under their dictation;" and of his younger brothers charging him with "thinking himself superior to them." If they were indeed younger than Jesus, then there could be no possible ground for his being under their dictation. If he was indeed older than they, in the very nature of things, as well as by all the provisions of the Levitical law and the unvaried custom of that whole people from their beginning, he would be superior to them, and would be so recognized; and that being so, there could be no possible ground for their charging him "with thinking himself superior to them."

But with the sentence as it stands,–"His brothers being older than Jesus,"–it was also natural enough that they should feel "that he should be under their dictation." And when they found that he would not be so to their satisfaction, it was also perfectly natural that they, "being older than Jesus," should charge him "with thinking himself superior to them."

Therefore as the sentences in all their parts are intelligible and consistent only as they stand,–"his brothers, being older than Jesus;" and as that is the way the sentences stand in the book from which the passage in the SUPPLEMENT was taken, the suggestion of misprint is certainly excluded. Everything about the passage bears positive evidence that it is printed as it was originally written; and that it was intentionally written as it stands, saying that the brothers of Jesus were older than he.

The theory of a misprint being excluded, the real point in all these letters of inquiry is, "Is it true?" It is perfectly plain, from the letters themselves, that the inquirers do not believe that it is true. Some of them, indeed, say flatly that they want nothing to do with the book that says such a thing. One in particular says, "If that is the book that is for sale, I do not want it;" and then in the very same letter, says, "Please send the latest Special Testimonies to Workers and Ministers." But it is difficult to see what he can want with the Special Testimonies, or any other Testimonies, when he rejects a whole book that comes from the same source as do all the Testimonies, special or other. The Testimonies can do no good to people who do not believe then; for "prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe." 1 Cor. 14:22. A person can not believe the Testimonies, and at the same time reject a whole book of the Spirit of prophecy. He may think he believes them; but he does not truly believe them: he believes them only so far as he

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can approve them, only so far as they agree with his own opinions.

And just this, we are sorry to say, is the difficulty with many of those whose inquiries we are now considering. They know that the book, "The Desire of Ages," comes from the Spirit of prophecy; they profess to believe the Spirit of prophecy; and yet the instant they find a statement from that book which they can not endorse,–a statement that does not agree with their own views,–they do not believe it, and "do not understand it," and want an explanation of "how it can be so." When the angel told Zacharias a certain thing, and Zacharias said, "Whereby shall I know this? for," etc., the angel told him, "Thou believest not my words." Luke 1:13-20. Do we believe the Spirit of prophecy, or not? If we do, when that Spirit speaks, we shall believe what is said, whether we understand it or not. What the Spirit says is the truth; and believing it, we believe the truth and know the truth, even if we do not understand it so we can explain just the "how" of it.

So it is with this passage that has called forth so many inquiries; by every evidence the passage was intentionally written to tell, and does tell, that the brothers of Jesus were "older" than he. This, being the statement of the Spirit of prophecy, is the truth. He who believes it, believes the truth, and knows the truth, whether he can explain it or not. Of course any one who does not believe it can never understand it, even though the Spirit himself should explain it. But to those who believe it, all is easy enough.

.1. He knows that it is the truth.

.2. He knows that the place where he read it is in a very brief extract from a book of more than seven hundred pages; and he knows that it is possible, and altogether likely, that somewhere in the complete work, something is said to make it all plain and perfectly satisfactory.

.3. He knows that even just as it stands, it in no way contradicts the Bible. For though the Bible says always that Jesus was Mary's first-born son, this passage from "Desire of Ages" does not say that he was not her first-born son. Though the passage from "Desire of Ages" does say that the brothers of Jesus were older than he, that passage does not say that he was not her first-born son.

.4. He knows, just as certainly as he will think, that Jesus could be Mary's first-born son, and yet that his brothers could be older than he; for he knows that such things are common everywhere. There are families everywhere in which the wife has brought forth her first-born son; and yet in that same family there are brothers older than this first-born of his mother. In other words, he knows that there are numberless instances in the great human family, in which a man with children has been left a widower, and has married a second wife, and that this second wife has brought forth her first-born son in a family where there were children older than he; and that they all call him brother, and he calls them brothers and sisters, because that is what they are. Surely when such things are familiar in every neighborhood, it must be a peculiarly persistent sort of unbelief that gets into difficulty and confusion over a statement in a book, that in a certain family there were brothers older than the first-born son of his mother; and will reject the book because it says so.

But some of these may ask, Does the book say that this is how it was? Outside of the passage here under consideration, we do not know that it does, because we have not seen the whole book. But this passage itself says it; because there is no other possible way in which there can be, in the same family, brothers older than the first-born son of his mother.

However, we have seen, on another page, the following sentences, which suggest the same thing that the passage under consideration tells:–

"By her [Mary's] vindication of what she knew to be right in His conduct, she herself was brought into trying positions. She looked upon the associations of the home, and the mother's tender watchcare over her children, as of vital importance in the formation of character. The sons and daughters of Joseph knew this, and by appealing to her anxiety, they tried to correct the practices of Jesus according to their standard."

As a matter of fact, this passage tells nothing more, and indeed nothing else, on that subject, than does the other passage; but it does tell the same thing that the other tells. It is possible that when we shall have access to the whole book, we may find yet more, and perhaps more plainly, said. But whether we do or not, the passage that has called forth the inquiries is plain just as it stands to every one that believes it.

We hope this incident will have aroused such an interest in that splendid book, "The Desire of Ages," that not one of our readers will rest until he has obtained and read it, and knows just what it says on this and every other subject upon which it speaks.

September 27, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 39 , p. 618.

THE gift of the Holy Ghost is to all believers alike.

The gifts of the Holy Ghost are diverse, "to every man severally as he will."

For in the gifts of the Holy Ghost, "to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."

But how can the Spirit in his gifts divide to every man severally, unless every man severally has first recognized and received the gift of the Spirit?

This word "severally" signifies "separately," "individually." Therefore the gifts of the Spirit are given to every man individually.

And as the Spirit can not in his gifts divide to every man individually, unless men individually recognize and receive the gift of the Spirit, it is clear that both in the gift of the Spirit and in the gifts of the Spirit, it is altogether an individual matter.

The Holy Spirit is never poured out on companies, except as he is poured out upon individuals in the companies.

The Spirit was poured out upon the whole company, more than once, as recorded in the book of Acts; but this was only because he was poured out upon each individual in the company. Each individual was ready to receive the Spirit; and being poured in his fulness upon each individual in the company, in the nature of the case he was poured out upon the whole company.

If in a company of people there were one person who was not prepared to receive the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit were poured out upon that company, in that case the Spirit would not be poured upon that individual.

The Spirit could be poured upon the company, only by being poured upon the individuals of the company, and could extend only so far as the individuals were ready to receive him.

Since, then, the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost is altogether an individual matter, and as it lies altogether between the individual and the Lord, it is plain that the gift of the Holy Ghost can be received by the individual just where the individual is, whenever the individual is ready. For on the Lord's part the gift is free. And "now is the accepted time."

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"Hebrews 1" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 39 , p. 618.

IN the first chapter of Hebrews the great subject is Christ; and in the second chapter the great subject is Christ.

In the first chapter it is Christ in contrast with the angels; and in the second chapter if it Christ in contrast with the angels.

In the first chapter it is Christ higher than the angels; in the second chapter it is Christ lower than the angels.

In the first chapter it is Christ higher than the angels as God; in the second chapter it is Christ lower than the angels as man.

In the first chapter it is Christ as much higher than the angels as God, because he is God; in the second chapter it is Christ as much lower than the angels as man, because he is man.

In the first chapter of Hebrews, Christ bears the name of God because, by nature he is God; in the second chapter he bears the nature of man because, by nature, he is man.

In the first chapter he is one of God; for it is written: "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom." "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail."

In the second chapter he is one of man; for it is written: "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, . . . that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." "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, saying, I will declare they name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee." "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself, likewise took part of the same." "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore IN ALL THINGS it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."

This is Christ our Saviour–flesh of flesh, nature of nature, with man; Spirit of Spirit, substance of substance, with God; and so, able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him; and able to bring completely to God all who come to him.

Bless his name. Believe it, and so be saved; be saved; and so be happy.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 39 , p. 618.

A CORRESPNDENT of the Outlook asks that paper the question, "On what grounds was the seventh day changed to the first for our Christian Sabbath?" And the answer of the Outlook is, "Not by commandment, but by perception of the intrinsic fitness of things." To be sure! Of what use could a commandment of God be to people who have such "perception of the intrinsic fitness of things"? This sort of "perception of the "perception of the intrinsic fitness of things," is what made all that the papacy has been from the beginning. Indeed, it is the very argument made by Lucifer at the beginning of his unholy career: Such exalted beings as they, beings with such fine perception of the intrinsic fitness of things as had they, needed no law. For such as they, commandments were altogether out of place; their "perception of the intrinsic fitness of things" was all-sufficient to guide them in righteousness. Against the commandment of God as he gave it, there is not "fitness of things." Disregard of the commandment of God as it is written shows an utter lack of any true perception of the intrinsic fitness of things. God's commandment themselves express the only true idea of the intrinsic or extrinsic fitness of things. and the perception of the true idea of his commandments is the only true perception of the intrinsic fitness of things.

"The Same Old Story" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 39 , pp. 618, 619.

EVERBODY knows that in the garden of Eden, when God placed his word before the man, Satan placed his word directly against it.

When God said to Adam and Eve, concerning the forbidden tress, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," Satan presented himself, and set up his word, "Ye shall not surely die."

And Eve believed Satan instead of believing the Lord. She was perfectly free to believe the Lord; yet she chose to believe Satan. Thus she fell into sin, and brought all the woe the world has ever known.

Now, though so many people know this, the vast majority of them seem to think that that is the only occasion in the world's history in which Satan set up his word flatly against the word of the Lord; whereas the truth is that Satan has been doing this same thing ever since, and he does it now, all the time.

And what is more, and what is worse, the great mass of the people, even of those who know what he did in Eden, actually believe Satan now, just as Eve did, instead of believing the Lord, as she ought to have done, and as they know they ought to do.

It is the plain and actual truth that there are hundreds, yes, thousands, of people who profess to believe the Lord, who profess to be Christians, who are members of the church, and yet believe Satan instead of believing the Lord. They will say that the Lord is the God of truth, that he speaks only the truth, and that his word is the truth; yet when it comes to the actual test, they will, they choose to, believe Satan rather than to believe the Lord.

And yet they at the same time hold that Eve did a very wicked, and very inexcusable, thing when she believed Satan rather than the Lord; and they do precisely the same thing. That is not fair. People who continue to do the same thing that she did, ought not to think ill of her.

Are you one of these? Do you say, "Of course I am not"? You might be; for there are many of them. Are you willing that we should test it? Suppose we do. Will you stand up straight, and face the test, and not flinch? Surely you ought to; for who would choose to believe Satan rather than to believe God, when they know it?

See here: the Lord calls us to confess our sins, and says that when we do confess our sins, "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright-

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eousness." And against this, Satan sets up his word, "No, he isn't." Now which of these do you believe?

You have confessed your sins "many a time;" you know you have. When you have confessed them, the Lord's word stands plainly spoken, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." Satan says to you, "No, they are not." Which do you believe?

Being simply a matter of free choice, it is just as easy to believe the Lord as it is to believe the devil, isn't it? And I would rather believe the Lord than to believe the devil. Wouldn't you? Let us do it. Amen.

Then your sins are forgiven, aren't they?

Who says, No?

Who says, Yes?

Which do you believe?

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 39 , p. 628.

LIGHTS are necessary because of darkness; but to be of value, they must be not only clear and bright, but constant. A light that flames away up like a sky-rocket, and then dies down until almost extinguished, is of little worth in a dark and dangerous place. The Word tells us that "darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people;" but with that the command is, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come." If ever there was need that the light of Seventh-day Adventists should shine out clear, bright, and constant, that time is now. Brethren, let it shine.

October 4, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 40 , p. 634.

IT must never for a moment be forgotten that the great object of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the perfecting of the receiver of the gift.

Whosoever receives, or would receive, the gift of the Holy Ghost, frustrates the very purpose of the gift unless he believes in Christian perfection, and unless he expects the Holy Spirit to bring him unto perfection.

This is taught and illustrated in the very first chapter in the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

The word here translated "moved" signifies "to brood over" and fructify. Thus when the unformed mass had been created, it was the Spirit of God which, through the spoken word of God, shaped the earth, clothed it with beauty and fruitfulness, and brought it to perfection.

Except for this gift of the Spirit to move upon the void and formless earth, and except for the further word of God and ministration of the Spirit of God, the earth would forever have remained without form and void. The object of its creation would have been utterly missed.

The only object in the creation of the earth was that it should be brought to perfection. When it had been created, the Spirit of God was given to move upon it. And the object of this bestowal of the Spirit was that the earth, by the ministration of the Spirit, should be brought to perfection. And so this object was accomplished.

Now "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

But though we are thus created unto the good works of God, yet when we have been so created, so far as the realization of these good works in action, our lives are as formless and void as was the earth when it was first created.

And unless the Spirit of God can come upon this new creation, to brood over it and fructify it with the power of God; unless the further word of God, and the ministration of the Spirit of God, shall come into the life, this new creation must forever remain as formless and void as, without it, would have remained the original creation.

Such, however, is not the object in this creation, as it was not the object of the original creation. The object in this new creation is that it shall be brought to perfection, as certainly as was the object in the original creation. And this can be done only by the gift of the Spirit of God, and the further word, and ministration of the Spirit, of God.

Therefore, every believer must constantly hold perfection in view. He must never be satisfied one moment with anything short of perfection. He must never forget that only this is the object of his having been created new in Christ Jesus. And he must never forget that this object can be accomplished only by the power and ministration of the Holy Ghost through the word of God.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"Hebrews 3" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 40 , p. 634.

IN Hebrews the third chapter, we are exhorted to faithfulness.

The basis of this exhortation is the faithfulness of Christ.

"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to him that appointed him."

This "wherefore" is the conclusion upon what has gone before. And that which has gone before is Christ lower than the angels as man, one of man, partaker of the same flesh and blood as man, made in all points like as we are.

Christ, being in all respects as we are and what we are, was faithful. "Wherefore" we, being in all things just as we are and just what we are, can be faithful, as was he who in all things was as we are and what we are.

Are you weak? So was he: "I can of mine own self do nothing."

Do you say that you can do nothing? That is as much as he could do–of himself.

Do you say that you are too sinful to be faithful to the Lord? You are not so sinful as was he; for "the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

He had upon him the sinfulness of all. You have upon you only the sinfulness of one–yourself; or at the very most, of only three or four.

Then when he, with the sinfulness of all upon him, could be faithful to God, with the sinfulness of only one, or at the utmost of only three or four, upon you, can not you be faithful to God?

When he, who of his own self could do nothing, could yet be faithful to God, can not you, who can do no less, also be faithful to God?

Indeed, is not the prospect a good deal easier for you to be faithful than it was for him?

Upon him were the iniquities of all. Upon you, at the utmost stretch, there are only the iniquities of three or four.

Then is not the chance for you to be faithful as much better than was his, as three or four are less than all?

And when he, at that immense disadvantage, was faithful to God, glorified God on the earth, and overcame the world, why should he not say to you and to me, "Be of good cheer"?

When he, at that immense disadvantage, was faithful to God, why should not we be of good cheer, who, in comparison, have no approach to such disadvantage as had he?

O soul! O holy brother! partaker of the heavenly calling, "be of good cheer." Consider Christ Jesus, who at such enormous disadvantage was faithful, and be of good cheer.

We must have no divided interest between Christ and the world. He must have all, or none. Whatever else we may give to him, it is of no value without ourselves.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 40 , p. 634.

IF Eve had believed the word of God, she would never have sinned.

Yea, so long as Eve had believed the word of God, she never could have sinned.

All who will think must agree that this is true.

She had the word of God plainly expressed: "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Satan came with his new word, his arguments and persuasions: "Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like God, knowing good and evil."

If, then, Eve had said: "No; God has said that I must not eat of that tree. He has said that in the day I eat of it I shall die. I believe God. I do not claim to know all about it, but he does know all about it. I will trust him. I will not eat of that tree,"–had she so done, she would never have sinned. And so long as she had so done, she could not have sinned.

Therefore it is everlastingly true that had Eve believed God, she never would have sinned; and so long as she had believed God, she never could have sinned. And Adam the same.

Now that thing is just as true to-day as it was that day; and it is as true of every man and woman to-day as it was of that woman that day.

The person to-day who believes God, will not sin; and so long as he believes God, he can not sin. This principle is eternal, and is as good to-day as it was in the beginning. And Christ in human nature has demonstrated it.

But this calls for really believing God,–not a pretended believing, that apparently accepts one word of the Lord and rejects another; that professes to believe one statement of the word of God, and doubts the next one. That way of doing is not believing God at all.

This also calls for a readiness and diligence, a hungering and thirsting, to know the word of God, that will lead on and on to know all that the Lord has spoken. Of course if any person would rather sin than to search to know and believe the word of God, that he may not sin, there is no power in the universe that can keep him from sinning. But whoever abhors sin, whoever would rather die than to sin,–to him the word of God is precious; to him it is a pleasure, yes, a joy, to study to find all the Lord has spoken; with him there is a hungering and thirsting that will gladly receive the word of God, that he may not sin.

"Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer."

"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart."

"Study to show thyself approved unto God."

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

And so shall you indeed be "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready" now "to be revealed," because it is the last time.

"Our Schools" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 40 , p. 635.

THE most of our colleges, academies, and schools have opened their doors and begun work again. Will they now be conducted as the strictly Christian schools that they profess to be?

Will the directions of the Lord be followed?

Will all the books containing pagan and infidel sentiments, and worldly wisdom, and human science, be put away?

Will the Bible be given, without question or criticism, the place that God has assigned it in every school, and in every line of study in every school?

Will God be recognized as the teacher, in all things? and this not only mediately, but also immediately?

The sciences–mental, moral, and physical, all–must be taught there: will these be taught there: will these be taught from the divine source, or from human sources? from the divine writings, or from human writings? In other words, will true science be taught there? or will it be science falsely so-called?

"Science" is knowledge: and knowledge is something known. A guess is not knowledge. Conjecture is not knowledge.

In order to teach science, there must be taught that which is known: not what is guessed at, not what is supposed, not what is derived from a "working hypothesis."

To teach for science what is not known, what is supposed, what is derived from hypotheses, is only to teach science falsely so-called. It is to teach as knowledge that which is not known, and therefore is a contradiction in terms.

And this is precisely the attitude of the accepted science of our time. A leading scientist has laid down as strictly scientific this proposition: "All our knowledge must ultimately repose on propositions which are unproved and unprovable." Such "knowledge" is not knowledge. It is simply assumption and speculation. And being not knowledge, it is not science; for science is knowledge. It is only science false so-called.

The teaching of true science is the teaching of that which is known: it is the teaching of the certainty of knowledge. And the certainty of knowledge is found only in God, and is expressed only in the word of God. He knows. And only such knowledge is true science.

Therefore, anything taught for science, which has not the word of God for its foundation, is only science falsely so-called.

God alone is the author of true science; and his word is the only certain foundation of it for man. Will the true science only, be taught in our schools?

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 40 , p. 635.

PEOPLE can not profitably study the history of the great empires and nations,–indeed, they do not know how to study it,–until they have studied the Bible. Study there, without conjecture, the history of the nations. See what it says, know what it calls for; then do not try to make history, as written by the historians, fit the Bible; but look in the history for what the Bible says would be, and then you will always get it straight. When the Lord makes a definite prediction concerning a nation or an individual, look for it, and you will find it; for there will be only one thing like it in the whole field of history. There is no possibility of mistake when you first know what to look for.

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 40 , p. 644.

WHEN the supper was prepared, and the guests were bidden to come, as related in the Saviour's parable, the record says, "They all with one consent began to make excuse." The Lord is to-day doing a great work in the earth. He is calling to his people, "Go work to-day in my vineyard;" for the fields "are white already to harvest." Many, even among those who have been long in the way, are holding back and making excuses. Don't do this, brethren. Fall in line. Accept the invitation. Say, Lord, "here am I; send me." Remember that of those who did not accept the invitation it is said, "None of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper."

October 11, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 41 , p. 650.

THE object of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the perfecting of the receivers of the gift.

The means of perfecting the receiver of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit bestowed: the gifts of the Holy Ghost are gifts imparted by the Holy Spirit, that has been bestowed.

The gifts of the Spirit are, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, teaching, exhortation, helping, governing, evangelists, pastors,–"dividing to every man severally as he will."

The purpose in the impartation of these gifts is thus declared: "He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS."

When the object of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the perfecting of the receivers of the gift, and when the means of accomplishing this object is the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is perfectly plain that both the gift and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not an end, but only means to an end; and that end, the perfecting of the believers.

Then what must the one great thought of all who have received, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the impartation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit received?–Only perfection, perfection, PERFECTION,–nothing but perfection in Christ Jesus.

Therefore in this "time of the latter rain," in this day of the giving of the Holy Spirit, in this time of the receiving of the Holy Ghost, every one who will set his whole heart, yield his whole thought, to being brought to perfection in Christ Jesus, and will surrender himself to the working of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit may accomplish God's purpose upon him, can freely receive the fulness of the Holy Ghost.

"Ask and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 41 , p. 650.

HAVE you ever thought carefully of what is involved in that statement concerning Jesus, that "the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all"?

"Iniquity" is inequality, or crookedness; and means "all departure from the rectitude of God, and of the law of God." It is a word covering the same ground as the word "sin."

Iniquity, or sin, is accompanied with guilt. According to the measure of the sense of guilt; and according to the degree of the sense of guilt, is the sense of condemnation.

To separate the sin from all sense of guilt and of condemnation, would be only to destroy all real sense of sin; and so would nullify it as a matter of consciousness or intelligent thought.

Therefore, when it is said of Jesus that "the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all," it says that all the consciousness of all the sins, and all the guilt and condemnation that attaches to the consciousness of all the sins, "of us all,"–all this was "laid upon him."

Think of the sense of guilt and condemnation that rested upon yourself, in the consciousness of the sins which have been most vividly brought home to your soul. Then think that his consciousness of sin was as much clearer and more intense than yours, as his mind and life were purer and more spiritual than are yours; and that according to the degree of the consciousness of sin is the sense of guilt and condemnation: then you will begin to get some idea of what was done when the Lord laid upon him all the iniquities of us all.

Then think of him, laden with this intensity of the consciousness of all the sins of all men; and, in that, laden also with the burden of all the guilt and condemnation that inevitably goes with the consciousness of sin; and you can begin to form some conception of the fearful disadvantage under which he went the way before us.

All this sin, with all its attendant guilt and condemnation, was imputed to him,–was made his own as if he had actually committed it all, and was rightfully feeling the guilt and the condemnation of it all.

Thus he was made "to be sin for us;" thus was he made "in all things" "like unto his brethren;" and thus was he stricken with the curse which must rightfully blast sin, and so also the one upon whom sin is found.

Thus, laden actually with the sins of the world, he, in the weakness of human flesh, passed over the ground where Adam failed. His trial was as much greater than was that of Adam as was the extent to which the race had degenerated from the condition of Adam when he was tried. And his trial was as much greater than that which we could be called to bear, as the sins of all are more than the sins of one, and as his consciousness of the nature of sin was broader and more intense than ours is, or could be.

And yet, under this enormous disadvantage, he in this world and in the weakness of human flesh, was faithful to God, and overcame the world.

With what encouragement, then, comes to us the exhortation: "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to him that appointed him"! And with what inspiration comes to us his triumphant word, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world"!

"Most Interesting Times" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 41 , p. 650.

THE following from Harper's Bazar gives a most suggestive view of the present situation in all the world. All things are hastening toward the end. "Indissolubly bound together," all nations are ready for the smiting by the "stone cut out without hands," which marks the kingdom of God, and which shall break in pieces all these kingdoms, and shall stand forever.

Never were times so interesting! If one lifts a head even for a little form the grindstone, for a look abroad, one sees that great world-dramas are being played. On no one continent, and in no one quarter, is all the interest concentrated. Africa is like a chess-board, and the pawns and kings that are being played represent a dozen different nationalities. Asia is changing her color, Europe her politics. America, like a young giant, has stretched out her arms, and the thrill that the sense of her power has aroused has been felt all over the globe. No one nation dominates, no one people is supreme. Indissolubly, too, the interests of all are bound together. International law and ethics are being refined into those laws which govern in the conduct of the best individuals, and these are ruling the world. One must count himself an ignoramus who does not follow what the sirdar is doing in Khartum, or the Russians in China, what the French explorations have meant in the Sudan, and our own conquests in the Philippines. We can no longer be content to understand none but our own destinies; for the destinies of others are ours, and ours are theirs. These are the days in which one must think and study and read, know Africa as one knows Europe, and know Europe as one knows one's own country.

"What Will Our Schools Teach?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 41 , pp. 650, 651.

ALL our schools are to teach science, which is knowledge. Being Christian schools, they are to teach divine science, divine knowledge–not human science. For Jesus, who is the great Teacher in every truly Christian school, "brought into his teaching none of the science of men." "His majesty could not mingle with human science, which will disconnect from the great Source of all wisdom in a day. The topic of human science never escaped his hallowed lips."

In every field of thought or instruction there is a divine science, and there is a human science. And these are contrary the one to the other, because the constant tendency of human science is to separate from the Source of true wisdom. Indeed, the very nature of human science–which, bear in mind, is but human knowledge–is enmity against God.

There are three great root-sciences,–mental science, moral science, and physical science. All conceivable phases of science are but branches of these. And these three are so closely related that neither is, nor can be, complete without the others.

The first of all the sciences, in importance, and indeed in nature, is mental science. First, therefore, in every system of teaching comes naturally the teaching of mental science.

Mental science, or psychology, if any would rather deal with it as an "ology," is the science of the mind. And as it is the mind with which every conscious or intelligent thing is done, in the nature of things the knowledge and training of the mind lie first in all teaching.

Again: the only true object of education "is to restore the image of God in the soul." And it is with the mind that we serve the law of God. No greater gift can possibly be bestowed upon any soul than the service of the law of God. No higher nor more honorable position can ever be attained by any creature than to serve the law of God; that is, to be, in his whole being, so completely in harmony with God that every thought, every motive, and every action will be the perfect reflection of the will of God. And "with the mind" this service is accomplished. The mind is the root from which all else in the individual springs; the mind is the pivot, upon which all else turns. This being so, it is certain that, in the very nature of things in the existence of

651

the individual, in all education the knowledge of the mind is first in importance.

As "mental" is mind, mental science is mind science, or science of the mind. And as "science" is knowledge, science of the mind is knowledge of the mind.

Knowledge is to know. A guess is not knowledge; supposition is not knowledge. A hypothesis is not knowledge. To think that we know is not knowledge. Knowledge is to know; and he who truly knows, knows that he knows.

Where, then, shall we find certain knowledge?–Answer: "He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?" With God is the certainty of knowledge. He knows. Whoever would find the certain knowledge, the true science, of the mind, let him ask of Him who knows. When we find what God has said of the mind, in that we find the true knowledge of the mind. And the true knowledge of the mind is the true science of the mind.

What, then, has he said on the subject of the mind? Read this: "The carnal mind [that is, the mind of the flesh, the natural mind, the human mind] is enmity against God." Therefore, the human science of the mind, human psychology, is only enmity against God. The study of the human science of the mind, the study of human psychology, is but the study of enmity against God.

But what profit is there in studying enmity against God? When this mind, which is enmity against God, has been studied and analyzed, and all its phenomena marked, what has the student at last?–Only enmity against God. What does he know?–Only enmity against God. And even this he does not know; he thinks it is something else. If he really knew that it was enmity against God, surely he would not study it at all.

Surely, then, in no Seventh-day Adventist school will any human science of the mind, nor any science of the human mind, be studied. To know what that is, to know that it is enmity against God, is surely enough to know, without wasting time in any detailed study of it.

No; there is an infinitely better science of the mind than that, to study in our schools. "The Son of God is come, and hath given us a mind." "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." "We have the mind of Christ." Here is a mind-science worthy of study. Here is a mind, the knowledge of which is only an inspiration and an eternal blessing. This is the divine mind. The knowledge of this mind is also divine. And as knowledge is science, the divine knowledge is divine science. There is, therefore, a divine science of the mind,–a divine psychology, open to all the teachers and students in all our schools. Shall not, then, this divine mental science be studied in all our schools?

"Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." This transformation of life and character, of body, soul, and spirit, through the renewing of the mind by faith in Jesus Christ,–this is a mental science, this is a psychology, that is a true science, and worthy of the most industrious and intense application of the powers of teachers and students. Shall not this divine science be taught in all our schools?

"Satan's New Move" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 41 , p. 651.

IN the Independent of September 29, Prof. James H. Hyslop, of Columbia College, N.Y., reports what to him is the "amazing" discovery of "experimental evidence" of the immortality of man.

And how was this discovery made?–Answer: "Dr. Richard Hodgson, who has been spending years in experiments with a medium, . . . has announced his conviction that he has facts to make immortality an easier hypothesis than any that can be opposed to it."

"By a long and careful series of experiments with a trance medium, he has at last obtained distinct evidence of the individual's survival after death."

This report from Dr. Hodgson is adopted and published by the "Society for Psychical Research;" and Professor Hyslop, with perfect soberness declares it to be "one of the most amazing pieces of work" that he "ever read." He declares that "it must produce a crisis in the study of such phenomena;" that students of the question "have come to the parting of the ways," and "must begin to feel the tremendous nature of the conclusions involved."

He declares that "it has gotten beyond the stage where it is safe to sneer, without an intimate knowledge of the subject;" because "when a well-organized body of cool-headed men, skeptical and agnostic in the extreme, and having national reputation to maintain, puts out a paper like that of Dr. Hodgson's, it has to be accepted or refuted.

Professor Hyslop says: "It is this impossibility of laughing the subject out of court that constitutes the seriousness of the situation;" that now people "must wonder whether further resistance to Spiritualism is worth while."

The seriousness of the situation with which the world is brought face to face by these "amazing" "evidences of immortality," Professor Hyslop says, is "not because it is dangerous to admit the probability of immortality on scientific grounds;" but because "the moment you admit even the possibility of proving immortality after the manner of experiment with trance mediums, you open up the flood-gates to a perfect inundation of insane follies, which it will require all the resources of civilization to cope with.

"But whatever we may deplore in such matters, the report of Dr. Hodgson calls us to face them; and it will not down by laughing. It commands either a definite acceptance of immortality or the entertainment of suppositions which it must appal any man to make."

No society, no doctor, no amount of experiments by all the societies and doctors on earth, can ever prove the immortality of man, nor the "individual's survival after death;" because it simply is not true: and nobody, nor all people together, can prove what is not true.

Immortality is the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

The individual does not survive after death; for it is written, "The dead know not anything." "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." "If there be no resurrection of the dead, . . . then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." If the individual survives after death, he is not perished, even if there never be any resurrection of the dead: he is altogether independent of any resurrection of the dead. Indeed, if he "survives after death," he is not dead at all, and couldn't have any resurrection of the dead, even if he wanted it.

Here, then, is the word of God from beginning to end, telling men that they are mortal; that immortality has been forfeited by sin; that immortality has been given to men by Jesus Christ; and that every soul can have it for the taking, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Satan tells men that all this word of the Lord is not true, but that they have immortality in themselves. Men accept this word of Satan, and then take up investigations and experimentations to demonstrate it as "scientific."

And where is it that they go to make their investigations, to apply their experiments?–To "trance mediums"! They go to trance mediums, and there see queer manifestations, and phenomena that they do not understand and can not explain; and presto! "man is immortal"! "individuals survive after death"!

But these experimenters say that they get evidence that shows that there is intelligence and design in these phenomena. And, further, that this intelligence is such as to show that it came from the individuals who are dead.

Yes, this is what they say, and this is what convinces them. But just here is where they make their leap, and surrender to credulity. No one can fairly deny that through trance mediums there are queer manifestations, and phenomena that are beyond explanation on any other basis than that of intelligence. No one can fairly deny that these things do evidence intelligence such as could come only from individuals.

But that these individuals are the persons who are dead is altogether another question. This conclusion is reached by a leap. There are intelligences that know all the identical things that those knew who are dead. And it is perfectly easy for these individuals to impersonate, in all these things, those who are dead. And that they are of a character to do this ought to be lain to every one, from the statement of Professor Hyslop, that when this thing shall be accepted, it will let loose elements which will "require all the resources of civilization to cope with."

From what source but the devil could come such a mischievous thing as that? From what source but the devil, then, could come the evidence which "commands" the reception of a hypothesis, the results of which must be so dangerous as to require all the resources of civilization to cope with it?

In view of all the developments in other matters that mark the hastening of the end, it was about time that Satan should make some master-stroke. And in this thing reported by Professor Hyslop, he seems to have made just that stroke. Soon he will be working with "all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those that. . . receive not the love of the truth." The word of God, the Bible, is the truth. This is the only safeguard. And now is the time. Are you ready?

The man who is on God's side will take God for his partner.

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 41 , p. 660.

WHEN the Saviour left this earth, he gave "to every man his work." That means that there is something definite for every Christian to do in the Master's vineyard. Whether or not he will do the work appointed him, is another question. The earnest inquiry of us all should be, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" When the answer is received, we should, with heart and soul, do that work as for eternity.

NOW, as never before, the Lord demands heart service. He is calling upon his people to forsake all, and follow him. The message for to-day, unaccompanied by the Holy Spirit, is as lifeless as was the body of Adam before God breathed into it the breath of life. Do you want to move the people to action? Let the Holy Ghost vivify you, and there will be the same difference in your preaching that there was between the preaching of the Pharisees and that of the disciples on the day of Pentecost.

October 18, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 42 , p. 666.

THE "perfecting of the saints" is the object of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

If this is not held ever in view by the believer, the purpose of the gift of the Spirit is frustrated.

The means of the "perfecting of the saints" is the gifts of the Holy Ghost; for he "gave gifts unto men" "for the perfecting of the saints."

The point which marks the perfection of the believer is charity–perfect love–the love of God; for "charity. . . is the bond of perfectness."

The point which betokens charity, this perfect love, the love of God, this "bond of perfectness," is the keeping of the commandments of God; for "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." And "love is the fulfilling of the law."

Therefore, as the keeping of the commandments of God is charity, and charity is the bond of perfectness, then the keeping of the commandments of God is the bond of perfectness.

Then, as the keeping of the commandments of God is the bond of perfectness, and as perfectness is the object of both the gift and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, it certainly follows that the keeping of the commandments of God is the great object of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Anybody, then, who does not have in view the keeping of the commandments of God, misses the purpose of the Lord in giving the Holy Spirit, and frustrate the object of the Holy Spirit even though he is given.

The keeping of the commandments of God is the complete manifestation, in the individual, of the perfect will of God. Any one, then, who would think of receiving the Holy Spirit for any other purpose than to manifest the perfect will of God, could not receive the Holy Spirit. And any one, having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, who would use the gift for any other purpose than to manifest the perfect will of God, could not retain the Holy Spirit.

Do you want the perfect will of God manifested in you? Do you want, are you willing, to keep the commandments of God? Then "receive ye the Holy Ghost."

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit."

"Hebrews" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 42 , p. 666.

THE faithfulness of Christ is the source of all faithfulness in men.

Therefore this is the basis of the divine exhortation to faithfulness: "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was FAITHFUL to him that appointed him."

"It behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and FAITHFUL high priest in things pertaining to God. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." "For we have no an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

Do you lack faithfulness? Then consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, who was faithful.

Are you weak, so that you think it hard to be faithful?–Then consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, who was so weak that he declared, "I can of mine own self do nothing," and yet "was faithful to him that appointed him."

Are you compassed with infirmity, so that you are inclined to think it hard to be faithful? Then consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, who was also "compassed with infirmity;" who "hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows;" who "himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses," and so was really "touched with the feeling of our infirmities," and yet was faithful to him that appointed him.

Are you surrounded with the wicked, and sinners, and despisers of our profession, so that it seems to you difficult to be faithful? Then consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, who "endured such contradiction of sinners against himself," and yet was faithful to him that appointed him. Consider him who resisted unto blood, striving against sin, "lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Consider him who was faithful, and so be ye faithful.

Let now, as of old, the whole multitude seek to touch him, with the touch of faith; for as then "there went virtue out of him, and healed them all," even so it is now.

Knowing your great need of faithfulness, let your faith touch him for the virtue of faithfulness, and you can be faithful to him that has appointed you.

As he has borne the infirmities of us all, and was faithful, so there is in him the virtue of faithfulness for all.

Consider him.

"Modern Revivals" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 42 , p. 666.

THE Baptist Standard of August 25 has an article on the revivals of the present time, as compared with those in the earlier history of the church. In speaking of the revival work on the day of Pentecost, the writer says:–

It was in those days that the divine pattern for revival work and revival experience was seen in the strongest exhibition of divine love and grace. The Holy Spirit had such sway over the hearts of sinners that with deep concern and great alarm they cried out, and sought to know what they should do to have their hearts and lives changed.

This was the Lord's pattern of a revival, and its fruits was evident. I do not say we have entirely departed from this pattern, but there is every evidence that in a large measure the saints in their revival work have drifted from the example and pattern of the living God. The Lord's word does not and can not change; grace can not change; repentance can not change; the blood in its power to cleanse from all sin can not change; the new birth in its nature and fact can not change; and faith that appropriates the whole truth of the living God can not change. Therefore, why do we see so frequent and extensive revivals, with so little evidence of concern on the part of those who are named in the discipleship of Jesus, and of the conversion of sinners after the divine pattern? Are we drifting away from the word of God, its truths and requirements? Is it not strange, with the Bible in our hands, and its truths so patent and clear, that so many enter the door of church life, and give so little evidence of vital knowledge and union with Christ, or have even a semblance of heart experience in the Christ-life?

The reason that these things are so is given by Paul, in 2 Tim. 3:1-5. We are in the last days of the gospel age. This is told by every sign that the Bible has given. The world is fast hastening on to its final ruin. Those who should be holding up the standard of truth have partaken of the spirit of the world until their religion is now made up of forms and ceremonies. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power. "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." To deny the power of godliness is to deny the Holy Ghost. But the call of the Lord is, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." This is the great need of the church. And the same power will bring the same results as of old.

"Our Schools, Teachers, and Students" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 42 , pp. 666, 667.

AS certainly as Seventh-day Adventists are Christians, so certainly must every Seventh-day Adventist school be a Christian school.

For these to be Christian schools, Christian principles must be the only principles, Christian teaching the only teaching, and Christian teachers the only teachers, found therein.

And in order that only Christian principles and Christian teaching shall be found therein, the word of Christ, the word of God, the Bible, must be the source and substance of every line of instruction.

The Bible is spiritual. The words of Christ are spirit. The teaching, therefore, must all be spiritual: the things there taught must be the things of God. And the things taught and studied, being the things of God, can be properly taught and understood only by the Spirit of God.

Now "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for the are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

Then with such a mind, what is the use of anybody's attempting to take up the studies in these schools? That would be trying to do things with means which those things can not possibly be done. It would be trying to know things with a mind that can not know such things.

What more slavish work could possibly be engaged in, what more futile effort could possibly be made, by any student, than must be in the endeavor to understand things with a mind that can not possibly understand those things? And what would possibly be more of a beating the air on the part of a teacher than the endeavor to cause a person to understand his teaching while that person has only a mind that could neither receive nor know his teaching?

Yet such is exactly the attitude of both teachers and students in every case where students attempt, with the carnal mind,–the natural mind, with which they were born into the

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world,–to follow the studies in any genuine Seventh-day Adventist school. The carnal can not understand the spiritual. The natural mind can not know the things of the Spirit of God.

All this conclusively demonstrates that of all the studies in our schools, mental science–the knowledge of the mind–is first in order and in importance. Without the knowledge, the science, of the change of mind from the natural to the spiritual; from the mind which came with the birth of the flesh to the mind that comes with the birth of the Spirit; from the mind that came by being born once to the mind that comes by being born again,–without a knowledge and an understanding of this science, effort will be vain, and time and money will be misspent, in any genuine Seventh-day Adventist school.

But with this science grasped and understood on the part of both students and teachers, every task is a pleasure; every lesson, whether studied or recited, is a clear and distinct gain; improvement is positive and rapid; and the field of knowledge, the height of intellectual attainment, and the realm of opportunity and usefulness, are seen to be infinite.

This is not to say that every person who desires to enter one of our schools must be a complete, all-round Christian in all respects. Not at all. "If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." He that has a willing mind can easily learn the true science of the mind. Whosoever, therefore, has a willingness to accept the system, and conform to the principles, of education held in our schools, is welcome to enter and remain; and the results can be nothing else than supremely satisfactory. For if any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether we speak of ourselves.

In education it is true to-day that "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 he has revealed, and will reveal, them unto us by his Spirit; "for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things 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." And "he shall teach you all things."

"We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us a mind." "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." "We have the mind of Christ."

"He that is perfect in knowledge is with thee;" and "who teacheth like him?"

"Texts for Sermons" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 42 , p. 667.

IN this age of sermonizing, it is thought important to have a text. Sometimes it is difficult for ministers to find a text that seems appropriate to the subject. But if the minister is called of God to bear a message, it matters not whether he has a text. What he wants to know is his message. What the people want is the message the Lord has for them.

It may be of interest to many to know that text-preaching is not a very ancient practise. Previous to the reign of King John of England, it was not customary for ministers to preach from selected passages. Allusive texts were used by ministers long before this; but it was not their custom to choose a text, and divide and subdivide it.

While there is no sin in using a text to introduce the remarks of the speaker, a minister should never feel embarrassed if he can not think of some particular verse as a text from which to preach. If God has given him a message, he should deliver it to the people. In his message, God will give his servant not only a text to begin with, but many texts all through the message. Ministers are sent to "preach the word." Get full of "the word," and you will always have a message, whether or not you always have a set text.

"Walk in the Spirit" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 42 , pp. 668, 669.

"WALK in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." "I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to talk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

The apostles and early Christians lived and walked in the Spirit, and this enabled them to endure what they did for their Saviour. From that time to the present, the same Spirit has been with all who have gained victories through obedience and suffering. It was walking in

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the Spirit that gave them courage to meet wicked men on the judgment-seat, to go to prison, and to suffer death.

The imprisoned and martyred are the noble and heroic, influenced by a noble and divine Spirit; their judges are the mean and ignoble, influenced by a spirit of opposition to those who, like their Master, go about doing good. It is the Spirit of Christ in men that leads to obedience to his holy law, and to heroism in suffering for his name's sake. Education, refinement, intelligence, alone, will not meet the test. A man may be well educated, and even hold the highest place in a model church, and yet be as far from walking in the Spirit as were the Pharisees, scribes, and priests in the days when the Saviour taught among men.

On the other hand, a man may have no advantages in education, and yet be all aglow with love to Christ. He may be willing to go to prison or death for his Master. And why?–Because he knows the power of the Holy Ghost, and is daily walking in the Spirit. Such men will hazard their lives for the name of Christ. Acts 15:26.

"Papal Episcopacy" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 42 , p. 669.

IT is reported in a leading religious journal that there is a rector of an Episcopal church in the United States, who is known as "Father" Ritchie. At his church the "sacrifice of the mass" takes the place of the communion service.

This clergyman has so nearly reached Rome as to prescribe the following program for the observance of Lent by his members:–

1. Attend at least one church service every day.

2. Take communion at least once a week.

3. Say a short prayer daily at noontime.

4. Go to confession before Easter.

5. Abstain from food on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday until afternoon.

6. Eat no meat on Wednesday and Fridays.

7. Deny yourself something you like every day.

8. Abstain from all parties and places of public amusement.

9. Try to save money each day, by self-denial, for your Easter offering.

10. Do something every day (if only to say a prayer) for some poor, sick, or troubled person.

What could be more encouraging to the Roman Catholic Church than this weakening of the churches that have in the past protested against Romanism? While the church mentioned may be an exception in this respect, there are too many that have departed from the faith of their fathers, and are on the downward road.

Apostasy is the origin of the papacy. Whenever God's people lose their hold upon him, and begin to trust in the inventions of men, the result is always the same. In Paul's day some departed from the faith; then the mystery of iniquity began to work, and kept on working, until "that man of sin" was fully revealed, and exalted himself "above all that is called God, or that is worshiped." History gave to this stage of the church the name "papacy." But the name does not signify, as it was the result of apostasy.

If the churches of to-day leave the word of God, and put their trust in man-made institutions, it matters not by what name they are known, the results will be exactly as before, and will produce the living image of the papacy. Let there be an awakening, and a seeking the Lord for the heavenly anointing, that in these times of apostasy we may be true to him.

"As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." In the days of Noah, "Noah walked with God;" he set himself that he would walk with God. When the tide of evil was sweeping all away from God, Noah persisted in the determination that he would walk with God. Against the world-tide of evil, and only evil continually, "Noah walked with God." And in this, as in other things, "as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Thank the Lord for that. Will you not be one of those who will be loyal to God, and, against all the tide of evil and apostasy, will walk with God?

October 25, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 43 , p. 682.

WE are commanded to "desire spiritual gifts" (1 Cor. 14:1), and to "covet earnestly the best gifts." 1 Cor. 12:31.

These spiritual gifts are the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are imparted by the Spirit to those who have received the Holy Ghost.

The sole object of these gifts is the perfecting of the of the saints,–the bringing to perfection the believers in Jesus.

Christian perfection is manifested in "charity, which is the bond of perfectness." Col. 3:14. Charity is the love of God; and "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." 1 John 5:3.

So entirely is it true that charity is the sole object of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, that though I had the gift of tongues in such measure that I could "speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal." 1 Cor. 13:1. And charity is the love of God, and "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments."

So entirely is it true that charity is the sole object of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, that "though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." Verse 2.

And charity is the love of God; and "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments."

So entirely is it true that the sole object of the gifts of the Spirit is charity, that though I had these gifts in such measure that I were to "bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." Verse 3.

And charity is the love of God; and "this is the love of God, that keep his commandments."

Thus is it entirely true, and the evidence is overwhelming, that the keeping of the commandments of God is the sole object of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And thus it is demonstrated that the keeping of the commandments of God is the greatest gift that can possibly be bestowed upon men.

Do you desire to keep the commandments of God? If you do, then earnestly "desire spiritual gifts;" for without these you never can become a true keeper of the commandments of God.

Do you desire really to deep the commandments of God? If you do, then freely "covet earnestly the best gifts;" for only by the gifts of the Spirit can you ever be really a keeper of the commandments.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit." "Covet earnestly the best gifts."

"Hebrews 3" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 43 , p. 682.

IN exhorting us, in Hebrews 3, to consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, in his faithfulness, the Lord presents for our consideration an additional example of faithfulness, and also a notable example of unfaithfulness.

Christ "was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house."

Yet Christ "was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house." That is, Christ built the house in which Moses was faithful. Therefore, although it is true that Moses was faithful, he was faithful in another person's house, while Christ was faithful in his own house. Christ was faithful as a master; Moses was faithful as a servant.

For "Moses verily was faithful in all his [Christ's] house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ [was faithful] as a son, over his own house; whose house are WE, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."

Therefore, as Moses was faithful in the Lord's house, which is his church, so can we be. As Moses was faithful as a servant, so can we be. Yea, more, as Christ was faithful as a son, so can we be; for "behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1. So, whether we are in the position of servants or of sons, God has made it certain that we can be faithful. Thank the Lord!

Next there is presented by the Spirit for our instruction a great and notable example of unfaithfulness: "As the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.

"Wherefore, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of your be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

"For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; while it is said, To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation."

To-day is the time to be faithful, not to-morrow; for in truth there is no to-morrow. To-day is all we ever have. Therefore, to-day is the time, and the only time, in which we can possibly be faithful.

Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. "To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

God works from the inside, not from the outside, of man.

"The Field of Mental Science" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 43 , pp. 682, 683.

AS mental is mind, mental science is the science of the mind. And as science is knowledge, then the science of the mind is the knowledge of the mind.

Knowledge of the mind must consist of a knowledge of the characteristics, operations, and phenomena of the mind.

Human science of the mind would consist of a knowledge of the characteristics, operations, and phenomena of the human mind.

Divine science of the mind would consist of a knowledge of the characteristics, operations, and phenomena of the divine mind.

Now which of these fields of mental science–the human or the divine–presents the fairest prospect for profitable study?

With anybody who believes that there is a divine mind, and that it is in any wise accessible to the investigation of man, can there be any possible ground of comparison between the human and the divine as a field of profitable study?

Is it not perfectly plain that as certainly as there is a divine mind, and that mind is in any way accessible to investigation by man, so certainly the science of that mind presents a field as much more promising than doest the human as the divine is above the human?

When one who believes that there is a divine mind, and that it is accessible to investigation by man, makes the human mind the field of his study in mental science, he thereby puts the human in the place of the divine, places it practically above the divine, and so shows that his professed belief in the divine is but a mere assent, having no weight, and being without effect, in his life.

"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you." Heb. 6:9. There is a divine mind. This divine mind is open to the study of man. Man is invited and welcomed to investigate the nature and operations of this divine mind.

The operations of mind, whether divine or human, are solely through thought. And, primarily, thought is expressed in the divine word. And in the expression of the divine thought, as in no other, words are indeed things. For "in the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1), and "the worlds were framed by the word of God" (Heb. 11:3); "for he spake, and it was." Ps. 33:9.

As it was by the word of the Lord that all things were made that are, and as word is the expression of thought, it is plain that all things that are, are but the different forms of the expression of the thought of God. Even so says the Scripture: "Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep." Ps. 92:4, 5.

It therefore follows that the proper method of the study of all things that are, is to study them as expressions of the thought of God, and to discover what the thought is that is so expressed. This is but the study, obtaining the knowledge, of the divine mind; and this, in itself, is divine mental science. Thus all creation is a field of mental science; and all nature-study, properly understood, is the study of the science of the divine mind.

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Yet this field of all creation, wonderful as it is, is not all of this great field of mental science. There is another, even more wonderful: "The Lord thinketh upon me." Ps. 40:17. And, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jer. 29:11. These thoughts are his thoughts of salvation to sinners, the redemption of the lost, and are expressed in the word of his salvation, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For this gospel is the revelation of "the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

These thoughts of God, involved in his eternal purpose, and expressed in his word of the gospel, are the chief science of the heavenly intelligences. For the preaching of "the unsearchable riches of Christ" is to "make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by [through, by means of] the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eph. 3:8-11.

And when this is preached "with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven," "the angels desire," with intense interest, "to look into" it, that they may behold the manifold wisdom revealed in the operation of the divine mind in working out that eternal purpose. 1 Peter 1:12.

Here, then, are two infinite fields of the science of the divine mind, opened to the investigation of man. And both center in Jesus Christ; for in both, all the phenomena are the expressions of the thought of the divine mind; and as thought is expressed in word, and Jesus Christ is the Word of God, so, whether in creation or in redemption, Jesus Christ, being the Word of God, is the expression of the thought of God. And as Jesus Christ is the expression of the thought of God in these two wonderful fields of the operation of the divine mind, it is perfectly plain that without him the thoughts expressed in these fields can not be understood.

In view of these things, is it not perfectly plain, and easily understood, why "Jesus brought into his teaching none of the science of men"? why "his majesty could not mingle with human science"? why "the topic of human science never escaped his lips?" and why it is that "human science will disconnect from the great Source of all wisdom in a day"?

And when men leave this wonderful double field of the science of the divine mind, and spend their time and effort in the dark and narrow field of the operation of the human mind, which is enmity against God, is it not true that they have left the beautiful waters of the snow of Lebanon, which come from the Rock of the field, for "the murky waters of the valley"? yea, that the have turned to "common sewers"? And when that is done, can there be any wonder that "the result" is "parched hearts in the school and in the church"?

Shall not our schools, then, teach as mental science only the science of the divine mind?

"Evil thinking, impure thinking, is the trail of the serpent through our lives."

November 1, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 44 , p. 698.

PERFECTION is the only goal of any believer in Jesus.

It is the only thing set before anybody by Jesus; for he said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. 5:48.

Therefore, the divine exhortation to every believer in Jesus is, "Let us go on unto perfection." And the only response to this, that is given for Christians, and the only response any Christian can give, is, "This will we do, if God permit." Heb. 6:1, 3.

But nobody can attain to perfection without the gifts of the Holy Ghost; for these are given "for the perfecting of the saints," and "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Eph. 4:11-13.

And nobody can have the gifts of the Holy Ghost, who has not first received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Therefore, without the gift of the Holy Ghost, no believer in Jesus can reach the only goal that is set before him by the Lord.

Therefore, every believer in Jesus must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Accordingly, it is the all-important question for every minister to ask every believer, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" Acts 19:2.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit." "Covet earnestly the best gifts." And "go on unto perfection."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 44 , p. 698.

BECAUSE of unfaithfulness, Israel missed all that God had prepared for them when they came out of Egypt.

But what had God prepared for them? Where did he want to take them when he took them out of Egypt?

Read it in the song of their triumphant faith at the Red Sea,–the song of Moses, the servant of God:–

(a) "Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation." Ex. 15:13.

(b) "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance."

(c) "In the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in."

(d) "In thy sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established." Verse 17.

What sanctuary is it which the Lord's hands have established?–Answer: "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Heb. 8:1, 2.

Our High Priest, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, is at the right hand of the throne in heaven. In that place, in heaven, he is a minister. He is there a minister of the sanctuary. This sanctuary in heaven, of which Christ is minister, "the Lord pitched." This, then, is the sanctuary, and the only one, which his "hands have established."

And he designed to bring Israel unto the sanctuary which his "hands have established." But the only sanctuary which his hands have established is the one in heaven. Therefore, it is perfectly plain that the Lord designed to bring Israel unto the place of the sanctuary in heaven, the only one which his hands have established.

Again: he was to bring them to the place he has made for himself to dwell in, to the mountain of his INHERITANCE, to his holy habitation. And it was Christ who was their Leader. Where, then, is the place of his inheritance?–Answer: "Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? . . . Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet; . . . but now we see not all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels." Heb. 2:5-9.

That is to say, God has not put the world to come in subjection to the angels, but he has put it in subjection to man; and Jesus Christ is the Man. Therefore, "the world to come," this world made new,–this is the inheritance of Christ. He is the Seed to whom the promise of the inheritance was made. This is the place of his holy habitation. This is the place which he has made for him to dwell in; for when the new earth is seen, it is said, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them." Rev. 21:1-3.

This, then, is the place to which God designed to bring Israel when he brought them out of Egypt. This is what Israel missed by their unfaithfulness. This is what they lost by their unbelief.

"Wherefore, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God," for this same thing is set before you. "But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb. 3:12, 13.

When the word of the Lord came to the children of Israel to forsake Egypt, they obeyed: but at the Red Sea, at the waters of Marah, and at many other places it is easy to see that while they were bodily out of Egypt, their hearts were still there. So to-day, the Lord has called you and me out from the world. Nominally, we have obeyed this call; but the hearts of many are right where they were. Just as surely as the longing of the Israelites for the "leeks and onions" and "flesh-pots" of Egypt was the cause of their destruction in the wilderness, so now, unless all is surrendered,–unless we forsake everything, cut loose from every earthly entanglement, and place ourselves and all that we are, body, soul, and spirit, on God's side,–we shall never enter the promised land, which is just before us.

"Which Moral Science Shall Be Taught?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 44 , pp. 698, 699.

MORAL science must be taught in every Seventh-day Adventist school. This is no less important than the teaching of mental science, though in the nature of things it is second in order to mental science, because it is only with the mind that is can be studied.

Right morals can be discerned only with a right mind. Therefore true moral science can be understood only through true mental science. Thus, though in this sense moral science in second in order to mental science, it is not less in importance; indeed, the two are inseparably connected.

However, though we speak of these as "moral science" and "mental science," and treat them as the sciences which they truly are, let no one fall into the mistake of thinking that these sciences are abstruse things, obscured and confused under long sentences of high-sounding words, and beyond the reach of people of common understanding. It is not so. True science is always simple and easily understood. The nearer true, and the better understood, any science is, the simpler it is, and the easier understood by those who would know it.

"Morals" is the popular, the common, name for virtue: so that moral science, or the science of morals, is the science of virtue. And virtue pertains to right, the good, the true, the pure. It relates to conduct, and conduct relates to character.

In other words, moral science is character-science. And science is knowledge. Fully expressed in other words, then, as morals is character, and science is knowledge, moral science is character-knowledge; the science of morals is the knowledge of character.

What shall be the field, then, for the study of moral science? What character shall be the basis and subject of this knowledge? Shall it be the human character, or the divine character? That is to say, Shall it be human science, or shall it be divine science, that shall be studied in our schools?

As these schools profess to be Christian, the only character-science that can there be consistently studied is Christian character-science. Christian character is the character of Jesus Christ, and the character of Christ is the character of God; therefore, the only character-science that can be consistently studied in any Seventh-day Adventist school is science of the character of God. And as science is knowledge, this is to say that the only knowledge of character that is fit to be inculcated in any Seventh-day Adventist school is knowledge of the character of God.

Yet that which in the world, in popular systems of education, passes for moral science, is simply the human knowledge, or rather, human conceptions, of human character. But what is human character?–It is the character of men naturally, as they are; and that is thoroughly bad. What is the value of human conceptions of human character?–Nothing whatever; for these conceptions, springing from such a source, are utterly false.

Yet even though these conceptions were entirely true, where could there be any value to anybody in studying that which is thoroughly bad? Out of that which is bad, only bad can come. The knowledge of the bad is only bad.

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Indeed, the knowledge of even good and bad is only bad. For it was simply by eating of the tree of good and evil that this world became evil, and has been evil ever since.

Human moral science, therefore, is utterly false, corrupt, and corrupting. It is essentially and only pagan, which is worse. So entirely is this true, that we have never yet seen, and we do not believe that is in the world, a work on moral science, as such, which is not essentially pagan, where it is not essentially papal. Yet these books–books in which there is neither morals nor science–have been used as text-books on moral science in Seventh-day Adventist schools. We sincerely hope that there are none of them in any Seventh-day Adventist school now. And if by any possibility there should be any, we hope the students in such school will have sufficient respect for morals and science and Christianity to refuse to have anything to do with such books, or with any stuff which might be taught from such books as moral science.

There is a true moral science, a true knowledge of true character. It is the knowledge of the character of God, as manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord. The character of God is supreme. There can be no higher; there can be no better. This is the only true basis of character-knowledge. And the knowledge of God, the revelation of God, is the only true knowledge on the subject of this supreme character. Therefore, the only true text-book of this moral science, this character-knowledge, is the word of God, the Bible.

As there is human mental science and the human moral science are the science–the knowledge–only of evil, and are not true science at all, but are science falsely so-called. The tree of the knowledge–the science–of good and evil can produce nothing but evil, and that continually and continually increasing. This is human science.

Both the divine mental science and the divine moral science are the science–the knowledge–only of good, and in the highest, broadest, deepest, and strictest sense, are true science.

Which of these moral sciences shall be studied in our schools,–the human or the divine? Will teachers and students misspend time and effort in the study of human conceptions, which are false; of human character, which is only evil? Will they not rather devote all energy and every faculty to the study of the divine revelations of the divine character?

"Who Are Meant?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 44 , p. 700.

THE Missionary Review for November is out, and with considerable other interesting matter, it says: "The Seventh-day Baptists from Battle Creek, Mich., have representatives in Chile. They announce themselves as from London and San Francisco, which sounds better than from the former place. The peculiar ideas which they advance, and which form the staple of their preaching, make progress somewhat difficult. They give emphasis to feet-washing as a part of the rite of the Lord's Supper. They hold to soul-sleeping, and follow the old Jadaistic practise of observing Saturday as the rest day, and insist on not eating pork. They also require immersion, and laymen are permitted to administer the rite."

The Seventh-day Baptists will hardly be thankful to the Missionary Review for such statements concerning them. For it is doubtful whether there is a single Seventh-day Baptist in Chile, and we do not know of more than one in Battle Creek. We are quite certain that with the Seventh-day Baptists, feet-washing is not part of the rite of the Lord's Supper; nor do "they hold to soul-sleeping;" and we have never understood that they "insist on not eating pork."

Now the Seventh-day Adventists could be grateful to the Missionary Review for such an advertisement if only we certainly knew what it had said all this about us. For while it is not true, as is implied, that the Seventh-day Adventists are all "from Battle Creek, Mich.," but are from San Francisco, and London, and all the way between, both ways, yet it is true that the Seventh-day Adventists "have representatives in Chile;" we do "give emphasis to feet-washing as a part of the rite of the Lord's Supper," because the Lord so established it: we do hold to the sleep of the dead, because Christ said it: we do observe "as the rest day" the day commonly called Saturday, because God says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath [the rest] of the Lord thy God:" we do "insist on not eating pork,"–thank the Lord!–because the Lord has said that the swine is "an abomination,"–such an abomination, too, that ye shall not "touch," much less "eat," "his dead carcass:" and we do "require immersion," because the word of God requires it, though it is not true that "laymen are permitted to administer the rite."

It is possible that the Missionary Review did indeed intend to tell about Seventh-day Adventists, instead of Seventh-day Baptists. But since Seventh-day Adventists are distinctly a missionary people, and have chains of mission work in three phases,–spiritual, medical, and educational,–established twice around this whole world,–above the equator and below the equator; and since the Missionary Review professes to be what its full title says, The Missionary Review OF THE WORLD,–would it be unreasonable to suggest, or extravagant to expect, that the writers and editors of such a journal should know what people it is about whom they are really writing?

"Editorial Bit" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 44 , p. 701.

GOD has shown his unselfishness by freely giving, for the benefit of others, every atom of his universe, from the kernel of wheat, whose life is given for ours, to that of his Son, who died that we might live. The more we become like God, the easier it will be to give all we have for the benefit of others. We are not to give that we may become more like god, but to be transformed that it may be easy to give.

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 44 , p. 708.

THERE is evidently an awakening on the part of the advocates of Sunday enforcement. In a recent paper, one of them declares that "some three million American workingmen are compelled to work on Sunday"! Then the author goes on to suggest a remedy; it is to enforce existing Sunday laws, and make more stringent ones. No "American working man is compelled to work on Sunday," any more than Seventh-day Adventists are compelled to work on Saturday. There are more than fifty thousand Seventh-day Adventists who refuse to work on the seventh day, and not one of them is ever compelled to work on that day. They may lose their positions, but that is another question. Let these Sunday-law advocates inculcate principle and cultivate conscience in the people, and they will not be bothered with anybody's being "compelled to work on Sunday." That cry of being compelled to work on Sunday is a double fraud: they are not compelled to work on Sunday; and there is no harm nor wrong in working on Sunday, anyhow.

November 8, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 45 , p. 714.

SO entirely is it true that the sole purpose of the gifts of the Holy Ghost is to bring to perfection the believers in Jesus, that when this shall be been accomplished, these gifts will "cease" and "be done away."

Charity is the bond of perfectness. And as it is true that though a person were to have all the gifts, and yet had not charity, it would profit him nothing, this of itself shows that perfection in the believers is the object of the gifts.

This is also shown in the fact that "charity never faileth; but whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away." Prophecies, tongues, knowledge, and the other gifts are all given to bring us to charity; but when they have brought us to charity, they "fail," "cease," and "vanish away."

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." Even by the gift of knowledge, we know only in part until we attain to that which is perfect. But when that which is perfect is come, we shall then know fully; we shall know even as we are known. Therefore the gift of knowledge, like all the other gifts, is given only as a means of bringing us unto perfection,–to bring us to charity, the bond of perfectness.

Charity is the love of God, and "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." Therefore the object of all the gifts of the Spirit is to bring the believers unto the keeping of the commandments of God. And this shows that the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon men, the greatest thing that can be done for them, by the Lord, is to bring them to the keeping of the commandments of God.

This is the third angel's message; for "here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit." "Desire spiritual gifts." "Covet earnestly the best gifts."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 45 , p. 714.

WE are to hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. The reason that people do not do this is that they forget that it is to be done to-day. They wonder how they are going to get through to-morrow, how they are going to meet this difficulty and that one to-morrow; and in the whirl of doubts and fears about to-morrow, they forget to believe in God to-day. What did Jesus say of to-morrow?–"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." He did not say that even the Lord will take thought for to-morrow. No; "the morrow [not the Lord] shall take thought for the things of itself." Then let it. God does not have anything to do with the morrow, and he does not want you to have.

"What Israel Missed" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 45 , p. 714.

DID you think that last week we were saying too much when we analyzed that scripture that shows that God desired to take Israel into the new earth when he took them out of Egypt? If so, we wish you would look at that subject again for a few minutes.

As Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he said: "When the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt." Acts 7:17.

What was the promise to Abraham? While Abram was in Ur of the Chaldees, God said to him, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, into a land that I will show thee." Gen. 12:1.

Then Abram, with his father's house and his kindred, came to Haran, and dwelt there. There his father died; and then, being separated from his father's house, Abram departed to go into the land of Canaan; but Lot, of his kindred, was yet with him.

Thus, with his kindred, Abram came into Canaan, passed through the land, went into Egypt, and back again into Canaan. But still God had not yet shown to him the land that he had promised to show to him, nor could he show it to him so long as any of his kindred were with him; for God had said to him, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, into a land that I will show thee." Abram had got out of his country, and from his father's house, but not yet from his kindred, and so had not yet been shown the land.

However, before long the flocks and herds of Abram and Lot had so multiplied that "the land was not able to bear them." Also the herdsmen began to strive. Then said Abram to Lot: "Let there be no strife. . . . Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan, and dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Now Abram is separated from his kindred, as well as from his country, and from his father's house. Now the Lord can show him the land that he promised to show him. And so it is written: "The Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed FOREVER." Gen. 13:14, 15.

Now what land, how much, did Abram see when at the Lord's word he lifted up his eyes and looked?–Answer: "The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4:13. "To Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Gal. 3:16. The promise was "the world to come," the new earth.

To Abraham and Christ, then, was the promise made; and to Abraham only in Christ and with Christ. Christ, the seed, could not receive the inheritance, the land, without Abraham; Abraham could not receive the land without Christ.

And yet when Israel was to leave Egypt, "the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham." Even this did he tell to Israel while they were yet in Egypt, though preparing to leave: "I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage." Ex. 6:8. But how could he bring them into the land which he sware to give it to Abraham, without bringing them into the land which was shown and promised to Abraham, which was the world to come, the new earth, an heavenly country, having "a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God,"–the land which Christ is to have?

Again: at that time Abraham had been long dead. Yet "the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham," to give to him the land promised to him and Christ. How, then, could this promise be fulfilled to Abraham but by his resurrection from the dead? Therefore "the time of the promise drew nigh," when Abraham should rise from the dead, and with Christ possess the land.

This is why it was that in the beautiful faith of their triumph in God at the Red Sea, Israel sang: "Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. . . . Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established."

Yet for all this, Israel "entered not in because of unbelief." They hardened their hearts in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness. "So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest." Heb. 3:7, 11. This is what Israel missed; this is the rest into which, through unbelief, they failed to enter.

This same habitation, this same inheritance, this same rest, which they missed, remains for whosoever will to enter. "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Heb. 4:1.

"Wherefore take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. but exhort one another daily, while it is called TO-DAY; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

That blessed inheritance, that holy habitation, that eternal rest, still waits for you and me to enter. The time of the promise has again drawn nigh. Let not unbelief rob you of entering in. Believe God to-day, while it is called To-day. "Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful," and so entered in.

It is possible that some may say, "I do not see that all this was for Israel to enter when they left Egypt." That was just the trouble with the children of Israel themselves: they did not see it, either. And that is just why they missed it. And they did not see it simply because they did not believe it. If they had believed God, they would have seen it all, and would have entered in. And how can you enter in, even now, if you do not believe?

"Which Character is Moral?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 45 , p. 715.

MORALS is character, and science is knowledge; therefore, moral science is character-knowledge. The study of moral science is the study of the knowledge of character.

What character is it that Christians shall study–human or divine? What knowledge–science–of character is it that Christians shall accept as the true, and so the one worthy of study–human or divine?

It must not be forgotten, in the study of any science, that a guess is not knowledge, conjecture is not knowledge, hypothesis is not knowledge; but that knowledge is to know, to know for certain. It is to know, and know that we know.

Where shall the certainty of knowledge be found?–Only in God; for "he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?" Ps. 94:10. To accept man's knowledge of things is to drink of the turbid streams of the valley or from common sewers, rather than to go to the Fountain Head. Why delve and dwell in the uncertainties of human knowledge, when the divine knowledge, the fountain of all knowledge, is open to all?

What, then, does God say is the certainty of knowledge on the subject of character–morals?

What is it as to human character, human morals?–Here it is: "Both Jews and Gentiles. . . 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 non that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; 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: there is no fear of God before their eyes." Rom. 3:9-18. "Out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man." Mark 7:21-23.

That is a sketch of human character by the One who certainly knows. And the study of human moral science is simply the study of that sort of character. It is, therefore, as plan as A B C that human "morals" is simply the grossest immorality; and the study of human "moral science" is but the study of immorality. Strictly and truly speaking, there is no such thing as human moral science; for moral science is the science of morals, and human morals is nothing but immorality, and the science of it is nothing but the science, the knowledge, of immorality.

But how long can people study immorality before they become moral? How much of the science, the knowledge, of immorality must a person acquire in order to be moral?–It is perfectly plain that the whole worldly idea and conception of moral science is not only "science falsely so called," but is a fatal delusion.

On the other hand, how is it with true morals? What is the certainty of knowledge as to divine character, divine morals? Here it is: "I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee." "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and before whom no man is guiltless." Ex. 33:19; 34:6, 7. "God is love." 1 John 4:8. "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 3:16. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." Jer. 31:3.

And "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge [the science] of the glory [the character] of God in the face of Jesus Christ." And "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory [character] of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory [from character to character], even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 4:6; 3:18.

Here is a character that is entirely worthy of the most devoted contemplation. Here is the very perfection of morals. Knowledge of this character is the truest moral science. And the diligent, earnest, prayerful study of this blessed transformation of the soul, through the faith of Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit of God, from evil to good, from wickedness to righteousness, from sin to holiness, from the human character to the divine character, from immorality to morality,–the study of this is the study of the true science of morals, and is the only true moral science.

Shall not this, therefore, be the only character studied, or even referred to, in any Seventh-day Adventist school? If not, why?

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 45 , p. 728.

THE folly of time-setting is still rife among those who have not a knowledge of the truth. Captain Totten is now out with "pages of calculations, mathematically perfect to a hair, all based on passages of Scripture," claiming to prove that next March "will witness the second advent of the Lord." This is one of the "lo here's" and "lo there's" that the Saviour warned his disciples against, and is a trick of the devil to bring into disrepute the real knowledge of the Bible concerning the second coming of Christ.

TRULY the "winds" are being held. Rumors and threats of war in the Old World have of late been like the clouds of a spring day,–now shadow, now sunshine, fearful apprehensions followed by smiling confidence. The world does not understand these things, and some declare that all the ado is but a repetition of the story of the shepherd boy who cried, "Wolf! Wolf!" But by and by the wolf will come as a "thief in the night" "on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." Now is the time to work, now is the time to throw our whole soul into the message; for this holding of the winds is only that time be given for the sealing of the "servants of our God."

A YEAR ago we said that during the year we would present to our readers, articles, illustrated and otherwise, on the signs of the near coming of the Lord, which are predicted in the Bible, and are now being plainly fulfilled in the financial world, the labor world, and any other world that may come to mind. This we have done, and we are going to keep on at it. Indeed, that is all that THE ADVENT REVIEW exists for, and we should make it false to its title if we did not keep this up constantly. And the predicted signs of the Lord's coming are now being fulfilled so rapidly that diligent work is required to keep the paper "up to date" in noting them. Strides so mighty toward the coming of the Lord that they could not have been dreamed a year ago, have surely been made, in the year past, before the eyes of all the world. Such will continue to be made; and THE ADVENT REVIEW will continue to call the attention of all people to them, and urge all to "get ready, get ready, get ready."

The Sabbath, too, will still be heralded as it is in Christ. And thus THE ADVENT REVIEW AND SABBATH HERALD will continue to proclaim the third angel's message, which is the great threefold message of the judgment hour, the fall of Babylon, and the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,–and all in view of the soon coming of the Lord.

An extra large number of subscriptions will expire December 31. Please renew as soon as possible between now and December 31, so that in the greatly increased amount of work at the beginning of the year, there may be no delay in your paper. And ask your neighbor to subscribe.

November 15, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 734.

"DESIRE spiritual gifts." Do you? If not, why?

Surely this is as plain an injunction as there is in the Bible. Why, then, should you not obey it?

Perhaps you will say that you have long desired to see spiritual gifts manifested in the church, and have even wondered why they were not.

But that is not what the Scripture says; it does not say, Desire spiritual gifts manifested in the church; but, "Desire spiritual gifts;" that is, Desire them manifested in yourself.

"Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God." Rom. 14:22. Suppose you should see all the gifts manifested in the church, and yet none of them be manifested in yourself, what good would that do? You could even see all this, and yet be lost yourself. Do you not know that thousands, yes, the whole world, will see all these gifts manifested in the church, and yet it will do them no good!

No; this is an individual matter. True, the gifts are to be manifested in the church; but this can be only by their being manifested in each individual member of the church. The gifts are divided "to every man severally."

Are you a member of the church? Do you belong to the body of Christ? Do you believe in Jesus? Then you are to desire that the gifts of the Spirit shall be manifested in yourself. If this is not so with yourself, you can not be ready to meet the Lord.

Yet to "desire spiritual gifts" is only a part of the injunction,–the subordinate part, too. The whole of it is, "Follow after charity, AND desire spiritual gifts."

To desire spiritual gifts is altogether proper. Yet to do this without charity's being held solely in view, would be altogether vain; because though we had all the gifts, and yet had not charity, it would profit us nothing, and we would be nothing.

Then as the only true way to desire spiritual gifts is to desire them upon yourself, and as the only proper connection in which to desire them is to follow after charity and desire them, it follows that you must follow after charity yourself, and desire spiritual gifts manifested upon yourself in order that you may attain that thing after which you are following.

And the charity after which you are to follow is the bond of perfectness, it is the love of God. And as "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments," then it is certain that the thing after which we are to follow while we are desiring spiritual gifts, is the keeping of the commandments of God. And the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus is the third angel's message.

There can be no true keeping of the commandments of God without charity; there can be no true charity without spiritual gifts; there can be no spiritual gifts without the gift of the Holy Ghost; therefore without the gift of the Holy Ghost, there can be no true third angel's message.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with the Spirit." "Desire spiritual gifts."

"God's Rest" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 734.

IT was God's rest into which Israel were to enter in the land to which he would lead them when he brought them out of Egypt.

This is certainly true, because when he tells us of Israel's unbelief, he declares that the consequence was, "They shall not enter into my rest."

God's rest is eternal rest; for as God is the eternal God, his rest can be nothing else than eternal rest. And as it was his rest into which Israel was to enter in the land to which he would have led them when he brought them out of Egypt, so it was eternal rest which they would have found in the promised land if they had believed God.

As God is Spirit, so his rest is only spiritual. And as spiritual things are only spiritually discerned, the only way in which the people of Israel could possibly enter into his rest, was by faith. Therefore while it is written that "they could not enter in because of unbelief," it is also written, "We which have believed do enter into rest."

As it was God's rest into which Israel was to enter, and as God's rest is eternal, so it was not only eternal rest into which he desired Israel then to enter, but it was the very rest which he prepared at the foundation of the world for man then to enter and enjoy eternally. For as "the works were finished from the foundation of the world" (Heb. 4:3), so also was the rest prepared from the foundation of the world.

But though this rest was prepared for man at the foundation of the world, there the man missed it, there he failed to enter in; and he failed because of unbelief.

Then when the time came for Israel to leave Egypt, "the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham" to give to him and to his seed, which is Christ, the land which he had promised, which was the world to come, the place which he had made for himself to dwell in, the mountain of the Lord's inheritance, the sanctuary which his hands had established. In other words, the time had then come for them to enter the rest which was prepared for man at the foundation of the world, but which, through unbelief, the man missed. And through unbelief they also missed it; they also failed to enter into God's rest.

Yet though man at the foundation of the world failed to enter into this rest that God had prepared; and though Israel also failed to enter into this rest which, at the foundation of the world, God had prepared, this is not by any means to say that this rest itself has failed.

No; this rest remains. Thank the Lord! It remained after Adam's failure, and waited till the time when the promise drew nigh which God had sworn to Abraham. And when Israel failed to enter into it, it still remains, it still waits for people to enter in. It was prepared at the foundation of the world for mankind to enter and enjoy forevermore. And being prepared for this purpose, it still remains and waits for that great purpose to be fulfilled. It was prepared for mankind to enter, and mankind must enter into it.

"Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief; again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long a time; . . . to-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Heb. 4:6, 7.

"For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day." That is to say, If Joshua had of the people into the rest which God had prepared,–God's rest,–then God would not afterward, away down in David's time, have said: To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as did they in the provocation in the wilderness, lest you fail to enter into my rest as they failed to enter into it. And as in David's day this rest remained, and waited, for men to enter in, so in our day it still remains. Thank the Lord!

"There remaineth [present tense] therefore a rest to the people of God." And it is the same rest that Adam missed, and that Israel missed; and both through unbelief.

"Wherefore take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Heb. 3:13.

"True Moral Science" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , pp. 734, 735.

IN the realm of morals, which is character, since men have forgotten the true morality, and have become altogether immoral; since "they have all gone out of the way," and have "together become unprofitable;" since "there is none that seeketh after God,"–unless God should abandon them utterly, it is essential that there should be set before men the true standard of character in such a way that they shall be drawn to the contemplation of it.

Yet though man had become altogether immoral, God could not abandon him; because he is "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."

Therefore he formulated for man a transcript of his own character in such a form as to be particularly adapted to the condition and needs of man altogether as he is.

This transcript of the character of God, this true standard of character, is formulated in the law of God, the ten commandments. And while "the God of nature has written his existence in all his works," he has also "written his law in the heart of man." And here are the ten commandments:–

"1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

"2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

735

"3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

"4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

"5. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

"6. Thou shalt not kill.

"7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

"8. Thou shalt not steal.

"9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

"10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's."

It was necessary for the Lord to present his law, the transcript of his character, in this form, just because of the essential immorality of mankind. For "the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." 1 Tim. 1:9, 10.

As this is a description of man just as he is naturally, in the world, it is easy to see how perfectly adapted to his condition, how perfectly calculated to awaken him and draw him away from himself, is that law saying to him: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me;" "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;" "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;" "Honor thy father and thy mother;" "Thou shalt not kill;" "Thou shalt not stead;" and "Thou shalt not bear false witness."

This would reveal to man the knowledge of himself, would show him that he is altogether wrong, and would awaken him to the desire for something better and the longing to get away from himself. Then, to satisfy this desire, "the Desire of all nations" would "come," and present himself to him; and, when accepted by him, would deliver him from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

So "the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: THAT as sin hath reigned unto death, EVEN so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 5:20, 21.

And "what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified [made moral] in is sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin, but now the righteousness [the morality, the character] 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 [have become immoral], and have come short of the glory [the character, the morality] of God.

"Being justified [made moral] freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness [his morality]; that he might be just [moral], and the justifier [the one who make moral] of him which believeth in Jesus." Rom. 3:19-25.

This transformation of men from immorality to morality by the faith of Jesus Christ is the only true moral science: it is the only true science of character.

This is divine science, and it is the only moral science that is worthy to be studied in any Christian school, in any Seventh-day Adventist school.

"Some Good Principles in Education" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 735.

IN answer to question as to what are the characteristics which adapt a boy to become a naval officer, Mr. Park Benjamin publishes an article in the Independent of October 5, in which are found valuable hints to any boy who would succeed anywhere in life.

First, he must have "sound health and a good constitution." Then, having these, he must have "quick intelligence and a capacity for study." And while to be a naval officer he "has got to be a navigator, a seaman, an astronomer, a gunner, a lawyer,–versed in both international and military law,–an electrician, a surveyor, a torpedoist, a chemist, a diplomatist, a metallurgist, and a steam engineer," he must really be competent in all these things, and "must avoid being a 'Jack of all trades and master of none.'" And "the only solution" of this problem "lies in study capacity,–the power to recognize and grasp principles, rather than to memorize tasks."

And there is a world of valuable suggestion in this statement: "The prize scholar, who declaims Burke's orations at school exhibitions, or writes thoughtful essays on his understanding of Robert Browning's poems, is less promising, on the whole, than the youth who has a bulldog grip on the multiplication table; and who, in these days of Keely motors and gold-from-sea-water delusions, can not be led by any mathematical or mechanical jugglery into a doubt that the product of two and two is ever anything but exactly four."

There is also instruction for schools and teachers everywhere in the statement that "the Naval Academy does not cram its students, nor attempt to do so; but it requires from them this capacity for study, and then teaches them how to use it; and as a consequence there is a sort of versatility. . . which enables them effectively to grapple with widely separated branches of knowledge. The boy, therefore, who shows no talent except such as depends on the power of memory will be handicapped in the navy race. . . . The navy is no place for dreamers, nor for people who merely know why, without knowing how."

These are sound principles, and are worth thinking of by all, in these days when thousands in the world are longing for something better in education than is commonly given; and when god is longing to show to the world the very best principles and system of education.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 736.

A CORRESPONDENT of the Christian Herald, Dr. Talmage's paper, asks this question: "How many Christians are there in the United States?" The answer is as follows: "The total number of communicants in the churches of the United States, according to Dr. Henry K. Carroll's statistics for 1890, is 23,202,901. Deducting from this number, Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists, Jews, and communistic societies, the total is 22,823,711."

Well, well! this is the first time we were aware that Seventh-day Adventists could not be regarded as Christians. The Christian Herald, apparently, has as little knowledge of who Seventh-day Adventists are, and of what they believe, as does the Missionary Review concerning their missionary operations, reference to which was made a short time ago. Never mind. Seventh-day Adventists will continue to represent Christ in their daily lives, and people will take knowledge that they have "been with Jesus," whether they can be classed as "Christians" or not.

But hold: maybe we are too fast! the correspondent asked for the number of Christians. The Christian Herald gave the number of communicants, deducting the Seventh-day Adventists, and others. As we are deducted from communicants, maybe we might be allowed among the Christians about whom the correspondent asked; for, plainly enough, not all communicants are Christians.

"'People's Churches'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 736.

"PEOPLE'S churches" are becoming quite common in every part of the country. The spirit of the age in which we live seems to demand something different from what in general has been, and is, in the way of church organization.

It is quite possible that the churches are, to a greater or less extent, responsible for these "people's churches." When churches rise above the common people, who are always the majority, the people will seek something that will have the appearance of meeting their desires. If the churches become so exacting in enforcing the letter of their man-made creeds that more effort is made to vindicate certain rules than to teach the gospel, many will seek for something that is better adapted to their way of thinking. These and many other evils in the churches create openings for new organizations.

Many of these churches have adopted good mottos to characterize their organizations. "The fatherhood of God," "The brotherhood of man," "The unity of nature," and such like phrases, are good and Christian. But the development of these ideas by human minds makes the organizations which profess them as intolerant as some of the present church creeds. More than this, many of these new societies are making the way so broad that no moral change is required for the mass of the people to become identified with them. Here is a danger. The work of the atonement, the work of regeneration, and the power of Jesus Christ to keep individuals from sinning, are largely left out; and in most instances the whole thing is made to depend upon human will power. This makes the road easy, and lulls to sleep thousands who will awaken to find that they have lost what they most needed, and that what they have avails them nothing.

There is a people's church that is founded not on mere mottos, but on living principles. This is the church of which Jesus Christ is head. There is in it no caste. No favors are granted to wealth, but all stand on the same level. Only one thing is respected, and that is character. There is no respect of persons. All who believe the Word of truth are members of this body. It is a church for the people; therefore it is a "people's church." In this church there is no lowering of the true standard. There is no courting of wealth or of fame. The membership may not have any record in earthly annals; but it has a record on high. The creed is simple, yet it contains all that is good. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , pp. 736, 737.

ANOTHER "notable" event in the journey of the emperor of Germany to Jerusalem was the sultan's making to him a present of a piece of ground on Mount Zion, which, according to tradition, was formerly occupied by the abode of the Virgin Mary. October 31 the Turkish and German flags were hoisted together on the spot, and formal possession was taken by the emperor, who immediately gave it to the German Catholics, and sent to the pope the following telegram:–

I am happy to be able to inform your Holiness, that, thanks to the benevolent intervention of His Majesty the sultan, who has not hesitated to give me this proof of his personal friendship, I have been able to acquire at Jerusalem the abode of the Holy Virgin. I decided to place this ground, hallowed by so many pious memories, at the disposal of the

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Catholic subjects. It rejoices my heart to be able now, to prove how dear to me are the religious interests of the Catholics whom divine Providence has placed in my care. I beg Your Holiness to accept the assurance of my sincere attachment.

The pope replied, thanking His Majesty, and expressing satisfaction at the gift, for which he was sure the German Catholics would be deeply grateful. And Cardinal Kopp, Prince-Bishop of Breslau, whom the emperor had informed of his acquisition of the abode of the Virgin, said to him:–

Your Majesty has added a new link to the chain of current proofs of your just disposition and sovereign solicitude for your Catholic subjects; and at the same time you have instituted a lasting inheritance, which as given joy to the whole of Catholic Christianity, and will always be held and cherished by German Catholics in grateful remembrance of an emperor's magnanimity.

"Last-Day Scoffers" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 737.

"KNOWING this first, that there shall come in the last days, 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 3:3, 4. "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." Jude 11.

The way of Cain is murderous infidelity. The error of Balaam is the wilful opposing of God, and the leading of his people into idolatrous fornication. The gainsaying of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram is the representing of ecclesiastical authority as priestcraft, and civil authority as tyranny. All these sins are to be represented by the last-day scoffers; but there will be true faith in the world at the same time.

"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." In what did the faith of Abel consist? Wherein was his sacrifice more excellent than his brother's?–He believed in the Redeemer to come, whose blood was to be shed for his transgression. By this faith, Abel offered the bloody typical sacrifice of a victim. Cain had no such faith; but rejecting the work of atonement, he offered the bloodless, untypical sacrifice of the fruits of the earth.

While the great masses of the people are denying the atonement, and the personal second coming of Christ, there are a few, here and there, who believe the word of the Lord. These live by faith, although scoffers are on every hand. In fact, the scoffers strengthen the faith of the believers, instead of discouraging them. when they hear the scoffers say, "Where is the promise of his coming?" they remember that the Lord has said that in the last days men will say these very words. By this they know that they are living in the last days. They know that when the scoffers have come, it will not be long until Jesus will come. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

"'Go, and Do Thou Likewise'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 737.

WE have lately received a letter from a sister in Wisconsin, recounting the Lord's dealings with her and her husband, when by faith they moved out from an established church, and let their light shine. They were poor in this world's goods, yet they did not hesitate to "go forward" as the Lord commanded. They moved to a place where they were impressed that he had called them, not knowing any one there. Afterward they found a sister with four small children, and four young people there; but their light had almost died out. A Sabbath-school was soon organized. In a short time, sorrow entered their circle. Two young men died. Then hard times came on; the husband could not secure employment sufficient to meet the family expenses; so the wife was obliged to do plain sewing, washing, etc., to make up the deficit. They prayed daily for bread; the Lord did not send loaves, but work to earn the loaves.

During all this time they ceased not to do missionary work. They held Bible readings, distributed papers, lent tracts, and sold books. The Lord blessed their efforts, and soon the seed sown began to spring up and bear fruit. One after another accepted the truth, until now they have a church membership of twenty-seven, fourteen of whom came into the truth through Bible readings held. Their Sabbath-school numbers forty-seven; and the end is not yet, as there is at present a greater interest to hear than ever. The members have caught the missionary spirit, and are faithful in paying tithes, and are alive to the work of the message in all its phases.

This brother and sister are obliged to earn their living by day's work; yet aside from their daily labor, they are themselves using one hundred copies of the Signs, twenty-five Sendbuds, twenty-five V‰ktares, and ten Hausfreund in house-to-house work, besides holding some Bible readings. The sister says there is nothing that so rests and refreshes her after a hard day's labor as to go to the home of some earnest inquirers after truth, and sit down and unfold to them the truth as it is in Jesus.

We commend this to many in our large churches, who have heard the message, "Arise, shine;" for just as surely as this brother and sister who were obliged to borrow the money to pay their moving expenses, were blessed of the Lord in this act of faith, so surely will hundreds of others, who will do likewise, receive a blessing. We shall soon see more of this work; for the Lord is clothing his people with power to go out as witnesses for him.

Let the glad day hasten when our people will everywhere awake to the possibilities within their reach of telling the world of the Saviour's soon coming.

"Work to a Purpose" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , pp. 737, 738.

MANY a young person fails in life for want of a purpose; and many more do not accomplish half that they might if they only had some specific object in view when they enter school. Spending long years in school, poring over books, with no definite object in view, only to acquire "mental" training and crowd the mind with abstract facts, is not education. There is much to-day that passes for education that is of no practical value, and all the time spent on it is worse than wasted. These are time when it is better to have a thorough knowledge of one or two things than to be in possession of a smattering of information on a variety of subjects. In mechanics it is better to be master of one trade than to be "Jack of all trades, and master of none."

Every student who enters any of our schools this fall should not do so without first deciding to what use he is going to put the knowledge that he gains. Then if he will work to this object, whatever it may be, he will accomplish two or three times as much as he could possibly accomplish with no definite object in view.

The other day we saw a practical illustration of this: A young man in the Review and Herald Office has been working here for nearly two years. Like many other boys of his age, he had no object in view except to "learn the trade." This being so, he took no pains to learn anything beyond his daily routine work; his thoughts were dismissed from his work the minute the whistle blew at six o'clock. The result is that while he has done as well as boys of his age usually do, he has not accomplished half that he might have accomplished if he had

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taken a keen interest in his work, and labored with some definite object in view, and with his mind thoroughly set to accomplish it. Now there is a prospect that he will go to a foreign country; and a knowledge of printing, such as he might have secured, but which he has not obtained, would prove highly valuable. "If I had only known that I was to be called off in this way, I would have worked differently," he says; "I would have learned much more about the business than I now know. I wish I could stay here six months longer."

The thought we desire to impress on our young friends is that opportunities for qualified workers are increasing every year. Whatever work falls to you, put into it all your energies. Master your work as you go. Then if you are thus called off, you will not be a bungler, but will be able to do well what comes to your hand.

"He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." A student who learns a lesson simply to recite it does not really learn the lesson, and does not know it. Only he who learns his lesson to know it, really knows it. The boy who "learns a trade," or a part of a trade, to get a job, will not be fit for the job when he gets it. He will be a bungler. He who learns a trade or a part of a trade to know it, to be master of it, will be fit for any job in that line, and can not only get it, but can keep it, because he is fit for it. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth [not what your eyes see] to do, do it with thy might."

"Editorial Bits" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 738.

DR. PARKHURST, of New York City, has heretofore entertained very optimistic views of the future, and has been particularly sanguine regarding a change of sentiment. According to the daily papers, he has lately begun a series of Sunday sermons in his Madison Square church, which are decidedly pessimistic. He claims that despite all that men may say to the contrary, the world is going from bad to worse. He is quoted as saying:–

Behaving one's self regularly, makes a man tired. There is no kind of work a man does wherein he so soon feels the need of a vacation as the work of "being good." The tendency toward deterioration that began to work even during the apostolic age of the church has been working just as distinctly, if not so rapidly perhaps, since the days of Luther. I am speaking of what observant Christian people know to be true when I say that the English Established Church stands to-day just as much in need of a Luther to recover it from its soullessness and apostasy and general mummery as did the church in the fifteenth century. With its crucifixes and its confessionals, it is as Romish as Rome, apostate, only lacking the destiny of every church.

Rome and perdition are the destiny of every church that does not obey the call to come out of Babylon.

"Editorial Item" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 46 , p. 738.

THE world is full of nominal Christians, who profess faith in the word of God, and affirm that they believe its promises; but there are few who really do believe them. Would you be a man of faith? Cultivate the faculty. Put your finger on the passages of Scripture on which your faith rests, and believe them, never wavering. This will give you the constancy of Jacob; and, like him, you may have your name changed to Israel.

November 22, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 47 , p. 752.

FOR more than a year the Lord has been sending to his people the definite message, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

Thus the attention of a whole people, all round the earth, has been directed to this one definite call of God,–to this one great blessing of receiving the Holy Ghost.

Has it occurred to you to inquire as to just what this means? If not, please read this scripture, and think: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4:20.

As it is by the Holy Spirit that the people of God must be sealed, and as God is especially calling upon all his people to receive the Holy Spirit, then does not this plainly show that we are not in the time of the sealing of God's people?

If this is not plain to you, why so? Since the object of the Holy Spirit is to seal, till the day of redemption, those who receive him; and now, for more than a year, god is calling upon all his people to receive the Holy Spirit, do you expect this call to go on forever without the object of the Holy Spirit being accomplished,–the sealing of those who receive him? Do you expect the call to receive the Holy Ghost to go on forever with those who do receive him, without that Spirit's accomplishing the very object for which he is given?

If you do not expect this, then since it is only by the Holy Spirit that the sealing is done, and since God is now, and has been for more than a year, continuously calling to his people to receive the Holy Spirit, is it not perfectly plain that we are now in the time of the sealing of God's people? And if it should be that this is not yet plain to you, then is it not because you are not looking straight in this direction? or else because you have not yet anointed your eyes with the "eye-salve, that thou mayest see"?

This will never do. No; god will not work forever, and do nothing. God will not send a message forever without accomplishing that whereunto the message is sent. And as he is now sending his message, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost;" and as the work of that spirit is to seal the receivers thereof unto the day of redemption, it is certain that now is the time in which, by the Holy Spirit, God will seal his people unto the day of redemption, which, by all other signs also, is nigh at hand.

"Get ready, get ready, get ready." "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with" the "holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 47 , p. 752.

THE only part of the word of God that will ever do any man any good is what he get inside of him. The way to get it there is to receive it and submit to it: in it is power to keep us forever.

"Saving Health" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 47 , p. 752.

"BELOVED, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health." 3 John 2.

This is a wonderful wish; and there is a wonderful reason for it, though many Christians, even Seventh-day Adventists, seem to think that this wish is one of minor importance. Let us study it a little.

The word "health" is an abstract noun, derived from the word "whole." The thought is expressed in the words of Jesus, "They that are whole need not a physician." Matt. 9:12.

The word "whole" was formerly spelled hole, and comes from the original Anglo-Saxon hl, same as present German heil, which means hale, hearty, sound, whole, saved; and saved because of being hearty, sound, and whole.

This word hl, through hole, holeth, is our present word "health," which, from its origin, signifies happiness, safety, salvation. This thought is also expressed in the Scriptural phrase, "thy saving health."

To this original was hl, there was added the expression ig, making the word hlig, present German heilig, signifying salvation; from this, in descent, is our word "holy."

To the word hlig there was next added the suffix nes, or ness, expressive of quality, thus forming the word hlig-ness, which, in descent, forms our word "holiness." This seems to be the surest descent of the word "holiness," though from the word hole (whole), with the qualitative ness,–hoeness,–the descent is easy to holiness.

In any case, however, the root-word of "health" is actually the root-word of "holiness." This is positive, also, from the fact that the root-word of "health"–hl–signifies saved, and saved because of hli-ness, which is hole-ness, which is wholeness, which is hlig-ness, which is HOLINESS.

Therefore when the Lord wishes "above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health," he wishes that "thou mayest prosper and be in holiness." And why should he not wish this "above all things"? Can any higher point be attained than holiness according to God's wish, which is perfect holiness?

Men themselves know that perfect holiness is the highest possible attainment. This is the one thing "above all" that they wish. But this thing of perfect holiness can not be attained without health. This the Lord perfectly understands, though men do not; and therefore he has recorded this word, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health."

Do you question the statement that perfect holiness can not be attained without health? How can you, when the very root idea of health is holiness? But if you are not ready to accept this from the words themselves, then read the same thing in the word of God: "Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor. 7:1.

This is also expressed in the full text cited at the beginning of this article: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

Perfect holiness embraces the flesh as well as the spirit; it includes the body as well as the soul. Therefore, as perfect holiness can not be attained without holiness of body, and as holiness of body is expressed in the word "health," so perfect holiness can not be attained without health.

And "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Heb. 12:14. Since this is eternally so, and as perfect holiness includes the body, and holiness of body is expressed in the word "health," do you not see in this the whole philosophy of health reform? Do you not see by all this that in the principles of health for the body, and righteousness for the soul, both inwrought by the Holy Spirit of God, the Lord is preparing a people unto perfect holiness, so that they can meet the Lord in peace, and see him in holiness?

Can you, then, despise or slight true health reform, and expect to see the Lord in peace, which means only to see him in holiness?

God would make us acquainted with his great name,–Jehovah-tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness,–and also with his great name,–Jehovah-rophekha, the Lord our Healer.

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health [thy perfect holiness] among all nations." Ps. 67:1, 2.

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 47 , p. 754.

THE man nowadays who preaches that the Bible means just what it says, and says just what it means, is becoming a back number, so far as modern theology is concerned. The following extract from a sermon given by the Rev. Frederick W. Miller at the Ryder Memorial Church, Chicago, October 27, speaks volumes concerning the tendency of modern preaching:–

The spiritual interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures removes the difficulties which have perplexed the minds of devout students of the Bible respecting the days of the creation, as being at war with geology; or in regard to the sun's being made on the fourth day, as opposed to astronomical laws. Astronomy and geology have enlarged our conception of the Creator's grandeur. Not in six days only, nor in six thousand years, but during millions of ages was the earth being prepared for the residence of beings created in the image of God. It is a mistaken idea to assume that it is a literal history of the creation, of the garden of Eden, of the serpent talking, of the forbidden fruit and the fall, or respecting the creation of Eve from the rib of Adam after the seventh day, when man had been created male and female on the sixth day. The Bible was not designed by the divine Spirit to teach geology, astronomy, or history. It is a spiritual book, and must be interpreted according to the spiritual sense.

Is it any wonder that infidelity, Spiritualism, and a lack of true spiritual power are coming into the church, when the plainest record of fact is "spiritualized" as in this extract? And this is only a fair sample of the views altogether too largely held in the pulpit of to-day.

November 29, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 48 , p. 76.

WITHOUT faith it is impossible to please God. the reason for this is that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23); and of course sin can not please God.

This is why it is that, as stated by the Spirit of prophecy on the first page of the REVIEW, Oct. 18, 1898, "The knowledge of what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired."

And for this cause we shall hereafter, in this place in each number of the REVIEW, give a Scripture lesson on faith,–what is it, how it comes, how to receive it,–that every reader of this paper may have this knowledge that "is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 48 , p. 76.

"THERE shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21:25.

"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." And "when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Verse 28; Matt. 24:33.

These things begin to come to pass long ago; for years we have been telling the people that this is so. But now we see all these things.

When these things began to come to pass, which was long ago, then redemption was drawing nigh. But now, when we see all these things, it is even at the doors.

The day of redemption, therefore, is certainly now at hand. But though this is so, though there is distress of nations with perplexity; though the nations are angry, and are ready to break forth into the time of trouble that will overwhelm all, yet the day of redemption can not come "till the servants of our God" are sealed.

For "I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

"And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." Rev. 7:1-3.

Then as certainly as "all these things" are now seen, so certainly is the day of redemption at hand.

And as certainly as the day of redemption is at hand, so certainly is the time of the sealing of God's people nearer at hand, because these must be sealed before that great day.

But it is "the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

The Lord is now, and for more than a year has been, especially calling his people to receive the Holy Spirit. And as the work of the Holy Spirit is to seal the receiver unto the day of redemption, this demonstrates both that the day of redemption is at hand and that now is the time of the sealing of the servants of God, because the sealing of the servants of God must precede the day of redemption.

Thus every sign, both in the church and in the world, testifies with a loud voice that the day of redemption is at hand, and that the time of the sealing of the servants of God is also certainly at hand.

But do you want to see this clearly stated on direct authority? Here it is: "The time has come when all who work in Christ's lines will have the mark of God, in words, in spirit, in character, in their honor of Immanuel."–Testimony, Sept. 20, 1898.

God calls upon all to receive the Holy Ghost, because by the Holy Spirit "ye are sealed unto the day of redemption;" and "the time has come" for the servants of our God to be sealed, so that they "will have the mark of God in words, in spirit, in character, in their honor of Immanuel." Where stand you? How stand you?

"Get ready, get ready, get ready." "Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with" "the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

"God's Rest Is in the Sabbath. Heb. 3:7 to 4:9" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 48 , pp. 766, 767.

WHEN god made man, he made him that he might enter into and enjoy God's eternal rest with God. However, this could be only upon the man's personal choice, freely made. The Lord therefore placed him on a season of probation. And in this probation, God prepared for the man, and gave to the man, the introduction to, yes, the very beginning of, this eternal rest, that in his probation the man might choose and enjoy God's rest with God.

When God's rest was prepared for man at the foundation of the world, it was in the seventh-day Sabbath that it was prepared.

For the seventh day is the Sabbath, the rest, of the Lord thy God, and the Sabbath was made for man.

So, the seventh day being the Sabbath, the Sabbath being God's rest, and the Sabbath being made for man at the foundation of the world, it is certainly true that it is in the Sabbath that God's rest was prepared for man at the foundation of the world.

And even so saith the Scripture. For, speaking of Israel, God said: "I have sworn in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, They shall not enter into my rest."

That is to say: The works were finished from the foundation of the world. When the works were finished, the rest was prepared; for then "God did rest. . . from all his works." This rest was prepared in the seventh day; for "God did rest the seventh day from all his works." This rest of God's was at that time prepared for man; for the seventh day is the rest of the Lord thy God: and the rest was made for man.

But through unbelief the man failed to enter into God's rest. He did not abide in God's work, and so he could not enter into God's rest. Through unbelief he entered into Satan's works, and so missed God's rest. God's rest never can accompany Satan's works; God's rest accompanies only God's work.

Then, though the man had failed, the rest remained; and he was given again the opportunity to believe, and so find God's rest,–the opportunity to believe, and so to forsake Satan's works and find God's work; and, finding God's work, so also to find God's rest.

And so God's rest still remained till the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham and his seed, which is Christ,–till the time when God would deliver his people from Egypt, from the world of sin: then he called Israel to enter into his rest,–into this rest which he had prepared for man at the foundation of the world, but into which man, through unbelief, failed to enter, and which yet remained for the people of God.

And so God called Israel to enter into his rest–to enjoy and observe his Sabbath. For the Sabbath is the Lord's, it is God's rest; and "the seventh day is the Sabbath."

But Israel failed to enter into God's rest; Israel would not believe, and so could not enter in. For "I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest." But "to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

"What!" say you, "did Israel not keep the Sabbath"?–No; how could they, when they did not believe? "But," say you, "did they not rest on the seventh day?"–O yes; they rested on the seventh day; but for all that they did not keep the Sabbath. There is a great difference between resting on the seventh day and keeping the Sabbath. A person might rest on the seventh day all his life, and yet never keep the Sabbath.

The Sabbath of the Lord is God's rest; only he who finds God's rest finds the true Sabbath; and only he who keeps God's rest, truly keeps the Sabbath. True Sabbath-keeping depends altogether upon whether a person finds God's rest, or only his own, on the seventh day. Israel rested on the seventh day, it is true; but it was only their own rest that they found, and entered into, on the Sabbath day.

God's rest is spiritual; only he who is spiritual can enter into it, and only he who is of faith is spiritual: therefore only he who is of faith can enter into God's rest, only he who is of faith can keep the Sabbath of the Lord. And though it is true that a person might rest on the seventh day all his life without truly observing the Sabbath, yet he can not truly observe the Sabbath without resting on the seventh day; for "God did rest the seventh day," and it is in the seventh day that God's rest is found.

But Israel did not believe, and so could not enter into God's rest; "howbeit not all that

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came out of Egypt by Moses," but with the vast majority it was so. And so Israel, as man at the first, through unbelief missed God's rest, which was prepared at the foundation of the world, and which had waited so long for men to enter.

Yet though Israel failed to enter into God's rest, that rest did not fail: it still remains, and waits for men to enter it. Though Israel failed to discern in the seventh day God's rest, and so missed it, that rest, that Sabbath, of the seventh day did not vanish away; it still, even to-day, "remaineth," and waits for man to enter into it. For "seeing. . . that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief; again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long a time; . . . to-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God;" and this rest is God's rest, which Adam missed, and Israel missed; but which, in the Lord's mercy, still remains for people to enter.

This rest that remains is the Sabbath; for the margin of the verse gives the literal Greek: "There remaineth therefore the keeping of a Sabbath to the people of God." And this Sabbath that remains is the seventh-day Sabbath; for in this place it is written, in direct connection: "He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again [he spoke of the seventh day on this wise], They shall not enter into my rest." Then seeing that some must enter into that rest, and they back there did not enter in, there remains therefore to the people of God this same rest, the keeping of this same Sabbath, which is "the seventh day."

Again: it is written that there "remaineth. . . a rest,"–the keeping of a Sabbath,–"to the people of God." Now that which remaineth is something left over, something continued of what was before. But the only Sabbath that there was before, in which was God's rest, was the seventh-day Sabbath. And as there remaineth a Sabbath; as whatever remains is something continued of what was before; and as the seventh-day Sabbath is the only Sabbath that there was before, in which was God's rest, it is therefore the very certainty of truth that the Sabbath which remaineth is the Sabbath of the seventh day. For "God did rest the seventh day."

Yet again: whatever remains is something left over, something continued, of what was before. The remainder is not the beginning of a thing. "That which remaineth" can not correctly be spoken of anything newly begun, of something only just now being set up. Now the most extreme claim for the origin of Sunday, the first day of the week, as a "day of rest" or "the Christian Sabbath" is that it was in "the primitive church" "in the apostolic times." Therefore as, according to their own claim, that time was but the beginning of Sunday observance as a day of rest; and as what remaineth is something left over, something continued, of what was before, it is the very certainty of truth that this "rest," this "keeping of a Sabbath," that "remaineth to the people of God," is NOT the rest of the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, which, according to their own claim, was just then having its beginning, but IS the rest of the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord, which was prepared at the foundation of the world, which waited for Israel to enter in, and which, thank the Lord! "REMAINETH to the people of God."

Does somebody say, "The Sabbath was abolished"?–God says it REMAINETH.

Does somebody say, "The Sabbath of the seventh day was changed in the days of the apostles, and by the apostles"?–The word of God, written in the days of the apostles, and by an apostle, declares that it REMAINETH.

And this "rest," this "Sabbath," of the seventh day, which "remaineth," is God's rest, is God's Sabbath; for "he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day. . . . And in this place again [he spoke of the seventh day, on this wise], They shall not enter into my rest."

God is the eternal God. His rest is, therefore, eternal rest. And the seventh day is the rest, the Sabbath, of the Lord thy God. therefore the Sabbath, the rest of the seventh day, being God's rest, is eternal rest.

It was prepared for man to enter into and enjoy, at the foundation of the world. Through unbelief the man failed to enter into it. It waited till the time which God had sworn to Abraham; and, through unbelief, the people then failed to enter in. And still, "to-day," it remaineth; for "some must enter therein." "Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." For he has limited a certain day, saying, still, "To-day, after so long a time; . . . TO-DAY if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

"'Thou Shalt Not Eat Any Abominable Thing'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 48 , pp. 767, 668.

ONLY last week the New York Tribune reported, as a point of worthy and valuable information, that "Professor H. W. Wiley, of the chemistry division of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, has been experimenting for a year on the preparation of meat for eating, and here are some of his conclusions: 'Meat should never be eaten until they have ripened, like game; and this process is calculated to consume about three weeks.' He says that a chicken should be hung out of a window, head down, until the head falls off, when it is ripe for eating."

Now a chicken that hangs out of the window or anywhere else "till the head drops off," is simply rotten; and whoever eats is, eats meat that is rotten. Yet according to the estimation of this United States government professor, it is then just "ripe for eating."

And as a chicken so rotten that the head falls off is "ripe for eating," this explains what is meant by the same "professor" in the statement that "meats should never be eaten till it is rotten. And the "process" of getting it sufficiently rotten to be "ripe" "is calculated to consume about three weeks."

There is hardly any doubt that this official information conveyed by the government professor will be generally accepted throughout the country. Indeed, the way is already, and for a good while has been, prepared for this in the general practise of keeping meat two weeks before it is laid on the block to be retailed. The great majority of dealers–there is hardly an exception in the cities–will refuse to cut a quarter of beef before it has lain at least two weeks after killing. And another week only allows it to become somewhat more "ripe;" that is, more rotten.

This vast proportion of the meat now eaten is killed and prepared in the great slaughterhouses, as at Chicago, Omaha, and Kansas City, and is shipped from these great houses to the smaller dealers. By the time the animals are taken from the fields to the railroad, and shipped in crowded, rushing, jolting, jarring, swaying cars, long distances, occupying days and nights, to the places of slaughter, the excitement, the fright, the strain of long-sustained nervous tension, and the thirst,–all these make the meat absolutely unfit to eat, even when perfectly fresh; but when this meat is held two weeks before it is cut at all for the consumer, or three weeks, that it may be properly "ripe," it is plain enough that a chicken so rotten that the head drops off is a very appropriate illustration of the condition of the meat that is sold at the end of three weeks. This condition is only slightly relieved when the meat is sold at the end of but two weeks, which is the almost universal custom.

Yet meat that might have been eatable when it was fresh, is not fit to eat when two weeks old. It is corrupt and corrupting. Though not exactly a virulent poison, it is still a poison. It so corrupts the blood that often a slight cut, or even a mere scratch on the skin, is followed by "blood-poisoning." In such cases the cause of the blood-poisoning is laid on the thing with which the person is cut or scratched; but the true cause lies in the corruption in the blood, derived from the old, corrupt mean, which has been the food of the individual.

With pure blood, no ordinary cut, bruise, or scratch will cause a sore, much less blood-poisoning. But people who eat such meat as it now generally sold in the markets of the land–meat that has been kept two or three weeks after slaughter–are not safe for a moment. At any moment they are liable to a scratch, a bruise, or a cut; and when that is received, they are in danger of blood-poisoning because of the poison with which their blood is already laden.

It is plain enough therefore, that the meat and game that are to-day generally sold in the markets are literally not fit to eat. And "thou shalt not eat any abominable thing."

It is worthy mentioning, and is worthy of serious consideration by any who may still be lusting after the flesh-pots of Egypt, that in Bible times, where flesh was allowed to be eaten, the flesh of the sacrifices was not allowed to be eaten on the third day: "If ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own will. It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity." Lev. 19:5-8; also 7:15-18.

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These sacrifices represented the Lord Jesus, the one true Sacrifice. How is it that they could represent him, and be accepted, and the worshiper accepted in making them, the same day and the second day, but not at all on the third day?–The reason is plain enough,–on the third day, decay and corruption had begun; and so the sacrifice could not represent the Lord Jesus; for there was no corruption in him: even his flesh saw no corruption. Acts 2:31; 13:35-37.

That was true of flesh offered as a sacrifice, as a religious rite. And in this the truth was taught, not only that decay and corruption occur on the third day, but that when corruption has begun, flesh is not fit to be eaten, it is "abominable;" and the commandment was, and still is, "Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing." Deut. 14:3.

When Abraham would entertain the angels, he went to the herd, and "fetched a calf tender and good," and gave it to a young man, who dressed it; and when it was prepared, he set it before them, "and they did eat."

From all this it is perfectly plain that the flesh-meats that are to-day bought and eaten are abominable; and as "thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth, thou shalt not eat any abominable thing."

"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. 6:17 to 7:1.

For without holiness "no man shall see the Lord."

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 48 , p. 668.

AT Streator, Ill., a Good Citizenship league was organized, November 13, with the names of over one thousand voters on the roll, for the purpose of "municipal purification and civic reform." They declare that "breakers of law are to be vigorously prosecuted; and if it should prove necessary, steps will be taken to impeach the city administration for neglect of duty." This uprising is the result of a revival effort that has been carried on in the city for the last six weeks, resulting in the addition of over six hundred names to the membership of the churches. Merchants who have hitherto kept their places of business open on Sunday have promised to close them; and all who will not do so will be prosecuted. We are in the time of false reformations; and these will increase and spread. "There will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world." Satan's only influence is seduction; his only power is force: there is neither the influence nor the power of love. "There is an emotional excitement, a mingling of the true with the false, that is well adapted to mislead. Yet none need be deceived. In the light of God's word it is not difficult to determine the nature of these movements: 'Ye shall know them by their fruits.'"

December 6, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 49 , p. 782.

"THE knowledge of what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired."

In order to be able to know what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, it is essential to know, first of all, what is faith.

Plainly, it must be to little purpose to urge upon a person the necessity of cultivating faith, while that person has no intelligent idea of what faith is. And it is sadly true that, though the Lord has made this perfectly plain in the Scriptures, there are many church-members who do not know what faith is. They may even know what the definition of faith is; but they do not know what the thing is; they do not grasp the idea that is in the definition.

For that reason, the definition will not be touched now; but, rather, there will be cited and studied as illustration of faith,–an instance which makes it stand out so plainly that all can see the very thing itself.

Faith comes "by the word of God;" to the Word, then, we must look for it.

One day a centurion came to Jesus, and said to him: "Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. . . . When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Matt. 8:6-10.

There is what Jesus pronounces faith. When we find what that is, we have found faith. To know what that is, is to know what faith is. There can be no sort of doubt about this; for Christ is "the Author. . . of faith," and he says that that which the centurion manifested was "faith;" yes, even "great faith."

Where, then, in this is the faith?–The centurion wanted a certain thing done. He wanted the Lord to do it. But when the Lord said, "I will come" and do it, the centurion checked him, saying, "Speak the word only," and it shall be done.

Now, what did the centurion expect would do the work?–"The word ONLY." Upon what did he depend for the healing of his servant?–Upon "the word ONLY."

And the Lord Jesus says that that is faith.

Now, brother, sister, what is faith?

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 49 , p. 782.

THE message is advancing so rapidly that constant watching and diligent attention are required to keep pace with it. And sad it is for the one who falls behind now, whether he is a layman, or one who must bear the burden and responsibility of acting in public capacity. In order to stand, all must have a constant consecration; indeed, consecration, to be consecration, must be constant.

In 2 Chron. 25:1, 2, we read that Amaziah reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem, and that during that time "he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart." There are Amaziahs to-day, and they find it an easy matter so to conduct themselves that men adjudge their acts as "right in the sight of the Lord," but God does not accept their service. The Lord is soon coming. In that day only the "pure in heart" will see god unto salvation. Is there any one who knows these truths, and yet delays to pray, from the very depths of his soul: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting"?

"The time has come when all who work in Christ's lines will have the mark of God, in words, in spirit, in character, in their honor of Immanuel."

But God will never set his mark upon words that are not true and pure, nor upon a spirit that is not right. He will never set his seal upon a character that is not perfect, nor upon an honor of Immanuel which is not genuine.

God can not put his seal upon anything that is in any respect short of perfection. Then as the time has come when all who work in Christ's lines will have the mark of God, this says that we are not in the time when God will bring to perfection all who work in Christ's lines. Thank the Lord! What a precious promise! What a cheering thought!

But without the Holy Spirit, no one can have this mark; because it is only "the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

Again: none can receive this mark who are in any point short of perfection; and none can have the mark, without the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is the work of the Holy Spirit now to bring to perfection all who work in Christ's lines.

The Holy Spirit is now given without measure; and the Lord is calling upon all to receive the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit, when given, is to impart gifts "to every man severally as he will." The object of these gifts is the perfecting of the saints. And this object will be accomplished in bringing all "in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

Therefore "receive ye the Holy Ghost," and "covet earnestly the best gifts," that thus you may be brought to perfection, and may receive the seal of God, in words, in spirit, in character, and in your honor of Immanuel.

"In words;" because "now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things which is of God; that we might know the things which 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. 2:12, 13.

"In spirit;" because "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his;" and if any man have the Spirit of Christ, this "is life because of righteousness." Rom. 8:9, 10.

"In character;" because "the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4); and "here are they which keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.

"In their honor of Immanuel;" because they will not worship the beast nor his image, neither receive his mark in their foreheads, nor in their hands.

How good the Lord is, to give us his Holy Spirit to bring us to perfection, that we may have the mark of God in words, in actions, in character, in our honor of Immanuel; and so be sealed with the seal of the living God!

"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you PERFECT in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Heb. 13:20, 21.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with" "the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." For behold "it is near, even at the doors."

"Rome Is Getting in Her Work" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 49 , pp. 782, 783.

LAST summer we called attention to the movements of Rome in insinuating herself into the affairs of the government of the United States, by means of the Spanish-American imbroglio. At that time we pointed out much that had been done; and said that though much more that was evidently intended had failed, or might fail, yet when the time should come for the final settlement of affairs, Rome would surely be found again on the scene, working her crafty policy.

Now the time has come, and she is at it, and with a prospect of considerable success already. For the Washington Bureau of the Baltimore Daily American, Oct. 15, 1898, evidently with much gratification, tells of what is being done. The following is the first half of the letter:–

Archbishop Chapelle, who is to go to Cuba as the legate of the church, will find himself confronted with a serious problem. The Catholic Church and its clergy in Cuba, as in every state where the Church of Rome is officially acknowledged as the state church, is supported almost entirely by the government. The annual budget of Spain includes appropriations for the pay of the Catholic clergy and the support of the Catholic churches in the Spanish dominions; and the revenues for this purpose are raised by taxation. Hence, with the surrender of its authority to collect taxes in China, the Spanish government is necessarily compelled to withdraw all support from the Catholic churches and priests on the island.

And the question of providing for the priests thus deprived of their sustenance is one of no little difficulty, and President McKinley has held numerous conferences with Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland on the subject. The people of Cuba have never been taught to support their church and clergy by direct, voluntary contributions. Indeed, so dire is the poverty on the island at present, that it is doubtful if the Cubans could by any possibility raise sufficient money to keep their churches open and their priests from starving. On the other hand, it is manifestly impossible that the government of the United States can undertake to support the Catholic Church in Cuba.

It is true that General Wood has ordered all the schools in Santiago reopened, and as the school-teachers are presumably the local priests, the situation in that city, at least, has been met by paying the priests who are employed in the schools. But this expedient will serve in only a small number of cases, and would not, of course, apply to the vast

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number of priests and high church dignitaries on the entire island.

It is the determination of President McKinley that the Catholic churches shall be kept open, and that public worship shall be amply provided for. To this end, sufficient money will be advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church. But this will be only a temporary loan; and when law and order are fully established on the distracted island, the Catholic Church will be expected to maintain itself like every other church.

The Church of Rome has robbed and peeled Cuba for four hundred years; and now that she can not do it any more, she puts up the plea that her priests and high church dignitaries there "are deprived of their sustenance," and the people of the United States must be put to grind at Rome's mill to support this "vast number" of her good-for-nothing priests and high church dignitaries.

That these priests and high church dignitaries are good-for-nothing, is evident from the testimony in this very article, which begs for sympathy and support for them:–

1. Rome alone has had the teaching of the people of Cuba for four hundred years.

2. Yet, though there is "a vast number of priests and high church dignitaries" there, "the people of Cuba have never been taught to support their church and clergy by direct, voluntary contribution."

3. "The Catholic Church and its clergy in Cuba. . . is [has been] supported almost entirely by the government, . . . and the revenues for this purpose are raised by taxation."

4. "So dire is the poverty on the island at present, that it is doubtful if the Cubans could by any possibility raise sufficient money to keep their churches open and their priests from starving."

5. "It is the determination of President McKinley that the Catholic churches shall be kept open, and that public worship shall be amply provided for. To this end, sufficient money will be advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church."

That is to say that while, for four hundred years, the Catholic Church has had the sole teaching authority in Cuba, she has never taught the people to support the church and the clergy, yet those same people have all this time been taxed to support the church and clergy; and now, when, by this everlasting taxation, with its consequences, the people are reduced to such poverty that they can not support in their customary affluence the priests and high church dignitaries, who are unwilling to share with the poor people the poverty which this same "vast number of priests and high church dignitaries" have been most instrumental in bringing upon them,–now, through President McKinley, coached by Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland,–this same Catholic Church begins the taxation of the people of the United States to support these priests and high church dignitaries in Cuba!

And how long shall the people of the United States be taxed to support this "vast number" of Catholic "priests and high church dignitaries" in Cuba? Since Catholic priests have had the teaching(?) of the Cubans for four hundred years, and yet "the people of Cuba have never been taught to support their church and clergy by direct, voluntary contributions," because the priests were supported by the Spanish government, is it likely that these same priests, in less than another four hundred years, will teach the people of Cuba to support their church and clergy by "direct, voluntary contribution," while they are supported by the United States government?

But even though it should not take another four hundred years, even though it should take only a week, or only a single day, what right has President McKinley to take the money of all the people of the United States, and have it advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church? Where has such power as this been delegated to the president of the United States? The men who made the government of the United States said that to compel a person "to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical." Therefore they separated the government of the United States from all connection with religion, or recognition of it.

By this scheme, Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland, through President McKinley, are putting upon the government and people of the United States the identical system that has been worked by Spain and Rome all these ages. This sympathetic correspondent says:–

The annual budget of Spain, including appropriations for the pay of the Catholic clergy, and the support of Catholic churches in the Spanish dominions, and the revenues for this purpose are raised by taxation.

This correspondent also says:–

It is the determination of President McKinley that the Catholic churches shall be kept open, and that public worship shall be amply provided for. To this end, sufficient money will be advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church.

The only money that this government can advance for any purpose is money raised by taxation. For the government to advance this money, it must be appropriated by somebody. These two statements of the correspondent show the same thing precisely. Therefore it is as plain as A B C that Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland, through President McKinley, are playing off upon the government of the United States the same old Roman and Spanish system of government support of the Catholic Church and clergy. Are the American people ready to let this scheme be carried through?

It is true that the last sentence in the portion of the letter quoted, says that this is promised to be only temporary; but the rest of the letter, which we have not space now to review, shows that this "temporary" expedient can be perpetuated indefinitely.

When Archbishop Ireland was making himself so conspicuous at the national Capitol last spring, we said that the United States government would not get out of this Cuban matter without being entrapped by Rome. And so it has come to pass. And there is yet more of it.

In writing on "The Policy of Expansion" of the United States, Bishop John F. Hurst remarks: "No sooner are the dogs of war let loose than some subtle force takes possession of congresses and nations, and in due time all the participants are swept away by the unexpected omnipotence." Since "war is hell," and peace is only of God, can there be any doubt as to what is the source of this "subtle force" that "takes possession of congresses and nations" as soon as the dogs of war are let loose? This is why it is that all the great powrs can agree to maintain peace in the matter of the perennial Eastern question. They recognize the fact that the instant the dogs of war shall be let loose there, this "subtle force" from the infernal regions will take possession of the congresses and nations, and will engulf "all that is most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest." Now the four mighty angels of the God of peace are holding the winds, that the dogs of war shall not be loosed, and so are restraining this "subtle force" till the Lord's work shall be done in the earth. However, that awful day will come; the angels will not longer hold the winds; the dogs of war will be loosed; this "subtle force" will take full possession of congresses and nations; and then "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation." Where do you stand? "Get ready, get ready, get ready." "My heart maketh a noise within me; I can not hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war."

December 13, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 50 , p. 798.

"THE knowledge of what the Scripture means when arguing upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired."

The centurion desired that the Lord should do for him a certain thing. The Lord said, "I will come," and do it. The centurion said, No; "speak the word only," and it shall be done.

The centurion, then, expected "the word only" to do the work. He depended upon "the word only" for the fulfilment of his desire. And Jesus said that that is "faith," even "great faith."

And by all this it is perfectly plain that faith is the expectation that the word of God will do what that word says; and that it is the depending upon that word to do what it says.

The centurion did not expect, himself, to do what the Lord said. That would not have been faith; because it would have been to deny any power, or life, in the word, and would have been to depend altogether on himself.

Yet you have said, many and many a time, that you would do what the word of God says. Often you have depended on yourself to do what the word says, instead of depending on that word to do what it says. And then you wondered why you did not succeed better in the Christian life. There is no place for wonder. You did not exercise faith: it was all yourself, and none of God.

Yet more: the centurion did not expect even the Lord to do what the word said; that is, he did not expect the Lord to speak the word, and then, apart from that word and by some other means, himself do what the word said. Even that would not have been faith, because it would have been to ignore the word as the living and powerful thing that it is, and would have been to deny that God is able to do what he wishes, simply by his word.

Yet many and many a time you, having the word of God before your eyes, and earnestly desiring in yourself what that word says, have turned away from that word, and have asked the Lord to do for you, and in you, what the word says.

And then you wondered and were perplexed that what you asked was not done. But there was no place for any wonder or perplexity. Your expectation was vain. Your asking was not of faith: it ignored the word of God.

You were without excuse, too, in both these ways; for, all the time, there stood your Lord's plain showing of what is faith; and you had read it many a time. You had read that the centurion said to the Lord, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." It was there plainly shown that the centurion expected "the word only" to do what he wished, and depended upon "the word only" to do it. You had read the word of Jesus that this was "great faith;" and that therefore he did "speak the word only," and the "servant was healed in the selfsame hour." You had also read a number of other instances showing that the Lord did everything by speaking the word only.

Would you exercise great faith? Then receive the word of God as it is in truth, the word of God; expect that word only, to do what it says; depend upon the word only, to do for you, and in you, what that word says.

Then, asking in faith, you will receive what you ask; and being justified by faith, you will have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 50 , p. 798.

IT is written that "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished." Rev. 10:7.

The mystery of God "is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1:26, 27.

The finishing of the mystery of God, then, is the finishing of the work of "Christ in you."

The finishing of the work of Christ in you is the bringing of you to perfection in Christ Jesus.

And the bringing of you to perfection in Christ Jesus, is by the power of the Holy Spirit, "according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself."

For the Holy Spirit is given, imparting his precious gifts, expressly "for the perfecting of the saints, . . . till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, un a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Eph. 4:12, 13.

This is promised for "the days [prophetic days–years] of the voice of the seventh [trumpet] angel, when he shall begin to sound."

The seventh angel began to sound in 1844, has been sounding ever since, and still continues to sound, and will yet continue to sound for a long time, even until all woe shall have passed from the earth.

But it is not at the end of his sounding; it is not late in the years of his sounding,–no, it is in the years when he shall begin to sound,–that the mystery of God, the work of Christ in you, shall be finished.

And as he has now been sounding fifty-four years with the mystery of God, the work of Christ in you, not yet finished, this shows that this work has been delayed. But on the Lord's part there is never any delay: now is always the time with him. This delay is altogether on the part of his people. The Lord's people have hesitated, and delayed to surrender themselves fully to be worked by the Holy Spirit into the complete image of the Lord Jesus. Many have delayed to have him even begin the mystery of God, the work of Christ in them, much less finish it.

This will never do. This must not be so any more. Now is the time. These are the days. The seventh angel is sounding. The nations are angry. The wrath of God is about to fall. It is the time of the dead and the living, when they shall be judged; and when he shall give reward to the saints, and to the prophets, and to them that fear his name, both small and great. It is the time when the kingdoms of this world are to become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ; and when he shall destroy them that corrupt the earth. Rev. 11:15-18. O, it is the time when the mystery of God should be, yea, and will be, finished!

And the finishing of this mystery is the perfecting of the believers, even unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

The mystery of godliness is "God. . . manifest in the flesh." 1 Tim. 3:16. And the finishing of this mystery signifies not only the finishing of the work of God in the believer, so that the believer reflects only Christ,–all of God and none of self,–but it signifies also that this manifestation of god in the flesh will be finished, and that he will be manifest only in the spirit: and this signifies the changing of the believers from flesh to spirit; and this signifies translation. Thank the Lord!

And now is the time. We are in the days when the mystery of God will be finished, which means that we are in the days when God will prepare his people for translation, by bringing us to perfection according to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Bless the Lord!

What a precious promise, what a blessed prospect, that is,–that you and I shall be perfect!–perfect according to God's own standard,–perfect as Christ was perfect. Yes, and perfect as he is perfect; for "we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him [not as he was–but] as he IS." 1 John 3:2.

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." Ps. 138:8. Bless his name! It is he alone who must make any one perfect. And he will "make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight," "through the blood of the everlasting covenant," "through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Who, then, will, who can, hesitate and delay any longer to yield up all to God, that we may make you perfect?

Do not think for a moment that it will take him a long time, as it has taken you, and in vain. He does this work by creation, not by evolution, as you have supposed. He does it, you can not do it. He does it by his word, not you do it by your vain efforts. Read this:–

While so many of our people have been hovering about the mystery of faith and godliness, they could have solved the matter by proclaiming, "I know that Christ is my portion forever. His mercy, his gentleness, hath made me great."–Testimony, Sept. 20, 1898.

Why not, then, solve this mystery of faith and godliness just now, when it is so easily and so quickly solved? Why not let God finish his mystery in you, according to his own purpose in Christ Jesus? Why not, just now, receive his Holy Spirit in all his fulness and gracious working, that he may perfect you unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ? Why?

"Ask, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with" "the Holy Spirit of God," by whose working alone the mystery of God can be finished in you, and "whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

"Cure La Grippe Yourself" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 50 , p. 799.

AS winter has now come in full blast, la grippe is likely to make itself felt at any time. It is a dangerous thing, too; and if not broken up at the earliest possible moment, it will cause severe illness at present, and leave its mark upon the system for months to come.

However, la grippe can be so effectually broken up that no one need be injured by it, nor necessarily confined to the house longer than to put himself through the treatment. And the treatment is so simple that it is within the reach of everybody, and so easily applied that any one can give it to himself, if need be. And here it is:–

1. As soon as you discover that you have la grippe, put your feet, and up to the knees if possible, in water as hot as can be borne.

2. Keep the water as hot as can be borne, by putting in boiling water.

3. Continue this till perspiration is started. At the same time it is helpful, though not essential, to sip hot lemonade.

4. When perspiration has been well started, take out your feet, dry them quickly, wrap them in hot flannels, and lie down with hot-water bottles, hot bricks, or something of the kind, to your feet.

5. Lie there till you choose to get up; and la grippe will be killed. You will probably be took weak to do much; but as la grippe is gone, your strength will soon return.

Now do not pass this treatment by as too simple to be followed, and go to taking medicines, or even a full bath. Follow these directions strictly, simple as they appear to be, and you will find la grippe effectually broken.

I know this because I have tested the treatment thoroughly. I have tested it while on a journey, when I had only poor facilities, yet with complete success. I have tested it in a country cabin, within fifteen miles of the Russian border, in the month of December, on an attack of la grippe straight from Russia and undiluted, and with such success as to miss but one sermon in a series of appointments. And others have applied it with equal success.

There is true philosophy in it. And the philosophy lies here: La grippe, at its seizure, is peculiarly a disease of the head. Plainly, therefore, if the blood can be drawn away from the head, so that the disease shall have nothing to feed on, la grippe will have to fail. Holding the feet in water so hot, does effectually draw the blood to the farthest extremity from the head; and keeping the feet hot so long, holds the blood away from the head, so that the disease is robbed of support, and inevitably fails.

A full bath, even though it be a Turkish or a Russian, is not effectual against la grippe, because the whole body is equally heated, the blood is made to bound more rapidly, and the disease is fed rather than starved.

Follow these directions strictly, and nothing will fail but la grippe.

If you have not had experience so that you are acquainted with la grippe, you can know that it is upon you by your eyes burning, your nose tickling, your head feeling large and dull, and perhaps every joint and muscle of the body aching. Though you need not wait for all these feelings: one or two of them is enough to justify you in beginning proceedings.
ALONZO T. JONES.

"What Will the Protestants Do?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 50 , p. 799.

LAST week we gave the first half of the remarkable letter from the Washington bureau of the Baltimore Daily American, as printed in that paper, Oct. 15, 1898, declaring and justifying the fact that as the result of "numerous conferences with Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland" on the subject, "it is the determination of President McKinley that the Catholic churches [in Cuba] shall be kept open, and that public worship shall be amply provided for," and that "to this end, sufficient money will be advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church."

It was stated in this letter that "this will be only a temporary loan; and when law and order are fully re-established on the distracted island, the Catholic Church will be expected to maintain itself like every other church."

Do you notice the trickery in this sentence last quoted?–It is said that this governmental money "will be only a temporary loan." Now, the natural complement of that expression would be that "when law and order are fully re-established on the distracted island, the Catholic Church will be expected to" pay back this money. But instead of that, we find only the elusive statement that while this money "will be only a temporary loan," till "law and order are fully re-established," yet "when law and order are fully re-established," instead of paying back this "temporary loan, the Catholic Church will only "be expected to maintain itself like every other church."

Then where does the "temporary loan" come in? When the money is never to be paid back, how can there be about it anything of the character of a loan, either temporary or otherwise? The truth is, of course, that it is not, and it not expected to be, a temporary loan at all, but an eternal gift. If the writer of this letter is not a Jesuit, it is not because he never went to a Jesuit school.

The letter next makes an open bid for all the other denominations in Cuba to sanction this unlawful course of the Catholic Church and President McKinley, by themselves doing the same thing. It says:–

Such free Protestant churches as exist in Cuba are supported either by contributions of their congregations or by the mission funds of their respective denominations. At the same time, if a demand were made on this government that the same favors be extended to Protestant churches and clergymen in Cuba that it is intended to extend toward the Catholics,–that is to say, undertake the entire responsibility for their support,–it is assumed that this government could not consistently refuse to do so.

This is an attempt to play again upon the Protestant churches the identical trick that was played upon them by the Catholic Church in connection with the Indian schools, in the first year of Mr. Cleveland's presidency, by which fourteen "Protestant" churches and the United States government were entrapped, and from which the government has not yet been able to free itself.

It is true that if this demand were made by the Protestants, the "government could not consistently refuse," since the government is doing all this for the Catholic Church. And more than this, the government can not consistently do this for the Catholic Church without doing the same for all the Protestant churches. The Catholic managers of this scheme know this full well; and therefore this shrewd suggestion is made to the Protestants, that they may again be entrapped, and so hide the inconsistency of governmental support of the Catholic Church.

Will the Protestants of the land repudiate this designing suggestion, expose this evil scheme, and demand that the United States government shall maintain the only lawful, as well as the only consistent, attitude,–that of absolutely refusing to furnish a single cent, or cent's worth, of support to the Catholic Church, or to any other church; or to the "priests and high church dignitaries" of the Catholic Church, or the ministers of any other church, in Cuba or anywhere else? If the Protestants of the land will not do this, why will they not?

It is here suggested that the Protestant churches and clergymen in Cuba "demand" that the United States government extend to them "the same favors that it is intended to extend toward the Catholics." This is also intensely suggestive that the Catholics got these favors upon "demand." The rest of this remarkable letter shows the basis of this demand of the Catholics. We have not space for it this week, and must therefore postpone the analysis of that till next week. However, from a careful study of it, we are prepared to say that for cool, essential iniquity, it must bear off the palm.

Meantime, let all bear in mind that, so far, the Washington Bureau of the Baltimore American makes plain that "it is the determination of President McKingley that the Catholic churches [in Cuba] shall be kept open, and that public worship shall be amply provided for;" that "to this end, sufficient money will be advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church;" and that this means that this government "undertakes the entire responsibility" for its support.

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 50 , p. 799.

IN discussing "The Policy of Expansion" of the United States, Bishop Henry C. Potter asks, "What are the indications that we have any single qualification for the task of ruling, enfranchising, and ennobling subject races?" Then he answers: "The question ought not to be difficult to answer; for in a comparatively short space of time–less than a century–three subject races, so to speak, have been dropped into our lap, and the record of our dealings with them may be known and read of all men. One of them is the Indian race, another the negro race, and another the Chinese. If any honest man, by any ingenuity, . . . can extract any ground for anything else than shame and confusion of face in view of our dealings with these races, I congratulate him on his ingenuity. The story in every case, in greater or less degree, has been one long record of cruelty, rapine, lust, and outrage. . . . And this is the nation, with such a record, to demonstrate its capacity to deal with subject races,–which is to give a new and more benign civilization to the Spanish West Indies and the Philippine Islands!" The more this matter is studied and developed, the more certain it becomes that the United States is pursuing the course of republican Rome to that dreadful imperial despotism that is so fully portrayed in the Bible. And how Bishop Potter, or any other professed Christian, can identify himself with this dark and repulsive record, as he does in the use of such terms as "we" and "our," is a mystery.

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 50 , p. 808.

Harry Champness.

ARCHBISHOP CHAPELLE says that a part of his work in the Philippines and the other places under his jurisdiction will be to look after religious liberty. That will be a good thin, if he will only look after it in the right way. but as the only way that Rome has ever looked after religious liberty in those islands has been to suppress it, there is not much ground of confidence that it will really be different now. And this the more especially as he begins his work by having the United States government appropriate the money of all the people of the United States for the support of the Catholic Church in Cuba.

THE other day Archbishop Chapelle announced himself "a warm personal friend of President McKinley." Last spring Archbishop Ireland announced himself the same. As a result of this warm personal friendship with the President, Archbishop Ireland got himself officially recognized by the United States as the representative of the papacy. And now the President determines to advance government money for the support of the Catholic Church and clergy in Cuba; and Archbishop Chapelle, his other "warm personal friend," has charge of this work in Cuba. If, not, Cardinal Gibbons would announce himself "a warm person friend of President McKinley," we should have pretty good cause to think that the whole United States government, as such, was being controlled by the papacy. It is a pity that there are not, among the Methodist bishops, nor anywhere else, any warm personal friends of the President, to tell him the truth as to all these things.

December 20, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 51 , p. 814.

WHEN the centurion said to Jesus that he need not "come and heal" his servant, but that if he would "speak the word only," the servant would be healed, Jesus "said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

Here was a Roman, by Israel despised and shunned as a heathen and held to be hated of God, who had spent his life among heathen influences, with no Bible advantages, yet who had discovered that when the Lord speaks, in that word itself there is power to do what the word says, and who depended on that word to do what it said.

And there were the people of Israel, who all their lives had been in daily connection with the word of the Lord, who prided themselves on being "the people of the Book," and boasted of their knowledge of the word of God; and yet had not learned that in the word there is power to accomplish what that word says.

All this lack on the part of Israel prevailed, too, when that very word in which they boasted said to them plainly, and showed over and over, that such is alone the character of the word of God: and that word was read in their synagogues every Sabbath day.

That word had all their lives said plainly to them: "As 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: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isa. 55:10, 11.

Nature itself held constantly before them the instruction that the earth of itself could produce nothing; that it was the moisture of rain and snow, from heaven, that made it bring forth and bud, and produce fruit.

And the Lord said, "So shall my word be." As the earth of itself can do nothing, so you of yourself can do nothing. And as the moisture of rain and snow from heaven makes the earth bring forth, and bud, and produce fruit, so shall my word make you bring forth the fruit of righteousness to the glory of God. "My word. . . . IT shall accomplish that which I please."

Many and many a time had Israel read this scripture. And year in and year out they had read the word of God, and had said: I will do what that word says; I will accomplish that which pleases him.

And that they might be the more certain that they should do exactly what the word said, that word was separated into parts, and each part drawn out into many fine-spun distinctions. Then they set about diligently to do, carefully and particularly, themselves, each specification of the word, as thus set forth.

True, nowhere in all this did they find any peace, much less any joy. With all their doing, they never found the things done. Always they found themselves far short of having done what the word said,–so far short, too, that it was the despairing cry of Israel that "if but one person could only for one day keep the whole law, and not offend in one point,–nay, if but one person could but keep that one point of the law which affected the due observance of the Sabbath,–then the troubles of Israel would be ended, and the Messiah at last would come." Yet still they slaved on in the treadmill round of their own fruitless doings,–all of works, and none of faith; all of themselves, and none of God; all of their own doing, which was not really doing at all, and none of the word itself doing, which is the only real doing of the word of God.

How refreshing it was to the spirit of Jesus, in the midst of this desert waste of Israel, to meet a man, whoever he might be, who had found the word of God indeed; who knew that when the word was spoken, that word itself would accomplish the thing spoken; and who would depend upon "the word only." This was faith. This opened the life to the power of God. And as the consequence, there was accomplished in the life that which pleased God.

"My word, . . . IT [not you] shall accomplish that which I please." "The word of God. . . effectually worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thess. 2:13. To depend upon it to work in you that which is well pleasing in his sight–this is faith. To cultivate this dependence upon the word is to cultivate faith. And "the knowledge of what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired."

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 51 , p. 814.

"THE time has come when all who work in Christ's lines will have the mark of God, in words, in spirit, in character, in their honor of Immanuel."

The man who was to set the mark of God upon the people "was clothed with linen." And "the fine linen if the righteousness of saints." Rev. 19:8.

This mark, then, which he sets upon the people, is the mark of the righteousness, the character, of God, "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." Rom. 3:22.

This mark is set alone by means of the Spirit of God. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death, . . . that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:2, 4.

Again: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, . . . that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Gal. 3:13, 14.

The blessing of Abraham is the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God comes only by faith. And when it had come to Abraham, he then received the sign of circumcision, a "seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had."

True circumcision is "that of the heart, in the spirit." Accordingly, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the seal of the righteousness of the faith which we have. He is the seal of the righteousness of God imputed to us by faith before we are circumcised, and also the seal of the righteousness of God imparted to us through faith after we have been circumcised.

This is plain from the fact that the very object of this circumcision of the heart, in the spirit, is that we may love the Lord our God, with all the heart and with all the soul. Deut. 30:6. To love God with all the heart and with all the soul, is charity–the bond of perfectness. It is the love of God, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. And "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." And as all his commandments are righteousness; as the keeping of his commandments is the manifestation of the love of God in the life; and as this love of God is shed abroad in the life by the Holy Ghost, this is the righteousness of the law, which is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

Thus, as the Holy Spirit is the seal of righteousness, it is only by means of the Holy Spirit of God that the mark of God can be set upon us in our words, our actions, our characters, in our honor of Immanuel. And in truth it is indeed the Holy Spirit of God whereby we are "sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4:30. And "the time has come when all who work in Christ's lines will have the mark of God."

Have you the mark of God? Have you the seal of the righteousness of God? If not, why? When the righteousness of God is a free gift to everybody, why do you not accept it–if so be that you haven't it? You never find any difficulty in accepting a free gift that is bestowed by a man: why should you find any difficulty in accepting this free gift bestowed upon you by the Lord?

Accept, then, in all its fulness, the righteousness of God, which is freely given. Then, upon this, receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Then still look to that Spirit, and depend upon him to impart to you the righteousness of God, to perfect in you the work of Christ, and to seal you "unto the day of redemption."

And the day of redemption is at the doors. This is certain; for when the man clothed in linen, with the writer's inkhorn by his side, was commanded to "go through the midst of the city, . . . and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for the abominations that be done in the midst thereof," to the others who had the destroying weapons in their hands it was said, "Go ye after him through the city, and smite: . . .but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary." Eze. 8:1-6. The ones with the destroying weapons follow shortly, if not closely, "after him" who sets the mark of God. And as "the time has now come when the mark of God" is being set, it can not be long ere the ones with the destroying weapons will pass through also.

Have you the righteousness of God imputed and imparted, which God can seal by his Holy Spirit? It is a free gift to every one who believes.

"As, and it shall be given you." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "Be filled with" "the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

"What Will the People Say?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 51 , pp. 815, 816.

THE remaining portion of that remarkable letter of the Washington Bureau of the Baltimore Daily American, published Oct. 15, 1898, is as follows:–

The administration fully realizes the objections that will arise in this country, from certain sources, against even a temporary sustenance of the Catholic Church in Cuba. But it has been given ample assurance by the Catholic authorities that the church shall be placed on a self-supporting basis as soon as it is possible to establish the new order that has been brought about by the Spanish evacuation.

Archbishop Chapelle will be entrusted with liberal powers to institute such of the reforms as demand immediate introduction. It is likely that the responsibility of supporting the church in Cuba will eventually be assumed by the Catholics in this country.

In determining to support the Catholic priests in Cuba until their church can take care of them, President McKinley has acted wisely from other points of view than mere humanity. The Cuban priests, as in all countries whose population is densely ignorant, exercise complete control over their parishioners. Apart from the cruelty of withdrawing all aid from these priests, it is easy to believe that the new American government in Cuba would have at its very inception built up a dangerous set of enemies if the priesthood of Cuba were given reason to regret the presence of the American flag on the island. The Spanish government at Madrid could easily give the American government some dearly bought information as to the malign influence that is in the power of a hostile clergy to exercise. Ever since the first Carlist uprising in 1833, every movement directed against the government of Spain has found its principal support in the clergy of Spain, who, almost to a man, are Carlists.

It is true that objection will arise only "from certain sources" against governmental "sustenance of the Catholic Church" and "the vast number of priests and high church dignitaries" in Cuba? Is it true that the whole people of the United States have so far forgotten the fundamental principles of the nation, or else have so far fallen under the influence of the Catholic Church, that against the government's undertaking "the entire responsibility" for the support of the Catholic Church in Cuba, objection will arise only "from certain sources"? Why will not objection arise from the whole people everywhere?

All money given by the United States government for keeping open the Catholic churches, and providing for public worship in those churches in Cuba,–all money paid by the United States government to "the vast number of Catholic priests and high church dignitaries" in Cuba,–must be obtained by taxation, must be raised by revenue, laid upon all the people. Of the money now being paid by all the people for revenue–stamps on drafts, deeds, mortgages, and what not–a portion must go to the "support of the Catholic Church," and "the vast number of priests and high church dignitaries" in Cuba. For is it not published by this Washington Bureau that "it is the determination of President McKinley," coached by Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland, that "sufficient money shall be advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church" in Cuba? Will all the people of the United States allow this thing to be carried on at their expense without protest? Our fathers, who made this nation, said that "to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical." They therefore abolished the practise and repudiated the principle. Will the people now sanction the revival and the re-establishment of the principle?

The second time in this letter we are told that assurance is given "by the Catholic authorities that the church shall be placed on a self-supporting basis as soon as it is possible to establish the new order." And again we inquire, What confidence can be placed in any such assurance, in presence of fact that this governmental support is of the same identical priests and high church dignitaries, and the same identical system, that, though having had "complete control over their parishioners" for four hundred years, yet have never taught them to support their church and clergy, but have kept them "densely ignorant," as this correspondent declares them to be to-day? When this is the record for four hundred years of governmental support, what is the value of "ample assurance by the Catholic authorities that the church shall be placed on a self-supporting basis" while governmental support is continued? In view of such a record, no assurance, by the Catholic authorities nor by anybody else, can be ample that the church shall be placed on a self-supporting basis while governmental support is continued.

Another, and the final, consideration, which shows that no such thing as the self-support of the Catholic Church in Cuba can ever be expected, is that while it is promised by the Catholic authorities that "when law and order are fully re-established on the distracted island,

816

the Catholic Church will be expected to support itself," yet, at the same time, there is presented the abominable fact, which amounts, in effect, to a threat, that "the Cuban priests exercise complete control over their parishioners," who are "densely ignorant," and would prove "a dangerous set of enemies if the priesthood of Cuba were given reason to regret the presence of the American flag on the island"!!

That is to say, the government of Spain has always supported the Catholic clergy and the Catholic churches in Cuba. And now, the United States having supplanted the government of Spain in Cuba, if this government does not "undertake the entire responsibility for their support," "the priesthood of Cuba" will be "given reason to regret the presence of the American flag on the island;" and having "complete control" of their "densely ignorant" parishioners, "the new American government in Cuba would have at its very inception built up a dangerous set of enemies." Therefore, to placate this "dangerous set of enemies," the government of the United States must "undertake the entire responsibility for their support." And accordingly, "President McKinley has acted wisely" in determining that "sufficient money" shall "be advanced by this government to support the Catholic Church"! And if anybody does not believe that it is wise thus to placate these "dangerous enemies," then "the Spanish government at Madrid could easily give" him pointers in "some dearly bought information as to the malign influence that is in the power of a hostile clergy to exercise"!!!

Then with "the vast number of priests and high church dignitaries" composing a clergy of such a "dangerous" and "malign" disposition as that, having "complete control" of their "densely ignorant" parishioners, and, upon such considerations as this, demanding governmental support until "law and order are fully re-established," what prospect can there be that governmental support will ever cease? because what prospect can there ever be that law and order will ever be fully re-established while the cessation of the governmental support of such a priesthood must be the sure consequence of the full re-establishment of law and order; and the prevention of the full re-establishment of law and order rests completely with the "dangerous" and "malign" priesthood, who receive the governmental support that is to continue only until law and order are fully re-established?

Again we must remark that this argument in behalf of governmental support of the Catholic priesthood of Cuba, based upon the "dangerous" and "malign" disposition of that same priesthood, is, for cool and essential iniquity, surely entitled to the palm.

But are the people of the United States ready for all this? Will they all bear it all without protest?

"Editorial Notes" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 51 , p. 817.

"GRIEVE not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." When anything is sealed, it is made secure; and God by is Holy Spirit is now sealing hearts for eternity. Will you let the Holy Spirit do his work on your heart? Let him, let him!

"Editorial Bits" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 51 , p. 817.

AN excellent illustration of the fact that what is first learned remains longest, and is last thought of, is furnished in the fact that as Gladstone's life was fading out in the fulness of old age, during the last two days, unconscious of all else, his broken sentences and muttered prayers were spoken in French. And this was because, in his earliest childhood, his nurse was French, from whom he had not only learned the language, but had learned to pray in that language. What a beautiful thing it was that she taught him to pray, instead of teaching him Mother Goose, High-diddle-diddle, and fables generally! Parents, what are the first impressions made upon the minds of your children? Are they such that the last lingering flashes, as life fades away, will be of holy prayer?

Why may not home be heaven here on earth?

"Back Page" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 51 , p. 824.

IT is now announced from Washington that the pope is strongly in favor of the annexation of Cuba to the United States; and that Archbishop Ireland is his representative to work for it in the United States. Accordingly, Archbishop Ireland is spending considerable time talking to senators and representatives in Congress on the subject. He says that he speaks for a majority of Cubans, too. Considering the success of Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishops Ireland and Chapelle, et al., in getting the support of the Catholic Church in Cuba by the United States government, we would not wonder if they should succeed in their scheme of annexation. And if they do, it will be simply because annexation will be more to the Church of Rome than would be the independence of Cuba.

REFERRING to the universal thought of war, Lord Salisbury, in his remarkable speech, Nov. 9, 1898, said that "what has been impressed upon us is that the subject-matter of war is terribly prevalent on all sides. We see nations decaying whose government is so bad that it can neither maintain the power of self-defense nor retain the affection of its subjects; and when this occurs, there are always neighbors impelled by some motive–it may be the highest philanthropy, or it may be the natural desire of empire–to contest as to who shall be heir to the falling nation; and that is the cause of war." He then alluded to "the rapidity and unexpectedness with which wars break out," and continued: "If Great Britain should ever permit her sea defenses to weaken, her whole empire would come clattering to the ground. It is therefore impossible, in the present state and temper of the world, to intermit our naval and military precautions." Joel 3:0=16 is being fulfilled: "Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up." And when they do come up, it will be to "the battle of the great day of God Almighty;" and therefore will he cause his "mighty ones to come down." "But the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."

December 27, 1898

"Editorial" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 52 , p. 832.

FAITH is the expecting the word of God to do what it says, and the depending upon that word to do what it says.

As that is faith, and as faith comes by the word of God, it is plain that the word of God, in order to inculcate faith, must teach that the word has in itself power to accomplish what itself says.

And such is precisely the truth of the matter: the word of God does teach just this, and nothing else; so that it is truly "the faithful word"–the word full of faith.

The greater part of the very first chapter of the Bible is instruction in faith. That chapter has in itself no fewer than six distinct statements that definitely inculcate faith: with the essential connective of the first verse, there are seven.

The inculcation of faith is the teaching that the word of God itself accomplishes the thing which is spoken in that word.

Read, then, the first verse of the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." How did he create them?–"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was." Ps. 33:6-9. Before, he spoke, it was not: after he spoke, "it was." Only by the speaking, it was. What caused it to be?–The word only.

But darkness was upon all the face of the deep. God wished light to be there; but how could there be light when all was darkness?–Again he spoke: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Whence came the light?–The word which was spoken, itself produced the light. "The entrance of thy words giveth light." Ps. 119:130.

There was no firmament, atmosphere. God wished that there should be a firmament. How could it be produced?–"God said, Let there be a firmament, . . . and it was so." Another translation for "it was so" is, "And thus it came to pass." What caused this thus to come to pass?–The word only. He spoke, and it was so. The word spoken, itself caused the thing to exist.

God next desired that there should be dry land. How could this be?–Again he spoke: "God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so."

Then there was no vegetation. Whence should this come? Again God spoke: "And 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."

Again he spoke: "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, . . . and it was so."

Again he spoke: "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature, . . . and it was so."

Thus it was that "by the word of the Lord" all things were created. He spoke the word only, and it was so: the word spoken, itself produced the thing.

Thus it was in creation. And thus it was in redemption; he healed the sick, he cast out devils, he stilled the tempest, he cleansed the lepers, he raised the dead, he forgave sins, all by his word. In all this, also, "he spake, and it was."

And so he is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. Always he is the Creator. And always he does all things by his word only. and always he can do all things by his word; because it is the very characteristic of the word of God, that it is possessed of the divine power by which itself accomplishes the thing which is spoken.

This is why it is that faith if the knowing that in the word of God there is this power, the expecting the word itself to do the thing spoken, and the depending upon that word itself to do that which the word speaks.

The teaching of faith is the teaching that such is the nature of the word of God; the teaching of people to exercise faith is the teaching them to expect the word of God to do what it says, and to depend upon it to do the thing which is by it spoken; the cultivating of faith is by practise to cause to grow confidence in the power of the word of God itself to do what in that word is said, and dependence upon that word itself to accomplish what the word says.

And "the knowledge of what the Scripture means when urging upon us the necessity of cultivating faith, is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired."

Are you cultivating faith?

"Editorial Note" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 52 , p. 832.

HERE are two sentences which, that all may the better see their exact bearing, we set side by side. Both are from the Spirit of prophecy; and both, apparently, were written about the same time in 1898:–

The time has now come when all who are working in Christ's lines will have the mark of God in words. In actions, in character, in their honor of Immanuel.–Unpublished, copies in Battle Creek, Sept. 20, 1898.

Many whose characters are now being weighed in the balances of the sanctuary are pronounced wanting, because they do not bring the truth into the practical life.–Signs of the Times, Oct. 17, 1898.

Both these sentences speak of "now." One says that "now" there are those who "will have the mark of God;" the other says that "now" there are those who, "being weighted in the balances," "are pronounced wanting."

In the nature of things these two things occur at the same time; each is the counterpart of the other. When the mark of God is set, it is set upon every one upon who it can be set in righteousness. Not a single soul will be passed by upon whom the mark can be set. And as there go after him the others with the destroying weapons to smite, it is perfectly through to set the mark of God, all "are being weighed in the balances of the sanctuary." And in that weighing it is certainly being decided whether each one shall receive the mark of God, or whether he shall be pronounced wanting. If the balances of the sanctuary in their exactness declare one "wanting," in infinite sorrow the righteous Lord must pronounce it so; and he with the writer's inkhorn must pass on without setting the mark of God; and he never turns back to go over the ground again. All that remains is for those who go after him to let loose the destroying weapons, and slay utterly. And they begin at the Lord's sanctuary, and even with "the ancient men that were before the house."

It is a most solemn thing to have to write all this. But it is all true; and when it is true, it is a good deal more solemn thing not to write it. For what it, when the sword comes, the people are not warned?

O, we must be ready, now, to receive the mark! And as it is only "the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption," we must now receive the Holy Spirit of God.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; . . . for every one that asketh receiveth." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

We can do no better than to print just here the Lord's own message for this very time:–

"The command is, 'Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.' These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God repented, and humbled their hearts before him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, his power and presence were lacking.

"In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God's honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonored, the truth made of none effect.

"The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: 'Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.'

833

Here we see that the church–the Lord's sanctuary–was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God's power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus "Peace and safety" is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God's people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together.

"The abominations for which the faithful ones were sighing and crying were all that could be discerned by finite eyes, but by far the worst sins, those which provoked the jealousy of the pure and holy God, were unrevealed. The great Searcher of hearts knoweth every sin committed in secret by the workers of iniquity. These persons come to feel secure in their deceptions and, because of His long-suffering, say that the Lord seeth not, and then act as though He had forsaken the earth. But He will detect their hypocrisy and will open before others those sins which they were so careful to hide.

"No superiority of rank, dignity, or worldly wisdom, no position in sacred office, will preserve men from sacrificing principle when left to their own deceitful hearts. Those who have been regarded as worthy and righteous prove to be ring-leaders in apostasy and examples in indifference and in the abuse of God's mercies. Their wicked course He will tolerate no longer, and in His wrath He deals with them without mercy.

"It is with reluctance that the Lord withdraws His presence from those who have been blessed with great light and who have felt the power of the word in ministering to others. They were once His faithful servants, favored with His presence and guidance; but they departed from Him and led others into error, and therefore are brought under the divine displeasure.

"The day of God's vengeance is just upon us. The seal of God will be placed upon the foreheads of those only who sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. Those who link in sympathy with the world are eating and drinking with the drunken and will surely be destroyed with the workers of iniquity. 'The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.'

"Our own course of action will determine whether we shall receive the seal of the living God or be cut down by the destroying weapons. Already a few drops of God's wrath have fallen upon the earth; but when the seven last plagues shall be poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, then it will be forever too late to repent and find shelter. No atoning blood will then wash away the stains of sin.

"'And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.' When this time of trouble comes, every case is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer mercy for the impenitent. The seal of the living God is upon His people. This small remnant, unable to defend themselves in the deadly conflict with the powers of earth that are marshaled by the dragon host, make God their defense. The decree has been passed by the highest earthly authority that they shall worship the beast and receive his mark under pain of persecution and death. May God help His people now, for what can they then do in such a fearful conflict without His assistance!

"Courage, fortitude, faith, and implicit trust in God's power to save do not come in a moment. These heavenly graces are acquired by the experience of years. By a life of holy endeavor and firm adherence to the right the children of God were sealing their destiny. Beset with temptations without number, they knew they must resist firmly or be conquered. They felt that they had a great work to do, and at any hour they might be called to lay off their armor; and should they come to the close of life with their work undone, it would be an eternal loss. They eagerly accepted the light from heaven, as did the first disciples from the lips of Jesus. When those early Christians were exiled to mountains and deserts, when left in dungeons to die with hunger, cold, and torture, when martyrdom seemed the only way out of their distress, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ, who was crucified for them. Their worthy example will be a comfort and encouragement to the people of God who will be brought into the time of trouble such as never was.

"Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many even among those who teach the truth to others who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads. They had the light of truth, they knew their Master's will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works. These who were so familiar with prophecy and the treasures of divine wisdom should have acted their faith. They should have commanded their households after them, that by a well-ordered family they might present to the world the influence of the truth upon the human heart.

"By their lack of devotion and piety, and their failure to reach a high religious standard, they make other souls contented with their position. Men of finite judgment cannot see that in patterning after these men who have so often opened to them the treasures of God's word, they will surely endanger their souls. Jesus is the only true pattern. Everyone must now search the Bible for himself upon his knees before God, with the humble, teachable heart of a child, if he would know what the Lord requires of him. However high any minister may have stood in the favor of God, if he neglects to follow out the light given him of God, if he refuses to be taught as a little child, he will go into darkness and satanic delusions and will lead others in the same path.

"Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.

"We are too easily satisfied with our attainments. We feel rich and increased with goods and know not that we are 'wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Now is the time to heed the admonition of the True Witness: '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.'

"In this life we must meet fiery trials and make costly sacrifices, but the peace of Christ is the reward. There has been so little self-denial, so little suffering for Christ's sake, that the cross is almost entirely forgotten. We must be partakers with Christ of His sufferings if we would sit down in triumph with Him on His throne. So long as we choose the easy path of self-indulgence and are frightened at self-denial, our faith will never become firm, and we cannot know the peace of Jesus nor the joy that comes through conscious victory. The most exalted of the redeemed host that stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, clad in white, know the conflict of overcoming, for they have come up through great tribulation. Those who have yielded to circumstances rather than engage in this conflict will not know how to stand in that day when anguish will be upon every soul, when, though Noah, Job, and Daniel were in the land, they could save neither son nor daughter, for everyone must deliver his soul by his own righteousness.

"No one need say that his case is hopeless, that he cannot live the life of a Christian. Ample provision is made by the death of Christ for every soul. Jesus is our ever-present help in time of need. Only call upon Him in faith, and He has promised to hear and answer your petitions.

"Oh, for a living, active faith! We need it; we must have it, or we shall faint and fail in the day of trial. The darkness that will then rest upon our path must not discourage us or drive us to despair. It is the veil with which God covers His glory when He comes to impart rich blessings. We should know this by our past experience. In that day when God has a controversy with His people this experience will be a source of comfort and hope.

"It is now that we must keep ourselves and our children unspotted from the world. It is now that we must wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is now that we must overcome pride, passion, and spiritual slothfulness. It is now that we must awake and make determined effort for symmetry of character. 'Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.' We are in a most trying position, waiting, watching for our Lord's appearing. The world is in darkness. 'But ye, brethren,' says Paul, 'are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.' It is ever God's purpose to bring light out of darkness, joy out of sorrow, and rest out of weariness for the waiting, longing soul.

"What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world are receiving the worldly mold and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by obeying the truth these are receiving the heavenly mold and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth and the stamp is impressed, their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity.

"Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of an impure man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God–candidates for heaven. Go forward, my brethren and sisters. I can only write briefly upon these points at this time, merely calling your attention to the necessity of preparation. Search the Scriptures for yourselves, that you may understand the fearful solemnity of the present hour."

"The Necessity of 'Imperialism'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 75, 52 , p. 834.

OF the zeal for the spread of slavery in his day, Abraham Lincoln said:–

I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world; . . . and especially because it forces so many really good men among ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty, criticizing the Declaration of Independence.

This exactly describes the new American policy of imperialism. This also is causing many to "criticize the Declaration of Independence." Leading men and leading papers of the country, who would naturally be thought ready to keep silent when the Declaration speaks, actually criticize it, and, in fact, repudiate it.

The statement that is now so glibly and superciliously made,–that the people of the newly acquired territory "are not fit for self-government," and must therefore be held in subjection and governed by force "until they shall become qualified for self-government," plainly can not stand a moment in the presence of the great principles of the Declaration of Independence,–that "all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;" and that "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed." And simply because such views can not stand in the presence of the Declaration, the Declaration is criticized and set aside.

But who is it that decides, for the people of the new island possessions, that they "are not fit for self-government"?–Not themselves; for they have been fighting and struggling for years against that very claim, put forth by Spain and others. Has the statement any more truth when put forth by Americans, contrary to their own Declaration and fundamental principles? What right have Americans, any more than Spaniards or Russians, to decide for other people that they are not fit for self-government? Wherein is America different from Russia or Spain when she decides for these people that they are not fit for self-government, and then counts them rebels, and fights and oppresses them, when they do not accept the decision?

Plainly enough, this whole thing, being in open disregard of the Declaration of Independence, is an "open war with the fundamental principles of civil liberty," and positively "deprives. . . republican example of its just influence in the world." And as that which did all this in Lincoln's day was hated by that great lover of liberty, why should not this which does the same things in our day be hated by every lover of liberty now?

In is day Lincoln said that the Declaration of Independence was "assailed and sneered at, and construed and hawked at, and torn, till if its framers could rise from their graves, they could not at all recognize it." That thing is being done again. At that time it was done in the interests of the spread of slavery; now it is done, and has to be done, in the interests of imperialism. At that time Lincoln said, "If that Declaration is not the truth, let us get the statute-book in which we find it, and tear it out! Who is so bold as to do it? If it is not true, let us tear it out!" And when, at such a suggestion, his audience cried out, "No, no!" Lincoln answered, "Let us stick to it, then; let us stand firmly by it, then." And so it is time to say again.

Thirteen years ago it was published that the United States would yet "repudiate every principle of a republican government." If we are not just now in the time when this thing is being done, how much further will things have to be carried in this direction before we shall be in the time of the doing of that thing?

¹ In military tactics there are certain movements that are made in what is called "one time in two motions." The second motion is always the consequence of the first, and cannot properly be made except as it follows the first. Right breathing is also "one time in two motions." The primary, original motion is of the abdominal and diaphragmal muscles. The secondary is the rib motion, and is the consequence of the primary, and cannot properly be made except as it follows the prima.

² Preached in the Tabernacle, April 2, 1898. Stenographically reported.

³ Preached in the Tabernacle, March 19, 1898. Stenographically reported.