GOD IS ABLE TO CARE FOR HIS OWN.
By G.
A GOD that can not take care of himself and his institutions is not God. This principle was demonstrated by Gideon. His father's family lived at Ophrah, where the people had an altar erected to Baal. An angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon one night and told him to build an altar to the Lord at a certain place, and to cut down the "grove," or idols, that surrounded the altar of Baal, for wood to offer a burnt sacrifice. Gideon took ten men and accomplished the work in the night, as he feared the people. IN the morning, when the men of the city saw what had been done, they inquired, "Who hath done this thing?" In some way suspicion pointed to Gideon, and they demanded of Joash, Gideon's father, that he bring out his son that he might be put to death. "And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning; if he [Baal] be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar." Judges 6:25-31. IN the days of Eli, the army of Israel took the ark of God to battle with them against the Philistines, and it was captured. The Philistines took it to Ashdod and set it up in the house of their God, Dagon. In the morning it was found that Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark. The priests set up the idol in his place, but the next morning it was down again, and the head and hands were cut off, lying on the threshold. So it was proved that Dagon could not take care of himself, while the ark, an institution of Jehovah, was preserved even in the hands of its enemies. BUT the ability of Jehovah to care for His own, without the help of man, was further demonstrated in this connection. The men of Ashdod were sorely afflicted with a plague until they sent away the ark. Sending it to Ekron, the people in that region were also sorely afflicted. Then they put the ark upon a new cart and hitched to it two young cows that never before had been yoked, and let them go. They made a test of this, saying that if the cart were taken by way of Beth-shemesh, they would know that the ark had done the evil to them. And, sure enough, the kine took the way to Beth-shemesh. ANOTHER significant point in this connection is, When the people of Beth-shemesh saw the ark, they made great rejoicing and sacrificed to the Lord; but amidst it all they presumed to look into the holy ark, and God smote fifty thousand of them. So Jehovah is not only able to care for His own institutions in the midst of their foes, but He will not allow His own professed people to tamper with them contrary to His Word. He does not always immediately punish trifling with His law, or trampling upon His sacred institutions; and for this reason men assume that their unlawful traditions are approved. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." Eccl. 8:11. Now, THE principle herein illustrated is all involved in the Sabbath question. God has a Sabbath, instituted at the beginning of creation, and its observance is enjoined in His holy, unchangeable law. Men have set up another day which they call a sabbath. God never has asked men to "protect" His Sabbath by any human law. He simply enjoins them to obey His law. If the state should make a law supplemental to God's Sabbath law, nothing would be added to the force of God's law; for if men should pretend to observe the Lord's Sabbath merely because the state so enjoined, it would not be Sabbath-keeping in a manner that God would recognize. He says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," and the only way to do that is to keep it because God says so—to keep it in obedience to His command. To observe it just because the state so ordered would be to set the state before God. THOSE who adhere to the so-called sabbath set up by men are always solicitous that it be "protected" in some way by human law. The fear is often expressed that this "sabbath" will be destroyed. But, as was said of Baal, if it be a god, or of God, let it defend itself; it doesn't need the support of state law. The constant demand for state defense of the Sunday-sabbath is a tacit admission that it is not of God—that it needs a perpetual human bolstering. THERE never has been a state law to sustain or enforce a real Christian church institution. But the power of the state has been invoked in behalf of every perversion of such institutions. God's appeals to men to obey His law and regard His ordinances have not been made for the protection of His institutions, but for the salvation of men. His institutions are indestructible; they may be trampled upon by men, but "Truth crushed to earth will rise again." EVEN the professed people of God who persistently pervert and treat as common the Sabbath of the Lord, will meet in the judgment the consequences. They may not, as did the people of Beth-shemesh, meet the speedy execution of the penalty; but God's merciful patience must not be mistaken for approbation; it is also coupled with justice, which will exact the last jot and tittle of the law. "The commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. 14:12) are inseparably connected.
G.